Forum Guidelines

[BeTheReds]

This is not set in concrete, but this is the general flow of what kinds of discussion this forum should be used for.

Being that Yellowworld is the site for Asian-Americans to "cultivate a politcal consicousness" this forum is about hapas and their place in relation to Asian Americans and Asian-American issues. It is also a place to discuss what the hapa role is or should be in an Asian American activist community, or in relation to Asian Americans in general. This forum is also to discuss significant issues that hapas face in society as Asian-Americans, as well as comparing and contrasting the issues and experiences of hapas with those of non-hapa Asian-Americans, or with each other. Finally, this forum's very existence can be used to attract hapas to YW who sometimes may have otherwise had no exposure to Asian-American issues. By all means, non-hapa members are welcome to post, start threads, and ask questions, as we know it is important to facilitate understanding.

It is not:
A place to celebrate hapa celebrities and their achievement in furthering a hapa community seperate from Asian-Americans.

A place to discuss the merits and shortcomings of interracial dating in itself (especially by monoracials). (How it affects one's upbringing on the other hand is fair game by all means.)

A place to discuss about ways to form a hapa community with totally seperate issues from Asian-American issues. (Debating on if there is a need for one on the other hand is fair game.)

A place to hijack a thread and tell everyone your life story.

A place to post pictures of yourself or ask other people to do the same so you can prove or disprove a hapa beauty myth. Pictures can go in the member gallery.


Again this is not concrete. It will continually change as time goes by.

2 edits so far...

[BeTheReds]

Opened for feedback.

[kitty]

A place to post pictures of yourself

...or hapa celebrities?

[BeTheReds]

...or hapa celebrities?

Well, they can do that if they want to, but I am going to move them to the Arts and Entertainment forum, as they are more relevant there.

[kitty]

fine by me. I just hate having bunches of threads in the hapa forum that are basically "ooh... look this hapa celebrity is soo cute".

I warn you... I'll prolly close them if they are in AE :)

[BeTheReds]

Once they are moved, they are not my problem! :p

[SynRG]

I understand that this is a AA site that focuses mainly on AA Political issues, and that you guys have decided to include hapas in the discussion (which I commend this site for, I know there are times I haven't felt so welcome at other AA sites). However, by discouraging "celebrat hapa celebrities and their achievement in furthering a hapa community seperate from Asian-Americans" and discussion "about ways to form a hapa community with seperate issues from Asian-American issues," aren't you in a way trying to push an identity on us that must be consistent with that of full blooded Asian Americans?

I feel like you're trying to push your opinion on how hapas [i]should act and think here by telling us we can only talk about issues relevant to the Asian American community and not the hapa community (yeah yeah I know you don't beleive there is one, but alot of us do), and if you're gonna do that, then why even have a hapas forums on these boards, particularly in the "communities" section? We might as well just post on those issues in all the other forums designed just for them.

Don't get me wrong, like I said this site is geared towards Asian Americans and if that's what your trying to push, that's totally fine. There are lots of other sites I can go to to talk about hapa/eurasian issues, and maybe this one just isn't for me.

However I do think with your current setup you're discouraging alot of hapas from posting here, and IMO doesn't warrant a whole forum dedicated to hapas if you're not gonna let us be hapa.

[BeTheReds]

Well a lot of what you said does make sense. I think it is precisely for this reason that this is one of the only sites that has no Korean forum, no Japanese forum, no Chinese forum etc etc. I am told that at the beginning of YW's timeline, some moderators were opposed to having a hapa forum. They cited the same reasons that you did, basically that this site is for Asian-Americans and any hapa that was interested in AA issues could simply post in any of the other forums.

However we cannot ignore that certain issues would affect AAs and Hapas differently, and oftentimes there are instances where the two identities may clash. This is why this forum is here.

I am in no way trying to force an identity on anyone. Even had I not posted the guidelines, the majority of the mixed folks who are regulars tend to be ones who lean towards a side, (or shun another, if you want to put it that way...) while the ones who thought there was a need for a seperate hapa community or felt that there already was one moved on until they found what they were looking for.

[kimpossible]

I understand that this is a AA site that focuses mainly on AA Political issues, and that you guys have decided to include hapas in the discussion (which I commend this site for, I know there are times I haven't felt so welcome at other AA sites). However, by discouraging "celebrat hapa celebrities and their achievement in furthering a hapa community seperate from Asian-Americans" and discussion "about ways to form a hapa community with seperate issues from Asian-American issues," aren't you in a way trying to push an identity on us that must be consistent with that of full blooded Asian Americans?

I feel like you're trying to push your opinion on how hapas [i]should act and think here by telling us we can only talk about issues relevant to the Asian American community and not the hapa community (yeah yeah I know you don't beleive there is one, but alot of us do), and if you're gonna do that, then why even have a hapas forums on these boards, particularly in the "communities" section? We might as well just post on those issues in all the other forums designed just for them.

Don't get me wrong, like I said this site is geared towards Asian Americans and if that's what your trying to push, that's totally fine. There are lots of other sites I can go to to talk about hapa/eurasian issues, and maybe this one just isn't for me.

However I do think with your current setup you're discouraging alot of hapas from posting here, and IMO doesn't warrant a whole forum dedicated to hapas if you're not gonna let us be hapa.

