Virtual cruise Lyon to Avignon and Arles

The trouble is, SD, the vast majority of men would know how to handle what you view as 'a situation' but you are, shall we say politely and with no intention to cause hurt, not like the vast majority, as you know. That is merely an observation, not a criticism. We are all who we are. It was not a situation, just a bit of light hearted banter by Maw with no underlying meaning. A gentleman would just say 'potato varieties of course'. A cad, on the other hand would leap at any perceived opportunity. Now I know you are a gentleman and not a cad. So I hope it's been useful. I would add a smile but I'm on my laptop which knows nothing about emojis.

Sort of like this?

Well I too am using a laptop and I can add a smile because this Gransnet forum allows a small collection of emoji to be added using what is called a markup system.

So, for the one keys, in succession, with no spaces, a [ character, the word smile and then the ] chatacter.

Because screen fonts are not always clear when distinguishing between parentheses, brackets and braces, I mention that the characters are the ones to the right of the letter P on the keyboard without holding the Shift key down.

There is a list of what is available displayed if one scrolls down below the Add your message here panel.

StarDreamer

Sort of like this?

That was in reply to MawtheMerrier's post.

It's a good film.

I was really trying hard to breath a bit of fun into this boring cruise but I think I’m done. I can’t be doing with all these bloody links and mansplaining.

You did your best

CaravanSerai

I was really trying hard to breath a bit of fun into this boring cruise but I think I’m done. I can’t be doing with all these bloody links and mansplaining.

You did bring some fun into it.

Please reconsider.

The link was to a sceme from a comedy film.

There have only been three links today by me, three is the maximum I am allowed each day.

I explained how to add the smile emoji as one human being to another human being, yes it was a man explaining something to a woman, but that does not make it mansplaining. I would have explained it in exactly the same way to a man.

Perhaps the ship needs to go into the docks for a while to be repaired?

Thanks for the explanation SD, that was actually very helpful for when using my laptop. I’m now using my phone ?

The problem has been identified, a part in the engine has failed. The problem can be fixed while the cruise ship is moored here at the quai in Tournon, but we need to get the replacement part. Our chief engineer has been making some telephone calls but we will not be able to get the part until tomorrow morning at the very earliest. I am told that once the part can be obtained it should be quite straightforward for our chief engineer and his assistants to fit it.

We were due to remain here until early tomorrow morning, so there will be some delay, but as we arrived here later than planned then that will be fine, though as we were intending to make a long journey tomorrow, I think we will need to remain in Tournon for tomorrow night as well and, if the repair can be completed in time, leave Tournon to journey southward on Thursday morning.

I thought I might join the cruise, but it’s a bit tedious on here. Cruise, or lecture?

Then we need you to liven it up then!

SD. You were never allowed links. In the initial thread several people (including FannyC most emphatically) said they didn't want them and you seemed to accept that. Then you decided you wanted to post links after all.

*

Fanny wrote:

Sunday 12:17

SD I have given your request for links considerable thought.

I have come to the conclusion that you (*SD*) are allowed to post just three links per day.

The idea being that you will be happy sharing your ‘finds’ with the rest of the party; and it will make you even more discerning in your choice of material.

Does everyone else agree with this arrangement?

*

Nobody did. Read the thread. Several of the posters who were making this fun on Saturday left on Sunday precisely because they are tired of you not listening and doing what you want and sod everybody else. It is arrogant, undemocratic, very tiresome and actually against GN netiquette precisely because linking irritates people.

I have no idea why you feel you have this obligation to educate people particularly in a holiday environment. People are perfectly capable of finding information themselves and sharing it in a conversation.

Had you read the room on Saturday you would have seen the kind of Argy-style atmosphere that people were enjoying. Had you read the thread you would have seen that people were leaving and why and adjusted your behaviour accordingly. But you didn’t. Now why is that? It’s like dealing with a small boy who keeps kicking a ball against a garage door. Ten neighbours ask him to stop but he just goes on doing it anyway because he knows it annoys people.

StarDreamer

Then we need you to liven it up then!

Ça ne vaut pas la peine!

Fanny suggested a maximum of three links per day and those only for videos. I have abided by that and I have now used up today's allowance.

Behind the scenes I have been reading wikipedia articles, looking at websites of museums, using the rome2rio.com site extensively to plan things, searching out videos, choosing the ones I think most appropriate and presenting them as if shore excursions.

I have been basing this all, as suggested, on the Viking river cruise from Avignon to Tours, run in the reverse direction. I have added in some creative writing such as the problem with the ship's engine, which has not been fixed at this time.

