Is it fair to have someone block you because she doesn't like your answers?

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Boom Blatz

Dude, you are talking about the NYC Kyopo Gestapo. She is the self proclaimed archangel of all things Korean. She also has more than one ID so that she can kick you on her own. I had a question removed for being offensive days after it was resolved. Funny thing is, I had sourced the question with news articles and the best answer I chose was from a Korean person.
Anyway, the more I watch of her behavior the more I believe that she is a 'real' Korean, but not one of the fun loving college students that will sit and drink a bottle of soju and try to practice English, more like one of the drunk old men lying in the gutter who will jump up and try to fight you at the slightest perceived insult but they are too loopy to figure out how to properly attack.

Edit:
I just read your answer to the kimchi question. It was fair. I do not know anything about German cuisine, so I do not get the comparison. I do not think you were referring to any of the terrible aspects of Germany's history (which given the behavior of both North and South Koreans in the 50's you certainly could) so I do not get the problem with that.
As far as saying it taste like vomit... we are talking about a food that is purposely rancid. To someone not familiar with it(and many foreigners that are), that is a perfectly acceptable characterization.

Charles G

In my experience, there is a risk of being insulting (even if such is not intended) when speaking frankly. That risk is greater in cases in which the audience is not well-known to the speaker, and cultural differences in communication style can result in unintended effects from messages delivered.

Some US politicians have suffered from this phenomenon, and some US comedians have built careers upon it. Go figure.

Dwelling on fairness in cases in which there has been an unintended insult is not nearly as productive as recognizing the transgression when it occurs. For those who desire it, opportunities for redemption usually exist.

Am I an advocate for political correctness? I don't consider myself to be.
Am I an advocate for understanding our differences? I try to be.

Dawn V

Actually, Gene, if this makes you feel any better:
I have been on Yahoo answers Korea for a few years, and the only people who seem to get offended or disappointed by the answers here are people who do NOT live in Korea.
I fnd that Korean people within Korea are very interested in how the outside world percceives them, good or bad, and like to initiate discussion about it.
Koreans who live abroad are sometimes more interested in defending Korea and wanting to hear only the positive.
(maybe because they feel isolated in their heterogeneous community)
Just forget about it.. you can't please everyone.
And anyone living over here knows the good, the bad and the ugly more so than anyone NOT living here, Korean or otherwise.
You'll find HUGE differences between KOreans in KOrea and KOreans livin overseas... even KOreans here will tell you they are as dissimilar than similar. So don't let one person's thoughts bother you. A lot of the "Top answers" people in the KOrea section do not live here anymore, if they ever did.
They are just knowedgable about Korea, not necessarliy everyday life on the street.

Bill

I enjoy all of the answers in this section even though I don't participate much. I like to scan through and read what is going on.
There is some cancer in here.

Rabbityama

Unfortunately there are some people who do not want to hear foreigners (or anyone) point out negative things about their nation. Maybe the user didn't know what you meant when you compared Korea to Germany and thought of something offensive, like Nazism. I don't know.

In any case, like all of the features, people can abuse them. The block feature is supposed to be used to block trolls, but in MANY categories people are blocked for a variety of senseless, immature reasons.

In this case, someone truly thought you were offensive, so maybe that person is just ultra-sensitive or misunderstood your point. My e-mail is not on Yahoo!Answers, but it's quite possible that some people have blocked me, as well. You shouldn't let it bother you. It's up to the people asking the questions to decide who is best. The thumbs-up and thumbs-downs do not always mean much...

seenoevil

Gene, get a life.

Anyone complains about anything, you get violated.

Who cares?

Don't sweat the small stuff.

By the way, your'e right Kim-Chee is definitely an acquired taste.

M.j.P

Gene

I think it is normal, as human beings.....that we sometimes view someones actions...or in this case Q and A's with a certain level of judgement/sensitivity. I think you should maybe work it out, and maybe come to some sort of understanding ~ or, simply let it go. Really, we aren't always going to agree with each other, thats life. And life is not fair.

What if your co-worker doesn't like your ideas, or ignores your suggestions? Are you going to quit your job? Saying you "will not comment on this forum" and then stating that 'maybe' Korean people and people who like Koreans are nasty is just a little bit childish and uncalled for....

