Issues with DustyGreen

All the options at the top of the page are missing. For example, Logging out is impossible because there is no button for it. There is no ‘profile’ button to change settings in and clicking ones own name only allows you to see your stats, but not to change your options. Most importantly, I cannot check my private message because that button has disappeared as well.

Please fix ASAP.

Is the Navigation at the left hand side of the screen working for you??? As it might not work on some web browers??? All the options your looking for are there.

<---- Over there :wink:

Ooo La La…
I didn’t know we had a toolbar - but now that I know…wow! That is so cool. Thank you for informing me. Actually, I checked my mail by loading the phpbb site prior to logging in (subsilver format) and I clicked my mail link (hotspot [an old archaic term for a link], whatever you wanna call it) which asked me to log in first, but after I did it automatically sent me to my mail archive. Somehow, I always find my way around problems. There is always more than one way to get a job done.

By the way, prior to loggin in this time, the top two picture were empty, now they contain the 5 philosophers and the name ‘ILovePhilosophy’ - I just want to give kudos to whoever was responsible (was it you Pax?) for the pictures - they look amazing, almost like they are ghosts back from the dead - except Plato, he still looks like a statue. I also like the font and design of ILovePhilosophy.

Anyway, just wanted to say keep up the good work and thank you for replying so quickly. You have been doing a really great job around here Pax, I just want you to know that I notice these things (not that I matter in some kind of authoritative way or anything).

What’s your take?

Thanks Magius, yeap it was me! I love GFXs! We’re hoping to set up maybe one more sytle on the system that’s unlike the current two to try and cover all the posiable tast options. But it might be a while before the next one is installed.

You will always matter to me Gadfly! :laughing:

Yes, but the key question is “In what way?”

For trying to understand the other side of the discussion before you state your opinion; for your brutal honesty. Are you still in school Gadfly? If so, how goes that?

Thanks Marshall,
I honestly do try to understand the other side in order to learn more myself, and not in order to argue against someone better, as it seems a few here believe. I often find myself referring to many posters in my daily interactions with people, I mention their views and ask what the person I am speaking with thinks about it. In that sense I treat many of the posters here as authors of the views they hold, as one would bring up in an essay. Although, I don’t think it really matters whether someone tries to understand the other side before or after they state their own, what is important is that both people truly care about understanding the other persons idea; regardless of whether they agree with it or not.

About my brutal honesty, yes I think you have expressed it correctly. In fact, I believe all of us should be just as brutally honest. I think it would help many of us cease and desist taking things so personally and help us to see things for what they are (plus, it would do away with alot of un-needed social and other contextual games). Some of the people that have helped me most in life were complete strangers who took a risk by telling me something of a sensitive nature about me and hoping that I wouldn’t lash out at them. The minute they saw that I took them seriously and even supported their view, they would become very congenial and almost begin to care for me as though they knew me for years. In fact, it was a strange experience for me when I went to Chapters three times in a row in the span of about two weeks and each time someone would strike up a conversation with me and we would end up talking until they had to kick us out because it was closing time - each of the three people said the same thing “Mike, you are the most interesting person I have ever met in my life…” it could just be that this is a common line people tell people when they have had a good time with them, or, in my opinion - people become so astounded at my honesty, sincerity, and most importantly the caring within my tone that they don’t realize the extreme nature of their statement. I don’t actually think that they truly believe I am the most interesting person they have ever met.

I am concerned that my philosophy has had little or not effect on posters, not to mention what I believe is a rational and logical style of questioning (similar to Plato’s method of question and answer). Have either one of those had any impact Marshall?

Yes I am still in school. Just started the second semester of the third year.
I had a really hard time with my last semester and so I decided to drop two classes for this semester and make them up in the summer. Give me a chance to relax, hang with friends, and possibly get into a relationship if one should present itself. The three courses I am taking are third year Ethics, Political Philosophy, and the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence.
It’s going alright, the course material is interesting and engaging, there are students in each of my classes whom I know and don’t have to worry about missing anything or about catching up anything should I be sick for class or miss it for whatever reason. It also helps to talk with friends about course material, making it stand out more in the mind, I have found that the things that stick out most in my mind from course material are the things that I have discussed with acquaintances or friends. I haven’t had a chance to really enjoy the freedom for the reason that I have been sick for over a week now, the fact that I keep going to classes and have other important errands to run, my body has not been healing as quickly as it usually does.

