CelticWomanForum.com

Ok, when I first joined this forum I didn't quite understand the rules, but now I think I'm starting to catch on to what's appropriate and what's not. From what I understand so far, no swearing, no bashing, no references to illegal activity, and nothing sexual or suggestive. But I also saw a bulletin that said sexual preferences were inappropriate. Does this mean sexual references? Because that I've gotten down. But so far discussing my orientation seems to be ok with everybody and I don't see why it would be prohibited.
And is there anything else I shouldn't talk about? Just trying to comprehend exactly what the rules are... no offense but the rules listed in Forum Decorum were a bit hard to understand.

Just be nice.

You’ve asked a good, honest question in an honorable manner, and I’m going to show you the respect you deserve and answer it honestly, to the best of my ability.  But it’s not going to be short, so hang in there.

You know what I love about this forum environment?  I love the fact that we’re all blind and completely equal here.  I’ve spent my entire adult life hoping to see the day when we could stop using labels to define people.  As a society, I think we’ve made a lot of progress, but we still have a long road ahead of us.  This forum is one place where nobody is black or white, rich or poor, Jew or gentile, attractive or homely, fat or thin.  (Okay, at least one of us is Fat - with a capital F.  It’s part of my image.)  We’re on equal ground here, and we’re all here for the same good reason.  We share a mutual love and respect for the world of Celtic Woman.  We have them to thank for bringing together a diverse group of fans, without regard for race, religious background, or any other “defining” characteristics.  Does your sexual orientation matter here?  Not one bit.  Am I going to complain if you say a particular woman is very pretty and you’re very attracted to her?  Nope.  Most of the guys here have posted (or, at least, thought about posting) similar sentiments.  Am I going to complain if you post about dreaming of walking into a room and seeing one of the CW ladies lying nude on a waterbed?  You bet I am, and I honestly don’t care whether you’re male of female, gay or straight.  I would not allow anyone to put up such a post.

Starrgurl, I am delighted that you found this forum, and I hope you stick around for a very long time.  I find your posts to be interesting, insightful and fun to read.  And you’re right; I don’t believe your orientation matters to anyone here.  Once or twice you’ve gone a little overboard defining yourself as gay.  But people who are “different” in any way often become defensive in our society.  They sometimes get so accustomed to being ridiculed for their differences that they become aggressively different, as though they were challenging someone to make a discriminatory comment.  I can assure you that isn’t going to happen here.  You’re one of the gang.  Relax and enjoy it.

I agree Rich!

xx Trouble

Good answer, Rich.  And well said.

No matter what I may or may not believe you're entitled to be the being that you are. This is about Celtic Woman and I for one share your love and that of everybody else here. Sialante!

I am kinda new here also so I always have to watch what i say and post. Its a lot harder for a guy coming from car scenes and sports scenes to adjust but so far its been easy for me  ;D. Im used to AOL chat rooms and my car forum, and sports forums that Im a part of and this is not anything like those forums where you can say whatever you feel like besides cussing. This is a place where everybody is friendly and certious and helpful. I can never get mad here LOL. Besides, if you are out of line, there will be people telling you you're out of line on this forum. Its extremely protective. I almost got banned my first day because I asked how old a female was LOL.

Well said Rich!  I also like the fact that we're not *defined* in here, we're all on equal footing. *S*

I have been censored a few times and thought "oh come on now, whats wrong with that?" because the posts didnt use bad language, didnt offend anyone, etc. Seems sometimes a hair trigger is used. But thats ok because:

1. Its tough to be a moderator. They have to use their discretion and someone will always think they should allow this or not allow that. But we should give them some slack, because someone has to make those decissions and be in charge. As in real life, we need an organizational chart, chain of command, whatever you wish to call it and someone has to maintain the objectives of the forum and prevent problems.

2. The objective of the forum is an important thing to consider. This is not really a debate / deep discussion forum, although certainly any forum has some degree of that. (yes maybe I am guilty of pushing the envelope here  :D )

3. I have seen little things end up becoming BIG trouble in forums or chat rooms. The mods seem to be aggressive at stopping such things. After all, the Celtic Woman concept is more about peace / relaxation etc. not getting people fired up , like college fight songs would. Although Mairead does tend to energize things a little bit.