If what you're saying is why isn't this hapa forum like the other ones already out there, in return I would ask you why should this one be just like them? Wouldn't it be a boon to provide a different focus? We provide links to other hapa forums and will post any other web resources available and I would be one of the first to say that there are other hapa forums that specialize in something like a spin-off hapa community. Hapas.com does this quite well in my opinion with famous hapas and community spirit. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, if someone else is doing it well we like to network to them.

I think your assessment of the focus of the YW hapa forum is intuitive, it's one forum out of many on what is obviously an Asian American website, but I find importance to that in itself. As mixed Asians, we do interact with full-blooded Asians and I think that is valuable source of discussion and viewpoint. We're not trying to force a choice of identity of any mixed blood Asian but instead host a forum that is part of the larger Asian American picture. The point isn't to be the biggest or the most famous hapa forum, merely to provide a different outlet for discussion that focuses more on being a person of partial Asian descent in relation to Asians and culture than having a separate hapa identity.

What does letting a hapa act like a hapa entail? Technically I'm mixed blood but I don't know how to act like a hapa?

[coagulated fat]

Yeah, for real. I don't have any specific problem with the guidelines, but I resent the fact that they exist. Also if we don't stay on topic, who cares? I don't like it when people start on a tangent about their life story either, but tangents often lead to better discussions than the original issue, and how is that bad?

[SunWuKong]

frink and CF, i believe BTR specifically said that all this is not concrete. i think the best thing that you can do is just use your common sense. BTR is not a nazi (like me). :)

and as far as tangents go, if they get out of hand, then it's always better to start a new thread, no?

[SunWuKong]

Well a lot of what you said does make sense. I think it is precisely for this reason that this is one of the only sites that has no Korean forum, no Japanese forum, no Chinese forum etc etc. I am told that at the beginning of YW's timeline, some moderators were opposed to having a hapa forum. They cited the same reasons that you did, basically that this site is for Asian-Americans and any hapa that was interested in AA issues could simply post in any of the other forums.

However we cannot ignore that certain issues would affect AAs and Hapas differently, and oftentimes there are instances where the two identities may clash. This is why this forum is here.

I am in no way trying to force an identity on anyone. Even had I not posted the guidelines, the majority of the mixed folks who are regulars tend to be ones who lean towards a side, (or shun another, if you want to put it that way...) while the ones who thought there was a need for a seperate hapa community or felt that there already was one moved on until they found what they were looking for.

to be honest, reading the posts in this forum has revealed to me a lot of things that i didn't know about mixed people before. i don't go to sites that specfically cater to mixed people, so i'm not sure i would have known about these things if not for this forum.

[coagulated fat]

frink and CF, i believe BTR specifically said that all this is not concrete. i think the best thing that you can do is just use your common sense. BTR is not a nazi (like me). :)

and as far as tangents go, if they get out of hand, then it's always better to start a new thread, no?
Common sense is the enemy!

I don't think any of the regular hapa forum posters have been out of line, myself included, so I'll ignore the guidelines and go on my merry way.

[BeTheReds]

hey guys, i feel what you're saying - i see the purpose and intent of this forum. i guess the only thing that irks me is that really constricting rules and guidelines had to be posted in order to elicit good converstations - can't it be natural? can't we have a good mix of serious, intellectual, and silly subjects pertaining to 'hapas' as well?

love,
prof. frink


Hey, I'm all for silly subjects. Just stay reasonably within the guidelines, which means, basically not doing any of the don'ts.

[coagulated fat]

gasp, you're deleting threads? Why!

[BeTheReds]

gasp, you're deleting threads? Why!


Threads which I move are threads which I believe have a place on YW, just not in the hapa forum. Threads which I have deleted I believe have no place on YW at all.

[coagulated fat]

You're a nazi. What, only blond and blue-eyed aryan threads are acceptable?

[BeTheReds]

You're a nazi. What, only blond and blue-eyed aryan threads are acceptable?


Threads about hapa beauty, hapa superiority, hapa fetishes, interracial dating, and almost anything created by Ras Ferengi are subject to deletion as I see fit.

[BeTheReds]

Simply not a YW issue.

[nonamerasian]

The Hapas and Mulattos thread was about none of the above.

In my opinion, it was an interesting thread with one or two "hapa issues" that I haven't heard before.

I haven't seen the thread as of late.

[BeTheReds]

exactly how so? what is and what is not a yw issue, and why should they be accorded to your standards?

i know this conversation is tiring itself out, but im really interested in understanding your power trip.

love,
prof. frink

It's not a power trip. We are trying to re-focus. And it's not only me who thinks this place needs a new paint job.

[kimpossible]

Eugene isn't doing anything to satisfy himself, I can vouch for that. He's doing the best he can to reorganize and try some new stuff. Not evertyhing he's doing needs to be taken as a personal challenge. Rather, I'm sure he could use some member support in his effort to make a balanced forum (somewhere between jocular and serious) for hapa issues. For instance, starting topics that could be of interest to potential members would be a great way to contribute. Get lurkers out of hiding and into the discussion.

It's going to take trial and error and I'm sure you'll find Eugene to be flexible and responsive if you give him real feedback instead of accusing him of things like power tripping. What do you want in a hapa forum? What don't you want?

edit: heh, I said Eugene isn't doing anything to satisfy himself...

