What is Fluther's nationality?

Earthian

I view it as a global platform that happens to have largely American users.

I think most jellies perceive most users to be American because that’s the way it is. When we know someone is from another country, we answer as such. I don’t see it as overly America-centric, we just know our audience. I for one, love when someone from a country or culture different from mine gives their input.

I think if you read and write in English, Fluther’s for you.

It’s rated E for everyone.

It’s always a good idea to mention in your profile where you are from. People do read these things and adjust their answers acordingly.

It’s American in origin, and its oldest members are American. I think many of us assume an American context, especially when the question appears to reference locale. But there’s nothing exclusive about it. Members everywhere are all on an equal footing. If location is important to a question or an answer or simply as a point of reference, people should mention it.

And people outside the U.S. should not assume that any one American voice speaks for all of us or any one region is representative of the others. When some people say “In the U.S., we do thus,” I think what they often really mean is “In my little town or my urban neighborhood in Texas or Maine or Kansas or Florida or California, some of us do thus.”

Dr. J is a citizen of the universe, and a gentleman gentlejelly to boot.

In Casablanca, Rick is asked his nationality. “I’m a Drunkard” was his response.
I tend to think most people here are from the US, but I recognize this is world wide, especially when people type with an accent.

@filmfann I tend to think that most people in the US are from all over the world.

Ultimately: A resource without boundaries.

Practically: Mostly American right now.

A great big fat +1 for paying attention to couleur locale. I also think that it appears mostly American because, well, Americans can make references to the US, making it appear more strongly, while I, for example, wouldn’t quickly refer to something Dutch because, well, there aren’t that many Netherlanders here. Quite a lot non-US people though.

Another thing, if you look at the above answers, you’d get the impression that really most of the people are American. However, I suppose it’s a much more humane time of day over there right now – it’s the middle of the night here. Yeah, I should go to bed.

I am a Netherlander too!

America: umphteen – Netherlands: 2

I used to play on DinkyBomb quite a bit, and was amazed at the number of Netherlanders on that site.

Nationality? Fluther don’t need no stinkin’ nationality! ~

With that said, Fluther seems to be mostly American (and the founders are Americans from California), but I very much enjoy the fact that folks from a number of other countries contribute. Thank God, though, that they all write English well, often better than certain Americans. My Dutch, German, French, whatever, is not all that great, so it is nice that others are so accomplished in my primary language.

I know recently on “another site not to be named here” there was quite a kerfluffle when Amazon employees in the Philippines started several threads in Tagalog. They were generally cheerful threads, but an amazing number of folks seem to get upset that there were threads that weren’t in English.

With that said, I suppose that any nationality assigned to Fluther would have to be “mostly English-speaking,” if we can call that a nationality.

I must admit that I have sometimes participated in sites where the language was either Spanish or French. I managed, and I don’t think anyone despised me for trying to do so. In fact, I made a couple of friends in distant parts of the world. However, I appreciate how difficult it can be to participate in a discussion in a language that is not my native tongue.

does anyone have a link to the fluther map? the one I found seems to be dead.

Fluther itself has no nationality, that’s part of being on the internet—you’ll get people from all races, nationalities, and backgrounds. Flutherites can have nationalities, and mine happens to be American if that’s what you meant by the question, but I never assume someone’s in one country or another.

@johnpowell I think that was the map. Something must have happened to it…

I don’t know though, it may just by my computer. It’s just completely blank. This is the original thread…

A transparent universe where conflict and harmony coexist perfectly, in a never ending stellar studded stream of brilliance. “May the Fluther be with you… always, my friends”

It is of the nation where nationality is irrelevant. Iin the distant future, I feel certain that this will be the de facto standard…where you are from will mean very little in an open communicating fluid world. Thus the future is a bit ahead of itself here in Fluther.

Is universal, no?

Austro-Hungarian.

@FB welcome to Fluther Lurve.

I don’t think that when we talk about knowledge(Fluther is a huge tank of knowledge)we shouldn’t give it a nationality because humans are equal(a great mind can come from everywhere)and all this knowledge exists just because the universe is how it is(every particle is part of what’s on this site).Nationality is a human concept which causes a lot of discriminations so I think that fluther has no nationality

I remember suggesting that wis.dm create a japanese or mandarin version, maybe ben and jerry should try something similar with fluther…

i don’t see why Fluther, as currently constituted, wouldn’t be useful for anyone who can read and write English. i wonder what statistics there are on how many people in the world with InterNet access can do so.

As regards constructing a version in another language, the Flutherstaff might have to be expanded to people who can read and write that language with reasonable fluency and possess basic communication skills in written English, an expansion that might be quite expensive. Does Fluther support itself by selling advertising? Is there enough advertising in that language eager for placement to make the scheme practicable?

