I don't understand...

[Yuliya]

Thanks for coming back and clarifying what you mean. I was trying to avoid this thread just because I don't like getting into arguments online with people I don't know (especially when things can be read multiple ways), but I just wanted to address some points.

First of all, of course people are attracted to Lifehouse. I find them completely hot. I think you'd have to be non-human not to. Some people here were just saying it gets annoying sometimes when you just see thread after thread of "Jason is hot" type threads. Which kind of goes towards what yndihalda said. I think the reason that it's easier to get the news across on LHF (or here) is because there are less random threads to have to look past to get the news. But if there were one or two threads where everyone just discussed, I don't think it would be that bad. Heck, I'd participate in them. But sometimes when I go onto Lifehousemusic forum, I just see threads talking about their looks and I hate having to sift through all those threads to find what I'm looking for. (which is another reason why I personally dislike the main boards. They're too disorganized). And I know a lot of people here don't like it when people are into them just for the looks. The music means a lot to them, so when others tend to overlook the music for the looks, it's kind of off-putting. You were saying earler that the guys would be upset/offended if they saw posts about how we dislike the art, but if I were an artist, I would get kind of upset if some people just talked about my looks and not the music/lyrics that I poured my heart out into

Secondly, I think there is a difference between supporting someone and liking what they're doing. You could support someone and wish them the best, but not necessarily love what they're doing. Lame example, but my friend recently ran for secretary of a club. I personally think she should have campaigned differently, and I made it very clear that I didn't like her method of presenting herself, but I still supported her and her run for secretary. Of course we support LH in everything they do, we just think that a different choice for the booklet would have been nicer. (although some people on here love the choice). And lifehousefans was not the only place that didn't like the booklet/other things. I know people on lifehousemusic were bashing it to. I know for a fact right now that there is a thread on lifehousemusic where people are discussing the worst LH song. So, I think it's just a bit unfair to put that blame on LHF. But also, we're not just stating what we don't like, we also make it a point to make threads telling the guys how much we appreciate everything and majority of the threads are positive. (It's not over here, but on lhf there was an entire thread where people just said how much LH and the new CD meant to them)

About the "IHer" thing, it just means Is Hot. Like for example if you're a JIH (like myself) that means you think Jason is hot. (which is an understatement )

And about the cult. I can kind of see what you mean. When I first joined LHF, I felt like it was a circle of friends that I was intruding into, but it really isn't like that. It's really a welcoming and open community of people that look beyond the surface of the music and are into it a little more than is healthy

I hope you see that I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone or offend anyone, I just wanted to make sure both sides are seen/heard. And I hope you can see that it's really a nice group of people here and we're not an angry cult that hates lifehouse fans and people. We're just really into the band and music.

wow, that was a long post lol. I hope what I wrote made sense, cause it did in my head lol

[peaceout]

I'm not trying to get anyone on my side, nor was it my intention to start an argument here. I'm just trying to get people to see what it looks like from a different perspective. You all need to realize that you DO have cult-like tendencies, which IS FINE! I think a lot of people want to join in on it!! WHICH IS MY POINT, it would be nice if you could share all your fun and personal Lifehouse experiences and whatever with others on Lifehousemusic, and not just between yourselves. No one really posts pictures or long reviews on that board, and it's sad! I wouldn't want to stick around on that board either if I knew something else was out there. And now that lifehousefans is down, why can't we make their main page a pleasant place for fans to come and all get to know each other?? Has anyone written to the mods of their boards and told them to try and change it since everyone has such a problem with it?? I personally don't see a problem with it's organization and what not but if you all do, why don't you do something about it?

And I saw that post about which LH song is the worst. There's always gonna be least favorites on every record, and so far no one's gotten snippy over the whole post. There was such anger and rudeness over the whole $40 fan club thing, or how hot the guys are, and how the album art sucked, (which I see no point in insulting because they can't change it, and they obviously liked it if they approved it.) AND, I thought I would just look at the credits in the booklet to see who did the art, and I found that the artist Kunio Hagio has a myspace page, and Rick is in his top friends!! And Rick's page is private, so think about that one. Just because it doesn't "make sense" doesn't mean it's not cool artwork. And since when does album art have to make sense anyways?