How about you Marshall, you still in school?
How is life in general?

What’s your take?

  1. Each time I sign in and post my first post, I get a Microsoft Error Message Report and my browser closes down. Does anyone know why this might be?

  2. Often when clicking to a new screen there is a white tool bar that appears in the lower right hand corner of the screen and stays there unless you scroll it off the screen and then scroll back up again.

  3. I wanted to make mention of the link for private mail. I thought it was very convient in subSilver how the line was right on the first page of ilovephilosophy.com/phpbb so that the minute you were signed in, and any other screen you were ever in, was continually showing you how many private messages you had. There was no need to click or check anything. I realize that from the main ilovephilosophy.com page you can see how much mail you have, I also know that I can click Priv.Msgs and see if I have any new email. But again, it is a lot of clicking (convenience is really important - and no I am not lazy), could we add the old private messages link that added the number of mail in your private message box to the top of the title so that we can see how many mail posts we have within any screen on the message board?

What’s your take?

Yes Magius, i enjoy asking others things and actually listening to what they have to say. I usually don’t do this right away, but there always comes a small still silence in which i do. Sometimes i have read passages 1,2,3 or more times before i have understood exactly what the other person was trying to say, sometimes it is necessary not only to listen to the words, but also what is being said or conveyed.

I have always been very honest myself. Your honesty, however, has a courageous aspect which mine lacks. I sometimes envy that.

I hope i am able to adequately convey this. You get on here and you listen, learn, share. You sow your seeds, but alas, as in the old parable, some of it falls on rocky ground. Perhaps you are not the voice for their ears or maybe they are not ready for what you have to say. One must tread down many paths to arrive at one’s own house, how many more must be traversed to arrive at one’s neighbor’s? I can speak only for myself in saying that you have had quite an effect on me. Because of you i have bought the complete works of Plato, strived for better clarity of thought, and posted a lot of material.

I am not in school. I plan on being there by 2006. Nevertheless, i apply myself continually. I have read 106 books this past year, mainly on philosophy and literature, i post here, I try to engage people in intelligent thought, although most are more interested in TV or something more mundane and superficial. I sometimes feel like the intelligent outsider adrift on an ocean of indifference, but that is part of who we are too.

Do try to relax and enjoy yourself my friend. We thinkers have a great capacity for that too. Descartes used to lie in bed and watch the ceiling and thus envisioned the Cartesian coordinate system. Legend has it that Newton was recumbent 'neath an apple tree when gravity hit him. I sometimes think Henry David Thoreau was on to something when he retired to the woods and lived a simplistic life. I often wonder if we even know life, let alone live it. We’re so busy chasing those phantoms that the people in charge tell us to that it’s no wonder we get lost, or sick, or cast aside.

Life is busy. I work 7 days a week on first shift, while my wife works second. I rarely see her, except on weekends. I work hard at various jobs. I’ve come to realize that work is a kind of asceticism for me, it will be hard for me to give most of it up when i go to school. I suppose i am saying goodbye to work in my own austere way. These various jobs are a relatively recent phenomena, i used to stay at one job forever, but i’ve come to understand that security is something that one has to carry inside. I’m gathering experience from all of these places, as well as knowledge. I meet a lot of interesting people. Being a temporary is also a kind of rebellion for me, knowing that i don’t have to stay, jobs mean less now from a material aspect and mean more for the inner man. Work has long been an important part of my life. A part that integrates and provides self-esteem. Working short term assignments has been an adventure that has defined the World around me as well as myself.

That’s my take, a brief snapshot amidst an immense background.

Marshall I want to sincerely thank you for writing so personally. I don’t think posters at ILP do it enough. Your post really touch me and I sympathize. I have been rather depressed and extremely unhappy with myself as of late, but today, I have had the fortunate experience of meeting up with an old friend after class (in fact he is in his mid forties), and after a dozen chess games we indulged in conversation of how I am wallowing in my sorrow. His congenial attitude and caring really brightened my mood. The second person to have resonated such a feeling was you, and this isn’t the first time. And for that, I want to thank you again.

