...Back to the main topic, further developments today. I feel like making a post on the main forum to say, "Hey, we here at Par fu mo (to get around their stupid censorship) embrace you. You can talk about your perfume here, you won't be asked to hide it away in a private thread at the bottom of the forums page, we won't bow down and remove a topic because some shitheads flagged it."I'm aware they'd probably ban me for such flagrant recruiting which is not even normally my style... the paper-thin apology from Zoka bothered me. It's good I have to rush to get ready for an appointment now, gives me time to reconsider doing such a thing! It surprises me how few Fragrantica members know about your awesome site here.

...Mill4r4:It's happened before on perfume forums, really disgusting homophobic comments being posted. It makes me sick, it really does. But people seem to like this freedom of speech thing, what I would like to say is where is the responsibility of speech? Where is the reasonableness that you would expect from grown adults?I like to think that the exceptionally callous and loud bigots are a dying breed and the increasing intensity on forums and social media is their death rattle! While there has been and likely will be people that secretly harbouring disdain for minorities we are making progress, the hateful and fearful are being drowned out and they feel the need to shout in lieu of the flippant mockery of the past. I take personal joy each time I read of a previously persecuted lifestyle choice gaining understanding within a community, whether it be homosexuality, transgender awareness, mental illness, the disabled, loud rock music, street art... it comes down to people rediscovering that we are all human beings and judging others is not necessary for our own happiness. And it builds upon itself; in my experience happy people tend not to try to rip happiness away from others, most bad blood is bred from bitterness. If we give into the endless cycle we do nothing but harm ourselves and others, by struggling through difficulty with our empathy intact we reclaim our own potential.Forgive me for the philosophical fapping, the topic is dear to my heart. Just this week I had a long conversation with one of my oldest friends. He finds solace in removing himself from social niceties and refuses to be sympathetic or give way to others as he considers himself a victim of his previous politeness. As someone with a bitter past of my own I was surprised to find myself barracking for genuine optimism and social empathy. It was a real epiphany.

...I wonder if in that hospital setting a fraction of that loss is habituation to the ammonia and cleaning products also dulling other scent sensitivity? Do you find yourself less or more sensitive to perfume after a busy week? There was a thread on Fragrantica where a doctor was asking which fragrance would offend his patients the least, many people advised him that no perfume at all would be preferable. Poor guy, though it comes with the territory. When I did volunteer work at a vet shelter the animals didn't like it either, I stopped wearing perfume the whole time I was with them.Conversely when I was doing bloods from long term care in hospitals I was surprised, comments from patients were all very positive. Being cooped up sick without fine fragrance they always noticed the wisps of what I had left over. Aged care homes are more relaxed, one lady I visited had a big glass flacon of Shalimar in prime place on her counter, sun damage be damned. :)

...Ah, they must have reopened it.As much as I admire their suggestion (and already do so regularly) I do see that kind of comment quite often on similar causes. My partner would stand behind me and say "what a logical fallacy of relative privation!" Heh.But, bedtime for me... probably for the best.

...FloraMilena:Scarletting:FloraMilena:I've been here for awhile. :DYes, I noticed your similar username. So far here on Parfumo you seem nice enough so I assume you know that would not wash here.I never change no matter which site I am on. If someone were to actually engage in denigratory or personally insulting comments against old people, the aged, gays, lesbians, atheists, or engage in hate speech, especially in the context of perfume choices in a perfume forum, I would speak right up. That will never change.I stand for the same things, though it would seem we fight for them differently. That said, even if I don't respect your method I can appreciate your intent.

...florette:Scarletting, vous êtes loin de donner ma secrets! :wink: *muah*See, that time all I got from it was "loin". :wink:

...The main recent thread was moved, then closed with a comment. A comment! That's progress. The last lines of it I found most interesting: "Everybody is free to go to a public place and exercise his/her freedom of expression or start his/her own website and write what ever he/she wants on it."Let me attempt to translate:

...Hehe, I like it when you respond in French, I go through your comment and try to understand all of it before translating it to see how much I got correct. It's a fun, casual way to learn!

...FloraMilena:I've been here for awhile. :DYes, I noticed your similar username. So far here on Parfumo you seem nice enough so I assume you know that would not wash here.

...No, it makes sense. Your idea would mix scents like a printer would mix inks to make images. Unfortunately printers are tricky little things but at least when they act up it becomes quite obvious... with scent it would be a lot less detectable, it'd be like suspecting you had a bad batch.Not to mention that colour printers still only need four inks... imagine how many various perfume notes you would need for a fragrance "printer!"Still, it's a fun idea.

...florette:My question for you is :twisted:, how pertinent is this topic, in the context of a public perfume forum, given the social and psychological health consequences that may arise from misinformation, amongst other suggestive replies or predatory tactics.I think mentioning sex in a friendly and approachable manner is more likely to open up educational and frank discussion. You're right that young people are growing up very fast these days but I don't think shielding eyes is going to help much, kids will be curious and the internet makes it all too easy to become misinformed or to develop less than positive ideas regarding body image, sexual pressures during relationships and the like. Like allowing someone under legal age to sample wine or puff a cigarette, the verboten nature of some topics lends it an alluring mystery that attracts more than diverts attention. Addressing it in a casual but respectful manner is much more constructive, at least in my experience. Personally I think that if someone is mature enough to appreciate scent to the point that they join Fragrantica, Parfumo or a similar site and happen to wander across people mentioning the word they'd be able to view the conversation with a decent amount of context. The "pantydropper" threads are much more vapid and callous about the objectification of women, men and sex.

...Hopefully enough people are beginning to pay attention that either the admins cannot help but create some structure... or the frustrated members leave and come here instead.