Come say it with me.

I pledge alliegence to the site, Fluther and to Ben and Andrew
And to the community for which substains it
One collective, under Bendrew, of individuals
With moderated liberty for all.

“Se habla everything”

England over here

@Mozart Welcome to fluther…jelly..:)

@mammal – ben and jerry?

Mmm…ice cream.

@Darwin I’m with you on this one…Clearly she means Tom and Jerry, no?

sorry, can’t pledge anything to this site.

I love that I can talk with people from all around the world on fluther and learn that we have much in common.

I assume that the majority of fluther users are from the U.S. but I make sure to include those that aren’t in my questions.

Please don’t let any Republicans begin to suspect that Fluther is an agent of the global One-Worlder Conspiracy!<grin>

sometimes i do find myself writing as if everyone here is in america, but i usually catch myself. there are definitely people from all over here, but the real question is: which ocean? are atlantic jellies really different from pacific jellies? what about the occasional octopus that manages to get in?

Some questions seem to address American topics only, without specifying it.

Example: Is it illegal to buy alcohol if you are under 21, or just to sell it?

Same for the answers.

Example: You’d be a minor in possession, which is illegal.

Usually Europeans know a lot about America so it’s no problem to detect an America-specific question. The reverse might not necessarily the case.

@mattbrowne

Do you think that that is in any way a problem?

Personally, I noticed the same and feel that such somewhat claims fluther, since my impression is every non-American adds the relevant cultural/national setting to it. Not in any way a serious problem, however.

@whitenoise – A small problem, maybe. Nothing serious. There is a world out there beyond the borders of the United States. Most Americans have never traveled to a foreign country, but we have to admit this is much easier for Europeans. Drive for 300 km and you can experience a different culture. A different language. A different way of life. If you live in Kansas 300 km might get you to Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma and a few other states. The web is a great opportunity to explore the world virtually and learn about views from other countries and cultures.

@mattbrowne – What makes you think the culture in Kansas and Colorado is the same? Or try California and Utah, for example? Yes, we do tend to speak a similar language, but sometimes state cultures and ways of life vary hugely.

And now that you guys have the Euro, the currency deal is the same so you can’t say you are better at doing conversions.

@Darwin
Well we still have to converse most of our words into another language, but you make a fair point though. There is a lot of difference between the people on the coasts, for instance and those in Kansas.

But – with all respect!!!!- I do understand what Matt Brown is saying. You can travel from one state to another and you don’t have to adjust yourselves so much. When I leave my home, I cannot go further than 120 kilometers (70 miles?) and I need to speak another language, face different road layouts, eat different food, use different phone companies, power plugs, faucets, travel wrong side of the road, etc…

Besides much of our infrastructure is old and countries are drenched into a certain feel that stems from a thousand years of differences between countries that now don’t even exist anymore.

btw thank you for not saying euro dollar, like many people in the US still do

And now that you mention it…
Is a German Euro truly the same as a French Euro?
Wow… you just made my life a lot easier! ;-)

@whitenoise : My bank thinks all Euros are the same when I have to get some to buy something overseas. But then my bank actually was surprised that Britain still uses pounds. They are a Mexican bank so who knows what’s up with them. They seem to understand pesos and dollars just fine, though.

And you only have to travel on the wrong side of the road if you go to or from Britain (which side is wrong depends on your perspective).

And sadly, McDonald’s is pretty much world-wide, if you are concerned about different food. And food in the US does vary from region to region. How often do folks from New Hampshire eat grits for example? Or folks from Montana eat scrapple?

My first experience eating grits was as a freshman at MIT.

Scots in Montana know (s)crapple as “peeled haggis.” {OK, just kidding!}

@LexWordsmith – Good! Because scrapple has nothing to do with sheep.

Countries and nationality are nonsense anyway in the long term perspectie. All there is, is land and life. A boundary where people fight and die for today may (will) be gone in five hundred years.

Just ate Haggis last week, in Scotland. Lurve to you all on this thread. I just love the way fluther crosses boundaries.

@Darwin – Yes, of course there are (cultural) differences between the people in Colorado and Kansas. Or California for that matter. We can find this even within one state. I’ve been to over 40 states in the US both as a business traveler and tourist. I’ve also traveled to most European countries and my perception is: there are far more cultural differences in Europe. This is both a strength and a challenge.

My point was that we should be sympathetic when Flutherites post americentric questions or comments. Flutherites from other continents are free to add different view points.

@dannyc I think nationality is anything but irrelevant here. As has been said – and I found this quite interesting as I never considered this – it is far more difficult for Americans to experience really different cultures. Thus, it is great that people with a different nationality can give those guys some insight into their cultures here on Fluther.