I have been censored a few times also but do understand why. This is not myspace or youtube but rather a soft place to land and spend some time.

As I tried and I tried, I think I made up a list of the ages of the Celtic Woman ladies, but, that day on, it has been taken away for no reason. Is it good or bad? :-\

Why is somebody's age so protected? What is the big deal? I understand social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, even sexual preferences, But age???? Explain.

We remove those topics because several of the CW ladies have expressed their feeling that their age is a private matter.  Mairead, in fact, is quite outspoken about it.  She won't even discuss her age.  Since the ladies (and others from CW) do visit this forum, we choose to respect their privacy.

I can't understand why their ages are so important.  And I strongly suspect that the question would rarely come up if they were a group of men.  I used to watch the Irish Tenors on PBS when Ronan Tynan was still with them, and nobody ever inquired about their ages.

Absolutely, Rich......I agree 100%.

It's a matter of respect.

I agree that it is out of respect..  The only reason I ask the "age" question is because I am a vocal performance major who is still fairly young (22) and my voice has not "settled".  Meaning my higher range is fine but, middle and lower range are not as full as Méav's for example and as I get older my voice will settle and those parts of my voice will fill out.  I know a lot of singers in my situation tend to ask the age question because we hear a voice similar to ours that has settled and are curious as to how old the person is...it's kinda like the light at the end of a frustrating tunnel when we hear they are relatively close to our age.  For me it is more of an educational question than anything else... I hope this makes sense to some people.

perfect sense to me and I cant believe I never thought of it that way!

*kicks self* doh!   lol my lower register and my high register as of late are playing real tricks on me and the docs even thought for awhile I might have swollen lymph nodes or whatever.... thank goodness for a misdiagnosis there!

I have to say that's the first good, logical reason I've heard.  Not being anything resembling a singer myself, I have no knowledge of such things.

But we're still not gonna answer the question.  (http://www.ropescorner.com/smileys/icon_rofl.gif)

I wish to apologize for the "explain" comment that ended my last post in this section. It showed a lack of respect that I did not intend. OFG I do respect all the moderators and members of this forum and will refrain from any more publivc questioning of policy.

Thank you!

On the voice thing: Believe me, it gets quite frustrating.
On the age thing: I have a pretty good guess as to how old they are by using a little logic and I'm beginning to see "the light at the end of the tunnel" which is all I need. But, thought I'd voice my reason.

I agree with Rich, totally makes sense. I have to admit the age thing baffled me at first, but one of the things I've come to really appreciate about this forum is the respect we all have for the girls' privacy and personal lives.

There's only one reason why age is such a big deal for CW or most members in here. Its because they're FEMALE!!! LOL.   Guys dont really care about telling their age but women do and believe me, I got in trouble once for predicting a woman's age wrong.  ;D

I never could figure out why age is such a big deal since anyone's age can be found on the internet.

I'm glad topics regarding age are removed from the forums.  I personally don't mind sharing my age, but that is my choice.  I completely and totally respect someone else's choice to NOT share their age.  And if ANY of the CW ladies at any time prefer to not share this, then I think we should respect their choice.  Yes, this information is available on the 'net, but it doesn't mean it should be on the forums.  I love that we all respect the ladies' privacy.  I firmly believe they give us SOOO much already...how could we ask for anything more?!

That's a fallacy, if the info was readily available, there wouldn't have been so many trying to guess the ages of the CW ladies that prefer to keep their ages private.  I'll agree that you can find out a lot on the net, but not everyone is listed.

That's humiliating! I can't believe it! :-[ :-[ :-[

hey I admit to 29. ;D


Jim

when you think about it, once you hit 21, why get any older? I guess when you hit 59 1/2 it becomes important for retirement, pension, tax, and health insurance issues though. But from 21 until 59 1/2, age sort of doesnt matter, in a way, if you see what I mean?

Back to Starrgurl's concern: What Rich said. Your orientation matters not. I'm a straight guy with a crush on Lisa. That's fine to mention here (I have on occasion). Of course, anything beyond that is not respectful to the ladies of CW or other members and is inappropriate for our teen members.

If I haven't said it before, it's good to have yet another voice here singing the praises of CW!