...Well, they have tried. Not as easy as scratch-n-sniff, but getting there. Back in the 80's there was the aroma disc, kind of like an electronic diffuser but it never took off. Then there's the Scentscape and i-Aroma that are digitally controlled. Funky stuff.

...There's a new thread gaining steam now, basically many members throwing in against the censorship. This should be a real catalyst, so we may have many new members coming in, some moving and shaking on Fragrantica, or both.

...Apicius:Seriously: Parfumo will never allow discrimination against lesbians or gays. If anti-gay or anti-lesbian statements should occur I am sure the Parfumo users will step in and say the needful even before the moderators and admins get wind of it.Damn right we will. At the same time I'm glad that moderators pay attention to the forums here.

...Yes! Thank you. :wink:

...There was a similar drama recently when someone made a thread for what perfumes members liked to wear during sex. I thought it was harmless, nobody has a problem asking what you'd wear to the gym or cinema but oh, the children! All of a sudden Fragrantica is full of children and they must never see the word "sex"! Discussing virginity with your peers is deplorable, apparently! One member in particular came in and started throwing around her weight, "left" the conversation with a flounce only to come back and hurl more insults at me. Had never met that member before so I found it rather amusing.Anyway, the thread (which was quite fun and constructive until that point) was swiftly deleted by admins without a word of comment."These are not the posts you're looking for."These days many people feel entitled to be offended to the point where it's non-constructive. I consider myself to have empathy and I like to play devil's advocate, "why is this person so bothered?" but I do feel like quoting Stephen Fry to some of the exceptionally loud and demanding members. Hell, if I'm going to take offence I'll state why, discuss it reasonably and then let it go. Anything else is just foot-stamping for the sake of it. That kind of bullying running rampant on Fragrantica is one of the reasons why I prefer Parfumo now instead.LGBTQ members should be free to discuss whatever they like. Bigotry is dealt with so often every day that anyone happy to talk about their lifestyle on the internet is well aware of the nastiness some people harbour. Backing down or censoring oneself out of fear in real life when bodily harm is threatened is one thing, but on the internet? No. The close-minded will crow when they can, all too aware that their day is ending. Ignore them for the petty gnats they are. It's natural to ask what others you identify with enjoy, just like a thread full of Australians posting will pique my interest. Starting a thread to weed out people of a minority, however, is devious if that is indeed what occurred... and, yes, I'll use the "bullying" word again since the cliques on Fragrantica get away with so much of it. Like bloody high school over there sometimes and only a small amount of people causing the ruckus each time with seemly no fear of comeuppance. I'm disappointed with how little the moderators seem to care.Thankfully any of the drama queens that have accounts on both sites are smart enough not to try their crap on these forums.To those among them that may be reading my words at this very moment: hello! 8)

...Florette that video looks great, at least from what I have watched so far. I keep trying to make time for it and keep getting distracted! Another thought: how easy is it, if at all possible, to retro-- what is it called when you craft something backwards? I'm drawing a blank on the word, but to be able to give a chemist a sample of an unknown, irreplacable perfume and have them recreate it would be mindblowing. Mindblowing but bittersweet... it would open up too many avenues for plagiarism. But think of the applications! Artificial ouds as good as first grade genuine aoud, cruelty free animalics, perhaps even the ability to revive plants that have not been smelled in a generation.

...I have found myself roaming through Parfumo eyeing bottles vicariously while I wait for my next delivery. Normally I would wait to encounter them in person but there are so many gorgeous niche and limited edition bottles that I have given in to a bottle rating spree! I love the bottle colour sorting feature, I'm tempted to go shade by shade and make a side project of rating each one. Though this is likely to take some time. :wink:Obviously there are quite a few people that do rate by vision alone. How do you feel about this? I suppose least here on Parfumo we know that bottle appreciation will not alter scores for the juice... unlike another site I can think of where something isn't even released yet and yet is inundated with love and hate ratings simply from the visual preview of it!That said, some are of surprising quality. A "cheap" perfume like "Believe" has a particularly beautiful glass container even if the plastic parts detract from the heft of it. Then there are bottles that look fascinating but feel awkward and flimsy when sprayed ("Omnia", I'm looking at you) not to mention those poor life-changing fragrances in cringeworthy plastic monstrosities.A related idea for the moderators... upon mouseover of a perfume preview, can we have icons pop up at say, 50% opacity to show which ratings we have already provided rather than having to load each page individually to check? Just a small star in each colour that we have rated, perhaps a gold star if every rating category is complete.

...My partner and I are happily owned by four cats but only two of them have any palpable reaction to my perfume, our two girls Emma and THE MUNCH are far too independent to notice beyond "Mom smells different every day, what a weird cat she is!"There's Apollo, fondly called Polly, a big fuzzy tank of love and a real sook. We joke that while I love all of our cats equally and to the end of the earth, Polly is my baby. He communicates with me in burrs and clucks... I could go on, but I'll spare you the cat lady ramble! :wink:Unfortunately he's very sensitive to when I spray perfume, he blinks and cringes in a worrisome way so I have to be careful he's not anywhere near... which is tricky since he's tied to me by an invisible string. Once the perfume mist is settled I let him back and and he's fine.Cloud smelled of vanilla the day we brought him home. We adopted him from a woman who wanted everything to be fluffy, fancy and the colour cream, including her small dog and ragdoll cat. She must have had very strong diffusers in her home, it took months for the vanilla smell to leave his fur! A meringue in cat form, he's the only proper "breed" I have ever owned and let me tell you he is a special snowflake. :roll: Cloud is always interested in human things, I have to show him everything to say "see, you actually don't want this, so you can quit acting like the world is ending!" This includes perfumes so he often hangs out with me while I unbox and test new fragrances.