You wrote Nobody did but the way with these things is that if someone remains silent it is an abstention. So Fanny's suggestion passed the vote, one for, none against, so that became the rule that I have followed.

I didn't put a link to the printing museum's website, I wrote about visiting the museum.

But that can't be done with a video.

If I were unable to link to videos that I found then the simulation would not work.

I asked about Argy and nobody said what it is!

The real cruise is educational with a tour guide showing people around and explaining things.

You seem very annoyed and I don't understand why. It is a simulation of a cruise.

It is a simulation of a cruise.
Actually it’s not. A simulation of a cruise would be fun.

I'm doing my best.

1) It’s not a simulation -however you understand the term. It’s a virtual river cruise in the sane way we have had virtual Halloween parties, or like the Argy
2)You only had to look at the list of Chat threads/topics to find the Argy.
3) We do not need educating, so thank you for all your research, but it was not necessary. As you will have read today Abulaemia is actually in Tournon today and there will be several who have done the same cruise in whichever direction.
4) It was suggested as fun -enjoyment-relaxation . Not a pedantic lecture (illustrated or otherwise) on Renaissance French music (that was dire and seriously woke my dog up) or a translation of French terms, veggies or anything else.
I am sorry it did not work for you, the intention was good, but lacking lightness of touch, surely you must have realised how many people “jumped ship”.
A route, yes, a boat with a name, yes, a Cap’n, yes, anecdotes, yes, pictures, yes but not tedious links (the only “tour” I clicked was some American who seemed to know very little and the photography was dire- surely better could have been found?)
Creative writing, yes, a bit of gastronomie yes, , but sadly this did not work out, possibly because you seemed to want to “control” all input.
So as I said I am sorry your “cruise” did not work out, I think it could have done and perhaps the next time the Tripadvisor reviews will be more flattering.

SD. Your understanding of democracy is peculiar and wrong. In 2019 the Conservatives won a major of seats because people went to a polling station to vote or voted by proxy FOR them. In the 2016 EU referendum 52% of people voted TO leave and thus we had Brexit. I did not voted FOR either of those things and yet I must accept and live with those majority decisions.

Several people overtly said said they did NOT want links and or were tired/annoyed/irritated by them. If you bother to read back through both threads you will see this and you will see who left on Sunday because of it. If you chose to be blinkered to what really happened there is nothing I can do.

I do not know if you have ever been on a group holiday of any kind where people are together on a coach or train or boat for a number of days. Maybe you have not. It is not controlled in the way that you imagine. The vehicle is just a means to get from A to B. It’s a random collection of people with a variety of motives for booking a particular holiday. How people enjoy themselves is up to them. They do not need someone else waving a guide book under their noses saying look at this, look at this. There will be a tour guide or leader whose job is to deal with the logistics, make sure everyone is on board, make sure everyone has a bed for the night and to offer some information about what there is to see and do but their job is not to be controlling or intrusive. I know a fair number of people who go on cruise after cruise after cruise purely to dress up, enjoy the food and drink and onboard entertainment who never leave the ship.

I am going to return to something Fanny said on the initial thread Friday June 10 9:51:

You can’t really plan a thread.
And you definitely can’t predict it.
It’s an organic and collaborative thing.
Threads go their own way.

Knowing that, there was never any need for you to go at this like some kind of academic project. As they say in France - de trop.

Again, look at the party atmosphere on Saturday. That is what people seemed to want - just like the Argy, threads which you could have easily found had you typed the word Argy in the search box. Odd that you can find all this other stuff but couldn’t find that. Again, deliberately ignoring what the majority want.

Do you know what I think would be a very good idea? Book yourself a short touring holiday in the real world just to see how things work. It might change your understanding.

I think you’re being rather harsh CaravanSerai why not just leave the thread if you’re not happy?

Jaxjacky I have in a way as did many over the weekend. You need to read the lead in thread and this one to see what happened. Have you?

It's about one person thinking they can do what they want even when the majority have asked them not to.

I’ve been reading the whole thread.

CaravanSerai - I've been following this thread and agree with a lot of your comments. However, your suggestion that it's easy to find what the Argy is about is not correct. I've been on Gransnet for a number of years and had seen it as the title of a thread, but when I used the search function, nothing came up. Everyone knows the search function on Gransnet is useless!
So if SD asked what the Argy was about, someone who knew might have explained it.

I don't actually know myself what the Argy was about.

Farmor15. I disagree. I have just typed Argy into the GN search box and ten pages of Argy threads come up with ten thread a page. It's easy to find them using external search engines too.