(02-21-2015 08:42 PM)Luisaceo Wrote:  My unpopular opinons:

1. English girls are actually quite attractive in terms of looks. Many Europeans think the average English girl is fat, has a witch face and crooked teeth but this is far from true.

2. Spain is a country of losers, and this is coming from a Spaniard. Krauser said we are lazy but I think it has more to do with our mentality, there's just so many wrong things ingrained in our culture. Specifically, economic success is seen in a bad light. The word for entrepreneur ("emprendedor") usually carries the connotation that the person is a small business owner, doesn't make a lot of money and therefore is a hard working, productive member of society. On the other side, as soon as the entrepreneur begins to make a lot of money, he becomes a businessman ("empresario") and this is somehow frowned upon, since people think he probably exploits his employees, doesn't pay taxes and bribes members of the administration/government. While these things are not totally unheard of, the idea of the poor and working class people being morally supperior is quite present in society. If you couple that with the risk aversion, unambitious nature of many spaniards who often want to secure a stable, 9-5 job in their home city (many have what I would call a "small village mentality") you get a country where even the younger generations expect big daddy government to take care of everything and get them out of unemployment. Many young spaniards also prolong their (government subsidised) studies until their late 20s or even early 30s as an excuse to live off their parents and extend their student years where they have little responsibilities (many students even live with their old folks, it's a normal thing in Spain). The common myth says that the modern generation is the best prepared Spain has ever had but the reality is that many millenials feel entitled to a good job just because they have 2 college degrees and a masters, but at the end of the day they've barely learned anything while at uni and have zero real world experience. It's no surprise that the far left party Podemos (similar to the Greek syriza) will probably make it to the government.

#2 is right on the money for Mexico as well and it's an inherited trait we get from you guys with people thinking poor people are morally superior. It's only feel good crap to get people to feel better about themselves for their lot. Also the crap mentality of trying to pull your relatives down if they are economically more successful than you.

(02-21-2015 08:42 PM)Luisaceo Wrote:  The word for entrepreneur ("emprendedor") usually carries the connotation that the person is a small business owner, doesn't make a lot of money and therefore is a hard working, productive member of society. On the other side, as soon as the entrepreneur begins to make a lot of money, he becomes a businessman ("empresario") and this is somehow frowned upon, since people think he probably exploits his employees, doesn't pay taxes and bribes members of the administration/government. While these things are not totally unheard of, the idea of the poor and working class people being morally supperior is quite present in society.

I wonder how much of this culture is a byproduct of the Spanish Empire. Spaniards back then got ridiculously wealthy from all the gold from the new world and ended up importing nearly all skilled labor/products from the rest of Europe. The result was inflation and intellectual atrophy of the population. It seems this cultural mentality comes from a place of once abundance but it no longer applies in the modern era.

(02-19-2015 07:54 AM)RawGod Wrote:  Krauser: best post in this thread. I don't agree with everything you said, but you have a clear and forthright mind.

+1 just because zatoichi and kitano

(02-21-2015 08:30 PM)Sourcecode Wrote:  Sure, America has no castles.

Well, actually...

Castello di Amorosi in Napa, Califonia:



Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California:

(02-21-2015 08:42 PM)Luisaceo Wrote:  Spain is a country of losers, and this is coming from a Spaniard. Krauser said we are lazy but I think it has more to do with our mentality, there's just so many wrong things ingrained in our culture.

Interesting comment and it resonates with a lot of what I go in my day to day work life at my company.

I work for a global company ran by spainiards and there is something very peculiar about the way they think and thus work on a day to day basis. To someone that has not observed this personally a comment like this can seem inflammatory but there truly is something very distinct about the "Spaniard way". Mind you they are not stupid, the Spaniards. This is a billion dollar company, with many powerful businessmen running it. But the simplest way to put it is that they seem to always come up with wrong solution to the problem and I have come to see it as a cultural thing.

Without stepping on any countries toes, I will just say that the same way America inherited the cultural legacy as far as philosophy, democracy, etc from England. Cuba, and a lot of latin countries also inherited the cultural legacy of Spaniard philosophy, and for better or for worse, many times I find it to be very contradictory and short sighted.

delete

Epic Boston rant ahead:

If Toronto is the worst city in north America, Boston is a close second. The city has some of the smartest people in the country who happen to be the most incompetent at snow removal, public transit, driving, and social skills.

