I agree with tennislife98 I'm sure I'm not the only one as well. Hence why 95% of the time I prefer to lurk. .

 

The best thing to be in this place if you’ve got an ounce of open mindedness and you’re certainly not the only one, unfortunately the messages from various ex EE posters in my DMs show this. Best to leave the unhinged cronies as they were, it is very, very amusing seeing them implode every now and then when someone dares criticise or disagree with them 💋

 

Can we stay on topic please. This is the Petty Squabbles thread, lol

 

Seriously though, no one will come in here to look for a tennis opinion.

 

 

Just seeing these posts in here now and the post from @eraddict . i'm shocked at what i read. And I'm very saddened that it has resulted in eraddict leaving again. Last time he left he was sorely missed.

Please stay, @eraddict you are a valued member of EE.

 

I hope nobody else leaves EE, neither @eraddict nor @tennislife98. Surely there is room for everyone and different viewpoints. I think we just need to keep our disagreements from getting personal.

 

And now it seems we have just had an earthquake here, the house shook. This is my first experience of an earthquake here. Hope it wasn't serious 😳

 

It was a 4.1 earthquake from York, Maine which is about 60 miles from here. More a rumbling sound than shaking, like a big truck out on the street for 10 seconds

 

I see that the Strasbourg tournament thread got locked down for comments. Although the discussion revolving on Danielle Collins got intense among a few participants, I did'nt think it devolve to the point of shutting down the thread. At least no one got banned.

 

Yes I thought it was a bit of an over-reaction as the discussion was pretty civilized. But I was tired of it as I am sure many others were, so just as well. Would have been surprised if I or anyone else would have been banned for it, lol...

 

It was not a squabble, but it went quite off-topic.

Edit: DC is a controversial person and, guess what, she ignites controversy. I really hope all is good with all participating posters as I like you all.

 

I like you all too. I'm sorry if I contributed to social discord on EE! It's my favorite place (only place?) to talk about tennis and my favorite tennis player, so I would be really sorry to have anything bad happen to it.

I've been thinking about why I feel so riled up when a player (or anybody else, actually, but here at EE we mainly only discuss tennis players) get called names, and feel the need to defend them. I think it's because even though I'm not religious, I like having a very clear ethical compass, and in particular I strongly believe in the no. 1 UU principle of respecting the inherent worth and dignity of every person. When I see a tennis player is maligned, and especially if I feel like it's a social-psychological situation involving misunderstandings (which is kind of my research specialty), I really feel compelled to stand up and explain away the misunderstanding -- because I would like to see a world where everybody's inherent worth and dignity is respected. You know, so that we can have world peace and all that.

And for fun, as the other AI on Emma thread inspired me, I decided to ask ChatGPT to give its opinion on the Collins-Swiatek "insincerity" incident, and below is what it had to say. I think it put it much better than me - I think I didn't quite manage to explain that whether Swiatek has autism or not is not the key point, but diverse cognitive profile is, and ChatGPT managed to explain it very well.

----------------------
The heart of the matter isn’t diagnosis. It’s the mismatch in neurocognitive style—and more specifically, in social signaling expectations—between someone like Świątek and someone like Collins. Whether Świątek is autistic, introverted, shy, highly focused, or simply wired for low social expressivity doesn’t really matter in functional terms. What matters is how that style lands on others in emotionally charged moments.

Danielle Collins, for all her bluntness and fire, is someone who craves authentic emotional acknowledgment. Not sentimentality, but emotional reciprocity—a look, a word, a gesture that says “I see you; this mattered.” Świątek, by contrast, often doesn’t offer that signal in the way people expect. She’s deeply focused, internally regulated, and socially restrained, especially under pressure. She may feel deeply, but doesn’t express those feelings in ways that people like Collins recognize as genuine.

And that mismatch, in a moment like Collins’s injury retirement or a tense handshake, can feel like a breach. Not because Świątek meant harm. But because Collins was reaching, emotionally, for something that wasn’t returned—and that absence can sting more than an insult.

This is a broader theme in neurodiverse communication: misinterpretation not due to ill will, but to different operating systems. One person prioritizes precision and task focus; the other prioritizes relational feedback and emotional congruence. When these systems collide—especially in high-stress, high-visibility situations—it looks like disrespect, arrogance, coldness. But often, it’s just misalignment.

