Mika in Nice, France at Palais Nikaia

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

Yes agree Robi .. almost like putting an MFCer on the cross here now .. ....getting a bit much to my eye.

 

End of the day .. one comment .. IF we can have an MFC Q then GREAT ... one fanclub , one set of fans , fans that travel and many have supported the MFC for years.

 

Im just a "tad" confused that we have gone from a general Q , having MFCers and all "others" (others not being disrespectful just its easier) , to an MFC Q .

 

If we do get that , then great! .. works for all of the fanclub .. but I will leave those who are working it on it sort it

[French Deb]

Sara, thanks a lot for your answer

I totally understand everything you write. You're right, we should have consider better these posts. As I told you, we'll check that from now on.

Maybe you should have sent PM to frenchies you know like Biche who is a moderator to tell how you felt.

 

But for the posts from the french forum you quoted, maybe you should have come to the french forum to answer to these people instead. Cause it's not fair to quote them here, they can't answer you.

 

I really hope things like that won't happen again. Don't hesitate to PM us (Ighins, Biche...), we're MFCers too

 

We've never met, just saw each other at the Cirque d'Hiver. Hope we'll have the occasion to talk properly one day !

 

Thanks again Dcdeb and Robertina for trying to sort everything.

[robertina]

oops, not me personally, but the staff

[sushigang]

sorry i dropped ,.........................................

[violet_sky]

All that drama makes me want to go to Mika gigs in places where he is really unpopular. Just where would that be?

 

Like many said before, me too, I can't find anything wrong with the numbers system as it was carried out at almost all the recent gigs. But maybe that is just because I haven't seen Mika in many places where absolutely everyone is crazy mad about him for this tour.

 

Like Mellody I'm finding it pretty nonsensic to point everybody towards MFC now for a potential good spot at a gig. It will just pollute the forum with a lot of dead accounts. If this is all about figures - like everything else in real life, go ahead and put quantity over quality. It will just cook the books.

Apart from that it will make absolutely no difference in the long run. Not even in the medium term prospect. Especially not for gigs in France. Everyone joins MFC, no big deal. The development of new registrations will experience some short term skyrocketing, Mika will be oh so proud. After that the queue situation will be absolutely identical. Just that then everyone is in MFC. And it won't - as promised - guarantee you a shiny spot in the front at all. But that's what people will think. I see more ill feeling coming up.

 

[EDIT: This is me speaking as the fan and forum member I am, of course. If you look at it from a CRM/profit-oriented perspective and what you can make of it for marketing purposes, that way of recruiting new members is more interesting, of course. Not that TM has been shining in that field lately. Just saying.]

 

As for the secrets, I can see why not everybody is telling everything. It makes me sad, though. But I do see that MFC has reached a size (and not just yesterday) where the 'we're in this together' thought doesn't work well anymore. With just a few hundred members and at a time when people were amazed by the sheer possibility to meet Mika face to face it was easy to feel like a part of it for everyone, so everyone was happy to share generously. But he only has so much to give and you don't have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to see that this will be either a smaller piece of the cake for everyone or nothing at all for some. The perfect base for distrust and jealousy. It's just natural. And there we are again and no I'm not getting tired to come up with my expectation theories. Just don't expect to paint his planets or be part of what you consider an equally amazing exprience (now after he did it once...). Chances are good that it won't happen to everyone. And after everyone got that, maybe we can go back to sharing.

 

In any case it really doesn't help to randomly post remarks like 'yeah exactly, and that is why we don't tell you.'

 

And now I got carried away and forgot what else I was about to say. Maybe there wasn't anything.

Edited May 3, 2010 by violet_sky

[Ruth]

Hello, I came on-line to post my report and have been wrapped up in this queuing saga!