1. The MBTA hasn't been functioning in over a month due to the snow fall. Don't let people fool you and claim that the snow fall is never this bad. Every single year there is at least one to two weeks where the snowfall is so bad that the T shuts down and people stay home. When the city starts to dig itself out, it takes snow plows several weeks to even bother to get onto the side streets let alone fully plow two lane streets. Here's is a picture from Back Bay. Here's an example of how the damn city can't even keep its main streets clear:

   

There is at least 4 ft of space between the plowed snow and the actual curve. Not to mention the drivers in this town need at least 4+ ft of buffer space between the snow and their car. Barely two sets of vehicles will fit through there with the traditional space drivers "feel" they need.

Every year the dip $hits in this town get a sort of seasonal amnesia where they forget how bad the previous years snow fall was. I though I could get away without having snow tires. Ha! The snow here is as bad as what you would see in towns in the snow belt. Having lived in the snow belt, I know what it is like. I've lived here for three years and the snow has been as bad as it was when I lived in the snow belt. If anything the snow removal has gotten progressively worse with each passing year.

When big snow fall is expected, parking ban the cars off the streets so plows can push ALL of the snow off of the street and onto the sidewalks. You then salt the streets heavily so when people begin to clear the side walks they can push the snow onto the streets where the rock salt will melt the snow. This is how it is done in towns where there is a lot of snow fall. Once this occurs THEN you let people park again on the street.

And dump the freaking snow into the bay where the salt in the snow won't matter in the SALT water. Don't dump it into the Charles which is a freshwater river. Geeze.

2. While Boston's road system isn't that bad. The problem are the drivers who like to drive like they're all taking a nice relaxing sunday drive. When a light turns green, you give it 2 seconds to clear the street. Not the average 8 seconds it takes for the first car to enter the intersection. The following cars will then take another average of 8 seconds to speed up.

This is all exasperated by the fact that the roads have poorly painted road markings. Is it that difficult to repaint the white divider lines?

If you grid lock, double park, and run a red light you deserve a $500 fine. The city should eliminate the tolls on 90 between the Brighton/Cambridge and Watertown exits to alleviate the cheap skates that drive through Brighton and Allston to avoid the $1.25 toll.

Storrow needs longer merge lanes and a "One car on green" stop light at Fenway merge ramp going west bound.

3. I don't give a rats @$$ about your medical, writers, BS degree. It doesn't take away from the fact that you are a fat and frumpy woman. The phrase, too dumb for New York, too ugly for LA describes the majority of women in Boston. The land of 6s and 7s.

4. Did I mention how bad public transit is here in this town? Why is the B line train during rush hour gingerly traveling down the tracks and waiting for 5 minutes at each station? A 10 minute car ride to work is a 40 minute B line ride. Thankfully Beverly Scott, the Deval Patrick (a/k/a Obama wannabe) appointee quit recently. If anyone political in this town is a random color of the rainbow, you can bet money it was appointed because of some pointless affective action move.

5. God forbid you live in town and you aren't an undergrad, medical researcher, grad student, or the holy of holies a law student. Don't even bother trying to break into student social circles if you're a guy with *Gasp* a real job.

Me:"Hey my name is The Beast1, whatcha doin' where you been?"
Girl: "Hey Beast! Nothing much, i'm a student at BU. Where do you go."

"I'm not a student, i have a job."

"....." blank stare

If student loans were to ever disappear or become more expensive a 1/4 of the GDP of this town would evaporate. People hang out with people they met in grade school and high school. Don't even bother trying to make friends here. Most married people you met in this town that are transplants either met before they moved or here online. That's all you need to know.

6. Sports Teams: The Pats won the super bowl. Thankfully there was a massive snow storm during the super bowl otherwise the town would have burned itself to the ground. Maybe if Boston took snow removal and public transportation as seriously as it takes it lack luster sports teams maybe the parade that you wanted to throw the day said major snow storm wouldn't oh I don't know not piss off the other half of the people in town who don't give a rats @$$ about some cheating footballs rigged event.

7. The restaurants in this town are a crap shot. There's some special little restaurant, pizza joint, and dive bar on every single block yet 95% of them are complete crap. I can tell you where all of the restaurants worth going to in town are. The few times i've eaten at the restaurants in the North End, i thought to my self that I could get a better meal at an Olive Garden.