As for the age thing, I can see where the tension comes from. People often want to know an age simply as a means of identifying with someone. For instance, Brooke Shields and I are almost exactly the same age. I identify with her as part of my generation, especially since she's been famous since we were 12. We have "grown up together" if you like. Bono is about five years older than I am so he would be more like an older brother figure. It's just part of how we sort things out relationally.

But women can get judged harshly for their age. Just the other day I saw a post on a forum where a guy said a certain actress should be shoved in a hole and buried simply because she's 39. Never mind that she's a beautiful woman on a top-rated TV show. You know he wouldn't say that about his favorite male actor. Me, I would be bragging about my age if I had looked as good as her at 39 (I didn't.) I don't think she hides her age but it'd be her prerogative is she wants to. Same thing here.

i agreed with everything you said. I am also a straight guy with a crush on lisa and chloe but i know my limits. I know the chances of me hooking up with any of the CW is second to none so its just a fun crush.

And as for the age thing. I would like to know a women's age so when i chat with them, i know how to act. People act a little different when you know what age they are. I act a little different when I am talkin to elders or people over 35. Im in my 20's so I might feel more comfortbable talkin to people around my age. Its very well put as identifying someone.

One thing about the internet si that sometimes you never know how old a person is in teh beginning. I have made friends  (and become writing partners) with people where there is a large age gap and others who are close to my age. ( Neither of us knew the others age.)

 if a person flat out tells you that they do not wan't to discuss age, then I think one should do the polite thing and not mention it again.

IMHO

Jim

I'm not entirely sure what point you're trying to make.  But I want to expand slightly on two things.  First of all, we on this forum are not chatting with someone; we're chatting about them.  Secondly, I understand perfectly the natural curiosity about the ladies' ages.  But several of the CW performers choose to keep that information private, and we choose to respect that.  That's all there is to it.

Rich, I agree. If I may add my two cents. Everyone is sensitive about something. I have mentioned my age several times when it was pertinent to the conversation, but that is me, It's never been a big deal to me. As for wanting to know someones age so you know how to act around them I think the real answer to that is that you talk to everyone with respect regardless of their sex, age,  whether you agree with what their saying or not.

I'll just throw in my two cents too, LOL.  People, especially women are judged by their age by society.  I stopped going into the chatroom when someone made a comment about me being old...so I just stopped going there.  I don't have a problem telling my age (I've worked hard to get here) but others do and we need to respect that.

I agree with you wholeheartedly.... and I'm sorry someone caused you to abandon the chatroom....

Chava, I'm so sorry anyone would make you feel like you do not want to be in the chatroom. I really hope you can find your way back to the chat. There are many of us who would miss you. If you have any further "rather rude comments about your age" please notify one of the moderators or Rich/Aislin.

<3 Lauren

I want to thank everyone for their supportive comments.  The event happened a while ago and I really did get over it.  As a teacher (and I'm always teaching) let me share something about inappropriate topics and comments that I teach to my students and my own children.   I'm sorry is a good thing to say  BUT it not a cure all.  I tell my kids to say I'm sorry if they hurt someone's feelings, but I'm sorry doesn't take away the hurt.  It is like throwing feathers in the wind.  You can say you're sorry you did it, but you will never recover all the feathers again...the damage cannot be totally fixed.  We need to think before we speak and act, and not just cover everything with "I'm Sorry" .  Ok, I'm off my soapbox now!

Well said..... and now that you said/ wrote that you got me thinking of a sign that my high school math teacher had hanging in his room.... and according to him, he hung it on his first day of teaching and just left it there........

Sorry is not Enough
A change in behavior
Is what is Needed


Truer words were never spoken I think.

Both of those statements are so true!
Chava I hope your students appreciate what a great teacher they have. Not only in classroom lesson, but equally in life lessons. Cudos to you.

(http://www.ropescorner.com/smileys/022711.gif)   :D
You're a wise, good person, Chava.

So are you Rich ...... but everyone has raised some good poiints here what is acceptable and what's not.

Thank you.  But I have an advantage.  I make the rules.  (http://www.ropescorner.com/smileys/nyahnyah.gif)

(http://www.ropescorner.com/smileys/soccer.gif)

touche!!!!!!!!