Regarding the "kimchi question"...I guess its an aquired taste, sure....and maybe to some people, the flavour is "vomit like". Is it wrong to say that, in an open forum?....I don't think so. But, we are all different, all unique....so, what bothers one person, may not bother another. There are alot worse things in life to get upset over I guess.......

I don't think you have to be Korean, or a foreigner living in Korea to understand all things Korean. I agree with v-man, Dawn, and others...that it does help to live there. But, I also agree with Gaya and can understand where she is coming from with her comments.

Anyway... Korea is simply part of the world that we on this forum choose to enjoy ~ so, lets all just enjoy Korea ~ and everything that it has to offer^^

Cheers ~ M.

Din-chan

Gene, don't worry about it. The fact that those people are anonymous (thanks to the Internet) probably leads them to be bolder than they would be in real life.

You're not the only one who's been through this, I'm sure. But please don't let this all affect how you think about Koreans (and those who like them). I guess there's a higher amount of easily offended people in that forum, or perhaps someone's stalking you. Either way, don't let it all spoil your time here.

clueless

Dawn V's right Gene.
Don't make your judgment on the community (you actually made your judgment on 2 communities: Koreans and others who have interests on Korea) based on one person's behavior.
Believe me, her way of thinking is not as close as she thinks it is to the young Koreans' way of thinking.
Even though some Koreans would still have the bizarre ideas about "someday Japan will attack us because they're always trying to acquire new land so we have to prepare ourselves against the Japanese" or extreme nationalist pride, most are more open minded and willing to listen to outsider's view.

and why would you satisfy your blocker by doing what she would want you to do?
it's yahoo answers korea section anyway, so it's an open forum, there's no rule saying "only korean lovers" get to join in.

and for Gaya, what does "strict" korean family means anyway?
you can't say you know anything about korea based on you've been raised in a "strict korean family". for what i've been observing, you're quiet an american in attitude, but old generation nationalist korean in thinking.

Bobby P

u know what gene. i just saw ur answer about kimche Q but 1st of all, yeah i can see where ur angry and what ever ur comment people as long as it's not offensive should not be to what had happened. but ur answer to gayas Q could of been to some offensive. as it is well known that germans r bashed in the u.s. for alot of reasons that it can be an indirect way of putting koreans down. gersman cusine is known in the western world to be primitive and again indirectly u can be saying korean food is primitive and with the slightly scented flaver of words "VOMIT" could of offended many.
gaya is always trying to help people here with her well manored ways. she knows about korea or koreans and try and share her opinions on a open forum about what and where she has knowledge to. yes, many celebrities and politition had been bashed to be where they r but it is in a place of a society with in ones understanding and grasp. in a cultural place like here in this forum wheather korean, german or phillipines if u would of answered like so, people will get made and upset. gaya is not a gestapo bi*ch as if u were to see her ways in the many A/Q remarks and also an adult to see her level u'll understand her and respect her. y would u want to itch with a child for gaya is only a child or kid if u will. u should of been more adult like with this situation.

and again, don't get me wrong. as ur disterbence i can agree with u but again do not agree with the way ur handleing about this uncomfortable situation with a child.

Busan-man

You have made several good points about limitations of Yahoo! Answers. To answer your question, it's not fair. I think Dawn V and yo-shin in Korea mirror my feelings on this issue.

As for Gaya, before I even read your question I knew it had to her that you were writing about. Regarding your third paragraph of questions about the Korean people. She is not Korean and doesn't live in Korea. She's American. I've had issues with her too. Her attitude is completely American in this forum, and frankly she is as "un-Korean" as they get. I live and teach at a university in Korea and in my four years here, no Korean (male or female), has ever demonstrated this type of oversensitive, domineering behavior.