For what it's worth I think anyone who will queue all day MFCer or not, should have some certainty of a good spot. As other's have said it encourages them to join the MFC and no fair-weather fan would consider an early start. I always take a print off from the RSVPs when I go to gigs. I like seeing who's who. People seem to like to point themselves out. I know that some of us don't sign up but if John is serious about priority to MFC, that list would be a starting point.

 

We planned to arrive at 4pm, so not early, and were unavoidably later than that. Sara explained that there were numbered MFCers, numbered others and everyone else had to join the queue. But actally it wasn't a queue. There were at least 8 queues and we felt that was both fair and reasonable.

 

So, I'll go to report thread now - and get well soon from your cold, Sara! ~x~

[suzie]

... instead of fighting endlessly, I think it's time to think of solutions.

Maybe one could be that the people in charge of the list can speak the language of the country + English, in case problems of this kind occur. Some sorts of gigs delegates, or whatever.

 

This system IS already in place. Perhaps Nice was an exception..(?)

However, it seems to me that the misunderstanding was not a language issue at all. Anyone speaking both French and English could have translated the others later on what was happening, even if there was no bilingual person around when John and the guy from Universal explained how they wanted the queue to be organised. It was rather unfortunate that some people acted on speculations and second hand information, but it is almost unavoidable when such big crowd of people gathers.

 

All that drama makes me want to go to Mika gigs in places where he is really unpopular. Just where would that be?

In Hungary perhaps? ....wait... there is no gig here...

 

Yes, we really are trying our best to find out what John and Mika's

team expect of the queue -- what happened in Nice, and what WILL happen

going forward. I can't stress enough that this came as a surprise to

ALL of us.

 

yes, and the more I think of it, the more it makes sense that John believes that people in the queue are all MFC. It looks like letting all MFCers get in first became top priority only when they saw a large amount of people gathering at the gates.

 

It is very easy to create a list with MFC usernames, marking people on the list who are non-MFC. Should organisers or John request to make 2 separate queues, it could easily be done.

However, I do think that non-MFCers arriving early should also get a good place, so ideally there should be a definite 'end' to the list, whether that be at number 50 or 150, depending on the size of the venue.

[Sarina]

I always take a print off from the RSVPs when I go to gigs. I like seeing who's who. People seem to like to point themselves out. I know that some of us don't sign up but if John is serious about priority to MFC, that list would be a starting point.

 

 

 

I agree with that

[violet_sky]

 

 

In Hungary perhaps? ....wait... there is no gig here...

 

Darn.

[Laurel]

Darn.

 

Iceland ... but you probably coudn't get there due to the Volcano

[violet_sky]

Iceland ... but you probably coudn't get there due to the Volcano

 

I doubt that he's really unpopular there.

[willywonka]

All that drama makes me want to go to Mika gigs in places where he is really unpopular. Just where would that be?

 

And now I got carried away and forgot what else I was about to say. Maybe there wasn't anything.

 

 

Lisbon, where else???

 

Where else has he postponed a freckin gig because of a Volcano???

 

 

Well, truth is, the unpopular bit is not quite true...

 

The venue is big, show is practically sold out, they had to open new seats twice, so not bad at all...If everyone shows up we can be from 7,000 to 10,000. I believe...

 

Even if they won't show up, the 100 peeps living nearby me SURE KNOW MIKA and i'm pretty sure they all know OFB's lyrics by heart by now...

 

They're not talking to me anymore but then who cares as long as they listen to TBWKTM?

[lululitalienne]

Post by Lululitalienne:

Quoi ????? Non mais ils sont cons ou quoi???

Depuis quand faut un badge?? J'espère que les autres membres du MFC présents vous ont soutenus! Franchement ce serait vraiment dégueulasse de leur part de vous laisser dans la merde, surtout qu'ils connaissent l'existence des forums français!

Il me semble qu'Allegra y allait, elle pourrait peut-être en parler à John?

Punaise ça a le don de me saouler cette connerie!

Sarah? Sariflor?? Elle va pas faire ça?!