[ChinaLama]

Sorry, I'm going to be slightly less polite than HH. At the very least, please provide CONSTRUCTIVE feedback, rather than comments like "you're a nazi" or calling someone a power tripper. That's just plain sophomorific.

[coagulated fat]

I was just kidding. Partially.

I realize that the hapa forum is going to be narrowed in a more asian-issues-related direction, but I don't think threads that have already been made should be deleted. I don't know, maybe I just find it hard to let go, but I want those threads there. And maybe just use the guidelines on a here-on-out basis.

[kimpossible]

I think you'll be fine if you or anyone else can give him a sense of what is enjoyable, useful, fun and also what sucks. He said nothing's set in stone - it's just like any other project process, it's going to have iterations of refinement.

[ChinaLama]

There's really not much of a point to debating about the past. Can we please focus on the present and future? Sorry if I sound a little testy. :)

[hapakristina]

which fuckin irks me. i guess i just come from a school of thought where dialogue is freely available, and if one doesn't want to partake in one, one does not have to.
i see rules as sophomoric.
while i understand some of your points, you're forgetting that the whole "free dialogue" aka freedom of speech rule applies as your general constitutional right. as a privately owned site with the right to set up guidelines about what is wanted and allowed to be discussed, the moderators to online communities such as YW have that right to regulate and moderate as they so deem appropriate.

[kimpossible]

ok, i thought i did provide construtive feedback earlier, before my powertripping accusation (of which i still have to stand by). you know what i want hh? i want just normal flow - nothing rigid, nothing backed up by rules or guidelines - and as i recognize that btr have said that these aren't set in stone, they're still there, and people in this forum are taking them with apparent gravity - which fuckin irks me. i guess i just come from a school of thought where dialogue is freely available, and if one doesn't want to partake in one, one does not have to.
i see rules as sophomoric.

love,
prof. frink

p.s. sorry if i seem to be taking this so seriously or personally - i can't help it if i hate hapas. haha

Right and if you hate hapas and have nothing more in mind than a free flowing forum - what's the point of posting in the hapa forum? Why spend time on something you hate? Why bother being irked by rules? In terms of wanting to see feedback I was thinking in more specific terms, something Eugene could sink his teeth into to get a sense of direction and interest.

i guess i just come from a school of thought where dialogue is freely available, and if one doesn't want to partake in one, one does not have to.


that's something i've been wondering for quite some time. why does one spend time partaking in something when one doesn't want to and doesn't have to?

and i'll leave it at that. i've said what i needed to say. if there is anyone that would like to give some constructive, specific feedback that the mod(s) here can use to make the forum more attractive to new users, please post here and i'm sure eugene would appreciate it.

[ChinaLama]

I think some guidelines are useful; I don't see how mere guidelines can really "fuckin irk" someone, unless you're an anarchist, frink (and i use anarchist in the philosophical sense, with neutral connotations). Whether the guidelines are too rigid or too loose is up for debate-- I think that's one reason BTR opened the thread-- but overall, guideline are useful, I think. Otherwise, you may get stupid crap like "I THINK ASIA CARRERA IS HOT!!!"

[SynRG]

If what you're saying is why isn't this hapa forum like the other ones already out there, in return I would ask you why should this one be just like them? Wouldn't it be a boon to provide a different focus? We provide links to other hapa forums and will post any other web resources available and I would be one of the first to say that there are other hapa forums that specialize in something like a spin-off hapa community. Hapas.com does this quite well in my opinion with famous hapas and community spirit. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, if someone else is doing it well we like to network to them.

I think your assessment of the focus of the YW hapa forum is intuitive, it's one forum out of many on what is obviously an Asian American website, but I find importance to that in itself. As mixed Asians, we do interact with full-blooded Asians and I think that is valuable source of discussion and viewpoint. We're not trying to force a choice of identity of any mixed blood Asian but instead host a forum that is part of the larger Asian American picture. The point isn't to be the biggest or the most famous hapa forum, merely to provide a different outlet for discussion that focuses more on being a person of partial Asian descent in relation to Asians and culture than having a separate hapa identity.


I know this forum is a small part of a much larger focus that is based on Asian Americans and Asian American issues. I'm not asking to change anything, because these aren't my forums. I'm just letting ppl know the impression I get when I come here and I see things that basically IMO seems to frown upon encouraging a hapa identity that is seperate from that of Asian Americans, but at the same time, has an entire forum devoted to hapas.

There's also nothing wrong with that. All I really wanted to say is it might discourage hapas who unlike BTR do not "lean to one side", or worse, lean more towards their non-asian side. I didn't know whether or not the YW crew had taken that into consideration, or whether or not it was a big issue to them.


What does letting a hapa act like a hapa entail? Technically I'm mixed blood but I don't know how to act like a hapa?

Hapas are still trying to figure that out themselves. There's no answer to that, and it's kind of the fundamental question of being of mixed race. There are lots of issues such as this one that are unique to hapas and I feel like they would get shunned if brought up because they have nothing to do with "Asian American" issues. When I said "letting us be hapa" that's what I was referring to.