Every organization needs rules and boundaries. Anarchy is a poor option. I am very grateful to rich and all the others folks who watch this forum closely and guard it against trouble. The only thing that matters here is our common bond of love for these ladies and the family we've established with each other here. I've never been involved with an online forum before and find all of this a very pleasant experience. Age and other personal things that our CW ladies don't wish to share are the fodder for the tabloids. I don't need to know anything that any of the folks at CW whatever their capacity don't wish to share. The same goes for all of you. I respect your privacy and hope all here do as well. One thing I learned though a long time ago is that in the human experience you cannot go through life and not be offended. The key for it all is to never offend intentionally and to apologize when you do inadvertently. Thanks again for holding the reins just tight enough to keep it on the straight and narrow.

Thank you.  We know there are times when we err on the side of caution, and that may come out looking a bit heavy-handed.  But this is an inexact science, and we'd rather be accused of being too careful than not enough.

AMEN!

Another inappropriate topic: Critics. Especially for the New York Times.  :-X :D

I don't want to know thier birthdays...I'm just glad they were born!!!

You and the rest of us nutters!

Question Regarding YouTube and uploading parts of CW DVDs currently for sale:  Isn't that copyright infringement, and if so, should we be promoting YouTube videos of this material (i.e. YouTube video of Chloe's "Vivaldi's Rain") on this site?  I understand that the material is not being sold, but don't the laws cover free content as well?

BTW...I am only referring to content that comes directly from the DVDs currently on sale.

Thanks!   :)

Excellent question, and one that thousands of webmasters are struggling with right now.  Last fall, YouTube removed nearly 30,000 videos after being contacted by a number of Japanese rights-holders, according to the Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC).  YouTube is legally bound to police their content for illegal posts.  So far, the attitude in the rest of the Internet community is that the content is YouTube's responsibility.  We're not posting the actual videos here; we're just hotlinking to them.  And YouTube not only permits hotlinking, they encourage it.  If, by some chance, the video is removed, the link on our forum will simply stop working.

Personally I think if you love the group and respect their rights and talent you should buy their CDs and DVDs not snag them for free. I'm just as strapped for money as many but I'll save my pennies and support our ladies not just at a concert but at the store. Maybe it is different if you like just one song from an artist and thats it and you download it, but that still is fudging a bit. No disrespect to those who do that but it just seems inconsistent to steal from someone you love. The YouTube things that you can't get anywhere else are another thing though, like interviews and non-production videos. I'm such a techno-trog I couldn't do it if I wanted to anyway. Cheers!

I always wondered that. You can practicly get the whole ANJ on youtube (which i have in my favorites though i also bought the dvd). And not only CW you can check out. You can also check out other materials also. I wondered why Youtube or people who post the videos never get any lawsuit in terms of copyright enfringement?

01 June 2007
From ITWire, an excellent Australian technology portal:

Shock: YouTube not sued but signs deal instead

EMI finally joins Warner, Sony BMG and Universal in licensing music videos to the world’s largest and most popular video sharing and viewing service, YouTube – with no lawsuit!

As well known for collecting billion dollar lawsuits as being the world’s online video destination, and for having been bought by Google for a whopping US $1.65 billion dollars, YouTube has proven that it still has friends out there after announcing a new agreement with EMI Music.

YouTube’s statement explains that YouTube users “now have unprecedented access to authorized videos and recordings from EMI Music artists, including those featured in user generated content” – although some artists, such as the Beatles, will be precluded from inclusion in the deal, as is still the case with iTunes.

Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-founder of YouTube said that “With this deal, all four of the world’s major music companies are now official YouTube partners. EMI is a proven leader in the emerging digital music landscape and one of the world’s largest and most respected music companies. We’re excited to add EMI Music’s stellar roster of artists’ content to our site and make it available to our community.”

Before Google’s purchase of YouTube, Warner, Sony and Universal took a small stake in YouTube as part of their similar licensing agreements. Whether EMI was able to partake of a similar arrangement was not disclosed.

Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group, said: “Working with YouTube under this agreement meets EMI’s objectives to offer consumers the best possible entertainment experiences, to create new ways to connect our artists to fans and to enter into innovative business models that will generate revenues for our business and our creators. YouTube has quickly established itself as a stand-out fan favorite because it’s a site that taps into what people want and also consistently delivers a good experience. Through this agreement EMI Music and its artists will be fairly compensated for their work.”

