“I’m not sick, honest”

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After the break you can see another photo of Gnomoweb‘s striking facial tattoos, but more interestingly, there’s also a relatively “before” photo that’s strikingly “innocent” looking. See, this is what happens when you don’t take your pills… Moral of the story? Don’t take your pills!

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gnomo-before.jpg

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116 thoughts on ““I’m not sick, honest””

  4. …this coming from a young girl with essentially no mods. Why do you feel the need that you must advertise how unable you are to understand the world?

  13. Wow #4 just because this isn’t someone’s definition of beauty doesn’t mean you have to attack their mods. I personally, don’t have an appreciation for stretched labrets but I’m not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do with their own body.

  15. wow #4
    iv never really seen Shannon get on some one like that.

    i also agree with #9

    i really like the middle pic also

  17. Autopsy26 – Yeah, I know… I’m just really really tired of the way the mainstreaming of body modification has made is so that people with a heavy interest in it are made fun of more by people who call themselves part of this community than by people outside it… On one hand mainstreaming is awesome because it’s made it much easier for tattooed people and people with a lighter interest (which is fine, and wonderful), but it’s also made it paradoxically more unpleasant for those on the borders…

    solocard – Yes, and because she dragged it onto IAM as well. IAM and BME is supposed to be a community of friends. I’m very, very sick of people taking the attitude that it’s OK to come here and insult other members of this community in the name of “personal opinion”. In no way is it a positive thing, and in no way does it contribute to the dialog. Meaningful criticism, great. Pointless insults, no.

  18. i love seeing heavy mods on attractive people. there’s something really cool about overcoming the vanity.

  19. Fair point, I guess it’s a fine line between a passing comment and an insult.

  20. I agree with Shannon 100%. I am soooo sick of the snarky comments all over the internet. Especially here. If we cant come here and feel supported for who we are, where can we go?

  21. nice mods, personally i wouldn’t to it but i admire his dedication to who he has no matter what ‘society’ tells him he should be. AND i love his eyes in the second picture, they look soo cute and innocent…..

  22. solocard – Absolutely it’s a fine line. I’ll repeat what I said via email to a couple people:

    Here’s the problem — one of the goals of IAM and BME is to create a safe space for people to share their modification experiences and lifestyles. For that to happen, people need to respect that and treat this as they would casual friends — with some level of politeness and understanding that the fact that different people like different things is to be expected, and, more importantly, should be cherished.

    When it shifts to us saying that everyone should voice their opinion, even if negative and in a way that doesn’t contribute to the dialog, that community is destroyed because many members no longer feel comfortable there. I don’t believe that I have an obligation to protect people’s rights inside the BME community to attack other members — if they want to do that, they can do it elsewhere. BME needs to remain a safe space in my opinion.

  23. I guess I missed the memo that said ‘little girls with essentially no mods’ aren’t entitled to an opinion.

  24. Nic – Everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, if you voice an insulting opinion at what amounts to a private party of friends, don’t expect to be invited back.

    As I would expect almost everyone here knows, we get insulted enough in the mainstream world for being who we are. A safe space is a good thing.

    I am replying to most comments on this subject privately and am happy to discuss the issues, but would rather not gum up this post with it. If you have something to say on it please feel free to contact me by email ([email protected]) or on IAM (glider).

  25. Stretched labrets aren’t really my thing but I say do what makes you happy. 🙂 I’m really digging the facial tattoos.

  26. There is something so poetic about being judged and talked down to here (of all places) for the quantity of modifications a person has.

  27. what about people who hate tribal mods (or belly button piercings or tongue piercings) because they’ve become “mainstream?”

    oh right, that’s okay, because it’s good to be elitist.

  28. It’s not OK to hate in a community of friends no matter who or what your hate is directed at. A fundamental truth of respecting the diversity in this community is supporting and encouraging people who have a different aesthetic code than your own.

  29. I agree that pill addiction isn’t really that fabulous, and I’ll always wonder if people like this will ever regret the mod decisions they made earlier. Of course, they may never regret it and that’s what makes it all the more special.

    I also would love to know how he talks and eats, is it kind of hard to keep his lip up with that huge plug in it? And does he sound kind of funny when he talks?

    Also, does he have natural plugs in his ears or did something happen to them? I imagine when you carry such a huge mod on your face, people tend to just pass by the rest of your body.

    Sorry about all the questions, I’m genuinely interested as I know I’ll never experience this.