The only plus side to this horrible city and state is the fact that Marijuana dispensaries are opening. At least you'll be able to smoke yourself blue in the fact to the fact that your alone and stuck at home in the bleak winter months.

In two weeks, I will hopefully know if i'm going to be have an opportunity to move out of the country. I'd rather die than spend another year in this degenerate WASP $hithole. To the gents that make this town work for them, you deserve a million dollars and a mansion somewhere in Chestnut Hill.

^ Yeah I read the Boston datasheet figuring if I should visit. The votes seems lukewarn positive yet extremely unremarkable. If you're gonna live in a cold city NYC, Chicago, and Montreal all seem so much better why bother?

I'll save my money for Montreal in the summer time.

The Big Dig.

(02-21-2015 07:17 PM)OBJ Snakebite Wrote:  

(02-21-2015 02:42 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  America is full of genuine people. Often, they are not in the touristy, trendy areas. They are in the countryside of America, the smaller towns and cities. The "Mid West", "The South", The "North West", The "Great Plains", "The Southwest", etc.

He did say that nothing of his rant applies to the people on the right. So your disagreement with him is in fact in agreement with him. Or vice versa.

Nah. he said far right of the bell curve...meaning those of high intelligence.

Firstly:
Tuth, I heed your warning!

Secondly:
Let me share my unreserved apologies to any offended member for any misunderstanding caused by my like of the krauser post.

As others have posted afterwards, I think it was done with perhaps a little tongue in cheek, verging on the edge of trolling, just to see what reaction it would create. It is as it say's on the thread title!

As a forum member who originally joined to seek advice from certain members on specific threads. I have since wandered around the whole site picking up great tips in various threads along the way. During the last few months, tho only posting when i thought i could add value, not just for the sake of it, I have tried to return the favours by posting advice/info/education I thought could help not only the posters I replied to, but also anyone else who just happened to pass it by. That's the way I roll!

Salty




@ Sourcecode

As Sherlock Holmes once said
May I deduce from your reply that you have been indulging in a good quality Scotch!

(02-21-2015 08:30 PM)Sourcecode Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 07:58 AM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 04:17 AM)kosko Wrote:  In 2015 is it really a accomplishment for a brother to swoop a white girl?

Hipster white girls are bad quality these days. They used be hotter and better quality few years back. If you want the slutty scenester girls you have to play the Trap Boy angle right now. Which is a degenerative trend for brothers.

The hipster creative boho angle will get you Asian girls. But your circles will be lilly white and the token Asian girl in any hipster circle will graviate towards you.

It's still a major accomplishment to snag and KEEP a quality hot one. 7-10 quality. 5-6's and SJW hipsters are relatively easy.

If white guys have to fight harder for quality, what makes anyone think a black man can find exploits around these same broads? Amongst this kind of chaos, there is actually less opportunity.

(02-21-2015 04:23 AM)Salty Wrote:  @ Sourcecode

(02-20-2015 06:56 PM)Sourcecode Wrote:  even big cities like Atlanta,Savannah,Charleston,Philly, Boston all the way up the east coast all have their own cultures and history.
Where do people really get the idea that America has not culture or history?

Last house I lived in was 450+ years old.

Local pub I regularly frequented (still do) celebrates it's 655th year anniversary later this year (EST 1360), mostly unchanged & still going strong.

Former regulars of said pub included Mary Queen of Scots, King James VI, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Rabbie Burns & Robert Louis Stevenson to name but a few!!

Those are the thing's that qualify it to be recognised as an establishment steeped in both terms of Culture & History.

What are your ideas of Culture & History?

Oh nice. You have an old house and a old bar.
That's so sophisticated and cultured.

Sure America isn't as old as Europe for obvious reasons.
But Virginia had universities that are 300 years old.
Harvard , William and Mary, ect.
Regarded as some of the world best.

Charleston. One of the most important cities for economics. Multiple Anglo and black island cultures mix in the cities culture.
A single school in Charleston if credited as kicking off there civil war.

Boston with its large Irish population has a specific culture that's been around forever.
New Orleans Cajuns..



