Damned Sally Soccermoms.
http://www.rpgclassics.com/staff/epicgamer/Sabin’s%20wibwooism%20ranting%20thread/page_1.html
Damned Sally Soccermoms is right. Except it should be football. I guess in Europe it would be Susan Footballmoms?
Missing the point. I can stare at the clock anywhere when I’m having a bad time. Saying a bar is working against being social and trying to scare people away (or at least giving them a harder time than any other place) is like saying an amusement park is trying to scare people away because it’s loud, stuff is expensive and so on and so forth: It makes no sense, because in both cases actually having people there is their reason of existence just like for any other venue, otherwise they wouldn’t a) survive/ do well, b) attract a wide range of people or c) have been invented in the first place. So you can say you don’t like they way they’re conveying their idea of “fun” to you, but saying it’s the fault of the place itself that you’re having a bad time remains a bullshit argument. That’s like saying a book is trying to keep me from reading because it has so many letters, which makes it more difficult oO.
Also, yay for tits.
I think you’re missing the point DT. Just because the goal is having people there, doesn’t mean it’s also for them to be social.
And if you’re gonna look at it from the money angle, it’s in a bar’s best interest to make people have the shittiest time possible so they’ll drink more. The more they talk to their buddies, the less booze goes down the hatch. Financially, bars don’t want there to be anything else to do but drink. There was a pub down the street from me a while back that had GH in it. It’s closed for good.
Wow. Good call. Isn’t even on urban dictionary anymore. I’m really surprised anyone knew that.
I love you guys, you made my day (which was pretty great anyway). Now, if I had the time to go to a bar for a drink (or to reply, anyway)…
Nah, they want people to have a good time so they’ll resume their patronage, but they want to them to have a good time while supporting the establishment (buying drinks).
Eh? I was kinda sorta on your side before, but your arguments just don’t follow.
I’ll give you the first paragraph here, though. The premise is that if people are there, then it must be social. A crowded bank has a lot of people in it, therefore it is a social place. Understood.
The thing I take issue with most in your post is this proposition: “[It’s] in a bar’s best interest to make people have the shittiest time possible so they’ll drink more.” That doesn’t even begin to make sense. It’s in a bar’s best interest to keep the majority of their patrons happy. Let’s face it, people like you and I are not the type of people that are being catered to in the bar you’re going to, especially if they play country music. If people didn’t like things like karaoke, then they wouldn’t play it. A bar isn’t going to change what they do simply because I don’t like karaoke. They’d only change it if people didn’t enjoy people being humiliated, and if people didn’t enjoy WATCHING people being humiliated. A few of the people singing are actually good, and probably even have fun showing off.
But to get to the meat of your post, you’re saying that bars want people to have less fun so that they drink more. This does not follow. As has been stated earlier, you can easily drink at home, or a friend’s house, et cetera. It’s easy for anybody of age to get a drink. But some people even enjoy social interaction with strangers! My friend took me to a bar, and he was saying “Hello” to everybody. I asked him if he knew anybody here, and he said, “Not a one.” He just enjoyed talking to people. Personally, I’m extremely nervous around people, which is why he took me to a bar so that I could quell my anxieties. The reasons bars don’t appeal to ME is not the bar’s fault, it’s because I’m afraid to talk to people.
Perhaps the best thing you can do if you REALLY don’t like bars, is not to go. That means not hanging out with your friends, though. I know from personal experience if you decide not to go to a lot of stuff, people will take it personally. I told people I didn’t like parties, and was going to stay home. And you know what? I lost a lot of those friends, because I was being an obstinate dick! You know how many IRL friends I have now? Three! I used to be invited to parties all the time, and now I’d be lucky if I was invited to somebody’s funeral! Just go and try to have fun, for Chrissakes!
And this totally isn’t about the Sabbath thing, JSYK. I’ve just been evaluating myself a lot lately.
I never said the presence of people makes anything social.
Interaction between people does.