  30. To be honest it’s okay when someone has an opinion but when there is a good chance that the person who is in the picture you are commenting is going to read your comments then it’s not okay if you write something that could be seen as being a bit nasty.

    Anyway.. LOVE seeing before and after pictures such as these. I still get amazed at how someone can completely change their face with mods 🙂

  31. @7. speak only from personal experiences. i’m on meds and i still modify. i hate who i am without my meds, its not me and very painful. if you don’t need meds great for you, but don’t judge just because some people (here i mean me) would be long gone without them.

  32. I was about to express my opinion on how sad it is that now we have to have a certain amount of mods to voice an opinion, but it seems that being someone with ears stretched under a certain size, no implants, and no stretched labrets, I’m not qualified enough to voice that here without persecution. I’m glad I don’t have an IAM account to be suspended over something so hypocritical and judgmental.

  33. Love his Mods, hate his pills (if they’re his).

    I saw zoloft in the pile of meds, and that shit ruined my life for a good long time.

  34. KC – You’re being silly. The requirement for posting isn’t that you have to have a certain amount of mods, it’s that you have to have a certain amount of respect.

  35. I’m lightly modified, and used to have an IAM account (or, I guess it’s still there, but inactive). I fully support Shannon’s suspension of ‘splatterhouse’ particularly if she really was dragging this out on IAM as well.

    There is a big difference between having an opinion and insulting/attacking someone. Lot of people (myself included) don’t really dig on the large labrets. I’m entitled to that opinion, and I have no doubt that Shannon would defend my right to that opinion.

    However, he certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to provide me a venue to call people foolish or tell them I hate their modification (or religion/ideology/hair colour…). Expressing an opinion is defended by the concept of ‘freedom of speech’. Attacking or berating a specific person or group of people has never been defended by any (valid) freedom of speech argument, and is in fact illegal in most places.

    Great historical example: when the KKK wanted to march in New York City many years ago, the Black Panthers were among the most vocal supporters of their right to hold a peaceful march. They recognized that if the KKK’s right to congregate and express certain opinions is threatened, so to is their own right to express opposing opinions. However, these same Black Panthers would in no way have supported the (non-existant) ‘right’ of the KKK to attack, label, or berate members of the black community.

    There is a fine but important line between hate speech and freedom of speech. If you’re going to open your mouth about it, make sure you understand the difference.

  37. I think it’s silly to think that a community will always agree with eachother. People have opinions, disagreements, etc. which help to shape and form the very structure of a community. If we all had the exact same thoughts and opions on mods wouldn’t we all end up looking the same in the end?

  38. Shannon, when people who say that certain individuals aren’t “modded” enough to be on IAM get TOS’d, then will people take you seriously. When splatterhouse (and I really don’t care to discuss that particular opinion) get TOS’d, while people say things far worse (at least from the perspective you’re presenting here) carry on with their business, it doesn’t show you, or BME in general, in a good light.

    But I digress… personally, I liked his face far better with just the horns, and the “mild” facial tattooing. But then again, it’s not my face.

  39. Everyone has their own personal opinion, but that doesn’t mean it should be splattered, no pun intended, all over a web-page. I’m a firm believer in the saying “If you haven’t anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.. I’ll leave it at that.

    In other news, his facial tattoos seem to be coming along nicely! It’s always really interesting to see a before/after picture! Shannon, you should so post some more of those!

  40. LOL @ BME or Shannon being compared to the Black Panthers.

    SSSasky is right, though; Shannon is not in any way obliged to provide a venue for anything that he doesn’t like. All people are saying is that it looks kind of weak when you silence someone for voicing an opinion that differs from yours.

    Yeah, I know, “community of friends” and all that, but the idea of a “safe space” is a double-edged sword; on one hand, it allows people of similar interests and inclinations to share information and experiences, and that’s cool. On the other hand, because no-one is allowed to say any thing that might hurt someone’s feelings, it creates a reality bubble where people only ever hear praise, which consequently leads people to do things that in the long term are not in their best interests.

    Also, I will die a happy man if I never hear the “If you don’t have anything nice to say” line. A friend of mine has suggested a more meaningful alternative:

    “If you don’t have anything smart to say, don’t say anything.”

