I now know that Doctor Who fans are called "Whovians."

[Major Tyler]

Dear Whovians,

Never in the the history of fandom has anyone ever suffered through so much to learn the answer to the question of "What do Doctor Who fans call themselves?"

I was foolish enough to ask my English friend Bridgit (whom I now call the Evil One as she chuckles maniacally at my misfortune) after making me sit down and watch an episode called "Bad Wolf" last Friday. She told me that DW fans were called "Who-ers." My reply was "Wow, that's an unfortunate choice, because it sounds an awful lot like another word." Upon hearing that I believed her silly lie, Bridgit decided to seize the opportunity to add another.

"Not only that," she replied in a measured tone to convey sincerety, "but it's spelled the same way as the other word, too."

"What?" I quietly exclaimed with incredulity.

"It's true!" she assured. "In the U.K., the 'e' and the 'r' are reverse from the U.S. way, you know that." If only she hadn't turned away I might have seen the evil glint in her eye.

And I surely was aware of that difference in the way Americans and Brits spell words. Using words such as "theatre" and "centre" as evidence of the veracity of her claim, though still somewhat skeptical, I thought I would take the opportunity to ask the DW fans (whom I now know are Whovians) on GateWorld, whether or not this was true.

Big. Mistake.

Apparently my inquiry was taken in entirely the wrong light, and I am very, very, sorry. I thought I had sufficiently explained myself in the opening post, but apparently not. It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I apologize if that was the result.

To make up for it, here is a list of ten things I like about Doctor Who (please keep in mind I've only seen two episodes, "Bad Wolf" and the one where the Daleks kill a bunch of Americans in Utah):

1.) Captain Jack is cool.
2.) The Daleks are actually a lot more deep as an enemy than they might appear on the surface.
3.) I'm beginning to understand a lot more of the U.K. cultural references I've heard.
4.) The theme song is cool.
5.) I like the way the Daleks say "EXTERMINATE!"
6.) The Doctor is funny, but he's not a clown. A good balance of serious and humourous.
7.) The "No" speech at the end of "Bad Wolf" was very moving.
8.) Captain Jack's reaction to Rose's apparent disintegration was also moving.
9.) Rose's humane spirit in face of the Daleks, especially the one who thought he was the last of his kind and wanted to die because he was part-human, was very well-portrayed by Ms. Piper.
10.) Though I haven't seen series two (28?), I like David Tennant.

Next time I have a question about Doctor Who, I'll just Google it.

[Willow'sCat]

Is this a joke?

You missed the point completely it is obvious what you did, we know it just because you are in a position to back peddle *delete threads when the going gets tough* doesn't make it right.

You missed the point!

[Tracy Jane]

Thank you for the apology. It is, at least, a start. But I think a lot of posters are annoyed at the double standards. Please take a moment to think what would have happened if it had been a new poster and not a mod who had posted that thread.

[Major Tyler]

Thank you for the apology. It is, at least, a start.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

But I think a lot of posters are annoyed at the double standards. Please take a moment to think what would have happened if it had been a new poster and not a mod who had posted that thread.

I'm afraid I don't see the double-standard. If a new (or old, for that matter) poster had started that thread, it would have been closed and removed given the visceral and extreme reaction to it...which is exactly what happened in this case. Two of the six replies in that thread were legitimate answers to my question, while the other four were angry replies rife with personal attacks, which always get deleted/snipped.

Yes, I chose to delete the thread because it was clearly upsetting people and it no longer had a purpose. Since two of the replies sufficiently answered my question, I didn't see any reason to try and salvage the thread by only removing or snipping the personal attacks. I must admit that I'm more than a little puzzled because people seemed so offended that the thread existed, but now people are saying they are offended that it's gone.

Again, I'm sorry people misconstrued my purpose with that thread. It was not my intention to upset anyone. It is also becoming apparent that it does not matter how much I apologize. You, Tracy Jane, are the only person who has given me the slightest hint that my apology had any effect, or that anything I could do or say might make up for this.

If I have no hope for forgiveness or reconciliation, what choice do I have but to wash my hands of this experience and move on?

[Flyboy]

Dear Whovians,

Never in the the history of fandom has anyone ever suffered through so much to learn the answer to the question of "What do Doctor Who fans call themselves?"

I was foolish enough to ask my English friend Bridgit (whom I now call the Evil One as she chuckles maniacally at my misfortune) after making me sit down and watch an episode called "Bad Wolf" last Friday. She told me that DW fans were called "Who-ers." My reply was "Wow, that's an unfortunate choice, because it sounds an awful lot like another word." Upon hearing that I believed her silly lie, Bridgit decided to seize the opportunity to add another.

"Not only that," she replied in a measured tone to convey sincerety, "but it's spelled the same way as the other word, too."

"What?" I quietly exclaimed with incredulity.

"It's true!" she assured. "In the U.K., the 'e' and the 'r' are reverse from the U.S. way, you know that." If only she hadn't turned away I might have seen the evil glint in her eye.

And I surely was aware of that difference in the way Americans and Brits spell words. Using words such as "theatre" and "centre" as evidence of the veracity of her claim, though still somewhat skeptical, I thought I would take the opportunity to ask the DW fans (whom I now know are Whovians) on GateWorld, whether or not this was true.

