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Made in us
Waaagh! Warbiker





While I have been playing 40k on and off since 2nd edition, I have only be a viewer/poster on this forum for a few years. In that time I have found that seemingly nearly every thread on this particular "40k General Discussion" forum gets derailed from the original post into some tangent, often unrelated topic where posters argue over very trivial points.

Why is that? Is it simply a characteristic of the maturity, mentality, and personality of many 40k players, unfiltered by internet anonymity? Does the dark-colored background, orange/red text, and explosive "DakkaDakka" logo imagery of this website/forum incite some posters into argumentative behavior (semi-serious question actually)?

I don't get to play too many games these days outside of my home, but I have attended tournaments like NOVA in recent years and witnessed most of the players there acting cordial and not bursting into spontaneous arguments. I have visited many forums over the years but have found few like this where posters go off topic so quickly, often into silly arguments. It seems the mods would be better off creating an "Arguments" sub forum and directing all off-topic argument posts to that forum ("Take it outside! . . .").

What's the deal here?

 
   
Made in gb
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Boredom.. And "some people always have to be right"
Anonymous internet space just breeds this kind of attitude. People who would in person not say anything or dont even play the game seem to have the most to say.

Some things just set people off and gets them huffin and puffin as if youve broken into their home and took a bat to their display cabinet. Its just comical to see a small essay about how a snarky silly joke about "marines OP" is "ahctually incorrect" and it just derails fromt here 100% of the time.

Its fascinating stuff.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/19 23:27:19


https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/772746.page#10378083 - My progress/failblog painting blog thingy

Eldar- 4436 pts


AngryAngel80 wrote:
I don't know, when I see awesome rules, I'm like " Baby, your rules looking so fine. Maybe I gotta add you to my first strike battalion eh ? "


 Eonfuzz wrote:


I would much rather everyone have a half ass than no ass.


"A warrior does not seek fame and honour. They come to him as he humbly follows his path"  
   
Made in ca
Stubborn Dark Angels Veteran Sergeant




Vancouver, BC

It's a common thing on any forum where there are passionate people. People tend to be more vocal on the internet than they would be IRL and there are plenty of rules debates and power level concerns discussed with some volume and animation at game shops as well. It's especially noticeable here due to the sheer volume of activity on this forum and the passive moderation style.
   
Made in gb
Walking Dead Wraithlord






I would say if you want to see the best examples of the community look at the P&M sections or some legacy stuff / non current 40k discussions.

People are much more chill when they are on the same page about stuff and just trying to help eachother improve.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/772746.page#10378083 - My progress/failblog painting blog thingy

Eldar- 4436 pts


AngryAngel80 wrote:
I don't know, when I see awesome rules, I'm like " Baby, your rules looking so fine. Maybe I gotta add you to my first strike battalion eh ? "


 Eonfuzz wrote:


I would much rather everyone have a half ass than no ass.


"A warrior does not seek fame and honour. They come to him as he humbly follows his path"  
   
Made in ca
Secretive Dark Angels Veteran



Canada

Our forum is bad and we should feel bad.

General Discussion is where the arguments for arguments sake do happen. Maybe it keeps it out of the Tactics and Background forums? When Flames of War had a discussion board they took down their General Discussion because it turned into General Complaints and General Arguments. So the arguments and complaints went to the Tactics and Rules portions.


All you have to do is fire three rounds a minute, and stand 
   
Made in us
Waaagh! Warbiker





The "passionate" argument is interesting, but I'm not sure I buy it. I have viewed several other 40k/AOS forums, including Reddit 40k subforums, Bolter and Chainsword, and the Grand Alliance Forum, all with some posters that I would describe as very passionate, and only DakkaDakka seems to really have this issue to the extent that it is very noticeable.

 
   
Made in ca
Stubborn Dark Angels Veteran Sergeant




Vancouver, BC

 Gnarlly wrote:
The "passionate" argument is interesting, but I'm not sure I buy it. I have viewed several other 40k/AOS forums, including Reddit 40k subforums, Bolter and Chainsword, and the Grand Alliance Forum, all with some posters that I would describe as very passionate, and only DakkaDakka seems to really have this issue to the extent that it is very noticeable.