You made a claim, the meaning of which I missed upon my first reading but caught on later. Ironically

I’m not sure if it was your intention to get the last part across specifically to me, but either way I must agree that I spend too much time being literal instead of accepting the semantics of the statement being offered - it’s not that I don’t see it, but too often addressing the semantics of the statement before it is perfectly postulated has led me and others into disallusion. Regardless of that, I do believe I need to make a stronger effort to take what people mean and not focus so deeply on specific wording and statement formulation.

Marshall stated:

Could you elaborate upon how exactly my honesty is courageous? Are you referring to the fact that I am persistent and don’t let up?

Marshall stated:

I cannot express to you in words how good the above statement made me feel. Thank you for being open and honest with me.

Your reading statistics are impressive. I only hope that I can read that much when I begin to apply myself seriously to the life goals which have been lacking my attention. I too try to engage people in intelligent thought and conversation - but lately I find that my fun interpersonal skills are seriously lacking. I have become way too serious, rational, and logical. LIke here, in life too I have become very picky about what people are saying is showing them their inconsistencies, it has become rather difficult to separate that in contexts of intellectual discours and from just a general good old time with friends or a girl that I am interested in. Hence, I sympathize with your “intelligent outsider adrift on an ocean of indifference” but at the same time I know that I need to loosen up A LOT. But, once again you have said it yourself…

Marshall stated:

…I can’t even remember the last time I was relaxed. Stress, depression, and anxiety follow me at every step. When I sleep my jaw clenches, when I wake I can’t tell if I had even slept, when I am awake I am weak and lack ambition into just about anything, when I am with exactly who I want to be with I am nervous that I will screw it up, with friends and family I become indifferent…anyway, I’m gonna stop now.

Marshall stated:

I think we must first get to know who we truly are, and I use to know exactly who I was (as you have realized that security must come from inside), but now I have no clue and the feeling is gone. Luckily, I’m not chasing any phantoms presented to me by the system (society, occupation, laws, politics, etc).

I wish you all the best with your hectic schedule, but I have faith that you and your wife are wise beyond your years and know that it is the little things in life that count. I also remember you saying you have read much on Existentialism, which is to say that the best life is the ordinary life embraced fully by the authentic self (the real you). You transition between one job to many, from full-time to part-time, shows me just how open minded you are. It is those who take risks (since you have a family then jobs aren’t exactly something most are willing to move around in) and follow their heart that make not only their own lives richer, but they enrich the lives of myriad people around the world - sometimes in the most unlikely places like a philosophy message board :wink:

It’s getting late here and I have to be up early in the morning, but I do hope we can continue this conversation sometime soon.

Congenially,
~Magius/Gadfly of ILP

It is good to talk to someone who can empathize and give me hope. And i enjoy this personal aspect. Too many times here i have hastily quoted some thinker and put too little of myself on these pages.

You strike me as someone who is not afraid to stand up for his ideals. As someone who expects others to play by the same principles which you yourself follow. That is what i mean by ‘courageous honesty’. I have been hardest on myself and expected little of other people. The best way to change the World is to change yourself, which i have tried to do. But eventually i must stray from my cave and confront the sunshine and other people. How can i possibly maintain the same austerity with others as myself? To do so rubs against my grain, because along with Kant i know that people are always to be treated as ends-in-themselves and never as means-to-my-end. To not do so makes me appear the part of a milquetoast which has failed to live up to his ideal. Perhaps Kierkegaard or some such philosopher has talked about this at great length. I know it has been discussed, but i know not where, perhaps you could help me.

Half my life over and i have barely begun to live, this is how i understand and commiserate with the individual who remains with the gatekeeper in Kafka’s parable. The door was mean’t for him and him alone, but he couldn’t enter just yet.

My wife tells me i grind my teeth in my sleep.

Perhaps the lady who talked to Gilgamesh (ancient babylonian/Sumerian Epic) was not so far from the truth after all when she said something like enjoy food, friends, and the limited days that remain. I have come to count friendship as a rare gift. I enjoy just being with the friends i have. My wife is a also a good friend and we respect each other and love each other very much. We have an understanding that transcends who we are. She is a Christian and i am an atheist but we share a lot of values. I have some family members that are more interested in converting me to their religion or political ideology or just controlling me and i know that they have failed to see me as an end-in-myself therefore i avoid them. The system is starting to lose it’s grip on my soul. God help the system.