  41. There are tons of mods I don’t find attractive, but I don’t go around bitching about them. I think that’s the problem here – somebody forgot that “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Come on folks, the internet is moderated all the time. I am a mod at the forums on Literotica.com (GLBT section), a place that IS based on free speech. So whenever I see other places get moderated, it jars me a little, but then I remember that’s the way of the internet. Nobody said Shannon has to let anybody say whatever they want.

    That said, I wish I could have seen whatever mods the banned person DID have…I’m just wondering what “essentially no mods” means.

  42. Honestly, I really don’t think #4′s comment is nearly as harsh as many other comments that have popped over in the past 6 months on modblog. It seems more like she’s been made an example of.

  43. Honestly, I really don’t think #4′s comment is nearly as harsh as many other comments that have popped over in the past 6 months on modblog. It seems more like she’s been made an example of.

  46. I really like the vertical scars on his forehead… it’s giving me ideas… and yes #4 sounds really harsh. But again I don’t have an IAM (by choice) so not sure what other comments were made outside of here.

  47. She had a septum piercing, stretched ears, a 6mm dermal conch punch, and retired a 8g stretched tongue and snakebites.

  48. As someone who got into mods, relatively late in life, I have been taken to task as I no longer look “normal” to family and old friends. But the mods are for me, and the transition I want to make. Comments are hurtful at times, but I let them pass as I like ‘em. Isn’t that what counts? 38 piercings, 7 implants and 2,000 hrs ink later, I still want more.

  49. Ok so kinda off topic from the majority of comments. But inspired by the good old nerd pride stylee has anyone tried implanting actual ports into their fleshy parts? I kno there is a ‘cyborg’ movement out there somewhere but I think I’m talking more about the visual aspect of it rather than functional. I suppose it would be some kinda hybrid between implants/stretching and dermal anchors?!
    Any visuals out there?

  50. Just so I’m clear: It’s not okay to express distatse about a certain modification, but it is okay to be ageist and look down on people who are less modified?

  52. i agree with Shannon

    it makes me upset and angry when people make insults about other peoples Mods or make negative remarks.

    i may not have the most mods but im happy with mine

    and it makes me very happy to see other peoples mods and see how happy they are with them

    thats why i love Modblog
    its a community full of nice people

  53. Wow…this was a little tiny matter that definitely doesn’t need to be dragged on for this long people…she’s suspended or w/e and it’s not YOUR website, you don’t get to choose what gets done with it…get over it? If she didn’t want to be suspended then she should have been more respectful. I dig the fact that he’s doing what he wants with his body but I could definitely do without the pills. So I say we move on and comment on the picture/mods not on what someone said earlier. Get over yourselves 🙂

  54. lol what with the drama, kids?
    i was always taught that you can’t expect respect when you haven’t shown it. i don’t agree with the censorship she’s apparently been experiencing but i also think that if she wants Shannon to be nicer to her she should choose her words more wisely.

    YOU’RE ALLOWED TO DISAGREE WITH STUFF HERE, AND YOU DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE NICE. I see stuff I don’t like all the time and occasionally point that out. All my comments get posted and I’ve never been suspended.
    Presentation is important, ie don’t be an asshole about whatever not-nice thing you’ve got to say. Offset the comment with something nice and supportive or at least word it in a way that wont be offensive.
    Learn the politics or GTFO.

  55. just a side note that being ignorant and having few mods are nor correlated… otherwise, i think shannon is handling undue criticisms quite well.

    as for the actual post, i love his cheek tattoos. i think the whole look would be truly stunning if he shaved his head though, to give more prominence to his chosen facial features.

  56. I prefer the second pic I think he looked really beautiful in it especialy his puppy dog eyes eyes. Im not a fan of stretched labrets either, do I have to list my mods now to be able to say that? and god forbid give my age ?? lol.

  57. I’m relatively new here—just reactivated my iam account after a long, long absence—and I have to say that I’m kinda disturbed by this whole thread. The essentially unmodded girl who said she thought that stretched labrets looked foolish was sharing her opinion, right? She didn’t say anything personally insulting to anyone. Would I have gotten TOSed if I said that I didn’t like pink hair or explicit unicorn pictures?

  59. Gorgeous facial tattoos and I’m loving the split tongue! The whole thing looks pretty great

    Just my 2c but Shannon, I support your decision; sharing your opinion’s one thing, insulting members of the community is another

  60. I don’t “get” the stretched labret either, but it’s certainly not the *only* thing that’s acting as a huge turn-off/red flag for me in regards to this guy. Pretty much everything about the first picture is terrifying, but it seems that a lot of people in the mod culture are into appearing pretty damn scary, so he’s probably ok with that.

