I'm struggling to understand your point here.
I honestly agree with everything you said here. I thought chillwig's comment was dead on. When you say that we should rank them by stupidity, it doesn't come off as a joke at all.
I think maybe you misunderstood my comment?

@ericwyman said:

@JMart said:

@ericwyman said: [quote]
This is a perfect example of utter bullshit.

I'm coming to believe that the ever-widening and harshening (is that a word? it is now!) of opinions and the response to those opinions is a direct influence of the internet on phish as well as our culture (cf every time politics is brought up on this site and, well, politics in general). Each take has to be hotter than the last and the ability to intelligently disagree has seemingly vanished. there's no way any of us would talk this rudely to each other at a show in person, or to our friends and acquaintances, coworkers, etc. We'd be ostracized. But it's the internet, so we don't have to do anything but flame away, sit back, and eat some more cheetos.

All of that having been said, it really does count for something attending the shows and I wish the site leaders would try to find reviewers who were actually AT the show. I was there Saturday. It wasn't the best show ever, but I had a ton of fun regardless.

More on this from Raleigh, where I'll be in attendance and writing the review. Have fun tonight in Camden everyone.

Let's play this game. Would you mind expanding on what exactly is "a perfect example of utter bullshit"?

Was it where @chillwig provided a crystal clear list of the ways in which the majority discussion have personally attacked the author and attempted to demean his ability to formulate valid personal opinions without 99 comments of agreement? Or was it when I made the joke about ranking them by stupidity. The joke is the ranking, the stupidity is the truth.

This is the perfect fan of Phish as I can tell. They use terms like "The boys" and "The Phish from Vermont," it shows their close personal connection to the performers and also that they've been around. They can heap praise upon each and every performance, regardless of whether it's warranted or not. But they never ever ever provide a critical thought that would create an illusion that they don't truly love this band. Sure you can throw a little shade to a predetermined set of songs (definitely not anything from 1.0 though) but you follow it up with a complement... "The Line is not a song I personally enjoy that much, but the boys really knocked it out of the park." That would seem to be the acceptable form of criticism.

Now we can unpack what happened prior to that. Comment #2

@WOMBAT_EN_FUEGO

My initial interpretation of this review is that the author has a tough time enjoying him/herself these days?

The only explanation for YOU is that the author "must not --clap,clap-- be able --clap,clap-- to enjoy --clap,clap-- himself --clap,clap-- anymore. That's the discourse. "Sorry you don't know how to have a good time man." That was your choice. Not to engage and maybe ask a "thoughtful" question. One that might invite the author to expand upon his original idea. Surely not all communication is limited to a single opportunity to make a point. Surely I can disagree with you and try to understand your perspective? Have we reached the zero sum game? Just right and wrong, pick a side.

And then, moving forward, people were emboldened and they insulted him personally, sbout his love for the band. about his ability to enjoy quite literally ANYTHING, and my favorite that said he was bad at sex.

The bottom line here is that this thread only hardens the point that the community present, doesn't appreciate the kind of honest criticism (funny that I've never once found someone who worries about the feelings of the producers of the walking dead when another said an episode sucked) that @bertoletdown was comfortable contributing. He still loves the band, I asked him privately. Vultures is still a relative piece of shit performance wise.

@JMart you do you on you're recap. But your take here is built upon an argument reliant on the stereotypes of internet trolls, they're fat and rude, disrespectful even, and that those individuals are here to start shit. @chillwig created a bulleted list with the behavior and the motivation of some behaviors exhibited in this thread. That's not being a troll. That's being learned.

And then you plead with "Site Leaders" to "try to find reviewers who were actually AT the show" (see @chillwig #2), well this happens every single tour. I can say with confidence that these site leaders make considerable effort to find people who can create quality review content AND be in attendance at the show. That's not possible every time out, some people choose to volunteer their time in spite of being remote. Maybe one of them can address that with you personally.

But your basic criticism will always be my favorite, ears don't work if the sound comes through the internet.