Je pensais que les gueguerres débiles commençaient à s'estomper avec le temps (en tout cas à Oslo on avait fait un pas vers elle), je vois que certains sont plus cons que ce que je pensais....

 

Post by lululitalienne:

Quelle bande de cons!!!!

(ok, so this time the insult could be applicable to anyone who was there/had been involved, but considering what she said before, and the fact that they were saying that I was the one telling them things and heavily involved in this, I think that I have reasonable grounds to believe that I am included in the “cons” mentioned here).

Post by lululitalienne:

Et y'aurait pas éventuellement moyen de vérifier via un iphone par exemple, que vous êtes bien inscrit sur le mfc??

Là au moins ils vous foutraient la paix! Et ce serait plus juste qu'un simple badge (que tout le mfc n'a pas d'ailleurs...)

Sorry to answer so late but i was not at home. I just wanted to say a word because i was quoted.

First of all, I was angry when I wrote this on the french forum, i didn't know what happened there in Nice and I was just so disapointed for my friends. I thought that system was completely unfair. And I apologise if what I said hurt you, I didn't do this on purpose.

When I said "Quelle bande de cons", actually I was talking about the universal guys and absolutely not about you... And when I said "(en tout cas à Oslo on avait fait un pas vers elle), je vois que certains sont plus cons que ce que je pensais.... " I was very disapointed to hear that you were involved in this case because in Oslo we had a good time, I realised that you were a nice person. We wanted to go through the stupid conflict that spoile the atmosphere during the concerts since 2 years. Again I apologise If I hurt you.

I'm sad about what happen in Nice, I don't know who is guilty for that, I don't understand why this number system who worked so well had to be re-organise! I think the first queuing system by arrival order was fairer for ALL FANS! I agree with mellody, a lot of fans don't speak english but they are still fans, subscribed on a forum or not.

Unfortunatelly if the new queing system is a mess, maybe we should go back to the simple number system which is fair for everyone.

I don't know who were there, but I'm very sad to hear that no mfcers tried to be fair. I mean some could lie about who is on the mfc or not (to let people who are queing until the morning have the place they deserve) or say to this universal guy that the new system was bad and unfair, to desagree with it! Maybe I don't have enough information to say that, I hope we will know what really happened.

[Christine]

I have to agree with dcdeb that until we have more details from Team Mika on what is meant by an MFC queue and why they wanted to implement it, we're not really at the point to hash out the finer details of the ideal way to handle it going forward. There's not much point in making arguments and plans based on hypothetical circumstances.

 

I think everyone has a solid idea of what is fair and we've been debating the merits of queuing systems for years now, both between the mods and among the members. I know this must be setting off huge alarm bells for non-MFCers and I can understand that. Quite honestly if the situation was reversed I would not be happy. But we will do right by all the hardcore Mika fans.

 

The worst case scenario for non-MFCers is that they will have to join MFC and keep themselves informed about what's going on. I know the language barrier can prevent some people from making MFC their regular home but we have native language threads and lots of people who can help, especially French speaking fans.

 

But anyway while some other things have been brought up I'd still like to comment...

 

that's why i personally always prefer to tell everything, and although i've seen+met mika almost as often as sara, i never had any problems with jealousy and rumours so far. not that i know of anyway.

 

I think you're right that it's a vicious circle and that secrecy leads to more jealousy which leads to more secrecy. But taking me, Sara and Mana for instance...the prying and the judgemental reactions by others came BEFORE the secrets.

 

Those posts in the MWS forum regarding the acoustic tour are a perfect example (sorry I'm not trying to belabor that incident, I just want to use it as an example). Sara and Mana were not keeping secrets about what went on during the acoustic tour. In fact it was their proudly telling MFC what they had been doing that prompted people to openly gossip about their finances, their relationships, their motivations for going to gigs, etc.