No, Hades, but that was how you were responding to DT’s argument. I was saying that I agreed with you on that point. Also, if you were to say “interaction between people” is what being social is, then the bank example still follows. When I walk up to the teller, I give her my check and I say, “Deposit X amount of dollars, and I’ll take Y dollars.” Then she does it, and asks if there’s anything else I need. I say, “No thank you, have a great day,” and she says, “Thanks, you too!” Interaction between two people. Now maybe you need to be a bit more specific. In the pants.
The example you gave about your friend talking isn’t a good one tough. I could have a riveting conversation next to a jet engine, but why would I?
I think a lot of people in this thread are confusing what’s possible in bars with the actual effect of bars. You can have fun in them and you can be social in them but they’re not there to help you do that, in fact they’re kind of an obstacle.
The thing I take issue with most in your post is this proposition: “[It’s] in a bar’s best interest to make people have the shittiest time possible so they’ll drink more.” That doesn’t even begin to make sense. It’s in a bar’s best interest to keep the majority of their patrons happy.
No, it’s in their best interest to keep the majority of patrons coming back, happy or not. Bars tend to be able to do this with little to no effort. Bars also tend to realize that people having fun don’t drink as much. This makes perfect sense.
You don’t live in a college town, do you? As stupid as the people that drink in the bars around Oswego are, they’re definitely having fun. The bars that have karaoke and such are crowded. The ones that are dirty, have rude staff, et cetera… they aren’t.
Hades, again, I’m gonna say that while you can’t have fun in bars, others can. The point is that it’s a different kind of enjoyment and a different kind of social interaction than what one would get out of a deep meaningful conversation with, say, a lover or a best friend but it’s still interaction. Bars exist to assist in this kind of social interaction. They do not exist to aid in deep philosophical thoughts. Except in that they give you enough booze to come up with zany ideas.
Yeah I said it. Zany.
I live in one of the biggest college towns in Canada, otherwise I probably wouldn’t care as much as I do. I just think you’re taking what you see in bars too much at face value.
Here is what I very seriously think happens in the minds of an average group of people going out to the bars.
Guy A is approached by his friends.
Friends: “Hey, what do you say we hit the clubs tonight?”
Guy A: (in his head: “Jesus Christ, what a fucking drag. Clubbing is supposed to be fun, but I fucking hate it. I don’t want to spend Friday night sitting at home though, and I don’t want to look like a boring guy or an ass, and all my friends seem to enjoy it, so…”) “AWRIGHT LET’S DO THIS!”
Guy B: (in his head: “Shit, I was really hoping Guy A wouldn’t want to. Tonight’s going to be shit, but I guess if that’s where all my friends are going and I have nowhere else to be, I’ll try to make the best of it”) “Awww yeah! It wouldn’t be the same without you, bra!”
Guy C: (in his head: “I knew I shouldn’t have suggested this, but everyone LOVES bars and I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I guess I’ll settle for having a half-assed night, as long as my friends are happy and I don’t look like a dick”) “Excellent. What about you, Girl A?”
Girl A: (in her head: “Fucking great. Another night dressed like a hooker while some guy’s balls ride my ass so the other girls don’t think I’m a prude. Don’t you fuckheads do anything else?”) “YAYYYY DANCING!”
repeat for however many people are in the collectively delusional group.
I’m not saying this is always how it is without fail, but come on. This shit happens more often than anyone in this thread wants to admit. I’d go so far as to say that the vast majority of people are only there because they think everyone else who doesn’t want to be there does, or they have no other options and don’t want to sit at home.
Amazingly, Hades, everyone I know who doesn’t like clubbing is able to just come out and say “Fuck clubbing. I don’t like it, you guys have fun while I go do something else like go hang at Bob’s or whatever, because Bob doesn’t like clubbing either but vidya gamin’? Man, that shit’s rad.” Then our friends say “That’s coo’. Might see you later then, at a house-party. Also you’re a cunt.” So…yeah. Anyone in my group who doesn’t like clubbing, just doesn’t go clubbing. 
And amazingly, girls enjoy being looked at and appreciated and enjoy teasing guys as well. Dear god it’s weird to see my little sister in a short skirt/dress though. x.O Shit’s creepy man.