Sure, America has no castles. But art an literature wise, certain cities alone are known around the world for their styles.
Where are the Atlanta's, Vegass, new York city's of other countries. America has culture advancements that other countries don't

Yes pub is pretty sophisticated, very cultured and certainly historical. House could be a little cold tho, walls were 3ft thick made of stone! That why I moved to my new modern one, only 100 years old!

I'm pretty sure America is just as old as Europe, but maybe what you were meaning, was that the European settlers (Spanish, French, British, Irish etc) never arrived there until the late 16th century, importing with them their cultures & histories! Trying not to mention religion or politics tho!

Yes you do have universities just over 300 years old, the two you happen to mention, any idea how they were established (named after), or by whom. Possibly the old regular from my wee pub, James VI's, granddaughter Mary (who married 1st cousin William) will pop up!

Charleston, named after, grandson of said King James VI, is well known for economic's, have you heard of Adam Smith, he invented economic's, he was also Scottish!

Really don't want to get in discussion on the American Civil War on a predominantly US forum, we never really touched on it in our history syllabus at school, but since you mentioned it! The college I think you may be referring to was the Citadel, where they say the first shot's of the war were fired, by cadet's/soldiers who were fighting to keep the slave trade in existence!

Boston has hardly been around forever, the Irish started arriving after the potato famines. Again don't want to do the religion/politics thing! Seen a post earlier summing up some of the problems in Boston right now, would've thought they would get used to a bit of snow by now!

Then you hold Vegas(s) up as a cultural advancement!

Couldn't copy your previous post on this subject, to this post, so will add it in another post as I've highlighted some of your points I think I've answered.

Sorry bud, but think me & you are gonna have to agree to disagree on our ideas of culture & history! Next time you come over, give me a shout, I'll show you around, not all just culture & history, great game too, think you'd love it!

(02-20-2015 04:12 AM)Sourcecode Wrote:  I would argue that there are plenty of cities in other city countries that have no soul either.
Many western European cities have no soul.. You just have old shit that you hang around.

Little isolated east coast ocean towns have just as much of their own culture as little French towns on the water.

But a place like London has just as much culture as new York city.

Lots of cities 'culture'is held up by the tourist that come there.
Only keeping their old style buildings because they know the tourist need to see that image.

One example of a place I thought was funny was Warsaw... They rebuilt everything to look old.. Dress up in old fashions but that city was turned into dust only decades ago.
How can you tell me that everything in my city is so new and lacks personality when your city might still be younger than my house

What do y'all even define as culture?
I feel like many people throw that word around without a real meaning.

Lots of people travel and see new things for a week or two without being analytical and they say the grass is greener.

Highlighted all the parts I think I've answered

(02-21-2015 08:42 PM)Luisaceo Wrote:  1. English girls are actually quite attractive in terms of looks.

Compared to what? Yes there are more hot English girls then some people may think, but can you name one nationality in Europe that is uglier? And saying Scottish or Irish doesn't count.

This might be a popular opinion, but every time I see a hipster wearing flannel and a beard I want to drag them out back and beat the shit out of them for "appropriating" lumberjack culture. They're the reason I can't buy work clothes at fleet farm cheaply or be seen drinking PBR. Those sick fucks.

(02-21-2015 05:52 PM)L M McCoy Wrote:  Reading what Krauser wrote had me thinking

What is it that Western/Northern Europe and the anglosphere doing that makes the people indigenous to those regions so successful?

You look at the middle east and its not hard to see why they're collapsing both as a society and economically. Its hard to thrive when your entire middle class I.E. Expulsion of its Jews during the 1940s-1970s. 90% of those Jews were highly educated and many held important government or military positions. That region needs feminism (it is the unpopular opinions thread after all) Even today the entire middle class is leaving which is leaving the region with a few (corrupt) rich and mainly lower uneducated population. People talk of democracy in that region, forget it because it cannot be done without a middle class.

Africa can be a major power house. Africa even has the most billionaires but what is holding Africa back? Why is there no emphasis on education and "modernization?"

You look at these other continents or regions and you see the opportunity for greatness/enlightenment-perhaps even another golden age.

Is it evolution? Life in Europe was much harder (think basic survival) than warmer climates. If that is the case than why is eastern Europe such a shit hole?

Was it the emphasis on divide and conquer in its earlier life? Perhaps the inventions of advanced weaponry?