Big. Mistake.

Apparently my inquiry was taken in entirely the wrong light, and I am very, very, sorry. I thought I had sufficiently explained myself in the opening post, but apparently not. It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I apologize if that was the result.

To make up for it, here is a list of ten things I like about Doctor Who (please keep in mind I've only seen two episodes, "Bad Wolf" and the one where the Daleks kill a bunch of Americans in Utah):

1.) Captain Jack is cool.
2.) The Daleks are actually a lot more deep as an enemy than they might appear on the surface.
3.) I'm beginning to understand a lot more of the U.K. cultural references I've heard.
4.) The theme song is cool.
5.) I like the way the Daleks say "EXTERMINATE!"
6.) The Doctor is funny, but he's not a clown. A good balance of serious and humourous.
7.) The "No" speech at the end of "Bad Wolf" was very moving.
8.) Captain Jack's reaction to Rose's apparent disintegration was also moving.
9.) Rose's humane spirit in face of the Daleks, especially the one who thought he was the last of his kind and wanted to die because he was part-human, was very well-portrayed by Ms. Piper.
10.) Though I haven't seen series two (28?), I like David Tennant.

Next time I have a question about Doctor Who, I'll just Google it.

You're lovely you know that?


Apology accepted completely and utterly... but seriously, don't be afraid to ask questions about Who in future. really.

[Tracy Jane]

Major Tyler, I think there are some other issues surrounding people's problems with the thread, so I am currently writing you a PM, attempting to explain. It is probably better that we keep that discussion out of the public forum. It might take a little while

[Major Tyler]

You're lovely you know that?

Apology accepted completely and utterly... but seriously, don't be afraid to ask questions about Who in future. really.

I love you, FOB! You just made my day...seriously.

[Flyboy]

Glad to hear it.

[Major Tyler]

Major Tyler, I think there are some other issues surrounding people's problems with the thread, so I am currently writing you a PM, attempting to explain. It is probably better that we keep that discussion out of the public forum. It might take a little while

Okay, Tracy Jane. I've read your PMs and I have a better understanding of where you are coming from.

I think I've found some of the originating sources of all the anger, so I'd like to address those parts publically:

I admit that I said in the "Ask the Mods" thread that I deleted it because it no longer had a purpose. Although, as I have explained above, that was only why I chose deletion versus snipping. I did not go into further detail because the "Ask the Mods" thread is not the appropriate place. Sorry for the confusion that short statement caused. I asked the individual to PM me rather than post there, but she chose to disregard that, so I deleted the second post there.

I also deleted a third post in the "Ask the Mods" thread for the same reason. It seems that some of you are under the impression that I deleted them to hide them from the other moderators. That is not the case. Even when deleted, those posts can be viewed by any moderator/admin. It's called "soft-deletion."

Also, a lot of you talk exclusively about the title of the thread, which leads me to believe that few of you read the content of the opening post, or chose to dismiss it out of hand. The content of the post was basically a shorter version of the story I recounted for you in this apology thread. At no point did I call anyone anything. I simply asked if what my English friend told me was accurate...that's it. Clearly she was just playing a trick on me...well the joke's on me, that's for sure!

Lastly, the charge that I "only apologized because the other mods made me" is completely and utterly false. I suppose you could PM every last one of them and ask them yourself if you don't believe me. You can question my motivations all you want, but it all comes down to whether or not you believe me. If you believe my apology and can forgive me, great! If you think I'm a vile, contemptable liar not worthy of forgiveness, fine...I won't be happy about it, but there's nothing else I can say at this point.

I hope this helped clear up a few things.

[Hatusu]

Thanks for listening, MT.

[Tracy Jane]

Thank you, Major Tyler.

[jonno]

Indeed - it's good that you've apologised.

[Egeria]

OK, as one of the players in last nights mini-drama, I think it'd be wrong if I didn't comment.

Firstly, thanks for the apology MT....it is appreciated.

I still feel angry about the incident, but what's the point dragging it out....it's done, old news.

Saying that, I would like to address one point.

Also, a lot of you talk exclusively about the title of the thread, which leads me to believe that few of you read the content of the opening post, or chose to dismiss it out of hand. The content of the post was basically a shorter version of the story I recounted for you in this apology thread. At no point did I call anyone anything. I simply asked if what my English friend told me was accurate...that's it. Clearly she was just playing a trick on me...well the joke's on me, that's for sure!

The thread title is/was my biggest bone of contention. I did read the whole post MT, I didn't just go off on one after reading the title. I know that you didn't directly call anyone anything. Every day we see trolls and flamers hide behind clever wording used to disguise derogatory or inciteful comments (not that I'm accusing you of being either). It just gets tiresome. Thread titles are manipulated to catch the eye, and I really do think that the title was very inappropriate, regardless of your intent.

[Major Tyler]

Thread titles are manipulated to catch the eye, and I really do think that the title was very inappropriate, regardless of your intent.

I agree...in hindsight it certainly was in poor taste.

[Billz]

I didnt really spend alot of time in the forum last night so Im not sure what thread you all are talking about. On that note, I would like to be told what it was about, but only by PM if possible.