Peaceful repose,
Marshall

beautiful board style.
even more beautiful is the contents of this thread.

:blush:

Is it just me Jedi_Pocky, or did it used to be Jedi_Pockey with an e? What think you of the Kafka gatekeeper parable? It truly is magnificent. It is rare for me to achieve this ‘lamentation’ mode, but i guess it is occaisonally necessary. Sorry if i embarrassed you. How goes school Jedi-Pocky?

no E dear marshall. but i notice you used to get it wrong in your Pms. anyway, as per usual, all of kafka’s parables are amazing. the gate keeper parable (also known as ‘before the law’) is wonderful and was also in the castle. horribly and ridiculously absurd. pardon me it is 9 am. i woke at 7pm last night and am about to go to school for the first time in 3 weeks to do continental european philosophy. yay

anyway>

fucking priest guy: ‘it is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary’
K. :‘a melancholy conclusion. it turns lying into a universal principle’.

this, to me, is just beautiful. tsk tsk. im gushy as well. :blush:

I have read noone that is more of a virtuoso with the parable than Kafka. It is probably his best literary device.

coughs Kierkegaard cough coughs The Bible coughs

I have read both, but Kafka’s parables somehow go deeper. They are more psychological or something.

What has happened of Magius? I haven’t seen him post since I’ve returned from my time on the boat.

I am also encountering some problems with the AWESOME dusty green layout. But, I think it is my browser. I can’t seem to get to my profile options. Oh well. I guess I’m going to have to wait until I come to the states.

Oh yeah Pax, you are the man!!! I like GFX’s as well, but I don’t know where to begin to do the stuff you do here. Man, my forum and website is in such a need of a make over it isn’t funny.

Jedi, you said:

I absolutely love this quote, it is totally in line with my philosophy. Could you find out for me who exactly this fucking priest guy is? I don’t need to know who he is fucking though :laughing:

To Moderators:
I am still having problems with DustyGreen. Everytime I log in, read, reply and click SUBMIT, I get an error message and I get asked whether I want to send a report and my entire browser shuts down. I still can’t figure out why it does this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Smooth,
for some reason when you said…“Man, my forum and website is in such a need of a make over it isn’t funny.”…I got a picture of one of those prissy ladies who always has to look perfect and be perfect, you always here them say things like “my nails and hair is in such a need of a make over it isn’t funny” :laughing: . I just thought I would share my funny reminiscing experience — not trying to say you are a women.

Marshall,
it has been a while. I too have enjoyed our personal discussion within this thread, but then I can’t remember a time I didn’t enjoy conversing with you. You are quite right that I am not afraid to stand up for my ideals, but those ideals are so complex that until I have thought them out in great complexity I don’t stand up for them cause I go into automatic doubt mode and I first investigate whether what the opponent has to say is right against my view. Only when I have thought it out well do I see, quite instinctively and within a split second, whether or not what another has to say is a proper critique or not. I agree that I am courageously honest, which is why I had the ‘magnanimous’ title added. I extrapolated more and defended that meaning once against someone who tried to use it against me, but I can’t remember the thread right now. I know it was some dude who came here advertising some other message board…argh, its not coming to me now, and it’s going to bug me until I figure it out. I’ll likely figure it out when I get off the comp.

Marshall stated:

You sound like me. Whenever I had screwed up with anything, I was always the first to scold myself and I would scold myself harder than anyone else. I had great expectations of myself and very little of others. Just recently I have actually found myself having implemented higher values of people and I have begun to weed out many friends out of my life whom I know I should not be around.

Marshall stated:

Applause I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Marshall stated:

I haven’t read Kafka’s parable, but I will look it up in Google. If I should have trouble finding it, do you have any quick reference sites to it?

Marshall stated:

The system still has a tight hold on my soul, in fact it is tighter now than it has ever been before. I use to be energetic, happy, talkative, and always doing 5 things at once. I had atleast 10 hobbies. Now, I am weak, tired, depressed, and the only hobby I have left is this message board → and I have joind Smooth’s message board. How did the system begin to lose its grip on you?

When you say ‘God help the system’, do you mean you are going to strive to change it? Destroy it?

Your friend,
~Magius/Gadfly of ILP