 

Before this I discovered that several Mika fans I had no contact with were stalking my MySpace on a regular basis (and the profiles of my friends). A troll made an account on Twitter and started harassing me. I was not hiding anything from anyone. In fact I was not even doing anything! I had never even met Mika at that point and I hadn't been to a gig in a year. But obviously some people decided that my business was their business because we both happen to be fans of the same pop star.

 

When strange Mika fans are publicly gossiping about you and surreptitiously stalking you on the internet...do you think it is prudent to continue broadcasting all your experiences in a public forum? Experiences like going to a party with Mika or helping him build his set? I'm sorry but there are people who have demonstrated time and time again that they can't handle the truth and suck out every moment of joy you might otherwise get from sharing the story with those who would like to hear it.

 

like i said, that's just my personal opinion and the way i do it, it's up to everyone on their own how they handle it, and of course i know that some things HAVE to be kept secret, like the planets painting at first.

 

But you know it's not just the planet painting. There are things that happen and things I hear that I would never ever discuss on MFC. There is such a thing as discretion and any rational adult should be able to understand and respect that without getting paranoid that you're up to no good. In some cases I've been explicitly told not to talk about things so I don't have much of a choice.

 

i'm just saying, i can kinda understand both sides - it's natural that people become jealous if they feel they miss out on something important. It is natural

 

Jealousy is (perhaps) natural. But the behaviour that stems from it is not acceptable. Every time these arguments come up about suspicions and secrecy everyone tries to justify their behaviour by claiming that their feelings are justified. But your feelings do not justify appalling behaviour like talking trash about people in public or accusing them of doing dodgy things to get to Mika.

 

If your husband cheated on you, you might be so angry that you want to kill him. But the law is not going to let you off the hook for manslaughter just because you were justifiably angry.

 

All that drama makes me want to go to Mika gigs in places where he is really unpopular. Just where would that be?

 

Vancouver.

 

Venue of 900 and we sat in the queue pretty much all day with less than 10 people.

 

Chances are good that it won't happen to everyone. And after everyone got that, maybe we can go back to sharing.

 

I was hoping that the big girl experience would help to keep people in their own moment instead of wasting their energy worrying about what others are doing. It is a pretty amazing thing considering how many people have been able to participate.

 

 

I always take a print off from the RSVPs when I go to gigs. I like seeing who's who. People seem to like to point themselves out. I know that some of us don't sign up but if John is serious about priority to MFC, that list would be a starting point.

 

Ah yes I remember that from Dublin. That was a good idea.

 

I don't know who were there, but I'm very sad to hear that no mfcers tried to be fair. I mean some could lie about who is on the mfc or not (to let people who are queing until the morning have the place they deserve) or say to this universal guy that the new system was bad and unfair, to desagree with it! Maybe I don't have enough information to say that, I hope we will know what really happened.

 

Hi lulu,

 

I wouldn't say it was no MFCers, as a couple of people mentioned that they felt bad for the girls and thought they should have kept their spot in the queue. I wasn't there so I cannot say why the people in charge of the list did not lie and claim the girls were with MFC. But I think at this point I accept that they didn't mean any harm and were trying to do what was asked of them.

 

Now that the French fans have brought it to our attention, hopefully we can work out a solution so that people will know what to do in these situations. Ideally I think we want a system where no one is expected to lie about anything in order to be fair.

[guylainem123]

christine, well said.

[CazGirl]

Christine, have I told you lately how much I love you? I could chomp your brain.

[robertina]

Christine, have I told you lately how much I love you? I could chomp your brain.

 

will you share a morsel?

 

yes, it was so well said

[CazGirl]

will you share a morsel?

 

yes, it was so well said

 

No, it's all mine

[robertina]

No, it's all mine

 

you see? you lot don't want to share

 

[CazGirl]

you see? you lot don't want to share

 

 

I'm quite happy keeping things to myself, thanks

 

Early bird gets the worm and all that jazz! If you really want something I suggest you join a queue of some description...