[hapakristina]

geez, kick back hh. i inserted in a 'haha' to denote a sense of dry humor, as in ' i dont really hate hapas '.

the thing is, i think stuff like "asia carrera is hot!!!' is dumb too - but let it go. why not allow it to be there? if it incites conversation, then okay - if it dies off, even better - but let it fuckin' be.

if you mods want the tone and direction of this forum to go a certain way, then lead it there by posting good threads - you dont need fuckin rules.

love,
prof. frink

on online forums, rules and guidelines are always good. it sets out the purpose and it also informs members what will and will not be tolerated. in just about every online community you go to, these are in place and enforced.

there was a thread about "hapa dicks" and i thought that thread was completely stupid and while made in jest.. it could have been taken offensively by some. someone had mentioned something about hapa dicks being medium-sized bringing a white and an asian together. what's that supposed to mean? that asian dicks are small and whites are large.. so a hapa would have a medium dick? those kinds of stereotypes and generalizations as "funny" as they may be to some.. don't contribute anything to the site and weren't very "funny" to some people.

there needs to be moderation wherever you go online, otherwise things get out of hand and chaotic. and since as i stated, this is someone's personal site.. it's their preference about what direction they'd like to see these forums take and for what purpose they brought together this forum. period.

[coagulated fat]

How about we let the hapa forum have the same rules and regulations and "guidelines" as the rest of yw? What's wrong with that? I fail to see how some issues, nay, many issues addressed on yw (such as buttsex) have anything to do with cultivating a political and social asian american consciousness.

[hapakristina]

i think the point of the thread was to show that the hapa thread was to contribute to the overall of the site and not segregate hapas as anything different, more unique, of greater value, etc.. than any of the other forums. all of the rules do apply to this forum. i think eugene was trying to inform those that wanted to post in this forum its purpose.

[SunWuKong]

i guess i just come from a school of thought where dialogue is freely available, and if one doesn't want to partake in one, one does not have to.
i see rules as sophomoric.

unregulated internet forums always degrade into a lot of personal attacks, flaming, and trolling. this is a trend that has been proven true time and time again. there will definitely be some sort of guidelines and measurement of control here on YW and its individual forums. the only question is just how much and in what form those controls will take.

i trust that Eugene will do what is best for the hapa forum, and he has been reading our feedback.

[hapakristina]

wow, you know what, i didn't realize that there'd be people online who wouldn't understand reactionary sarcasm. of course they are stereotypes - do you think i think they're true?

love,
prof. frink

p.s. you know, you can say it outright - im the one who started the hapa dicks thread.
1) i didn't know who it was that started it. i just read and i had remembered that you had posted in there, but wasn't sure who started it so it wasn't a personal attack towards you.

2) it's not so much that we can't understand your sarcasm it's just that what's "funny" to you isn't always deemed "funny" to others no matter how sarcastic and joking you had intended to come off.

3) whether you think that stereotypes are true or not isn't the point. if you throw them out there jokingly, we can only take it for what its worth whether your intention was to be funny or not.

[coagulated fat]

1) i didn't know who it was that started it. i just read and i had remembered that you had posted in there, but wasn't sure who started it so it wasn't a personal attack towards you.

2) it's not so much that we can't understand your sarcasm it's just that what's "funny" to you isn't always deemed "funny" to others no matter how sarcastic and joking you had intended to come off.
I think you're the only one who was offended. Everyone who posted seemed to view it as a joke.

3) whether you think that stereotypes are true or not isn't the point. if you throw them out there jokingly, we can only take it for what its worth whether your intention was to be funny or not.
Why not joke about stereotypes, if they are arbitrary and untrue? We shouldn't have to maintain a scholarly distance from issues that hit close to home.

[SunWuKong]

prof frink, you must understand that online sarcasm sometimes doesn't come across as sarcasm at all. nobody is reading the expression on your face or the tone of your voice as you type those words.

[Tao]

im sorry....you didn't think 'sushi hamburger' tasting dicks was sarcastic or at least a joke?

love,
prof. frink
maybe next time you can post in the sex/health forum for all your dirty jokes? that's what i do.

[hapakristina]

I think you're the only one who was offended. Everyone who posted seemed to view it as a joke.
oh, i wasn't offended. i could see how some people may have been which is why i thought that thread was stupid and pointless. it really had nothing to do with being hapa, which is why i believe it was moved to the sex threads.

[Fireblade]

Ok... I don't think this is really about the penis joke thread.... but more of something else... I would like to get the whole story if possible.

[SunWuKong]

prof frink, the reason that we're sort of "re-focusing" the hapa forum is that elbert and the mods are seeing some negative attitude (which, to be fair, also comes from other forums as well) that we would like YW to steer away from. we feel that while some of your posts have been informative and constructive, some of your other posts have also contributed to this negativity. and to be fair to you, you are not the only one. i am not targetting you, but it seems that you are questioning the direction that Eugene is taking the hapa forum. so i am trying to explain things to you.

[coagulated fat]

I didn't understand that the hapa forum was being "refocused" and instead thought that btr just randomly decided to delete a bunch of threads and post up guidelines for us to follow. Now that I know that this is part of a larger effort for the hapa forum, I feel like I understand what's going down and can maybe try to help. Sorry for anything I said that was offensive eugene, even if I was j/k, I didn't really know what was going on.

In the future it would be nice if it were made more clear when big changes are about to occur, so's I don't wig out. At the time, it all seemed very sudden and random; I felt left out of the loop a little as to why these changes were happening and why they were necessary. And in fact, I'd still like a little more specific clarification on that.