- which is why I'm secretly happy the LHF boards went down so none of them can see it -

Again, I just want Lifehouse to get the recognition and success they deserve, I mean, how long have they been putting out brilliant music, and being SO nice to their fans, and they only have, what, ONE platinum record?? Or two? I don't know what their last one did. But do you see what I'm saying? It's selfish for everyone to want them all to themselves. But if that's the way it's gonna be, than who the f*** am I to try and change it.

no need for people to keep arguing about it. I'll leave my bad karma here and go back to being happy on the other boards.

[savemeimdtba]

well, I don't think I said anything too offensive or anything that wasn't true... so I'm not sure why you're calling me out directly, but it's fine.

I know what a great group of people we are and I don't really feel the need to prove that to you; you've already made up your mind on who you think we are and what we represent. Lifehouse fans was for the most part a positive place, but like with any family or community we had differences and opinions - I doubt Lifehouse want us to all be mindless clones who worship everything they do or create. For the record: it wasn't shut down because of the negativity, that would be such bullshit - it's a money issue and hopefully it'll be back soon. I know I support this band 100% in all of their endeavors whether I agree with their choices or not so it doesn't really matter if you think I'm not doing a good enough job; I've been there for them and I'll continue to be. I even said in my post that I want ALL the success for them in the world; we all do - doesn't mean we want to lose everything else. It's a catch 22, I don't think that makes me a bad fan; I think it makes me human. You say all you want is for this band to be successful, that's all WE all want. We promote the hell out of this band and make anyone we can find listen... I can't help the album didn't sell well - that is not my fault, if it was my choice it would sell millions! I know you're frustrated with album sales as we all our so don't take that out on us.

Yes, I know who made the artwork, I think the art work is fantastic on it's own - it's very well done. I don't understand WHY it represents this album and all anyone wanted was an explanation for that and we sort of got one. It's over. No one's even on that issue anymore.

There are links all over Lifehouse music asking people to come join us - I don't think we're leaving anyone out in the cold purposely. You found your way over here so I'm pretty sure anyone else who wants to can as well. It doesn't have to be either / or, it's not us against them - the boards can co-exist and people can happily live on both.

but as for the question "why don't you frequent LHmusic boards?" - you're looking at it. Petty arguments on whose in the "elite club" and whose not. No one is excluding anyone from anything... if you want to join us - the more the merrier! But you come here and attack us for no reason and then expect some love? That's not fair...

[gogonutz]

Okay, let me break this apart

peaceout said:

I never said that ALL of you were negative, I said MOST...and when I came back on here to read your responses yesterday, I felt that I was instantly validated by "Krizit" and others. I am an extremely positive and happy person and I am offended by all the bad karma comments. The reason why I even said anything was because I didn't understand why everyone here had to come to a separate board when lifehousemusic is the one that needs fans' support, and most of what I saw on there were "hardcore fans" being negative to others.

Okay, on this point, I do both agree and disagree with you. I disagree because, like I said before, I don't think being critical about something is necessarily a bad thing, even if you're a fan. Also, I think most people would rather say they thought things could've been better, or that they dislike something, instead of saying they'd hate something. I'm sure that's what some people said, but it should bee seen in perspective. Besides, even if they do hate the artwork, or the clothing style, I don't think it would really hurt Lifehouse's feelings. Okay, maybe they'd be a little disappointed that not everyone is crazy about it, but they are professionals, and they know that we support them and their choices, even if we might not like it perfectly. I think that defines a real fan, to support something, even if you don't like it. But supporting something doesn't mean that you should pretend to like it if you don't.

Okay, now where I agree with you is, that most of us hardly ever posted on the new(er) lifehousemusic.com boards until recently. And the majority of our posts were quite negative and some of them were even harsh. However, I also noticed that a number of people were sort of apologizing for it on there too. Like, I'm sorry if I was too harsh, etc. But I agree with you that the tone that was set wasn't very positive. But also, I think that Lifehouse will understand. And being one of the people who made harsh comments towards the lack of promotion before the album came out, I can say that the official website was the most direct way to get to them. Not Lifehouse, but Geffen.

