Hey Destee,

i don't know if it's just me, but i've noticed that you have more male moderators and columnists and than you do female. (though it is nice to be surrounded and working with black men. if i had a staff i might find the ratio of men to women to be higher. :D)

anyway, i noticed that all but one (i think) columnist is a man. i would like to see an outspoken woman with her on column here on destee. you know, to give a voice and space to some of the thing we go through.

what you think?

you would...

see it that way. i just would like to see female columnist here to give a more different voice.

conservative and chauvinistic...

i ask for a woman because you, Kem seem to be more on the conservative and chauvinistic side. woman tend to be more open-minded.

now am i envious of not being surrounded by men. nah, sometimes there is way too much testestrone (sp) flying from your direction. ;)

now don't start with me Kemestry. I'd might have to meet you in the chatroom to deliver you another cyberbeatdown. :D

Hey Thandiwe,

Yes, I have noticed how men overwhelm the responsibilities here on the forum. I am rather partial to 'em ... :) ... but their dominance happened so very naturally ... everything here does. We have just grown (and are still growing) into our selves. All of the positions here on Destee are volunteer, and I'm grateful to those who have generously made themselves available to us.

Now, I like your suggestion and am thinking, hmmmm ...
an outspoken female columnist ........... :idea: ........... Thandiwe !!

... sounds like she's volunteer'n ta me! :love:

What do you think Kemetstry,
does it sound like Thandiwe has volunteered
... to nurture the bond yall have? :eeek:

:lol: this is gonna be fun!

Thandiwe, it would be an honor to have you as a columnist here. If interested, let me know what you'd like your byline to be (keep it brief, similiar to the others).

One more thing Thandiwe, I wanna be at the next cyberbeatdown, so post the date and time :toast:

:heart:

Destee

opened mouth, now insert foot... :D

well i didn't consider myself, as a candidate, afterall i don't consider myself an expert in anything but my own opinions. and now that i've said that "inloud", i'm thinking, "why not?"

yes, it would be honor for me to be a columnist here. i hope i'm not too rough around the edges. LOL!

now about the next chatroom beatdown, well we might have to charge for that one. people would pay to see Kem get beat down like Iron Mike in his last fight!

actually Kem was quite, well i'll save that for the next showdown. ;)

your secret safe for now, Mr. "Toughman" Kemetstry.

(((((((okay, co'mere yall, Kem was actually kinda nice and almost gentlemanly.)))))

okay, this about sums it up...

for a byline,

Sometimes trivial, sometimes antagonistic, and sometimes fun, but only an expert in only my own opinions, and even that might change. Now let's talk!

no doubt, it ain't easy...

never said it was, but i'm always down for a new challenge.

btw, nothing wrong with you as a columnist, you're just a man. :laugh:

and yes, if hair weaves are on my mind then yes, i'd talk about it. like i said, sometimes thing i talk about are trivial. but you know, sometimes good conversation come out of the trivial. glad to see you finally made your appearance. ;)

Hey Thandiwe :wave:

Welcome ~ Welcome ~ Welcome

I've created your forum and used a different byline, something shorter. If you don't like it, give me something else with approximately the same length and I'll change it.

I'm not worried about "rough around the edges" because ... well ... you are FEMALE! ... :lol: ... those rough edges won't be there long ... if they exist at all! :wink: You are joining a great group of writers, represent Sis! :)

Looking forward to reading your articles! :toast:

:heart:

Destee

well here we go, again thanks Destee!

can you change the byline? i'm not the voice of every woman just my own. how about something to indicate that my opinions are just that, my own.

No Thandiwe, Thank You !!! :)

I didn't mean to imply, with that byline, that you are speaking for all women. Sorry for the misunderstanding. What I was trying to capture, was the essence in which your forum was created ... your concern that females were not properly represented.

Sorry I didn't use your previous byline, but it was too long and I couldn't pick anything out of it, that would also speak to the above. You are more than welcome to change it, post it and I'll put exactly what you want this time. :)

I think it's a given, that your opinion is only your own. I'm sure your articles will stimulate, enlighten and encourage the thinking of all who read them, perhaps having them change their opinions. Yes, you are speaking for yourself, but you are also speaking to many. So if possible, you want to include them at every opportunity, including your byline (in my humble opinion). Yes, you are speaking for yourself, but many will recognize themselves in your writing. Yes, while it's all about you, it aint really, all about you. :)

You are a "public person" now. You belong to your fans! Your countrymen ... or should I say ... countrywomen ... :lol: ... wait I see Kemetstry in the crowd ... yessss ... You belong to your countrymen and countrywomen! Your life is no longer your own, you must always consider your loyal readers! :)

:toast: Hail To Queen Thandiwe :toast:

One suggestion, you may want to properly format your sentences, like capital letters and stuff. :wink: Actually, it is this reason that I don't consider myself a "writer." I want to regularly throw some vernacular in the mix, or not capitalize everything all the time, and let's not even mention run-on sentences ... :eeek:

I'm honored that you'd accept the challenge. I know you know that you are at home, amongst friends and family, so take your time in smoothing out the rough edges ... as we all celebrate the birth of Columnist Thandiwe!

:heart:

Destee

the lack of capitalization is kinda my own pet peeves. i kinda like going against the grain. i like challenging the way things have been done before. i always want to write somewhat like i speak. so yes you will see things that aren't done in the "proper" way. afterall, who determines or determined what is proper. that's what i do, i like to disrupt the old way of doing things, not to be dictated. it's my own way of fighting against the establishment the white folx built. ;) so i like being the "usual" columnist. everyone needs something to set them apart. also, i've found on discussion boards that people often get intimidated by others who are better writer or able to better express themselves. so the way i do things is also a way of saying, encouraging others to be themselves.

Destee, you explain the byline, it's cool. just so that others know that i'm trying to rule the section.

and Kem, why you laughing? you caught a sight of yourself in the mirror this morning. :laugh: it 's just love Kem. If i didn't like you, well, it wouldn't really matter to you anyway. ;)

p.s. i also adopted the small letters in my posting because my niece had dropped a little ballbearing in my keyboard and i couldn't use the shift button for a while. LOL!

Thandiwe ... I've changed things a little bit. Instead of having your forum under "Columnists" I moved it into the "Open Forum," under Kemetstry's forum. I renamed it and added more of a description. This way no protocol is required. You can do it however you'd like. :)

Let me know what you think.

:heart:

Destee

that's cool....i do think the open forum is more appropriate.

i don't mean to be a pain in the, well you know,(too late,huh?) but i can you make one minor change. I don't want the brothas to feel unwelcome, in fact, i want them to participate more. so how about changing it to - The Brothas are welcome too!

Thandiwe, you and this request are no trouble at all ... it's done.

Thanks again for the suggestion and being willing to give of
yourself to make it a reality.

:heart:

Destee

:)