[kitty]

I didn't understand that the hapa forum was being "refocused" and instead thought that btr just randomly decided to delete a bunch of threads and post up guidelines for us to follow. Now that I know that this is part of a larger effort for the hapa forum, I feel like I understand what's going down and can maybe try to help. Sorry for anything I said that was offensive eugene, even if I was j/k, I didn't really know what was going on.

In the future it would be nice if it were made more clear when big changes are about to occur, so's I don't wig out. At the time, it all seemed very sudden and random; I felt left out of the loop a little as to why these changes were happening and why they were necessary. And in fact, I'd still like a little more specific clarification on that.

oil... fire... me perhaps but I would think that deleting a bunch of threads and posting guidelines is a pretty explicit enough indication that the forum is being refocused.

And frink, the mods at YW aren't being too nazi-ish on this one but starting new threads are opportunities for discussion. I think starting a joke thread without much explicit intent can suck, especially since some people really can't tell if you're joking or serious. A lot of trollers have used the 'it's a joke! can't you tell?' defense, and I think maybe you should consider how hard it can be as moderator to try and decide between serious discussion and sarcasm.

I would just say to doublethink before you start new threads. especially i f you're just doing it to start something that you'd think would be funny.

[nonamerasian]

I've moded on another site.

Usually before we made major changes, such as deleting threads or modifying forums and the like, we'd put up an announcement at least a couple of days ahead telling board members exactly what to expect.

Even when board members had little to zero say in the matter (which was rare, but happened), this always ran way better than even making a minute change without a clear warning.

I'm not saying this is how these forums must be ran. I've been a member of several forums with their own methods (and usually not too much anxiety flows on them), but I do think that method would have worked better in this case.

[coagulated fat]

oil... fire... me perhaps but I would think that deleting a bunch of threads and posting guidelines is a pretty explicit enough indication that the forum is being refocused.
Perhaps but I didn't know to what extent this decision was btr's. I still don't. And I still don't know why this refocusing is necessary. I've only gotten very vague answers. I don't need or want to know the drama behind the scenes and who wanted what, I just need to know the final outcome, and what's wrong with letting us know what that is, since we're going to see it being put into practice anyway?

And frink, the mods at YW aren't being too nazi-ish on this one but starting new threads are opportunities for discussion. I think starting a joke thread without much explicit intent can suck, especially since some people really can't tell if you're joking or serious. A lot of trollers have used the 'it's a joke! can't you tell?' defense, and I think maybe you should consider how hard it can be as moderator to try and decide between serious discussion and sarcasm.

I would just say to doublethink before you start new threads. especially i f you're just doing it to start something that you'd think would be funny.
If we had been better warned there would have been no backlash in the form of a "hapa dicks!!" thread. Frink left.

[sandra]

This is not set in concrete, but this is the general flow of what kinds of discussion this forum should be used for.

Being that Yellowworld is the site for Asian-Americans to "cultivate a politcal consicousness" this forum is about hapas and their place in relation to Asian Americans and Asian-American issues. It is also a place to discuss what the hapa role is or should be in an Asian American activist community, or in relation to Asian Americans in general. This forum is also to discuss significant issues that hapas face in society as Asian-Americans, as well as comparing and contrasting the issues and experiences of hapas with those of Asian-Americans

It is not:
A place to celebrate hapa celebrities and their achievement in furthering a hapa community seperate from Asian-Americans.

A place to discuss the merits and shortcomings of interracial dating.

A place to discuss about ways to form a hapa community with seperate issues from Asian-American issues. There are plenty of other sites for that.

A place to hijack a thread and tell everyone your life story and try to receive sympathy from other mixed people like yourself. There are plenty of other sites for that. Please try to stay on topic.

A place to post pictures of yourself or ask other people to do the same so you can prove or disprove a hapa beauty myth. Pictures can go in the member gallery.


Again this is not concrete. It will continually change as time goes by.

i just want to say first that i'm going to be supportive of what eugene decides to do with this forum.

i only have a few comments.

i think it's okay for hapa members to discuss issues separate from asian-american issues. surely, as hapas, you guys face problems that are distinct from the ones we face. i wouldn' feel comfortable saying that you guys can't discuss that here simply because it doesn't fall under the umbrella of "asian-amer issues" (whatever that means, right?) that's what the hapa forum is for - for you guys to have a community atmosphere and for the rest of us to learn about hapa issues.

also, i understand that everyone is sick of hearing about interracial dating. but, in this forum, most of your parents are interracial couples. i would think it's okay to talk about that and the pros and cons of observing an interracial relationship and the effect that it has had on you, etc., etc., right?

[sandra]

fine by me. I just hate having bunches of threads in the hapa forum that are basically "ooh... look this hapa celebrity is soo cute".

I warn you... I'll prolly close them if they are in AE :)

i just want to ask...why?

i mean, there's a jaymee ong thread in the guy's forum. and all it basically says is, "ooh, she's so hot."

why can't we celebrate our celebrities and give them support?