    TOS’ing someone for being unncessarily asshole-ish=ok
    Juding their opinion is invalid because of their few body mods=lame

    I mean, isn’t everyone all talk about how non-modified people shouldn’t judge modified people for their choices? So, um, shouldn’t modified people respect someone’s choice to remain un- or lightly-modified?

    Not that anyone cares, but Shannon’s response at #4 made me lose a lot of respect for BME in general. I’m lighly-modified at the moment (just a few tattoos), but the only reason for that is financial…Non-inked mods don’t have the same personal allure to me, but I can still see their beauty/coolness and I absolutely, one hundred percent support a person’s right to do with their body what they wish. But I’m not allowed to have an opinion until I have facial tattoos & implants?

  61. Hi my friends, sorry for my English, because I am Brazilian, I do not speak the English very well and I am using google translator.

    First I would like to thank all the people who praised me and loved of my mods, and also to all the people who criticized, this is constructive or not!

    Responding to some questions:

    I can eat normal, with normal talk and drink, my plate still not changed anything!

    I know that many people have different ideas on certain issues, but I think ALL should respect the neighbor. We only UM, we are all equal, nobody should feel inferior or superior to nobody! Regardless of religion, culture, colour, or any other factor.
    All people of the world, start to change as of their birth, when the start to grow, hair, make different hairstyles, hair, weight, weight, pass lipstick put on silicone breasts, whatever, this body modification in our lives since our birth!
    So I think something normal. I know that not all people feel equal, and this is great, is very good to know opnioes different, but of course, I think we should be careful in the way we express not to “hurt” the neighbor.
    Me sorry once again by my English, and also sorry if I spoke something that should not.
    I am in the IAM because I want to know different people from different places and cultures (even if they like or not mods, any kind of friendship is very important to me).

    Shanon Thank you for everything and congratulations on his own initiative with the BME, and MODBLOG AMI!

    A great week to ALL!

  62. Well Mr. Z, and others, I have no mods and one measly tattoo but I’m allowed, able, willing and capable of having and expressing my opinions about mods. Because I recognise the difference between opinions and insults. If you’ve got nothing productive to say, keep it to yourself and go elsewhere.

  63. peoples “right” to say mean things to me has turned me into an agoraphobic recluce. i get really angry at anyone who feels the need to voice a negative opinion. just because you feel it dosent mean you need to say it. i hope my picture never ends up on modblog.

  64. 58. I beleive it is because traditionally Brazillian lip plate wearers wore the longer style lip pins. Maybe someone else can correct me if im wrong.

  66. No worries at all emily, I actually just rustled up a video of some traditional wearers of lip pins a friend sent me but I cant work out how to post it!!Any suggestions??

  67. he reminds me of bruce mcculloch from the kids in the hall. and i really love the whole stretched nostril/high nostril piercing/random ring ensemble on each side!

  68. #32 and other assorted whiners: The exact total of my body modifications at the moment is five barely stretched lobe piercings, yet I comment here all the time and no one yells at me. The difference is not how many mods I have, but whether I’m rude.

    If she’d said “this aesthetic isn’t for me, thanks” that would be fine, I’m sure. Instead she called it a trend and “completely foolish.” It’s not her opinion that sucks, it’s her sweeping dismissal of someone else’s choices (and HARD WORK, too.)

  69. … awaiting moderation?

    not again 🙁

    I’m all for deleting comments that are personally insulting. But isn’t freedom of speach an important part of our beautiful community too?

  71. Gosh, hasn’t he got lovely eyes!
    I was going to question normal usage of the lip with the lip plate in, but it’s already been answered in post 61. I have to admit that I can’t quite believe that though! It seems impossible to me. I absolutely love the eyebrows.

  72. #58 Emily – I sort wonder the same. It seems to be a fashion for the new large labrets in the US that people wear big peg-type inserts, so they’re long like that. Most of the pictures I’ve seen before BME were of the Mursi, the seemed to favor a flatter plate once they get to a size like this, so I too found it interesting. (I have no idea what traditional Brazilian labret people did, so can’t comment there.)

    I wonder if the rings at the side of the lip ever interfere with the big labret. I guess not if he keeps them…

    To add to your question of weight though – what is the big white insert made of?

  73. …and yeah, I realize this guy isn’t from the US, just making a comment on the (admittedly few) pics I’ve seen of modern labrets in the US. Dunno about the Brazilian situation.