Okay, I can respect that. Your friends sound cool.
But to expand on my last post, let me put it this way: you have two options.
Option 1: Going out to a bar/club.
Option 2: Going out to a bar/club where you choose the music and how loud it is, the people who are there, BYOB, no lines, no bouncers, no coat-check, no heat, no stickiness, no sleazebags or slutty girls, etc…
If you wanted to spend time with your friends, which would you pick? If the options were there, I’m guessing it would not be #1. This is the entire thrust of this entire thread. I’m half annoyed that there’s rarely anywhere to go but bars, and half annoyed that people still pick bars when there is. Because they’re just not great places to hang out, unless the goal of your night is to drink away your worries without looking like an alcoholic, in a place where you don’t have to pay attention to anyone. That is the only fair counterargument.
There’s other reasons to go there but yeah, pretty much. Usually I’d be on your side anyway, I’d rather just go someplace to sit and eat/drink/hang out that’s quiet. Just sayin’ that there are times when it’s nice to go to a bar.
But yeah, clubs suck balls. Baaaaaaaaaaaaalls. Screw paying to get in someplace I won’t enjoy.
Internet Poster :chupon:: (in his head: “God why do I waste time talking to these idiots. They don’t understand anything. I should really just get off the internet and do something productive with my life…”) “HEY LOOK NEW THREAD LET’S GO”
I understood your point, I just didn’t think it was well executed.
Bars are cool if you go to the right ones. I’m pretty much family at one bar I frequent. Now if you go to the bar, for the sole purpose of finding love, then yeah you will most likely have a shitty time. I go to bars because drunken karaoke among good friends helps me to forget about the dire times I face as a blue collar American warehouse worker. I wake up every morning hoping that I don’t get laid off and go to work each week with a dwindling schedule because the company I work for is too proud to lay off dead weight that’s holding us back and hire in fresh staff that actually want to do the work, and though our hours get cut, the bigwigs get pay raises to make even less appearances at the workplace. The bar(or drinking among friends at a house party) can be very enjoyable. I like it because I like drinking. A lot. Plus working from 2pm-10pm doesn’t leave me with a whole lot of options on the things to do list. My main bitch about the bars are the drink prices. I’ve dropped $200+ in one night at the bar. Very easy to do, especially when you have a reputation for being a heavy drinker like I do. Anymore, it’s even expensive to drink at home.
Clubs on the other hand suck. Hard. Unless there’s actually good music,(a rarity around here as most clubs cater to the dudes who want to be “gangstas” and the girls who gold dig these fools for what they’re worth) and even then it has to be live music, or a DJ who plays stuff I like(in this case, think DNB/Jungle). I can, however, get into one club in my area for free due to my connections with said club’s in house DJ.
That said, just like amusement parks or any other event, bars aren’t for everyone.
Aw man that’s half the of fun of the party taken out right there! :ah-ha!:
Hahah! That’s ridiculous. Not everyone has the same morals, ethics, level of enjoyment, etc that you do. You know what, the average person probably doesn’t like playing RPGs (except maybe World of Warcrap). How does that relate? It’s an RPG forum. The obvious crowd here, falling into the world of generalities, does not like the aspect of going to clubs, bars, big obnoxious gatherings like these. I know I don’t like going clubbing. But claiming that your perspective covers the average person’s perspective on clubbing when both a)you don’t like going clubbing, and b)many other people go plenty of times, is ridiculous.
I don’t want to defend clubbing, as I don’t do it myself, but at the same time it’s not this vile evil practice that you should get uppity about. I’m sure your scenerio is correct for a fair amount of people, but many people are less complex than you think they are. They are just animals that want to sleep, eat, fuck, and be entertained while doing so (I should probably throw thinking in there since we’re talking about humans). Not that this is a bad thing, in fact it is an excellent thing to embrace your essence. I guess what I’m trying to say, without going off the deep end too much (since I can’t swim), is that more people enjoy clubbing and going to bars than you think. This audience just happens to agree with you because we are like-minded individuals hence being part of a community on the Internet.