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Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

  • 1.  Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Posted 06-14-2024 14:16

    I strongly propose we have zero tolernance and ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively. When this is done, the post should:

    1) Be immediately taken down;

    2) The original posting person and all supportive followup posting persons should be issued a warning, with the threat that if done again there will be a suspension.

    I could not believe how many days the negative post regarding the Korean woman customer was tolerated. I asked from the moment I saw it that it be taken down and the posting people who supported the comment be reprimanded. Yet it remained up for many days, and more comments kept coming in that supported it as 'humor'. 

    If a civil rights group had seen this, they could have filed a lawsuit threat against the PTG.

    I simply cannot believe the number of PTG members who are so insensitive and the number of comments that kept coming in. Even now I believe the posting person and the first supportive comment after that should be followed up with a warning.

    Respectfully,

    Steven R Norsworthy

    President/CEO, RF2BITS, Inc,. an S-Corporation

    steven@rf2bits.com



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    Steven Norsworthy
    PianoSens
    Cardiff By The Sea CA
    (619) 964-0101
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  • 2.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-14-2024 15:00

    The Tech Forum is not the place to discuss policy issues. 



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    Steven Rosenthal RPT
    Honolulu HI
    (808) 521-7129
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  • 3.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 12:10
    Steven,

          If you're going to post a message like this, how about referring all potential readers to the exact post/conversation you're referring to?

          David G. Hughes RPT





  • 4.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 13:18

    David, it is quite likely the post(s) Steve Rosenthal is responding was in one of the threads that have been flagged as inappropriate, and currently removed from general viewing. If the Communications Task Group concludes they are acceptable, the threads might be put back up. 
    So it's best that he doesn't repost the conversations.



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    Patrick Draine RPT
    Billerica MA
    (978) 663-9690
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  • 5.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 13:44

    Thank you, Patrick Draine, for this information. Just for the record (and I realize no one asked my opinion), this is all too much virtue signaling for me. 

    David G. Hughes, RPT



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    David Hughes RPT
    Vintage Case Parts
    Glyndon MD
    (443) 522-2201
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  • 6.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 17:20

    I think that Mr. Norsworthy is being WAY over sensitive. I also think that PTG is being WAY too compliant and that it should take more than a single person complaining to warrant the removal of an entire discussion. Additionally, as is the PTG way, an entire discussion was removed without any of the participants being notified as to why, nor as to what they may have contributed to the discussion to help cause the removal. I have always believed that PTG is, among other things, here to educate. If we do something wrong, let us know what we did wrong so that we can better comply with the rules. Otherwise none of us learn and will likely break those rules again. 

    I believe this forum should be treated as, more or less, public. And, like TV, if you don't like or approve of a given conversation there are always other conversations that you can participate in. Don't kill an entire conversation, involving multiple participants, because someone, as a single entity, may be offended. Just change the channel. 



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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 7.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 19:06

    Geoff, don't assume the PTG has taken action. When a forum member flags a post as inappropriate, it is automatically taken down pending adjudication. 



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    Floyd Gadd RPT
    Regina SK
    (306) 502-9103
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  • 8.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 19:57

    Floyd --

    The PTG set up the system so that when a post gets flagged, even by just a single user, the entire thread gets taken down. Whether automatic or not, PTG has, therefore, taken action. It might be just a little more democratic if when a user flags a post it first gets reviewed and only if found offensive, or whatever, then gets taken down, with explanation so that we can learn from the situation. The system, as is, is treating us, as a group, as guilty before reviewing the evidence. 



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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 9.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 21:25

    IIUC it's a limitation of Higher Logic, the platform that these discussion groups run on. I don't think it supports the behavior you describe (although I agree that might be a little smoother to operate).



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    Nathan Monteleone RPT
    Fort Worth TX
    (817) 675-9494
    nbmont@gmail.com
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  • 10.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Posted 06-15-2024 19:19
    The reality is that anyone doing work professionally is likely to have experienced the nature of the encounter which was described, and the reporting for moderation of the description of the  encounter reveals more about the extent to which the complainant is engaged professionally. As the original post was entitled, some people do like to complain.

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594





  • 11.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2024 02:30

    I currently work for a Korean family-owned business and I mentioned the "offending story" to a co-worker who found it unoffensive and the situation laughable.

    My wife discussed this issue at her work with Korean, Chinese, Japanese and American co-workers who also found this story rediculous.

    I suggest we move on as this is evolving into unnecessary over-sensitivity.



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    Blaine Hebert RPT
    Duarte CA
    (626) 390-0512
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  • 12.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2024 13:30

    Are all those "Korean" "Chinese" and "Japanese" individuals you're referencing not citizens of the USA? I suspect a considerable (if not 100%) number of them are as "American" as you or I. 



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    Patrick Draine RPT
    Billerica MA
    (978) 663-9690
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  • 13.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Posted 06-16-2024 13:41
    With respect the matter is entering the realms of assumption.

    It's important to be able to make expression of a situation in the painting of a picture and which will either resonate with others' experiences or not, and if not, then not relevant.

    Perhaps one might describe the client as a lady with black hair. That's discriminatory against black haired ladies. Or if hearing loss is alleged, a lady with grey hair, and that's discriminatory against age. 

    If such issues are going to be debated here then as a professional forum, it's dead. Debating political correctness is not what busy people have time for and there will be no point in anyone giving PTG Pianotech the time of day.

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594





  • 14.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 12:17

    Perhaps PTG did not take any action because they felt it was not noteworthy of such.  Her nationality was not portrayed negatively...her actions were.  I'm astounded you would conflate the two.  



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    [First] [Last] RPT
    Schuylkill Haven PA
    (570) 789-3838
    RalphThomasRalphThomasRalphRalphRalphRalph
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  • 15.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 22:07

    edit



  • 16.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-15-2024 22:33

    > "I had this (insert nationality of choice-try several)  customer and geez what a bitch!" 

    Sorry, but "bitch" implies a specific gender, which we're apparently not allowed to define. 😁



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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 17.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2024 00:49

    I think we can do better than random cheap shots at trans people.



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    Nathan Monteleone RPT
    Fort Worth TX
    (817) 675-9494
    nbmont@gmail.com
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  • 18.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2024 01:32

    In my view is it's never appropriate to include the gender, race, or ethnicity of a client when telling a story about them.  Not in a forum like this. There may be edge cases where it is needed information, but certainly not here.  Like David Love said, save it for the bar or whatever.  Though it seems in this case the system in place for moderation is working.  The post has been flagged and is being reviewed.

    The real mystery is that the poster let the client talk to them that way for half an hour. I would have made a move toward the door much sooner.  The quicker you can get out of the gravity well of an energy vampire like that, the better.  The lost wage?  WORTH IT. 

    (Note, this post was in no way intended to disparage Transylvanians, those who like to stay up extremely late, or those who hate garlic.)



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    Nicholas Litterski, RPT RPT
    Austin TX
    (512) 573-8920
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  • 19.  RE: Ban posting where race, gender, nationality are portrayed negatively

    Posted 06-16-2024 06:49
    With respect the ethnicity of the lady in question in was relevant. Her behaviour might have seemed bizarre but actually rather than her being at fault it provides the opportunity for us to learn and therefore the mention of ethnicity was an important clue.

    She was testing 7ths.  That should tell us something. Octaves aren't necessarily the most important intervals: her ethnicity meant that she was actually coming from a different musical tradition and it's possibly about time our pianos learnt something about it and the need for tunings other than 12TET.

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594