  74. love it.

    about the large labret, not for me but i love when other people rock it. i’m not ready for that statement yet….but props to those who do. keep rocking your look 🙂

  75. I think the bottom line here is if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Or something along those lines. I, too, am really tired of people being knocked down here. I think freezing someone’s account is going a bit too far in this situation, but if we’re doing that now, can we also freeze Giles?

  78. I’m sitting here going “I’ve been on this, I’ve been on this, oooh, I’ve been on this too!!”

    I’m curious as to what his fingers say. I’m nosy like that.

  79. I sortof see where #3 is coming from. I think maybe her comment was poorly worded (we all say things we regret, or things that come out wrong) Personally I’m not a huge fan of big labrets. It seems to suit this guy though. And really, even if I did hate it, in the end, it’s HIS body.

  80. So I think I get what Shannon is saying (correct me if I’m wrong). Boiled down version: try to see it from the other person’s perspective.

    Me, I don’t like the stretched stuff BUT I know that there are others who believe differently. If someone else likes it, then they should get it. My boyfriend isn’t into tattoos at all, but accepts them as a part of me because he knows that I like them. He’s willing to look past his own feelings and see where I’m coming from.

    I think the world would be bettr off if more people were accepting of certain things.

  81. Wow.. I’ve been reading modblog and the comments for some time now and this is my first comment. I personally dislike lip plates because I just don’t find them that attractive, but by all means, do what you want with your body. I’m happy that your able to do something that makes YOU happy, thats the goal of body modding in the end, right?

    But, Doesn’t it seem like Shannon’s being a hypocrite here by responding in kind to splatterhouse? She should have worded what she said better but in the end, I just said the same thing and it came out much less offensive, imo. We are a community of people who share the same interest here. We will never all agree with each other. Some people hate tribal tattoos and some will love them, but can’t we maintain our opinions and present them in a respectful manner? I think we’d be closer knit if we just respected each others differences since that is what sets this community apart from the others.

    And on topic? I love how the other guy in the last picture has his finger up his nose. Completely random, who knows why, but it’s amusing. 😀

  82. I like how his tongue looks “shy” in the first picture. (Not sure if that made sense). I got a thing for lip plates, the jewelry is long though, still, after looking at the picture for a while, I really like it. I also like the high nostril and stretched nostril “double-combo” going on, (my fav mods on him), and all of it together just goes together nicely! I just love the before and after picture (middle one VS first and last), always nice to see the peoples journey into their mods, it’s like an amazing book being written (or a canvas being painted, it would apply better in this case). Love the flow of the jaw bone dots/circles.

    I don’t care if Shannon was right or not to ban (TOS) her, it’s his site, he built it, we got no reasons to bitch about it. He provided a safe place for us up to now. (I NEVER had any negativity coming from BME/Modblog/IAM up to now) and if that’s what it takes, let him do his job. He proven himself to be able to keep the integrety (Eeeek, feel I didn’t spell that one right) of the website for so many years, so I trust his judgment. Although I saw “meaner” things being posted (on the interview I did last week with Zombie), I still think this is a mostly positive environment, of course some people will bitch (no matter what the hell you do, you ALWAYS do something wrong, they are never happy and it;s not only ont he internet). I always trusted Shannon and BME/IAM… And I don’t see why this would change now, he kept this a clean and positive place for so long, he knows what he’s doing. From *splatterhouse*’s comment, I could see some slight immaturity in the way of saying what she meant, she didn;t choose her words wisely, you always should think before talking, you should do the same before typing. The internet is being taken more and more seriously, so people should grow up too. I usually don’t go on rants, and damn that one felt good! *BREATHES after massive hyperventilation*

    Ohhh and pardon my spelling, english is not my best language and it’s getting late. Good job Shannon with the website and thank you for all the effort you put in for people like us (into body modification, rituals and so on), many of us wouldn’t be where we are without you.

  83. “I’m very, very sick of people taking the attitude that it’s OK to come here and insult other members of this community in the name of “personal opinion”. In no way is it a positive thing, and in no way does it contribute to the dialog. Meaningful criticism, great. Pointless insults, no.”

    Understandable.

    “…this coming from a young girl with essentially no mods. Why do you feel the need that you must advertise how unable you are to understand the world?”

    Wait, what? This coming from the person who’s sick of people throwing around insults? There was NOTHING constructive about either part of the comment. Ridiculous.