Reddit encourages uniformity due to the up/down voting system, hence it's not a place where many arguments happen, Reddit subs tend to split into opposed groups rather than allow two diverse opinions to coexist.

I suspect that B&C and GA have smaller communities and more active moderation than Dakka has. I've been on one forum since 2004 and I've seen it mellow out over the years as activity dropped and only the old guard post, so declining membership and long term members who all - mostly - see eye to eye will also make for a quieter forum.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/02/19 23:45:39


 
   
Made in us
Waaagh! Warbiker





 Canadian 5th wrote:
 Gnarlly wrote:
The "passionate" argument is interesting, but I'm not sure I buy it. I have viewed several other 40k/AOS forums, including Reddit 40k subforums, Bolter and Chainsword, and the Grand Alliance Forum, all with some posters that I would describe as very passionate, and only DakkaDakka seems to really have this issue to the extent that it is very noticeable.

Reddit encourages uniformity due to the up/down voting system, hence it's not a place where many arguments happen, Reddit subs tend to split into opposed groups rather than allow two diverse opinions to coexist.

I suspect that B&C and GA have smaller communities and more active moderation than Dakka has. I've been on one forum since 2004 and I've seen it mellow out over the years as activity dropped and only the old guard post, so declining membership and long term members who all - mostly - see eye to eye will also make for a quieter forum.


Good points. Thanks.

 
   
Made in us
Confessor Of Sins





Tacoma, WA, USA

From what I've seen, generally someone will throw in an off-topic side comment. Someone else will pick up on it. Soon, those two and a few others are posting a torrent of off-topic emails because they just can't let it go.

Like how long can you have any discussion in the 40k section of the forum before it degenerates into a fight about if Space Marines are too powerful, followed by lots of accusation of White and Black Knighting GW?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/20 00:16:18


 
   
Made in us
Hellacious Havoc





IME on every discussion forum there are always at least a few Dark Triad types with thousands of posts that are overwhelmingly negative, and always disagree. And there are some here as well. They don't function well on Reddit as they'll just get downvoted away.

Thats not to say every high volume poster, its just a particular caricature I've noticed and try to filter out.

Speaking of Reddit, you might find this interesting

https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9rvroo/most_of_what_you_read_on_the_internet_is_written/
   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

You sweet summer child, just imagine how bad it was before the Dakka mods smarted up and banned political discussions. For a small taste of what that was like (the depths that some people will sink to when they can do so anonymously), see the little fracas that ensued in the celebrity death thread (over in Geek Media) recently when a certain ultra-conservative talking head passed on...

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
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Made in jp
Crushing Black Templar Crusader Pilot






So like, I might be a dummy, but I think of late it's gotten a bit worse (in part) due to Covid lockdowns. More people have more free time, more negative, anxious feelings, and fewer meaningful socialization while they are protecting themselves from the virus. I feel like in the last year especially, threads on this site derail REALLY fast, and just degenerate into clashing egos.

I think there's also definitely something to be said however, as a few other users have pointed out, too, about trends of just arguing past each other, trying to get last words in and feeling like one needs to be right all the time too.

Will super second what Argive said though, and say that P&M is an eternal wellspring of positivity for the most part, which is nice.

There's probably something to be said of how normalized the internet/internet usage/regular, hours-long internet usage has become for many people, too, in the last 10 years, and how this has lead to an explosion of not just people online, but also flying rodent gak crazy people, socially maladjusted people, people who aren't really familiar with what they're doing, or who really understand how the internet, opinions and anonymity work.

That said, lately I've been on a bit of a burnout with Dakka. Kinda falling out of love with a lot of things, idk my opinions are garbage mostly lol.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2021/02/20 03:59:51


 
   
Made in fi
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!






People bickering anonymously over expensive plastic toys and children's stories

Guess they need the therapy and an outlet for venting out all that Chaos from within.. Not sure its helping tho!