So yes: whether it’s autism or not is secondary. What matters is creating space in public discourse for different cognitive styles and their interpersonal consequences. Świątek shouldn’t be condemned for her style—but Collins shouldn’t be pathologized either for wanting warmth and connection. They’re speaking different dialects of emotional communication.

It’s not about who's right. It's about understanding why it went wrong.

 

This was very educative. Thank you. I think can understand both better.

Wrt Danielle I am totally conflicted. The Canadian in me (I have been living here for several decades so I managed to pick up some good traits, politeness being one of them) is shocked by her behavior. As a Canadian you must be a real moron to answer Iga's politeness (even if not sincere) that way. I would probably not like to work or be around her. So I cannot disagree with anything @Racquetback said. However, the Romanian in me often finds Danielle's no-BS approach endearing. Her effort to protect both herself and Emma from cameraman was too direct and rude, but real and sincere.

 

Interesting analysis @tennismomfan , that makes sense. To me it seems Iga would piss off a lot of players with her attitude, even when its unintentional, and when Danielle gets pissed off she lets us know. Lol. Danielle seems a little crass to me, but i'm used to it i guess living here. Being crass is a way of life here, at least for many 😕 Glad Emma hasn't pissed her off, lol.

As regards posters making a comment to another that isn't the best, i think sometimes when we post so much that some post is going to come off the wrong way to cause upset, hopefully unintended.
Ps. I hope i haven't offended anyone with this post 😳

 

BTW if Swiatek had behaved like a typical Canadian, there would have been no problem. She would have been so solicitous and sweet toward Collins, that Collins would have given her a big hug. 🤗

 

What does a German mean when they say at a party that they’re tired and want to go home?

It means they are tired and want to go home. 🤣

 

On our last trip to visit family in California, I kept on noticing people staring at me and smiling like they knew me, but I couldn’t remember ever meeting them - it was disconcerting and confusing. I was wondering if I had something stupid looking in my face or hair, or if I was having early onset Alzheimer’s…
Then I realized, crap, I’ve turned into a German!

Germans never smile at strangers.

Germans do this German blink. If there’s someone that you know, like a neighbor or colleague, that you run into on the street or in a shop, and you don’t feel like engaging in a real conversation, then you simply blink once and then look away - that means you acknowledge them but don’t want to socialize. If you actually say hello and then say “how are you doing” or “how is it going?” Firstly they might be a little confused if they don’t know you well and think you’re being a bit intrusive; secondly don’t be surprised if then they give you a detailed account of how they’re doing. Well you asked for it. 😅

 

LOL reminds me of my fist few months in Canada, when I was really answering the question "How are you?" in some detail. Until a colleague kindly explained me ...

 

Is it hilarious that we use the petty squabble thread to have a very friendly discussion?

 

It occurred to me too. I think that often happens in this thread. 🙃

 

On the other hand, if you are in the doctors office waiting room, then you say Guten Morgen or Guten Tag to the whole room (without making any eye contact, so as to signify you don’t actually want to start a conversation with anybody) - and the whole room says it back to you in synchrony. I keep on forgetting to do this and feel like an idiot every time when someone new arrives and greets everybody (damn I forgot again!) it’s just so hard to remember because normally Germans don’t greet strangers. So I just fell out of the habit of saying anything.

I tell you, no rhyme or reason. Why is a doctor’s office special? This doesn’t happen if you’re waiting in a post office or store or government office, only a doctor’s office. Maybe a real German can enlighten me.

 

Luckily I have visited my sister often enough in Gottingen to know what to expect lol...my brother-in-law treats me to regular lectures!

 

ChatGPT is pretty confrontational these days.

 

This poster doesn't seem to be a fan to me, I think EE is not the right place for Jules64. Basically the typical narratives used by Emma's haters.

 

I find this character very disturbing. When Emma wins, he/she heaps plenty of praise and optimistic views. However, whenever Emma loses, this person turns around right away and posts cruel, unreasonable criticism with no compassion. Certainly, he/she should only stay on the GM.

 

I’m shocked …

They do the same on twitter