    People with essentially no mods can’t have an opinion about what mods they like and dislike? I did not know that. Thank you for bringing that to my attention though.

  84. Lani – Think of it this way — “Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes.” — My point is that outside of her comment being rude, it has no foundation.

  87. The way I understood Shannon’s comment was not that he was implying she didn’t have a right to voice her opinion due to a lack of personal modifications, but that calling it a ‘trend’ and ‘foolish’ when she obviously had never experienced it herself was unwarranted.
    Perhaps she should go do some research on this ‘trend’ and learn how long it’s been in practice.

  88. is everyone on here retarded? do you just skim the posts? the fact that her opinion didn’t matter had nothing to do with her mods. alot of top contributors on bme have a very small amount of mods. fakir musafar has 4 piercings, and relatively few tattoos.

    the girl insulted someone’s mods on a supportive body modification site! shannon insulted her few amount of mods because, well the girl was mean, and he wanted to find something that’d sting.

    people saying “oh i don’t want to post cus my opinion doesn’t matter”. if all you’re going to say is “that’s ugly”, then your opinion doesn’t matter.

    quit forcing your insecurities on bme.

  89. Saying crap like “I’ve never seen an extremely stretched labret that didn’t look completely foolish to me. :/ I really hate that trend.” really does just illustrate disrespect and a lack of understanding about what BME/IAM/Modblog is all about! Its certainly someone’s right to hate a “trend” and even to post respectful statements to that effect, but that post really reads more like an attack, to me.

    As far as it being a “trend”, I can remember not to long ago when ANY body modification beyond pierced ears (or one ear on a guy!) was “trendy”.. but look where we are today! I would like to believe that society has evolved some.

    Quite frankly, I can’t say that I totally understand some peoples’ choices in life. That said, I’m sure some people don’t understand mine. But I’m a firm believer that each and every one of us has a right to make those choices for themselves… and no one has the right to pass judgement or attack someone else because they chose to put a huge piece of jewelry in their lip!

    I’ve got to go with Shannon on this one. BME was built by and around a community that supports people’s right to choose… their right to be themselves and not be ridiculed by other members of the community for doing what makes them happy. If someone has such little respect for the community as a whole that they feel they need to negatively look upon someone else because of a choice they don’t understand and publicly express their disapproval, well… I’m thinking this is the wrong community for them.

  91. Just wondering, why do people post pictures of their modifications if not to receive comment and opinions about them?

    I mean, for pretty unusual self-done modification a la Stormchaser it can be also documenting something new so people who are planning similar stuff can do it knowing better about the procedure but for already pretty well established procedures like the ones in the pictures the whole point to post something is imho to have feed-backs from people.
    Now it just happens that someone’s feed-back might be not what one would like to read but that part of the game.

    Just as a record, I like lip-plates, I do not like much the quality of the tattoos he has (expecially the fingers lettering) and, of course, I am very happy if he is happy with what he did…

    Tapsa

  92. pointing out flaws is okay. it’s helpful for the future.

    but just saying “i don’t like (insert mod)” is pointless and mean.

  94. I think it takes special dedication to get modded to the extent that he has. This is not done on the spur of the moment and I’m sure he was aware that his mods would be life changing. I find myself more and more liking large nostril piercings and lip plates. Would I have them done? Absolutely if I had the opportunity!!!!!

  95. “quit forcing your insecurities on bme”

    I’m pretty sure that expecting BME to be a utopia of constant praise has far more to do with insecurity than not wanting to tread on eggshells in case someone catches feelings.

  96. “…why do people post pictures of their modifications if not to receive comment and opinions” — Comments and opinions can be expressed in ways other than saying it looks “completely foolish” or that you “hate that trend”.

    I for one am glad that Shannon stands up for his beliefs and helps protect and preserve the atmosphere of friendliness and acceptance that has made BME what it is today. No one in this community should have to worry about being viewed as foolish looking or trendy by other members of the community. Its basically accepted that society at large sometimes reacts to things like lip plates in a negative way… but I’d like to think that the people that frequent this place (and are part of it!) could move past those silly judgmental attitudes.

  97. “Comments and opinions can be expressed in ways other than saying it looks “completely foolish” or that you “hate that trend”.”