Edited May 4, 2010 by CazGirl

[robertina]

I'm quite happy keeping things to myself, thanks

 

Early bird gets the worm and all that jazz! If you really want something I suggest you a queue of some description...

 

tsk

and i thought mfcers had perks! not speaking about mods!

[CazGirl]

tsk

and i thought mfcers had perks! not speaking about mods!

 

Mods aren't allowed perks, remember? :roftl:

[mellody]

I think you're right that it's a vicious circle and that secrecy leads to more jealousy which leads to more secrecy.

 

that's all i really wanted to say with my comment. it just seems sometimes that this comes totally surprising to some people, that not only jealousy causes secrecy, but also vice versa.

 

But taking me, Sara and Mana for instance...the prying and the judgemental reactions by others came BEFORE the secrets.

 

Those posts in the MWS forum regarding the acoustic tour are a perfect example (sorry I'm not trying to belabor that incident, I just want to use it as an example). Sara and Mana were not keeping secrets about what went on during the acoustic tour. In fact it was their proudly telling MFC what they had been doing that prompted people to openly gossip about their finances, their relationships, their motivations for going to gigs, etc.

 

Before this I discovered that several Mika fans I had no contact with were stalking my MySpace on a regular basis (and the profiles of my friends). A troll made an account on Twitter and started harassing me. I was not hiding anything from anyone. In fact I was not even doing anything! I had never even met Mika at that point and I hadn't been to a gig in a year. But obviously some people decided that my business was their business because we both happen to be fans of the same pop star.

 

When strange Mika fans are publicly gossiping about you and surreptitiously stalking you on the internet...do you think it is prudent to continue broadcasting all your experiences in a public forum? Experiences like going to a party with Mika or helping him build his set? I'm sorry but there are people who have demonstrated time and time again that they can't handle the truth and suck out every moment of joy you might otherwise get from sharing the story with those who would like to hear it.

 

sorry, i don't know what happened on the acoustic tour (apart from the london party, but i think what you mean is something about the paris gig?), i didn't follow the mfc as closely during that time as i do now, and i don't know what was posted on MWS, as my french isn't good enough to understand it. maybe they even posted stuff about me at some point, but wtf, i don't know them, so why should i care what they say? "why don't you like me or walk out that door!" there were enough rumours about me to fill a book, back in the days when i was following other bands - but i believe that if i'd had the chance to publicly state MY point of view on all these things, like it is possible nowadays thanx to the internet, that a lot less people would've believed those stupid things that were said about me.

 

of course there are always some people who just don't want to hear the truth, but enjoy causing trouble wherever they can. but i dare to say that most people on mfc aren't like that, and so i personally don't share your point of view on this. but of course i don't wanna judge you for it either - if for you it means more pain than joy posting those things on mfc, because a bunch of stupid morons ruin it for you, then ok, i can understand where you come from, although i personally wouldn't let this bunch of people stop me.

 

But you know it's not just the planet painting. There are things that happen and things I hear that I would never ever discuss on MFC. There is such a thing as discretion and any rational adult should be able to understand and respect that without getting paranoid that you're up to no good. In some cases I've been explicitly told not to talk about things so I don't have much of a choice.

 

of course i know this, the planet painting was just an example. like i said, there definitely are things you have to keep secret. like, if i found out anything about mika's private life, or were asked to keep something secret, i certainly wouldn't go posting it on mfc (or anywhere else). but the difference to me is, either you keep something secret. or you don't. but the problems start where half a story is told, and the rest is up to everyone's imagination.

 

Jealousy is (perhaps) natural. But the behaviour that stems from it is not acceptable. Every time these arguments come up about suspicions and secrecy everyone tries to justify their behaviour by claiming that their feelings are justified. But your feelings do not justify appalling behaviour like talking trash about people in public or accusing them of doing dodgy things to get to Mika.