I've been practically in total isolation from the outside world for a year now (High-Risk patient) and have noticed healthy people slowly losing their marbles by doomscrolling et al.. It's almost hilarious tbh

Many people dont seem to realize that things could still be much worse.. We still have a functioning society to a degree, and no constant shortage of basic necessities. But no, its all glass half empty, all the time.

Might also have something to do with the "competitive" nature of this board.. Us filthy casuals dont realize the stress buildup of grown-@$$ men who cant get to table a lesser opponent regularly.. Ooh, all that "testosterone" needs to go somewhere hehehe

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2021/02/20 04:31:55


 
   
Made in us
[MOD]
Solahma






RVA

When posters agree, content on a discussion forum tends to cease. Therefore, content tends to be biased toward conflict.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/20 04:26:58


   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





Long and short, because people insist on being people.

CHAOS! PANIC! DISORDER!
My job here is done. 
   
Made in us
Focused Fire Warrior




Les Etats Unis

 Canadian 5th wrote:

I've been on one forum since 2004 and I've seen it mellow out over the years as activity dropped and only the old guard post, so declining membership and long term members who all - mostly - see eye to eye will also make for a quieter forum.


I agree with this assessment, but I think it can be taken more than a little bit further.

Just about every forum I'm aware of (and I mean this type of forum, not Reddit or similar platforms) that's still running was founded at least fifteen years ago. Maybe that sounds like not too much time for some of y'all, but keep in mind the competition here. Discord was created in 2015. Instagram came out in 2010. Reddit is one of the oldest popular platforms around, but even that was hardly in the popular consciousness until about 2011 or so when the whole atheism craze took off. This means that the quote-unquote "old guard" who are on here are almost guaranteed to have spent more time on this forum than the "old guards" of other platforms. This in turn leads to people who have a lot more history with each other (especially since this variety of forum is often more personal than places such as Reddit or Twitter), and therefore often have disagreements which are as personal as they are opinion-based. Such deep histories can also often discourage newer users. How often have y'all seen people who join this forum, make maybe 50 to 150 posts, then vanish never to return? I know of at least 4 off the top of my head, and I've been on Dakka for less than half a year. This creates an exponential effect where the community becomes increasingly dedicated as they learn more about each other, which in turn increases the social barrier to entry for newer users.

In addition, the interconnectedness of places like Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, and Discord makes them a lot more hospitable for people who aren't looking for time commitments. If you use Twitter casually, all you need to do is follow a couple news and meme accounts and you've basically gotten the whole experience. There's more to offer for people who look deeper, but casual users can get all the information they need on their favorite hobbies, as well as a good laugh, in about ten minutes or less if they've customized their feeds correctly. Not so for forums. First of all, this may sound odd, but for a lot of people it can be hard to understand how forums operate in the first place. A large portion of the online populace basically grew up on places such as Reddit or Tumblr, which have drastically different user interfaces compared to places like Dakka. I know people who are old enough to drink who have no clue how to operate this sort of forum, let alone more complicated avenues such as IRC channels. Nowadays, a disproportionately high percent of people who use Dakka (just hop on the average thread and check) were those who had joined back between about 2004 and 2014, back when forums such as this one were all the rage, or so I'm told. I would bet that even most of the relatively recent joins here are people who have had some experience with other forums.

So in short, we have a forum that, like most forums of this style, is made almost entirely of "old guard." What this means is that, as previously mentioned, just about everyone here has a history with each other. This can basically go one of two ways: Either everyone gets along well and the forum becomes more of a social gathering spot than a discussion center, or there are one or more schisms in the community which lead to forum politics and people taking sides. According to other users on this thread, The Bolter & Chainsword is apparently closer to the former camp. Dakka is squarely in the latter. I think it's fair most people on this thread can think of at least one person on this forum who they at least dislike. Maybe it's because you think they're immature, overly argumentative, or you disagree on political matters. I know I've seen users clearly express personal distaste for each other on threads before. This means that every time those two users communicate, there's going to be an undercurrent of tension, and in turn, if there's another clear avenue of disagreement between them (such as the power level of an army or the effectiveness of a rule), that disagreement can often turn into a heated argument thanks to this history. If one looks around on popular Dakka threads, this happens literally all the time.