    I agree that it could have been better phrased but perhaps that was just what she tought and that was the better way she found to express what she felt…

    I mean, I agree that one would expect more tollerance in a forum like this, but if that is what some people feel it is in my opinion more interesting to record the attitude (as long as it is not plain spam) for what it is – an attitude of an other person with a common interest (at least to some extent) – rather than censure that.

    But than again, I read only this one comment and I assume and hope that it was really something more what started the whole story…

    Still I remember a long series of posts about a scar who scarred too much and was removed by two well-known practitioners which included much harsher comments and in which eventually posts started to appear in many languages (imho sometimes with the purpose of excluding part of the audience) and which flowed fine without the need for suspending people and cannot help thinking that possibly if the harsh comments were done by someone better known in the community then the reactions would have been a bit different…

    But then once again I might be myself judging without really knowing the whole story…

    Tapsa

  99. @ Poem and Phantazm (and several others): I’m glad other people see that splatterhouse’s modifications played little to no role in Shannon’s choice to suspend her account. I’m sure someone far more modified would have received the same treatment.

    The point wasn’t whether or not splatterhouse has lots of mods. The point wasn’t whether or not she’s entitled to her opinion–she is, of course. The point was that she expressed her opinion in a disrespectful, hate-filled way. There is no reason anyone should tolerate that kind of treatment in any aspect of your life.

    Another important note: Shannon is the one who let comment #4 through. If he was a strict censor, he simply wouldn’t have let it through in the first place. Instead, he addressed it in public, (I’m sure knowingly) exposing himself to criticism. If I understand the situation correctly, splatterhouse’s account was only suspended later, when she continued with the bigoted behaviour on IAM, despite warnings.

    In the years I’ve been reading BME, IAM, and Modblog, I think Shannon has proven himself to be an exceptionally fair arbiter, especially given the fact that he is personally attacked with great vitriol on a near daily basis.

  100. SSSasky – Thank you for the support but just to clarify so there’s no misunderstanding — her post wasn’t moderated, so it went through automatically. That said, I’m really glad that people see that her modifications didn’t have anything to do with this, as poorly worded as my response was in hindsight.

  101. I’m not really a fan of stretched lip piercings but you should be able to do what you want with your body.
    I really like the helix orbital and the facial star tattoos though, also I quite like his finger tattoo’s.

    Benj.

  102. Ooops. My mistake. I misunderstood the way the moderation system works here. Sorry for that. I’m pretty sure I still agree with the rest of my post though…

  103. yea I have to agree the post here compared to some modblog comments was pretty usual of late but taking it into IAM is a different matter and as others have said this is shannons site his choice. Also he recognizes and is able toi say his own response was poorly worded, thats always something in my book.

    As for the mods in this post I love the variation of the pre and post photos. I still think the lip plate looks uncomfortable but like my multitude of piercings I guess you grow with them 🙂

  104. Ive noticed that shannons been acting more like a bitch sence hes been back……. this is a blog right? If a person cant take critique then maybe they shouldnt post the pic. This is still the internet, freedom of speech applies. so get the fuck over yourself.

  105. where as i think it is a blog- and if you want the luxury of reading it you should pretty well be able to swallow the moderators decisions.

    freedom of speech should apply to one’s opinion on how someone speaks to others as well.

  108. @AlmostHuman

    Wouldn’t you be a little sore if your entire life and livelihood were thrown to the wind, only to fight to regain control over what is rightfully yours and to set things right only to have people spread their shit on it? Internet anonymity really irritates me, it makes people feel they are entitled to spreading their purile and pointless opinions wherever they can solely because of their so-called freedom of speech. Shannon runs the blog, he funds the blog, he maintains the blog, he is entitled to do whatever he feels is best for the blog as a whole. If he doesn’t like people coming on solely to insult others and to stir shit up, he’s completely %100 within his right to do what he feels is necessary. So in closing, get the fuck over YOURSELF.

  109. if he digs it, then right on. im 100% for people doing what they want with their lives

  113. I just perused the last several days worth of comments. While I have not always agreed with Shannon on some things, he’s a bad-ass stand-up dude and a true internet pioneer who has created a safe where place thousands of people from all over the world can feel accepted because of who they are (and it goes way beyond body modification). Anyone coming in here and hating on him (or anyone) is barking up the wrong tree.

  115. Personally not into face mods although i must admit i do like on others, if your not into something yourself is it right to be negative for what someone else is into, I see it as yeah its not for me but each to their own and apreciate people for the diffrent take on the modding scene which makes and keeps it a very diverse yet close community

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