Look at the education results from Finland or the quality of life in Western/Northern Europe and compare that to everywhere else.

All the Europeans that came to America weren't well off yet look at how America turned out. The question is how/why?

Why aren't other countries following these examples?

If anyone is uncomfortable replying feel free to PM me. The internet hasn't been too helpful.

Also if you have a degree or are educated in economics feel free to use graphs

Competition was the main factor, along with certain inherent advantages Europeans had. Mainly, geographic advantages and more domesticated animals than other regions. The large number of domestic animals helped to spur civilization in the region. Meanwhile thanks to the geography of Europe, many peninsulas, mountain ranges, and large bodies of water, it as never fully united. The competition among the various states and peoples led to innovations and civilization building.

Compare this to China, who while civilized, relative to Europe has been unified more than it has been divided. It was this unification that led to the complete dismantling of the massive Chinese treasure fleet in the early 1400's on the whim of a single emperor. This centralization meant that innovation was often stifled when deemed unnecessary. On the other hand Columbus was turned down by four different European powers before Spain agreed to finance his voyage in 1492.


Competition has also been a central element in the American experience as well. To much the same ends.



Edit: Samsamsam beat me too it. Used the same book I read as well.

See, this is a reason why sometimes people are melting down, because people post stuff like this:

Quote:I believe that the main difference between Europeans and the rest comes down to the factors of climate, greed and luck.

Somehow those who get really hurt, seem to think it is fine to reduce European history to some kind of special 'greed' in our disposition? No one bats an eye over such a statement. Which is really just a different variant of the 'evil white man' narrative which lots of people still have and manifests itself in statements such as that.

Not only is it hugely ignorant, it is also racist, like non-europeans were somehow less greedy or brutal, but we've been over this so many times, I have to blame public education.

Some of you don't seem to get that you post borderline racist stuff all the time, but never get called out on it. The Germans have been called Nazis for 60 years and usually smirk about it, the Swedes get ridiculed relentlessly on this forum.

(02-22-2015 10:01 AM)Deluge Wrote:  

(02-21-2015 08:42 PM)Luisaceo Wrote:  1. English girls are actually quite attractive in terms of looks.

Compared to what? Yes there are more hot English girls then some people may think, but can you name one nationality in Europe that is uglier? And saying Scottish or Irish doesn't count.

Portugese possibly.

England's main problem is the fatness. That's pretty much it. Take the fatties away and you're left with decent stock. A mix of Northern European ancestries- plus, you've got all the recent immigration from much more exotic places.

It's also a class thing, as has been mentioned lots by other people. I'd put our slim, middle class girls up against any nation to be fair. Fuck, I mean Cheryl Cole isn't even middle class but she's still hot as fuck.

Maybe that's an unpopular opinion!

Right, because the west's recent success overwhelms centuries of feudal dysfunction after the roman empire, and, if you discount the romans themselves, millenia of tribalism during and prior to the romans (gauls, celts, britons, etc.)

Non-western cultures had civilization before the west had god. For millenia they dominated in terms of literature, art, science, and commerce.

Western superiority only came about after the industrial revolution. Sure, you can make credible theories about western culture being superior, but only as a function of it being more suited to the post-industrial era of 1) market capitalism 2) nation-states and 3) industrial and post-industrialized economies. That doesn't mean for the vast majority of human civilization the west has been superior.

Remember, history and social science is not real science. It's massively complex and full of ever changing variables. Experiments are almost impossible because you are always backward looking, there's no control for variables, and you will never have a "all else being equal" side by side comparison. Never.

It's ironic that the biggest race trolls are boosters of a continent that couldn't get its shit together until the renaissance, nearly destroyed itself twice in the 20th century, and now is so neutered by its self-imposed constraints and leftist delusions that the russians find nothing credible about NATO. I'd rather ally myself with China.

When all that is taken out, Europe has had maybe 200 to 300 years of actual success. That's pretty sad in the broader scheme of things. Just look at the french - they are always bitter.

(02-22-2015 11:06 AM)SHANbangs Wrote:  Right, because the west's recent success overwhelms centuries of feudal dysfunction after the roman empire, and, if you discount the romans themselves, millenia of tribalism during and prior to the romans (gauls, celts, britons, etc.)

Non-western cultures had civilization before the west had god. For millenia they dominated in terms of literature, art, science, and commerce.