Now, I'm not trying to say any of this as a knock against the site, or even this type of forum in general. In fact, I specifically sought out a site like Dakka because I find the personal connections to be more welcoming. It's much easier for people to just fly by a thread and post a low-effort joke on sites such as Reddit or Twitter, but smaller forums actually force people to make meaningful connections. It's nice, and it's one of the many reasons I'm glad sites like Dakka are still around (in fact, if anyone knows a good old-style forum for fantasy novels, please PM me). However, that sort of personal connection is always going to come with some rough edges if there are people who dislike each other. For places such as here, it just comes with the territory. If anything, the fact, that there are such few personal attacks here speaks to how effectively the moderation team has encouraged people to uphold standards of etiquette. I know people get upset about the moderation on Dakka from time to time, but rest assured, it could be a lot worse.

Sorry if this post was a tad long, I'm a rambler at the best of times and this specific topic has been on my mind a lot recently. Suffice to say, I don't think the arguing on Dakka is going to end anytime soon.

Dudeface wrote:
 Eldarain wrote:
Is there another game where players consistently blame each other for the failings of the creator?

If you want to get existential, life for some.
 
   
Made in us
[MOD]
Solahma






RVA

Excellent points, Flipsiders, I think that is an accurate and insightful account.

   
Made in gb
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Yeah I think the idea of "internet forums" appears to be a bit of a dinosaur. But that's what makes it work IMO. Most of the posters here will remember a time before the internet. Most on twitter will not..

I think banning political discussions was the right move. Initially I didint agree with it and thought it was a bit anti-freedom but in hindsight, it was absolutely the right move for better or worse. I think there's far threads getting ruined by people going waay off track about political issues. Ive certainly fallen in that trap before.

One things for sure. Global lockdowns are absolutely not helping peoples moods and that will permeate into an online space like this.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/20 23:28:31


https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/772746.page#10378083 - My progress/failblog painting blog thingy

Eldar- 4436 pts


AngryAngel80 wrote:
I don't know, when I see awesome rules, I'm like " Baby, your rules looking so fine. Maybe I gotta add you to my first strike battalion eh ? "


 Eonfuzz wrote:


I would much rather everyone have a half ass than no ass.


"A warrior does not seek fame and honour. They come to him as he humbly follows his path"  
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

 Argive wrote:


One things for sure. Global lockdowns are absolutely not helping peoples moods and that will permeate into an online space like this.



I've certainly seen this from a few people who have lashed out at others who they normally would never have lashed out at and I do wonder if its a contributing factor.




Another thing to consider is that forums are a bit like hobby magazines - a lot of the same hobby related topics come around again and even when there's something new there's often a point at which discussion is almost a repeat of the last time something new came out. As a result a lot of the established members already know how a thread will go and don't feel a need to repeat themselves. However they still want to interact and take part; at the same time they've nothing "new" to contribute. I think this can sometimes manifest in some people pushing at smaller and smaller points to just have a point; or even breaking out into arguments just its following a minor train of thought more to the extreme than normal.


Indeed I've often seen people get hostile at others, even newbies, because they aren't making "new or interesting content".

A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
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Humming Great Unclean One of Nurgle






I try to improve. I like to think I have over the years. But I know for a fact I still slip up, not infrequently. I recently changed my avatar to one I feel better represents my post history.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/21 19:54:18


Road to Renown! It's like classic Path to Glory, but repaired, remastered, expanded! https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/778170.page

I chose an avatar I feel best represents the quality of my post history.

I try to view Warhammer as more of a toolbox with examples than fully complete games. 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Central California

 Overread wrote:
 Argive wrote:


One things for sure. Global lockdowns are absolutely not helping peoples moods and that will permeate into an online space like this.



I've certainly seen this from a few people who have lashed out at others who they normally would never have lashed out at and I do wonder if its a contributing factor.




