{"items": [{"author": "Sarah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408392626212", "anchor": "fb-408392626212", "service": "fb", "text": "This is great - thanks for posting! While a couple of the suggestions are obviously antiquated, the concepts of courtesy thoughtfulness and graciousness are timeless.", "timestamp": "1278893299"}, {"author": "Laura", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408438066212", "anchor": "fb-408438066212", "service": "fb", "text": "I love #4.... SO still applicable. Think of how much less confusing it would be for beginners if people followed this one... it's much easier to watch 7 people do it right than have 7 people all telling you what to do. (Pet peeve of mine... can you tell?)", "timestamp": "1278904315"}, {"author": "Jan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408568256212", "anchor": "fb-408568256212", "service": "fb", "text": "I especially like #12 -- ignore others' errors! (Presumably \"cross over mistakes\" happen when you're too busy correcting others to do it right yourself?)", "timestamp": "1278944086"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408568861212", "anchor": "fb-408568861212", "service": "fb", "text": "I think it's \"You must not [get cross] [over mistakes]\" not \"You must not get [cross over] mistakes\"", "timestamp": "1278944232"}, {"author": "Jan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408576726212", "anchor": "fb-408576726212", "service": "fb", "text": "A good lesson either way.", "timestamp": "1278946000"}, {"author": "Jonah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408577256212", "anchor": "fb-408577256212", "service": "fb", "text": "How can a man try to get the most experienced, most attractive partner possible if he's busy walking his former partner back to her seat? Was that rule lost because of changing gender attitudes, or natural selection?", "timestamp": "1278946132"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408578151212", "anchor": "fb-408578151212", "service": "fb", "text": "Jonah: the solution is booking ahead. You can appear a gentleman by walking your previous partner back to her seat, but you already have a maximally experienced and attractive partner lined up for the next dance.", "timestamp": "1278946368"}, {"author": "Jonah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408580046212", "anchor": "fb-408580046212", "service": "fb", "text": "Genius! I must try this \"booking ahead\" some day.", "timestamp": "1278946675"}, {"author": "Jan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408582016212", "anchor": "fb-408582016212", "service": "fb", "text": "I'll go out on a limb here: I dislike booking ahead, both in concept and in reality. It often means missing out on favorite partners/people and high-energy sets. My loss? Guess so. But this discussion reminds me how much I miss the gentler & friendlier days.", "timestamp": "1278947095"}, {"author": "Sarah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408582906212", "anchor": "fb-408582906212", "service": "fb", "text": "New technology makes booking ahead a snap. Nowadays you can \"text ahead\", enter it in your public Google Calendar and then Tweet a mini review of the \"tip\" right from the dance floor!", "timestamp": "1278947291"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408584501212", "anchor": "fb-408584501212", "service": "fb", "text": "Jan: I don't book; my response to jonah was insufficiently marked as joking", "timestamp": "1278947621"}, {"author": "Jonah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408589261212", "anchor": "fb-408589261212", "service": "fb", "text": "My comments were also meant as satirical. The twitter advertisement above, however, looks pretty convincing (kidding). Jan, I hope you don't get cross with any of us! :-)", "timestamp": "1278948651"}, {"author": "Jan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408589791212", "anchor": "fb-408589791212", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry ... facebooking after not enough sleep is a bad idea!", "timestamp": "1278948775"}, {"author": "Jonah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408589931212", "anchor": "fb-408589931212", "service": "fb", "text": "Seriously, you could hurt yourself!", "timestamp": "1278948818"}, {"author": "Jessica", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408596856212", "anchor": "fb-408596856212", "service": "fb", "text": "#1 speaks to something I've experienced from time to time. Nothing so unattractive as someone chewing right in your face! I haven't figure out a polite way to address it yet....at a dance that is. I have been known to chew gum in public on occasion.", "timestamp": "1278950386"}, {"author": "Steven", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408597561212", "anchor": "fb-408597561212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Jessica: Ask them for some. And if it's bubble gum, you can both blow bubbles during the walk-through.", "timestamp": "1278950579"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408599166212", "anchor": "fb-408599166212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Steve: blowing bubbles during the walkthrough or at the beginning of a contra is disrespectful because the caller can be drowned out by the popping of the bubbles. If you want to blow bubbles you ought to wait until the caller has dropped out.", "timestamp": "1278950941"}, {"author": "Tom", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408702521212", "anchor": "fb-408702521212", "service": "fb", "text": "People have seats that they go back to? I thought everyone was there to dance.", "timestamp": "1278968974"}, {"author": "Tom", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408703671212", "anchor": "fb-408703671212", "service": "fb", "text": "As for chewing gum, I thought everyone appreciated my being minty fresh. ;)", "timestamp": "1278969130"}, {"author": "Katherine", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408750016212", "anchor": "fb-408750016212", "service": "fb", "text": "I LOVE #4!! Over the last 10 years?, no doubt out of a lovely sincere desire to help people and make them feel welcome, or perhaps from there being alot of callers in the dance, there are often so many people directing those nearby them that the result is bad dancing and confusion. It promotes new or less able dancers becoming dependent on those nearby to get thru the dance instead of learning how to respond to caller; it adds noise & distraction so others in set can't hear and learn from caller. It erodes caller's authority. For myself,when I have trouble with a dance, I like to hear caller clearly,hope they will see problems, reteach etc. Some times one SILENT gesture froma dancer will help. But what is so bad about letting a dancer make a mistake, learn how to recover, let the selfcorrecting set thing take over? Maybe that's why we do the dance over and over... I believe the BEST thing is for each dancer to concentrate on their OWN dancing, listen to caller, and be in their OWN right place. There are only so many \"slots\" to be in at a time, and if all of them are taken, often it becomes clear where the erring dancer has to be. Also the
\"erring\" dancer gets to see others do it right and learns how to copy. All these are skills one learns if not too many folks \"help\" and thereby short circuit the process of learning how to learn, recover,etc. Just my take.....", "timestamp": "1278977141"}, {"author": "Katherine", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408753971212", "anchor": "fb-408753971212", "service": "fb", "text": "Several Victorian dance manuals add add another \"rule\" (15?) to the effect that you bring only happiness and generosity in your heart to the dance, shedding as so many do on the road to Pinewoods, all one's woes, worries, frowns, bad vibes. This putting on the garment of joy is the finest gift any dancer can bring to the magic place we call the dancefloor. I'll post the originals if I can find them-the Victorians put it so much better than I did.", "timestamp": "1278977851"}, {"author": "Steven", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408788726212", "anchor": "fb-408788726212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Jeff, RE: bubble gum: Offer the caller some. And when the flavor is gone you can stick the gum either: a--under your chair, or b--Just drop it on the floor and let it get stuck to someone's shoe.", "timestamp": "1278985043"}, {"author": "Pat", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/sunday-july-11-2010-etiquitte-of-folk-and-square-dance/408320696212/?comment_id=408932546212", "anchor": "fb-408932546212", "service": "fb", "text": "I am a person who likes to walk on the grass. Although experience tells me all of that stuff is a good idea (and I've done all that), the way it is written just makes me want to start bossing everyone around, jumping around, etc. Now I KNOW I'm a curmudgeon. Lots of \"rules\" and \"ought to's\" in the language. Does NOT make me joyful, sorry.", "timestamp": "1279029364"}]}