Western superiority only came about after the industrial revolution. Sure, you can make credible theories about western culture being superior, but only as a function of it being more suited to the post-industrial era of 1) market capitalism 2) nation-states and 3) industrial and post-industrialized economies. That doesn't mean for the vast majority of human civilization the west has been superior.

Remember, history and social science is not real science. It's massively complex and full of ever changing variables. Experiments are almost impossible because you are always backward looking, there's no control for variables, and you will never have a "all else being equal" side by side comparison. Never.

It's ironic that the biggest race trolls are boosters of a continent that couldn't get its shit together until the renaissance, nearly destroyed itself twice in the 20th century, and now is so neutered by its self-imposed constraints and leftist delusions that the russians find nothing credible about NATO. I'd rather ally myself with China.

When all that is taken out, Europe has had maybe 200 to 300 years of actual success. That's pretty sad in the broader scheme of things. Just look at the french - they are always bitter.

Agree mostly with all your comments.

Also enjoy learning about ancient civilisations.

My favourites were the Sumerians and the Ziggurat's.

Alas, as I've just spent a bit of time reading Roosh's latest post on krauser & co, I won't be participating in this unpopular opinions thread anymore. Adios.

Quote:Phoenix, Dallas, Vegas, etc.

Phoenix has a lot of "soul', in my opinion.

The Navajo, Apache, and Hopi tribes were around Arizona for many generations. Probably, the Aztec and Mayans were around before that.

The Spanish arrived in the 1500's and their descendents have been there ever since.

Phoenix was part of Mexico until 1848 when we won the mexican-american war.

The "Old West" was a fascinating time. The famous "Gunfight at the OK Corral" happened not far from Phoenix.

The "Buffalo Soldiers", immortalized by Bob Marley, were based not far from Phoenix.

The pop media is ignorant about Phoenix's "soul".

---

Dallas also has a fascinating story.

I like Las Vegas. For me, the "soul" of Las Vegas is in its underworld roots. It was a mafia city that grew into an international party city. The more one studies Las Vegas, the more one can detect its "soul".

(02-22-2015 11:06 AM)SHANbangs Wrote:  Right, because the west's recent success overwhelms centuries of feudal dysfunction after the roman empire, and, if you discount the romans themselves, millenia of tribalism during and prior to the romans (gauls, celts, britons, etc.)

Non-western cultures had civilization before the west had god. For millenia they dominated in terms of literature, art, science, and commerce.

Western superiority only came about after the industrial revolution. Sure, you can make credible theories about western culture being superior, but only as a function of it being more suited to the post-industrial era of 1) market capitalism 2) nation-states and 3) industrial and post-industrialized economies. That doesn't mean for the vast majority of human civilization the west has been superior.

Remember, history and social science is not real science. It's massively complex and full of ever changing variables. Experiments are almost impossible because you are always backward looking, there's no control for variables, and you will never have a "all else being equal" side by side comparison. Never.

It's ironic that the biggest race trolls are boosters of a continent that couldn't get its shit together until the renaissance, nearly destroyed itself twice in the 20th century, and now is so neutered by its self-imposed constraints and leftist delusions that the russians find nothing credible about NATO. I'd rather ally myself with China.

When all that is taken out, Europe has had maybe 200 to 300 years of actual success. That's pretty sad in the broader scheme of things. Just look at the french - they are always bitter.

Patently false. Greece, Carthage, Phoenicia, and Israel all predate the Romans.

The foundation of modern society is the nation state, Sumer, China, India and Egypt are the oldest examples of proto nation states. Civilization began there due to the climate being very friendly towards the development of agriculture mainly large fertile river beds. Agriculture created the excess population required to develop more advanced societies. However these societies advanced very slowly.

Europe developed faster than the others on the above list because while it took longer for agriculture to be introduced, it had an abundance of natural resources and geographical advantages. China and India also practiced feudalism
That feudal dysfunction is precisely what allowed Europe to develop the advantages which allowed the West to rise to prominence in the modern world. Competition breeds innovation.

Swag is an underrated term that got turned out by idiots before it's time. Sometimes things just have Swag.

This thread has been a big source of problems for the forum so I'm locking it up. You are free to post your random opinions in the Lounge thread, as long as they adhere to forum rules.