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My friend's brother once said a quote that will sum up anything a human does..

''People are stupid.''

alarmingrick wrote:

FITZZ wrote:

alarmingrick wrote:I'm goin' for a beer. tell when it's over.

Wait..wait...now we're going to have to enact a poll pertaining to what sort of beer the committee should consume while organizing the secret ballots for the creation of polls to see who would do the poll that would add polls for the committee pretaining to the posting of polls...and then we'll need another poll polling the committee to determine if they were under the influance when polling took place....

Gee...this is just like Washington.

Well, with more beer here! maybe that's what they need? or a few brownies....

...I belive the application of both throughout the various seats of Government might go a long way in improving domestic policy...including fostering a more "civil union"..

dogma wrote:I'm actually, in general, more aggressive in person but I think anonymity is the primary force behind net aggression.

I find I can more clearly express opinions on the internet and I don't really get ruffled by anything. In person I'm friendlier in general but much more inclined to acts of aggression. I've been having trouble being civil on the board recently due to moderators double standards and the sheer inanity of other posters and their opinions.

Its the internet man, on here everyone suddenly bench presses a clean 275 all day long and isnt affraid to run into a burning building and then pose their shiney white teeth for the news camera. So in that frame of mind, arguing and puffing out ones chest is just to easy. Granted 99% of the people that do that on the internet would probably piss themselves in any type of real life confrontation.


I voted for all but 2 of them...now I cant remember which one was which. Also, I nominate Shuma or corpses to be the originator of the poll to see who can start the polling process. 1 of them is a political junky and would get it right mostly....the other just doesnt give a gak enough to ruin the vote either way


You can poll to see who is who

I had a quote from slacktivist in my sig for a long time;

"Civility does not mean, primarily, being nice. It means, foremost, being honest.

Without a shared commitment to truth, there can be no civility."


I think it sums up most of the problem. Now, I don't pretend for one second that people out in the real world are humble seekers of the truth and nothing else, but out in the real world the will be pressure to be reasonable, to accept that something is true even when it isn't. Because those people are friends and colleagues, and there's an instinctic desire not to look irrational around people you respect.

That's where the problem begins.

For me it has always been trying to assess tone. I rely so heavily on peoples posture, facial expressions, and tone in order to understand what people are saying, using the internet is like going blind when trying to hold a conversation. That and I rely heavily on using my own expressions so that a casual 'feth off ya bastard!' can be seen as a joke and not me being actually angry

Azure wrote:For me it has always been trying to assess tone. I rely so heavily on peoples posture, facial expressions, and tone in order to understand what people are saying, using the internet is like going blind when trying to hold a conversation. That and I rely heavily on using my own expressions so that a casual 'feth off ya bastard!' can be seen as a joke and not me being actually angry

Plus there are more physical forms of non-verbal communication, such as when some tough-guy punches you in the arm or that cute girl in your science class pets your hair. Majority of communication is non-verbal

something you lack on the internet.

Some people in specific, that I won't name, are wrong most of the time, and just like to be contrary to create an argument.

Some are just, in general, donkey-caves.

Brought upon by a variety of causes I would assume. Their personal life is pitiful so they take out their frustrations on the internet where they can expect no real repercussions.

"Other" - banal threads

Karon wrote:Some people in specific, that I won't name, are wrong most of the time, and just like to be contrary to create an argument.

Some are just, in general, donkey-caves.

Brought upon by a variety of causes I would assume. Their personal life is pitiful so they take out their frustrations on the internet where they can expect no real repercussions.

hear hear! Although I don't think we have the same people in mind.

People can't remain civil because of troll-baiting, infantile threads like this. The OP blatant hostility and provocative and deserves to be banned!

I jest! I jest! My tuppence on this hinges on the peculiar quirk of the human brain that is geared up to make us predisposed to assume that we are right. Coupled with the enforced seperation of the internet forum, there is a sense of impotence at being able to communicate effectively, being slowed by the posting method as is the case, coupled with a lack of ability to read into nuance carried outside of the words themselves and a lack of potentially hostile consequences in the physical sense.

In short, I voted all of the above.

Sgt_Scruffy wrote:

Karon wrote:Some people in specific, that I won't name, are wrong most of the time, and just like to be contrary to create an argument.

Some are just, in general, donkey-caves.

Brought upon by a variety of causes I would assume. Their personal life is pitiful so they take out their frustrations on the internet where they can expect no real repercussions.

hear hear! Although I don't think we have the same people in mind.

+1

Things tend to escalate on the internet. One person says something that could be construed as an attack, so they fight back, which leads to more harsh words on both sides. Plus, most people won't admit when they're wrong.

Some people on the board are just angry douchebags, that's all.

I tend to engage people whose opinions I value in discussion and don't really bother interacting on a meaningful level with people that are known gaks.

I find the overwhelming majority of people on this board to be reasonable and fun to talk to, with only a few notable exceptions of course.

I wonder if lead poisoning has anything to do with it?

Or the victims being constantly blamed..



or gravity.
Yeah, gravity is usually the answer to any problem.

A Black Ram wrote:Or the victims being constantly blamed..



or gravity.
Yeah, gravity is usually the answer to any problem.

Gravity is the cause of weighty issues.

It's easier to be aggressive and offensive from behind the anonymous safety of a keyboard and monitor.

Add "Jealous of another user's thread post/readership count".

BuFFo wrote:Add "Jealous of another user's thread post/readership count".

Seriously?

Because most people here don't actually *want* civility.

snurl wrote:

BuFFo wrote:Add "Jealous of another user's thread post/readership count".

Seriously?

Eeeeee-yup... Seriously...

Pathetic personal life transcribed into an ePeen contest online is pretty pathetic.

Were I less of a gentleman I would beg to know what Buffo is talking about.

Humans are such silly creatures.

Monster Rain wrote:Were I less of a gentleman I would beg to know what Buffo is talking about.

If you don't want to understand, then I can't help ya, but if you want me to explain it out for ya, then I don't mind at all!

I think part of it is that people post what comes to mind without realizing how it sounds and screws the tone up. I know some people that use the term 'obviously' often in speech and their body language makes up for it, however that term, along with others, in text are like sparks to to tinder. Must be careful with text.

Sometimes you just want to lash out at people after a bad day.

Strangers on the internet are usually the target.

The most truest and most well-known answer to this: There. ARE. TOO. MANY. TROLLS.

Can you imagine what the internet will be like in another decade?

Not looking forward to it.

Because we were bred for war!

Soladrin wrote:Because we were bred for war!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

We can't stay civil because I exist.