And then again, we don't HAVE to go here, but we CHOOSE to. And we do so because we like it better here, and not because we think we're better, but because we either like this board's setup better, or because the people we've grown fond of are here, or because this board was there before this newest forum on the official site, or because there's more news on here, or because we like the topic of discussions better here. But whatever the reason is, we have the choice, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of fan forums are bigger than the forums on the official websites. It's just the way things develop. (besides, we aren't even bigger, just people posting more regularly)

peaceout said:

Yes I see that most of you have made Lifehouse a huge part of your lives, but I feel that I have too - since I've liked them and supported them for almost 7 years now. Does that mean that I'm gonna get pissed because other girls think they're hot too?? no, cuz I TOTALLY think they're hot!! YOU ALL do too!! I've seen posts on lifehousefans talking about Bryce's "package", or dreams you've had about dating them or what not. I thoroughly enjoyed going to those boards and reading that stuff.

Personally, I really don't have any interest in if they are hot or not. Okay, I must admit, I'm a straight guy, so it makes sense I don't care about that. I can see why girls would think they are hot. Because they are a bunch of good looking fellas. And I don't care if others think they are hot or not, because to me, that's not what it's about. I respect them as people and as musicians, and their music inspires me. And I can relate to their music, both melody & lyrics. That is why I love and respect them, and why I call myself a fan. And no one's been saying that you are not a huge fan. Actually, you posting this thread, to me, is proof that you are a huge fan, because it shows interest and it shows that you care. However, you did put it in a bit of an offensive way, and that's why I understand the reactions. However, to get back to the 'hot' issue. Most people here have in common that this is not the reason why we love and respect the band. It doesn't mean they don't think they're hot or good looking, but that's all just not relevant to us, or at least not primarily. And to be honest, I'd much rather read a forum where people actually talk about what's going on with the band instead of idolizing a band. Cause fans who idolize a band, to me, aren't seeing things in the right perspective (with all do respect, and sorry if I offend anyone here, I don't intend to)[/quote]

peaceout said:

But what I DIDN'T enjoy were the pages of insults to their new image and album artwork.

I don't see where we started insulting. I agree some comments were harsh, but I dare to say there wasn't real insult going on in any way. Pointing fingers, maybe, but I don't think many went too far.

peaceout said:

(and not to mention, I'm sure Geffen doesn't give a flying f*** what anyone here or there has to say because they're a huge record label who are busy doing other things like trying to get Lifehouse promoted!! no offense, but seriously).

Oh, I'm sure they have other things on their mind. Doesn't mean we can't state our opinion about the quality of their work. However, the album cover did get changed because we commented on it initially. So maybe they do listen somewhat? Maybe our tone wasn't always super nice, but we never disrespected Lifehouse.

peaceout said:

Obviously the guys are into this whole freak show thing, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. So how would you like to go on your boards and read that everyone hates it.

Thanks for going there, cause I'd like to answer this. I don't know if the guys are really into it, but if they are, then sure, that's great, it means they like it, and that's good. On the other hand, it's made for them, so I don't know if it's completely their idea, though I'm sure they had some input in it. Doesn't mean that we have to like it. You either like something or you don't, and by pretending you like it while you don't, what good is that gonna do anyone?.

But okay, what if it was me, going on my boards and seeing that people dislike it (hate is such an ugly word). Well, actually, I wouldn't be too happy about it at first, but I would respect their honest opinions. Also, I would try to see this as a challenge to make something else next time that not only I will like, but also others. It is part of the creative process. Besides, it's merely the 'wrapping' of the package, and we all loved the package (the package being the album itself). So no, I don't think it's a huge deal at all.

peaceout said:

I'm personally very happy that lifehousefans was taken down.

