<p>I think lbftw is funny in a sad way, or sad in a funny way.</p>
<p>I think he's strange in a good way.</p>
<p>kitkat--
I was thinking more illicit things that i dont think i should post publicly...hahah</p>
<p>kitkatbar, what's your deal? i'm guessing fat. scratch that, really fat. the username is a definitely a tip-off.</p>
<p>haha..good one ibftw. thanks for the smile. i'm only 14. how old are you again? :)</p>
<p>really, lbftw? really? </p>
<p>i have no problem with arguments. its fine to challenge people's ideas. but when you have to resort to a base insult that is likely not even true just because kitkatbar wrote something that didnt worship you as the almighty ruler....well that's just sad. clearly you didnt get much out of your boarding school experience, or you would be able to insult people more creatively.</p>
<p>What a sad, pathetic person you are, lbftw. I hope people understand that this guy has serious problems and that you'll stop responding to him.</p>
<p>I guess that I'm going to respectfully disagree with D'yer and continue my assertion that the behavior that lbftw is exhibiting is trolling. You do not necessarily have to have ill intent to troll. The necessary ingredients are a contrarian position without significant data to back up an assertion (seen lots of that), a desire to get an emotional response from users (baiting elior like that is one of many issues I've seen here), and a desire to draw the conversation to one's self.</p>
<p>Yes, he brings up issues that are problems with attending boarding school. They are real. But I ask what significant insight has he lent through personal experience or a relevant reference to someone else's specific experience. All he has done is propogate negative generalizations while asserting that he is taking a position. </p>
<p>He made my troll list initially with his first thread "Don't go to boarding school" and made his way off the list as he started to divulge a couple of pieces of personal experience (he didn't want to attend - it was his parent's idea - but didn't want to appear weak for backing out).</p>
<p>However, he seems a bit bored recently and has started this thread where he seems to have tossed about a bunch of generalizations which he calls "opinions" without giving an example, which he should be able to do if he did attend a top 7 boarding school for 4 years as he mentioned in his other thread.</p>
<p>He is adding heat without light.</p>
<p>And while many of our younger applicants seem to have a curiosity about negative experiences at boarding school, (hey I'd like to hear them too!), so far he hasn't told us a good story yet with some actual experience, just his misery about being there.</p>
<p>lbftw, if you want to get off that list again, start giving some good anecdotal evidence (you should have a couple of stories) or at least some solid statistics to back up your opinion that boarding schools are full of people who are not happy (and yes you did say that projecting your own thoughts on others).</p>
<p>It is nice to have a contrarian voice on this board. Let's just back up the assertions with real facts and experiences.</p>
<p>back it up with real facts and experiences? i went to boarding school for four years. you want stories? kids got kicked out all the time. for everything. drugs, grades, skipping classes, threatening other students. there were suicides and attempts. classmates of mine have flunked out of plenty of places. the majority did not get into harvard, yale or princeton (and let's be clear, there are way more recruited athletes, minority kids and million-dollar legacies at these places than any other high school in america). people i knew who hated it the most were the ones who had gone to normal high schools. hated it more than i did even.</p>
<p>Wow, Jonathan. I think you, out of the many prospective BS applicants on these boards, should realize how much parents have contributed to helping kids look realistically at boarding schools. I think lbftw is posting a one sided albeit disgruntled view of boarding/prep schools. It is too bad that his is one of the few actual student or past student views shown here. I am thinking that the more happy and successful students simply don't have the time or the interest to respond to this twaddle. To the students who say parents don't have a clue, I express my sympathy that they have not enjoyed the close relationships with their parents that I experience with my children.</p>
<p>Gdad,
I thought D'y got it right:</p>
<p>"Coming here and knocking boarding school is going to be a tough sell on this corner of College Confidential. Maybe that's why I'm disappointed in lbftw's performance. He raises some points that deserve lots of discussion but they're delivered in the form of hyperbolic pronouncements that generate disinterest and plausible claims of troll status."</p>
<p>Observe it, learn from it, don't feed it!</p>