[sandra]

wow, you know what, i didn't realize that there'd be people online who wouldn't understand reactionary sarcasm. of course they are stereotypes - do you think i think they're true?

love,
prof. frink

p.s. you know, you can say it outright - im the one who started the hapa dicks thread.

her post doesn't indicate that she doesn't understand reactionary sarcasm. she just wanted to inform you that, despite that, some still find it to be in poor taste.

edit: k. she already said that - i should have read her response. i just thought it was funny how you tried to give a smart answer but had entirely misread her post =) j/k

[kitty]

i just want to ask...why?

i mean, there's a jaymee ong thread in the guy's forum. and all it basically says is, "ooh, she's so hot."

why can't we celebrate our celebrities and give them support?

I dunno... I don't have much respect for those kinds of threads, because no one's really saying anything very productive. If it looks like people are actually talking about said actor, then more power to you and it should stay open. But if it's one person who happens to just enjoy posting random pictures of hapa celebrities and drooling, I think I would either want to funnel it to Men/Women, or just close it if no one else is interested...

did that make sense?

[sandra]

that makes sense.

[coagulated fat]

Likes:
I like that the stupid people are either ridiculed until they go away or banned.
I like the serious tone of YW discussions when compared to other hapa-related forums.
I like the negativity. It's a hell of a lot better than "woo, we're hapa and aint it grand." I can go to other places for that.
I like that YW even has a specific forum for hapas, and I'm very grateful it does because I think it's been very helpful.

Dislikes:
I dislike that this forum is being "refocused" and I can't get a decent reason out of anybody why it needed refocusing because it's some kind of top secret moderators only thing.
I dislike that in the process of this refocusing, members have been offended and lost.
I dislike the fact that threads in the hapa forum have to be in line with YW's agenda as a whole, whereas I don't see this kind of regulation elsewhere in YW.

[hapakristina]

Dislikes:
I dislike the fact that threads in the hapa forum have to be in line with YW's agenda as a whole, whereas I don't see this kind of regulation elsewhere in YW.
then why not just join a site like hapas.com or eurasiannation.com then? where it's basically a hapa forum altogether with their own individual rules. YW was put together for a different reason than hapas.com or EAN and having a hapa forum was to contribute to that.

[SunWuKong]

I dislike the fact that threads in the hapa forum have to be in line with YW's agenda as a whole, whereas I don't see this kind of regulation elsewhere in YW.

can you elaborate? i always thought that some of the more "serious" forums on YW have been in line with YW's agenda as a whole.

[kitty]

can you elaborate? i always thought that some of the more "serious" forums on YW have been in line with YW's agenda as a whole.

me too... I know that we shut things down pretty darn quick if it doesn't have much to do with Asian Americans.

but then again... Arts&Entertainment usually strays a bit from Asian Americans... :unsure:

[BeTheReds]

JEEZ! I go away for a day and THIS HAPPENS?

Okay, the thread purge is over. Just use common sense and everything will run smoothly.

If anyone wants to know why the forum is being refocused, check out the other pinned threads.

[coagulated fat]

JEEZ! I go away for a day and THIS HAPPENS?

Okay, the thread purge is over. Just use common sense and everything will run smoothly.

If anyone wants to know why the forum is being refocused, check out the other pinned threads.
It was an important day for the hapa forum, haha
Ok. It was said that this was not a place to put "celebrities, or post their life stories, or praise and/or bitch about interracial dating, and certainly not a place to try to form a second seperatist movement." I didn't see a lot of that happening here at all, but whatever.

Also I still maintain that many threads and even forums on yw have little or nothing to do with asian american issues. ie, much of the Arts and Entertainment, Sports, Whatever, much of Gay and Lesbian, much of Women, much of Men, much of Students.. oy it just goes on and on. I don't see why the hapa forum should have to stick strictly to Asian American related topics when these other forums obviously don't. I like it when the hello hapas forum has serious threads, but un-serious threads and threads dealing with issues outside asian american ones are ok and all over yw, so what's wrong with having them in the hapa forum.

Anyway I think I've said my piece, I'm getting a little sick of talking about this so do what you want and I'll comply. I'm too addicted to yw to leave, even if you start a coagulated fat hate forum I'd stay and probably even participate.

[BeTheReds]

i just want to say first that i'm going to be supportive of what eugene decides to do with this forum.

Thank you!


i think it's okay for hapa members to discuss issues separate from asian-american issues. surely, as hapas, you guys face problems that are distinct from the ones we face. i wouldn' feel comfortable saying that you guys can't discuss that here simply because it doesn't fall under the umbrella of "asian-amer issues" (whatever that means, right?) that's what the hapa forum is for - for you guys to have a community atmosphere and for the rest of us to learn about hapa issues.


I don't really want to sound confrontational or everything, but your mentality is exactly why I don't want those things discussed. Is it always gonna be "you all" and "us"? "You guys" and "we"? You may not be aware that you have basically put up a barrier that distinctly says that hapas are not Asian-Americans. I remember you saying something similar when Coble used the word "them" to refer to Japanese Americans and "us" to refer to Americans. I'm not trying to suggest you are anything like Coble however, so please don't get angry.

Rather than trying to set up a hapa community atmosphere, I think it would benefit both what you strive for and what I have been ranting about for so long if Asian-America was more inclusive. For one thing I'd have absolutly nothing to complain about and another thing, you'd have the numbers to fulfill your political clout. Maybe it isn't that simple. As I have said time and time again, I don't think that there is an Asian-American community... yet. But if one is to be created, it is essential that hapas are considered a part of it.