 

If your husband cheated on you, you might be so angry that you want to kill him. But the law is not going to let you off the hook for manslaughter just because you were justifiably angry.

 

generally agree, and i certainly don't want to justify the behaviour of those who spread stupid rumours or talk badly about others. but i wonder why you bother about it being publicly - do you prefer people talking about you behind your back? if they can't do it publicly, that's what they will do instead, sad as it is. and then i'd personally prefer if it was public than behind my back, because then i would know it and could answer to it. the best option of course would be if everyone just told you to your face if they have a problem with you, or keep their mouth shut completely. but sadly, that's not reality.

[Christine]

of course there are always some people who just don't want to hear the truth, but enjoy causing trouble wherever they can. but i dare to say that most people on mfc aren't like that, and so i personally don't share your point of view on this.

 

Your version of trouble and my version of trouble are two different things because I'm a moderator here. You can turn off your computer and ignore it. I have to deal with it. I can't allow people to come into this forum (even one or two of them) and cast aspersions on my character or imply that the people running this fanclub are abusing their power.

 

The less ammunition these troublemakers have, the less time I have to waste trying to deal with them and their BS.

 

but the problems start where half a story is told, and the rest is up to everyone's imagination.

 

Well I guess everyone is going to have to put on their big girl pants and deal with the crushing disappointment of having their curiosity go unsatisfied. I can't help it if information comes out so there is "half a story". I didn't tell anyone to start the Openness thread or Mika to blab to the London Times. Just because half a story has leaked out doesn't mean I'm going to drop all manner of discretion and tell a bunch of strangers anything they want to hear. It's just tough.

 

Someone mentioned to me recently that she saw things happen backstage when she was a big girl. She has told half the story which amounted to all the usual big girl experiences. And said flat out there are things she will not discuss any further.

 

Am I curious about what she saw/heard/whatever? Sure. Am I going to be petty and spiteful and jealous and cause problems for her? Of course not. In fact if I was THAT curious I would just privately ask her and accept whatever answer she gave me without any hurt feelings because we don't know each other that well and she doesn't owe me any explanations. Just like I don't owe explanations to 99% of the people who read this message board.

 

To say that it is "natural" to be jealous is really stretching it IMO. Unless by "jealous" you mean slightly envious and curious. Because the kind of behaviour I've seen on MFC and in other places in the fan community is not normal behaviour of grown women by any measure. Normal adults do not carry on like that. Not in my world.

 

but i wonder why you bother about it being publicly - do you prefer people talking about you behind your back?

 

Um...yes. 5 people gossiping on MSN is not going to do nearly the amount of damage as a post that several thousand people will view. Sometimes people do believe what they read. Even smart people who are just not informed enough to know the facts.

 

It's true that I can't answer their charges if they are gossiping in private, but I feel as you do that I actually don't care what these people's opinions are. So they can go ahead and talk whatever trash they want in private. But show some tact and keep such gossipy opinions to yourself in public. If for no other reason than it makes you look jealous and childish.

[mellody]

why do i have the feeling that we're arguing, although that wasn't my intention at all?

about being a mod, good point, i didn't think of that.

and again, i don't wanna make excuses for people saying bad things or spreading rumours about anyone, that's not ok, in any case. but you can feel jealousy (or call it envy/curiosity) without becoming mean, but it's not a nice feeling - and it may even cause you to more easily believe in false rumours, even if you don't join in spreading them.

but actually, all i wanted to say is that the secrecy doesn't just have positive sides - and as long as you know that - and i think you do -, but simply for you the advantages are stronger than the disadvantages, of course that's fine with me.

 

about the half a story thing... of course it's not your fault if it somehow comes out. but what i don't like is if people tease with bits of information. like saying "i saw something" but not saying what. then don't say you saw something, y'know what i mean? this is not directed at you, but a general observation - maybe about things like that BG experience you mentioned, idk, haven't read it.