And you should be sad instead. You are telling us to support the band. LHF was all about supporting the band, so by it being down, Lifehouse loses a platform of support that they were obviously happy about, since they directed a thank you towards it in the album booklet. So I would say that LHF actually means something to the band, and that they value our opinions on there.

peaceout said:

And I'm only saying it because I've seen it happen with another artist that took their boards down because people were being too harsh and critical, when they're supposed to be fans!! I know everyone's gonna have an opinion, it's fine. I would just personally be annoyed if I were any of the Lifehouse guys and read a majority of the posts that I was reading. Maybe they NEVER even go on the boards, but I doubt that's the case. I just like being supportive of everything they do, but that's just me.

So basically you're saying that a critical fan is not supportive. That is probably the worst bullcrap I've heard in awhile. We ARE supportive of everything they do, but it doesn't mean we like everything they do and burst into Hallelujah with everything they do. It's a matter of keeping things in perspective. And we're not saying they did anything wrong, we're just saying that maybe things could've been differently and we would've liked it better. That is a matter of opinion, personal opinion, and it is nothing more than that. And we respect the opinions and decisions that the band makes and we support those. But there's a fine line between supporting and agreeing/liking.

peaceout said:

And I'm hoping lifehousemusic becomes more popular because that's the main page new people go to and so far it looks like there's no life there. (and I think the layout and moderation is fabulous! I don't know what you guys are talking about, considering I was seeing a shitload of porn on the other boards.) I've never made posts on Lifehouse boards because I just liked reading everything, but I think it's time I start on lifehousemusic, cuz I really like it there. I hope you all join me!!

I hope LHmusic will get more popular too, because it would be a good thing. More fans, more traffic, more hits. It's all good for Lifehouse. I absolutely love the layout, and some people might not, that's their opinion. But I really don't like the setup of the board. You can't click back to the board, you'll have to use you're 'back' arrow, or click on Forum again, and then to the board you want to read. Also, you need to scroll down completely to hit the reply button (unless you quote someone and erase the quote). And the quotes are impossible to read, cause of the font color. Just some things that bother me. About the moderation, I don't think moderation is bad on LHmusic, I don't even know if there is. When I referred to moderating in my initial reply, it was about this board. Why I have moderators on here, to keep things organized. And one of the reasons is to keep it spamfree. Which we've been doing for over 2 years now. No spam yet, and I'd like to keep it that way.

peaceout said:

and thanks gogonuts for remaining positive and objective towards my feelings. you were pretty much the only one.

you're welcome. But you could consider trying to bring things a bit more neutrally next time. You are accusing us of insulting and disrespecting, and not being supportive. All of this is at least a clouded judgement, and not true. People take that as an offense. Just as you felt offended by their replies. Basically they were just defending their points of view, and I can't say I disagree. I felt attacked too, but I wanted to clear up things first, to avoid miscommunication and to see if we could come to a better understanding of each other's points of view.

peaceout said:

and to everyone else, I would highly recommend re-reading "Krizit"s post and listen to how ridiculous you are for agreeing with her. You all want Lifehouse to stay a small band so you can have them all to yourselves. That's a shame. And you DO have somewhat of a cult, (and there's no reason to take such high offense to that cuz it's fine), because I noticed you have special lingo such as "IHers", which I have NO idea what that means, but I'm assuming you guys created words to talk crap about other girls, and that's not nice. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Kristi, I don't think your post was insane, or ridiculous. I think you might've been passionate, but there's nothing wrong with that. And for those who said that they want Lifehouse to stay the way they are, I do understand. I mean, it's great that they are as accessible and approachable as they are now. And personally, I don't want to lose that either. But I think we can agree that we would still love them to become bigger, as long as we don't lose what we have. (please tell me if I'm wrong here).

And about the cult. No, we're not a cult. But we are all Lifehouse fans who connect to eachother, and many of us have become friends over time. So maybe you could call us a community, or even a club as you will. But not a cult. A cult has negative connotations that I don't believe fit our description. And yeah, I guess over the years a lingo has emerged. basically it's all just abbreviations. the IH = 'is hot'. These things you can just ask, and we don't mind sharing that. We're just used to using these terms. We are not using this to offend other people.