Artists such as David Bowie, Coldplay, Fatboy Slim, Norah Jones, Gorillaz, Lily Allen, The Decemberists, and ‘YouTube Video Award winners’ OK Go, known for their famous treadmill video ‘Here It Goes Again’ that achieved massive popularity last year and Sick Puppies, who scored a hit with their hugely popular ‘Free Hugs’ video.

The videos are naturally professionally produced, and at are users disposal to insert parts thereof into their own user-generated content (mash up) that can only be uploaded, legally at any rate, to YouTube, solving the problem of users getting the content from other sources and using part of it in their own content with prior permission.

Naturally, there is a revenue sharing component to the deal, with EMI working with YouTube (and naturally, YouTube’s owner, Google), to “monetize the content and compensate its artists”, presumably through target text and video advertising, although specific details of the advertising in mind or the financial agreement itself were not disclosed.

They’re using YouTube’s content identificiation and reporting system, giving EMI complete visibility into the status and usage of their content across the YouTube network, alongside giving them the ability to “request the removal of EMI’s copyrighted content from YouTube” if they find something they don’t like.

Google’s share price broke through the US $500 barrier for the first time in 5 months following the news, although closed just under the $500 mark at the close of trade, in a sign the stock market thought well of the deal, although remembering that Google is worth US $500 a share is certainly as eye-opening as any popular YouTube video.

One thing’s for sure: when the inevitable stock market correction comes, the news reports will find themselves uploaded to YouTube, quite possibly mashed up with suitable elements from EMI, Sony BMG, Warner or Universal.

In the meantime, YouTube users who’ve wanted to use EMI owned content can breathe a sigh of relief and hope that now only will YouTube resolves its other lawsuits, but continue growing further on the path to one day delivering ‘YouTube HD’ in high def!

Odd that this, of all things, should be singled out, since, as others have said, the entire Helix Concert, Slane Castle, and now, much of the rest of Chloe's DVD, is available (interviews from the DVDs included) on YouTube.

I agree that it would be a shame if any of the TV performances were deleted, as those are only available on YouTube and nowhere else.

I imagine that every company (e.g., Celtic Woman Ltd) weighs the pros vs. the cons of YouTube clip posting, and if they believe that the publicity value outweights the detriments, then they turn a blind eye.

It's hard to say whether the posting of clips means less DVD sales, or more. I'd bet it's the latter (people being prompted to buy DVDs after seeing attractive clips online), but it would be hard to quantify.

Am I reading this right?  Celtic Woman can now get some revenue from all of the clips posted on YouTube?  That's great!  They did the work, they deserve the revenue!

The label and the artist(s) are compensated under the licensing agreement for posted music videos (and some concert footage, depending on who owns it).  YouTube receives money from its advertisers, and this money is shared with their partners when someone views a video covered by the agreement.  This is why YouTube encourages hotlinking; it increases the exposure of the video, thereby increasing everyone's revenue stream.  Concert videos captured on someone's camera phone, or from a TV broadcast, are still considered a violation of the copyright and are not included in the agreement.

That's great!  I'm glad to see that not only is CW getting more exposure through YouTube, now they will get some revenue as well.   ;D

Im confused.... why do tv broadcasts not count Rich?

That's video captured from a TV broadcast by a home viewer and posted illegally.

ok... ty

I think from now on I will stick to my ANJ DVD..... which actually needs to get replaced very soon...... its messing up during Dulaman and I just cant have that...lol

It states, "The (label-produced) videos ... are at users disposal to insert parts thereof into their own user-generated content (mash up) that can only be uploaded, legally at any rate, to YouTube, solving the problem of users getting the content from other sources..."

If I'm reading it right: The label will post official CW videos of individual songs. I can make, for example, a tribute video stitched together ONLY from parts of the officially posted clips (so I'll be at their mercy depending on which songs they want to put up) but I can't use material from DVDs or TV broadcasts. Nor can I use any one song in its entirety. And I can only post my end result on YouTube - no place else. I can hotlink to it, though.

So, the tribute videos I made of Orlagh..... are those legal or illegal?

Consult your attorney.  ;D As far as I can tell, they need to be made from the officially released clips (whenever those go up).

(The legal advice offered by this completely unqualified person is not represented as being superior to the legal advice of any other person with a computer and an internet connection.)

Okay now I really have to meet Meav!....... lol jk!!


thanks..... Im still not sure because I just used pictures of her to make the videos