<p>Ladies. Lets put the claws away and stop baiting each other.</p>
<p>I'm currently going to a prestigious boarding school and I have to say that I agree with most of lbftw's assertions. It really isn't the perfect place that I once imagined it to be, but I think I've learned a lot from it and it has been a positive experience. That said, I see cliques and issues all the time, and many of lbftw's issues REALLY DO OCCUR, whether one likes it or not, from my experience, as well as friends from other boarding school. However, it is obviously much better than my old public school or local day privates, but honestly, I think that we should respect everyone's opinions in this board. As a lot of people have said, it's important to get ALL the sides of the story, from the disgruntled to the perfectly happy. I don't understand the purpose of boards if it is not to share not only facts, but opinions and have discussions. To the parents who obviously don't share the same views, then post your own views so that we can get a broad spectrum of opinions.</p>
<p>parents, please, just let us ask him questions, i mean, did you read my post at all about us not being quite as impressionable as you seem to thinkwe are?</p>
<p>and everyone, this is just a fun site where we talk about barding schools, must we fight? must we insult eachother?</p>
<p>I truly do respect everyone's opinions and mean no offense whatsoever toward any parent or student on here, you have all helped me soooooo much!!!</p>
<p>but this is a thread for US to ask lbftw, not for parents to tell us not to listen to him, I've heard the good side, i would like to be aware of the bad before i (hopefully) attend next year.</p>
<p>Well, Nelly, if you surely believe what you are saying then you should actually listen to what lbftw has to say. Its not helping your case when you say that you "hopefully" want to go away when lbftw is obviously spending much time laying out the side of BS that is a bit seedy.</p>
<p>I would listen to lbftw and his bad experience as much as I would listen to others and their fabulous experiences. Ultimately, its what <em>I</em> believe is best for ME not what D'yer thinks is best for the youth as a generic whole or the places that lbftw thinks are terrible hell houses.</p>
<p>Deciding whether or not to go to BS is like voting. There are 1000s of mindless telemarketers trying to buy your vote but you need to really listen to what your gut tells you. After, of course, throughly investigating each candidate.</p>
<p>I totally agree with NeLLyRaE.
This is a forum where NeLLyRaE asks questions and lbftw answers.
You guys share a different opinion.
jedwards was trying to point that out and lbftw disagreed.
We must accept that there are different thoughts than yours about a subject.
:)
(Just pointing out my opinion.)</p>
<p>crickett, by hopefully, i meant hopefully i'll get in. I'm listening to lbftw and i'm glad i've heard his side of it, i've also listened to people on this site and in real life who say it's amazing, which is why i'm applying. and my gut is totally screaming at me to get to the east coast, NOW! lol :)</p>
<p>nellyrae, crickett, etc.:</p>
<p>you two are putting a lot of wasted effort into this thread
the simple reason why these 2 groups are fighting is simple, they both want to be right</p>
<p>lbftw wants everyone to know some of the downsides of boarding school & the rest of them want to pretend their kid's lives/future lives will be spent in academic utopia where no one ever feels bad about anything. </p>
<p>neither will budge in their views even a little. It's turned into "I don't like your attitude so I will stubbornly keep my slanted opinion even though you might actually be right, but I'm not even going to think about the option that you might be right because I don't like your attitude"</p>
<p>your posts aren't going to do anything, so stop wasting your time. I hope everyone on this board has that ec list for more than applications, and if you don't just skip this thread the next time you see the little yellow circle</p>
<p>lbftw reminds me of this ben harper song:</p>
<p>my choice is what I choose to do
and if I'm causing no harm
it shouldn't bother you
your choice is who you choose to be
and if your causin' no harm
then you're alright with me</p>
<p>if you don't like my fire
then don't come around
cause I'm gonna burn one down
yes I'm gonna burn one down</p>
<p>i've mentioned this before, but i definitely recommend all of you to read "i am charlotte simmons". it's not a difficult read at all, and it kinda sums up what i'm talking about here. i think the moral of it is good too.</p>
<p>yea? well. your not the only one with taste in music, roses.</p>
<p>You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We'd all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead</p>
<p>-the beatles</p>
<p>except that "Revolution" doesn't really apply to this situation</p>
<p>sorry love</p>