And your last sentence reaches the wrong conclusion. Your issue is not with a Korean, but an American. Koreans are not like this --- especially Korean females. My experiences with Koreans have been 99% positive. In general they are a kind group of people.

shellnpepe

That happen to me. All I did was apologize to this person for something that might have been offensive. I did not even answer her question! She e-mailed me back said crazy things and blocked me! So ditto. LOL People are to sensitive. We are not all going to have the same opinions. I feel when you place a question on here you should be prepared for someone to answer who thinks differently than you. This is the world we live in and these are the people in the world that take part in Yahoo Q's and A's. I don't get offend easily. I just stay strong and remind myself that I don't know these people. Yahoo Q's and A's is a place for the strong.

aggylu

Yo-shin, Boom, and several more names I can't remember made good points.
Of course it's not fair, but you're unlikely to change someone's mind when they're upset.
It's ridiculous, though, to ask, "Is this how Koreans and people who like Koreans are?" That's every bit as reactionary as someone being offended by your description of kim chi.
Maybe the reader thought you meant gestapo-ically instead of gastronomically.
Maybe this string of positive answers to the Q will get us all blocked. :)

Edit: I just tried to find the offensive answer, and am not allowed to view the question. . . It's like I'm psychic or something. Tee Hee Hee

Psylence

Yes it's fair. That's why Yahoo Answers has those commands available. Not everyone is like that though. Common man.. Let it go, so what if they blocked you? It means they found it offensive.

Mean Carleen

I have been blocked, violated, and wrongfully accused. Some folk are just sensitive because I hate it when someone posts a question and then gets upset because they dont like the answer(s) they receive. NO one is going to like all the answers they get. What it should mean is that that answer wont be getting the 10pts...but like I said...some folk are just sensitive.

Gabi ng Lagim

Some people have very thin skins and are prissy about it. Sometimes I think they look for offensiveness when none is to be found. So, they make it up.
Oh, by the way, I love kimchee.

Aileen HK

Calm down, Gene!!!

Think of eating some good food and forget about kimchee for a while!

darlene l

that's why yahoo has questions and answers-- to show your own feeling about questions that you reply to--but you have to be careful because some people don't like the truth------

dontknow86

People do it to me too. God didn't please everyone , and look what they did to him.

You also said gimchi tasted like vomit (you forgot to mention that) and your response was pretty offensive (like some of your other statements regarding Korea).. I have the right to block you if I don't like your answers and find them offensive. I blocked you first and then emailed you.. I still thought you could reply back because I had someone block me and email me, and I was able to give him a reply. I guess it really doesn't matter if you don't comment in this section anymore because I have a feeling you'll be bashing Korea anyway and especially after this incident and all.. I've been unfairly blocked and reported by foreigners who live in Korea too and at least you posted this question here.. if that makes you feel any better. I'm often attacked on y!a by some foreigners living in Korea who think I don't have to right to answer here because I don't live in Korea anymore.. I guess it really doesn't matter to them that I basically grew up in a strict Korean family with many of its cultural values. Some of them think they know more than I do when I like to say that it's better to combine our knowledges. Need I remind them that there is an actual yahoo!Korea with y!a that many Koreans type in Hanguel and use.

It takes one to one. You made a point my asking this question, not from the response you posted.. What you posted on my question page was just a negative remark.
Anyway, I guess I could've saved some embarrassment if I've had given you the chance to reply.. I apologize for that mistake on my part.

B B: I only have one y!account and I don't report anything unless I find it offensive! I have never reported any of your questions either. Plus, you blocked me before, so I didn't even have access to your questions. ty very much.

T U

I dont think its fair to be blocked since ppl come here to get honest answers to their questions and if they cant handle what might come from a complete stranger, then they shouldnt post in the first place!

waltcosmos

Yeah, that does seem pretty strange. Maybe they just don't know any better.

Travis

Rachel B

Seems pretty silly to me.

I see lots of answers I disagree with but I've only ever reported someone one time (and that was because of name calling and racist comments).

Everyone has their opinion and is entitled to it. If people start blocking everyone who disagrees with them then Answers has become a waste of time.

Send an email to the admins asking exactly what the justification for this was...

I love Korea and Korean food but it doesn't offend me that other people don't. Now if you used racist terms or said Korea should be destroyed or something I'd be against you... but just giving your opinion... no problem with it.

As for kimchi tasting like vomit.. I love kimchi now, but it took me several months to get to that point. And I still can't stand new kimchi. New kimchi is icky...

Mustang Lvr

u made a really good point 2 me.
i block people only if their answers are ungodly and don't uphold the community guidelines
have a great day.

sparrowszealot

maybe they got offended that you compared them to germany, i don't know very much about koreans but i have noticed that some asians do get very offended when it comes to their culture, maybe you just rubbed some overly sensitive asian the wrong way, sorry it had to happen

UPWaRRioRs

NO WHATA !@#$%!!

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