[gogonutz]

peaceout said:

Has anyone written to the mods of their boards and told them to try and change it since everyone has such a problem with it?? I personally don't see a problem with it's organization and what not but if you all do, why don't you do something about it?

yes

[peaceout]

Krizit I called you out because you were the first one to retort and get angry with me. I've liked them just as long as you have probably, and just because I haven't met them a handful of times like you or others have here, doesn't mean that they don't mean as much to me. We obviously just have two completely different views on life, (not just Lifehouse, but life in general), if you can't see why I feel the way I do. I wasn't attacking, I was giving my opinion on what you all look like from someone who frequents the lifehousemusic boards. I had to read through the "lifehousefans is down" thread, written to another LHF member, to get this board's link, so it's not very out in the open, (or wasn't at the time).

I don't even know why I'm still here! I have to defend myself just because I wished everyone would make the other boards a more fun and happier place! You could've just explained you hated the layout of the other boards and that's why you weren't going, but instead you proved all my other points and turned it into a whole argument! If everyone would just realize that we all just want what's best for the band, why would anyone feel the need to argue??

You're just so defensive. I don't hate you - I don't hate anyone here, even though everyone was so quick to put me down and give me bad karma. (Really goes to show what accepting fans they claim to be.) But whatever. I'm over it, and I hope you are too.

[gurlnlifemagazine]

^^I'm not going to beat you up anymore than you've already been beaten (and you totally deserve it ) because I think you're whole point for posting over here was pointless. You purposely tried to call us out for not wanting to go to the offical board and accused us thinking we were better than the other boards. We like our board, how's that?

Wow, I need a freaking medal for not really giving it to this kid. I think my status as Mod is preventing me from being too mean here

[gogonutz]

It wasn't necessarily what you said, but the way you delivered it. It comes off offensive when you accuse people of being insulting, unsupporting, and disrespectful, especially if they aren't. And by presenting our own point of view, we were trying to clarify things the way we see it.

And you're welcome to stay and post here if you want. If you don't, no hard feelings (at least not from me), just keep in mind that not everyone sees things the way you see. Just as well as not everyone sees things the way I see, or the way Kristi sees things, etc. etc. People see and experience things differently. That's the way it is, and that's what makes things interesting.

[gogonutz]

gurlnlifemagazine said:

Wow, I need a freaking medal for not really giving it to this kid. I think my status as Mod is preventing me from being too mean here

I'll see what I can do about the medal.. and you'll get used to it, you'll be back to your mean old self in no-time

[savemeimdtba]

peaceout said:

Krizit I called you out because you were the first one to retort and get angry with me. I've liked them just as long as you have probably, and just because I haven't met them a handful of times like you or others have here, doesn't mean that they don't mean as much to me. We obviously just have two completely different views on life, (not just Lifehouse, but life in general)

What the hell? I have not ONCE mentioned how many times i've met the guys or have seen them... that's completely unrelated to anything. Just because i've seen the band many times doesn't make me any better than anyone else... and it's never been brought up and just because you haven't met the band doesn't make you any less. No one has said anything to that effect... I have no idea where this is coming from? Maybe you're taking past experiences with other message boards out on us but we are not like that. I can't help that i've seen the band more than you.. that's not my fault and I don't see how that automatically makes me the bad guy.

I'm not sure how you know we have different views on life as a whole seeing as how you don't know me... but if that's what you want to believe, fine. I'm a good person and who I am as a Lifehouse fan doesn't represent me as a whole.. but okay, you're done. It's fine.

[peaceout]

gurlnlifemagazine I hope someday you start acting more civil like gogonutz and take a chill pill. you have gotten your wish, and for everyone else's, by convincing me to never come back to these boards.

stubborn people.
peace out.

and "cult" : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : the object of such devotion c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

[savemeimdtba]

you've been waiting to use your screen name in the context of a post ALL day, haven't you? Congratulations! What a dramatic ending

and now I will get some lessons from Lisa on how to be mod-like, I just needed to get that one last thing out and I'm good now

[gogonutz]

don't you think it was kinda cute?

[City]

can i have her account?

[gogonutz]

do you really want to?