This is one of the most spirited discussions no these boards and I agree with a previous poster that its healthy because it shows the Admins want to encourage us to openly discuss things that are on our minds. I also agree that the topic took a bit of a turn from a ship discussion of possible affection between Sam and Carly to the general topic of gay rights. Again, its my opinion that these boards are all about free speech and that's ok too.

The level of harshness between posters is a concern. When we are harsh with one another, that just tends to drive people from the boards and imply that if one of us doesn't agree with the other, they should leave these boards. My view is that we all are here for two reasons. (1) because we love this show and (2) because we like these boards and want them to be a great social place for us. If we drive off anyone who states something we don't agree with, that hurts the boards. I too recently had my head bit off because I expressed an opinion someone disagreed with. I considered just quitting these boards and I make a lot of posts. So if that is how I react, I expect it will be how most people would.

If we did take the discussion just back to Sam and Carly, there seems to be a fundamental assumption that has made this such a serious discussion. That assumption is that Sarly would be expressed as a fully developed lesbian relationship that went all the way to full sexual involvement between the two girls. These kids are in their early teens and lots of ships happen that are simply flirtatious or affectionate without going "all the way". This is the same assumption that makes Spam posters get all steamed up about flirting between Spencer and Sam. But there are dozens of ways a Sarly or Spam relationship could create energy and chemistry between the characters and not reach that level of "adult" behavior.

I also agree that realistically Dan Schneider is not going to let this show drift into controversy. It is my opinion (for which I will be supergluing my head back on later today) that many people are coming to ICarly from that "other" show that will remain nameless in this post because moms like the show because its entertaining and wholesome mostly. When a teen show gets a lot of controversy for behavior that is going to upset the mom of a preteen child, that is going to drive them to another show. That isn't homophobia, that is just how parents are. So Dan is not going to risk that. I am willing to guess that to Dan and to the network, the success of the show is more important than making a statement about gay rights. Ok, bite my head off now.

hmmm... actually... no because it's a kid show. and.. i dunno.. carly and sam?? kinda freaks me out. Maybe because they're, what, 15? i know someone said carly/freddie or sam/freddie won't be an different from carly/sam cuz it's still a romance. they're just not straight.. but.. c'mon. most gay kids don't really have boyfriends/girlfriends until they're much older. Because 15 is the time where they are still a little bit confused.. sometimes in denial. so realistically.. an open gay couple at 15... you don't see that a lot (unless you're in an all-girls or all-boys school). Or if you do know a lot of openly gay couples at 15... i dunno. maybe it's just me... or maybe i didn't grow up seeing openly gay couples at such a young age.

and in my opinion.. sam and carly are better of as best friends. they're great as best friends.. as a couple...? eh.. sorry. i can't see it.

In my opinion, the inclusion of any relationship, be it Carly/Freddie, Sam/Freddie, Carly/Sam, whatever, would be unsuited to this show. It's a lighthearted comedy show, and I think any relationship would add something weird and out of place to it.

I have nothing against homosexuals or anything, but I will say I think a homosexual relationship would be particularly hard to carry off on iCarly, considering how controversial (just judging by this board, even!) those relationships are. Unless you have the wit of Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, it's hard to make something really serious really funny, and as I said, the number one focus of this show is comedy. And even if the relationship (or any relationship, for that matter) wasn't pointed out all the time, it would still be there, you know? I think the addition of any relationship would just add a kind of heavy, uncomfortable air, which is fine on Grey's Anatomy and that sort of show, but not on iCarly. That said, I vote we leave all relationships- heterosexual, homosexual, whatever- where they belong: fanfiction.

But that's just my opinion. I actually chose pancakes for the poll, though I confess I'm more of a waffles kind of girl. Mmm, waffles... I love those little squares, so perfect for holding syrup...