Of course there are sometimes issues which are different from AA issues alltogether, and of course those can be discussed within reason. However this does not at all mean that AA issues do not also affect hapas. Sometimes they would affect hapas differently than to a full blooded AA.


also, i understand that everyone is sick of hearing about interracial dating. but, in this forum, most of your parents are interracial couples. i would think it's okay to talk about that and the pros and cons of observing an interracial relationship and the effect that it has had on you, etc., etc., right?

Not in this forum. I do believe that interracial dating does have SOME place on this site, but I don't think by default that all IR talk should go down here. Certainly talking about how that affects hapas is an important discussion piece, but talking about the pros and cons of interracial dating itself doesn't belong here.

Anyway to reiterate. Use common sense everyone and the Nazi in me will stay on his side of the Rhine.

[nonamerasian]

What was wrong with the Hapas and Mulattos thread?

I believe interesting hapa issues were brought up in it (most interesting, mixed race and politics).

[achtungbaby]

me too... I know that we shut things down pretty darn quick if it doesn't have much to do with Asian Americans.

but then again... Arts&Entertainment usually strays a bit from Asian Americans... :unsure:The Sports forum too:) But the reason why I brought it up was because neither in Sports or A&E would you find so many posts and threads that seemed to contradict what the site stood for. The same could be said for the Rant Room, but I know personally that I've either shut down or deleted threads going in that direction, just because I spent more time in there.

[BeTheReds]

I'm getting rather sick of it, when people come in here and ask questions like "do yall tend to feel inferior to us" or "do you guys feel the same way that we do about... such and such..."

For one, stop thinking of everything as a "we" and "yall" situation. It's hard enough to encourage hapas to pay attention to asian-american issues without people coming around using that kind of segragationalist language. Now, sometimes it is appropriate, such as... "how do you all feel when full blooded asian people stare at your parents", but.. "Yall tend to be whitewashed, right?" is not appropriate.

Second, no one of us (on yw) can actually represent all hapas, because we aren't a continuous group with any kind of relationship to each other in most cases. Think of it this way... when white people ask you if Asians all feel that child labor is okay, or something stupid like that, does it piss you off?

Next, don't come in here and generalize about how hapas think/feel about certain issues because your friend who happens to be a hapa told you how he feels/thinks about that topic. He isn't representative of every one of us, and since hapas are even less united than other groups of people, it's probably less likely that he represents even a significant minority of hapas.

[John0101]

maybe u should create a FAQ and post it up as a sticky

[nola]

Why's it called a sticky.

[rice cracker]

You hapas are so sensitive. Sheesh. :tongue:

[BeTheReds]

You hapas are so sensitive. Sheesh. :tongue:

Well, we all know who the "good cop" is gonna be in here.

[rice cracker]

Well, we all know who the "good cop" is gonna be in here.

Baby, I'm on your side. I was just injecting a little levity :) Much better than my initial, "Listen, assholes, cut with the crap or else!" thought.

[BeTheReds]

maybe u should create a FAQ and post it up as a sticky


is that sarcasm i hear?

lol

Baby, I'm on your side. I was just injecting a little levity :) Much better than my initial, "Listen, assholes, cut with the crap or else!" thought.

Wow, it feels so good to know I have a friend like you, even if she is in the cat clan.

[bluemonq]

Why's it called a sticky.
off-topic: cause it "sticks" to the top of forums. like a post-it note.
back on topic: i tend to think that anyone who thinks that s/he speaks for everyone is "blah".

[Hiroshi2]

I'm getting rather sick of it, when people come in here and ask questions like "do yall tend to feel inferior to us" or "do you guys feel the same way that we do about... such and such..."





I thought I've heard it all when it comes to question about my background, but I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me, "how do y'all or you guys feel about such and such.........no one's ever asked me a question that was a supposed to be representative of all biracial people.

[BeTheReds]

I thought I've heard it all when it comes to question about my background, but I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me, "how do y'all or you guys feel about such and such.........no one's ever asked me a question that was a supposed to be representative of all biracial people.


That's certainly hard to believe. Whenever anyone talks about race or racial experiences, anything any biracial says is taken as the biracial view despite any logical connection to other biracials.

I know I may sound like a broken record at this point, but we are not a community, and why people seem to think we are all part of one is beyond me.

[Ron]

The only hapa community I could belong in is the Shan-Thai-Native American-Scottish Legion of People who were Born in Thailand! : )

Other than that, Eugene is 100% right. NO ONE HAPA is going to represent us at all.

[kimpossible]

Did I miss something?

[rice cracker]

Did I miss something?

Mostly just innocuous questions poorly phrased in such a way as to lead to generalized answers about hapas.. Oh, and mathmatical queries used to predict how a hapa will identify :rolleyes:

[rice cracker]

Now stickied.

[BigLew]

Well, we all know who the "good cop" is gonna be in here.
rice cracker the "good cop" HAHAHAHAha..ha..... *ahem*

[truMp]

I have several relatives who are "hapas"

could someone tell me the origin of that term, cause I have never heard it before.

[rice cracker]

I have several relatives who are "hapas"

could someone tell me the origin of that term, cause I have never heard it before.

It's a Hawaiian word that means "half" and is commonly applied to mixed Asians.

[sandra]

how's the issue of representation amongst hapas different from that amongst asians?

certainly, i have little in common with a 3rd generation japanese-american. but at the very least, we probably share in common the fact that the mainstreams society may treat us in the same manner. this is how the identity of being 'asian american' was born.

i'd imagine the same for hapas. no?