Another thing to consider is that forums are a bit like hobby magazines - a lot of the same hobby related topics come around again and even when there's something new there's often a point at which discussion is almost a repeat of the last time something new came out. As a result a lot of the established members already know how a thread will go and don't feel a need to repeat themselves. However they still want to interact and take part; at the same time they've nothing "new" to contribute. I think this can sometimes manifest in some people pushing at smaller and smaller points to just have a point; or even breaking out into arguments just its following a minor train of thought more to the extreme than normal.


Indeed I've often seen people get hostile at others, even newbies, because they aren't making "new or interesting content".


This does seem to sum a lot of the interactions on Dakka for the last year.
(nothing below should be news to anyone, but...)
It has not helped that the main game discussed on the forum has gone through massive changes in the last few years. It has polarized a lot of posters.
I am an older person who knows forums as others have pointed out. I knew the world before the internet, when you actually had to talk to each other and be social.

Dakka is a prime example of how internet anonymity, the text age, and right fighting can combine. It isn't a secret. You all know this. In text (on a forum) people will routinely say things in a way that will get them alienated from a group in the real world. Not by having a different opinion, but often expressing it in a toxic/aggressive way. Here, you get away with it, because groups cannot escape it.

Text forums are absolutely great for finding, sharing, etc with a huge audience. They also bring out the frustrated, insecure, angry people who need to vent, boost their ego by demeaning others, or just plain enjoy creating anxiety and frustration.

I can't remember in what Psychology book I read it, but there was this scale of someone trying to convince people. It went something like this:
Right fighter: Statement X:
Listener: Disbelief
Right fighter: Everyone agrees with me
Listener: Who is everyone?
Right Fighter: I heard it from (blank) authority figure.
Listener: That isn't a real authority figure.
At this point, the chain of "authority" figures (or books, etc) runs up the assumed hierarchy of importance.
I call it digging the hole.
This happens often here. Find any of the discussions arguing the English language and usage...


It will always be here. Just live with it, find your niche and group, and focus there.

Keeping the hobby side alive!

I never forget the Dakka unit scale is binary: Units are either OP or Garbage. 
   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

Edit : Whoops I'm very sorry I hadn't realised this was so out of date when I first replied.

I joined this forum years back, I think my old account is long gone so I created a new one, I didn't post much at the time anyway. I used to be on a lot of Warhammer forums when I was regularly collecting and so on, back when each faction had its own big forum. When I came back into the hobby I started looking round at old forums, most have long gone. Forums were my first port of call, I hadn't really considered inatagram and reddit having such huge bases now.

One I joined in 2005 still exists and it was great to reconnect with some old members and seeing how their lives have gone. It's a very chilled out atmosphere and not a lot of people are really active. It was also a warhammer fantasy forum and I wanted to collect 40k again so I joined Dakka again specifically because it still has quite a strong base and I enjoyed being on at the time.

I think "no politics" blanket can occasionally be difficult because 'politics' is also a part of warhammer and art and music and science and life and that's why it turns up in discussions. Warhammer and its very foundation of lore wouldn't exist in the same way without the certain politics of the '70s and '80s of Britain. I imagine with the lock down and more people turning back to the hobby you've got a fair few people joining up again. Who aren't always willing to follow that rule..

Also, the last 4/5 years have been "political" to say the least, a lot of it is bubbling away and people don't always have an outlet so it filters into new places. And indeed as others have said, lockdown gives more people more time to be antsy. I myself am a key worker during the pandemic, doing a crappy job. I've got family and friends working in healthcare services here in the UK and some stuff you see rubs you the wrong way.

Anonymity means people think they can get away with a lot, it's sort of like having a dodgy housemate in shared accommodation. It's dependent on how people live with them in a shared space like this forum. Some people can let it slide and other people want to pick a fight back, rightly or wrongly. Some people, I thinkmyself included, need to learn to stop their fingers a-tappin' and ignore stuff!

I'd also say that when people post something up sometimes, written text can give a different meaning to what you perhaps intended and it can seem a lot worse off, perhaps sometimes too brutal or some such. It's also true that some people are just gits.

All that being said, personally, I'd say no politics is absolutely the right move. As is not having one topic that solely has "political stuff" in it. That just ends up being unpleasant. One of the old forums I went back on didn't have a no politics thing, but all of old guard had clearly been in the same space talking the same stuff for years. They all clearly seemed to have the same political views and it was all pretty manky .

