I started this poll as a follow up to the thread by TIMTAK. You can see that thread here:
http://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/index.php?topic=15593.0I realize that the result will be a bit skewed because those that have felt this is a place of deception are probably gone.
Remember.... you can vote and not post a response. This way you can have an anonymous vote. So vote honestly.
However.......I would LOVE to see your comments as well
You will have to vote to see the results!
I see this as very much a place of happiness. A place where a group of baldies come together to celebrate baldness, plus a ton of other things. Sure, there are some unhappy guys here, most of which would have been searching the internet for 'baldness' or 'hair loss' and they stumbled upon this site, and sure, those guys are welcome too. But to me, this is very much a happy site. I like the feeling of brotherhood (even if we sometimes fight like cat and dog

), I like knowing that there are many guys out there who understand where I'm coming from wrt baldness, and I like the fact that we can all talk about it openly.
Deception? Horse sh1t.
I would agree with Andy. The only change I would make is bullshit instead of horseshit. Thank you, thank you very much.
You could be right, but as a city boy, I always assumed horse sh1t was more pungent than the bull variety, but either type of sh1t would apply
Expect the best and it has been for the best for the most part.
The good out ways the bad. Since I could easily say 990 good things about the site out of 1000, it isn't fair to mention or cast an opinion on the 10 not-so-good things.

But, unfortunately, I believe that is why some great "core" members have decided not to contribute...or not to contribute as much anymore.
There are some deceptive people who post on the forum, but in no way are they the majority nor is the site itself deceptive. Our friend implies that we are deceiving ourselves when we say there are no adverse consequences to being bald. I don't think any of us are so foolish as to believe that some people will react very negatively to our baldness. But the same thing is true about other attributes - race, religion, ethnicity to name a few. It's called bigotry. I don't think any of us have ever denied that it exists. Our advice has always been to plow ahead because we don't think bigotry and narrow-mindedness should run our lives.
This forum is for those of us who enjoy being bald to talk to each other about a variety of topics. I described it one of my posts as being like a neighborhood bar or pub where a bunch of people meet to talk. While we share our love of being bald, we have different ideas and views. We don't always agree, but that makes it fun. There's nothing deceitful about that!
But at the same time it seems to me a little, from the responses that I get to other posts, that this forum is about deception, self-deception: persuading oneself that being bald or balding is not considered to be negative.
Sometimes people overthink things--if it's not complicated why?

Persuading--wrong word, wrong sense, wrong direction!

It's discovery but like so many discoveries you have to be open to the discovery that your own perception of balding has been entirely wrong. The word should be
Discovery!

Hence, I think most of the guys here could say without reservation that, ". . .
discovering for oneself that being bald or balding is not considered to be negative."
Sly as part of the language can morph--and SBG is part of that process too. If precise, scientific usage was the goal this site would be set forth in Latin or classic Greek. It's not!
I think saintc hit the nail directly upon its proverbial little round head when he talked about some people over-thinking.
But in terms of whether this site is deceptive in/by nature, in my humble opinion, definitely not.
IMO... the sly forum in NOT a place of deception. 4 the most part... this forum has many quality members that make this the best forum on the internet in terms of support & encouragement. i'm sure everyone (most) will agree that U will not find a more supportive & diverse group on the internet.

WARHAWK
Good post/thread......
I for one do not see this site as a place of deception. It is a great place for support, camaraderie, discussion of all things bald (and not bald). I see it as a fraternity. And as I am sure it goes in most fraternities, there will always be some disagreements/fights about things. But for the most part when that happens here, it is dealt with swiftly and maturely and business resumes as normal.
I think that people (both veteran members and newbies) who see this site as a place of deception or get offended about seemingly trivial stuff, take what they read too literally. However, that is sometimes the nature of forums/text-based discussions. What I mean that that with just seeing the written word without the poster's intent behind their words, the message may end up getting "lost in translation." I've been a member for 4 years and have see it happen time and time again. And I'm sure that some core members have left or lurkers didn't sign up as a result. But I still think this is the best forum on the net!
Andy - -You are on the money - - - - -Any of the guys who feel deceived have a bunch of other problems also