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

In the general experience of most hapas and multiracial people in general, do they and their multiethnic peers like to play on the "mixed beauty" stereotype for their own personal advantage while still hating it in general? What kind of issue do they have with that stereotype at all?

[BeTheReds]

In the general experience of most hapas and multiracial people in general, do they and their multiethnic peers like to play on the "mixed beauty" stereotype for their own personal advantage while still hating it in general? What kind of issue do they have with that stereotype at all?


In general usually there are few commonalities about our experience at this time, so generally in most cases each issue is dealt with as an individual, for the most part, mostly.

how's the issue of representation amongst hapas different from that amongst asians?

certainly, i have little in common with a 3rd generation japanese-american. but at the very least, we probably share in common the fact that the mainstreams society may treat us in the same manner.

Now why is that?

Oh yea, because to most white people, you look more similar to each other than you do to them.


this is how the identity of being 'asian american' was born.

i'd imagine the same for hapas. no?

Actually i'd guess no, because hapas don't even look like each other.

[sandra]

IActually i'd guess no, because hapas don't even look like each other.

so i'm a little confused, because it almost sounds like you're suggesting that there is no hapa identity.

[BeTheReds]

so i'm a little confused, because it almost sounds like you're suggesting that there is no hapa identity.

So identity to you is having a group of people that you look like?

And what I've been saying all along is that there isn't a collective hapa identity, only that of the individual.

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

In general usually there are few commonalities about our experience at this time, so generally in most cases each issue is dealt with as an individual, for the most part, mostly.
Yes, I'm not eloquent.

Well, in reaction to your statement and Kasie's most recent question, would you say are those few commonalities?

[sandra]

So identity to you is having a group of people that you look like?

And what I've been saying all along is that there isn't a collective hapa identity, only that of the individual.

i'm trying to follow, and this isn't just for my own sake but for the sake of future discussions in this forum...

there isn't necessarily collective hapa identity per se, but there are sufficient commonalities that would make it so that one's identity of being hapa is distinct from his identity of merely being a person. that's what i'm interpreting from your words, and i'd agree. i just also the same with being asian. there isn't one person who i would feel comfortable designating as the representative of asian-americans, because we're all so different.

i'm also supporting this with the fact that many hapas were resistent to having this forum combined with a possible adoptee forum, because the issues faced by both groups are not that similar.

[BeTheReds]

i'm trying to follow, and this isn't just for my own sake but for the sake of future discussions in this forum...

there isn't necessarily collective hapa identity per se, but there are sufficient commonalities that would make it so that one's identity of being hapa is distinct from his identity of merely being a person. that's what i'm interpreting from your words, and i'd agree. i just also the same with being asian. there isn't one person who i would feel comfortable designating as the representative of asian-americans, because we're all so different.

Yes that's true, but there is an Asian community in America and most Asian-Americans have Asian-American parents and families and groups of friends. Furthermore, some of us even grew up in predominantly Asian areas of the country, while yes, while Asian-Americans are very very different from each other even in cases where they grew up in the same part of the country, the fact that to the mainstream they look alike and because of that recieve similar types of discrimination creates a commonality as you stated above. So that at the very least places all people who look Asian in america in a certain loose forming community.

Hapas on the other hand don't have a lot of those in place. First, in most cases, hapas parents aren't hapas. Next, they are usually the only hapas in their extended families. Next, there is no one place in the nation which is predominantly hapa, many hapas wouldn't even know where to look to meet other hapas and few would even know of more than one or two outside of their siblings. So there isn't the community to fall back on. Next, given that we don't even look like each other for the most part, we are not all categorized in the same way by the mainstream.

I suppose the only commonality I can think of that hapas share with each other is not fitting in with or feeling rejection from either one or the other or both their ethnicities.

i'm also supporting this with the fact that many hapas were resistent to having this forum combined with a possible adoptee forum, because the issues faced by both groups are not that similar.

And they aren't. Adoptees are Asians who have been adopted by Non-Asians.　　Some people have suggested that they feel as if their true culture had been stolen from them. And they deal with having been raised in a certain (usually white) environment but looking Asian all their lives. (sorry to adoptees if this is too simplistic)

I can see why people see similarities in that the identity issue is there, but the mere fact that adoptees circumstances make their commonalities with each other specific and congruent (adopted by whites, looking Asian, possibly being the only Asian members of the family etc) sets them apart from hapas, who don't even have much congruency with each other (which parent is asian? Are they both mixed? Is your asian parent adopted? Did you spend any time in Asia? Do you keep in touch with the Asian side of the family? Do you keep in touch with the non-Asian side? Is the non-Asian side more or less accepting of IRs and mixed people? Is the Asian side? Are your friends mostly Asian or not? How do you identify? Do you look more or less Asian? Do you speak your Asian parents language? etc etc...).

In this way, hapa identity is individual, at least in my opinion anyway.

When Hapas with hapa parents outnumber hapas without hapa parents, then perhaps there will be more of a collective identity and more of a need for a community (hell, even one seperate from Asian-America) but until that day?...

[BeTheReds]

Merged the "stupid questions" thread with the forum guidelines.

[steve paul]

I understand that...

[NeilJack]

nice....