I think the best you can do is try to link the discussion back to the OP in some way, try and snuff out the chat.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/03/04 10:12:58


One and a half feet in the hobby


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Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Doesn't help that some people think that any opinion that differs to theirs is 'trolling' or 'bad faith' argument.

Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

Instagram: nagrakali_love_songs 
   
Made in de
Battlefield Tourist






Nuremberg

Dakka is actually way calmer than it used to be. The disagreements still happen but they don't often get as personal as when I first joined. And personal vendettas don't seem to be as common.

I would say a lot of the angst on 40K discussion comes from the fact that the game has changed a lot over the last few years and the people on here are biased toward older players who might have more fondness for the old stuff. And that makes for conflict with people who like the new stuff. You don't see as much of that on Reddit (though there is still a lot of complaining about Space Marines on reddit!)

I think it's sad that fora like this are on the wane. I spent a lot of time on various different ones growing up, and I think they are nicer than the big mega-platforms like Twitter or Instagram. Reddit is a little more my speed but I find the Karma system distorts things to an extent I don't enjoy. I like that on Dakka every post stands fairly equally and I can read through all of them without being guided in any particular way by the platform itself.

As for the politics ban, it's fine. I'm not bothered either way. I've chilled out a lot in that regard anyway. I used to enjoy discussing stuff here precisely because I had a connection with people through the hobby, it actually helped me have a better picture of them as a whole person rather than just someone I really disliked because I disagreed with them on a political topic. I found that useful for me in understanding other points of view.

But I think the mods have the absolute right to say "This stuff took too much of our time, we're getting rid".

   
Made in jp
Crushing Black Templar Crusader Pilot






Yo, gonna step back into the ring for a second.
So, I'm sure a few of us have been to other warhammer forums. I'm willing to bet that a fair number of us have been to other hobby forums.

But like, how many of y'all have been to unrelated nerd hobby forums? I've got a friend out here who's into Lolita fashion, and feth ME. Their drama really puts us to shame. Like, we seethe and ree about space marines, occasionally someone will get accused of something a bit minor, or like, someone will say they once hung out with one of the racist maniacs who helped perpetrate war crimes in the Rhodesian Bush War was a "cool guy", but like, Lolitas? That froo-froo ass frilly dress stuff? They are NUTS. Like, constantly fighting, constantly being racist as hell, constantly doing wild body shaming gak, constantly trying to financially feth each other over, constantly lying about gak, the vast majority of them seem really, REALLY nutty.

Same goes for when I used to lurk on anime forums. Just fething nasty, sad losers. Dakkadakka isn't a utopia, but like, we are so far from actually bad, even when we've got like 5 different fight threads on the go, all full of neckbeards chasing each other's tails.
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






 Da Boss wrote:
Dakka is actually way calmer than it used to be. The disagreements still happen but they don't often get as personal as when I first joined. And personal vendettas don't seem to be as common.

I would say a lot of the angst on 40K discussion comes from the fact that the game has changed a lot over the last few years and the people on here are biased toward older players who might have more fondness for the old stuff. And that makes for conflict with people who like the new stuff. You don't see as much of that on Reddit (though there is still a lot of complaining about Space Marines on reddit!)

I think it's sad that fora like this are on the wane. I spent a lot of time on various different ones growing up, and I think they are nicer than the big mega-platforms like Twitter or Instagram. Reddit is a little more my speed but I find the Karma system distorts things to an extent I don't enjoy. I like that on Dakka every post stands fairly equally and I can read through all of them without being guided in any particular way by the platform itself.

As for the politics ban, it's fine. I'm not bothered either way. I've chilled out a lot in that regard anyway. I used to enjoy discussing stuff here precisely because I had a connection with people through the hobby, it actually helped me have a better picture of them as a whole person rather than just someone I really disliked because I disagreed with them on a political topic. I found that useful for me in understanding other points of view.

But I think the mods have the absolute right to say "This stuff took too much of our time, we're getting rid".


If the post is wondering why there seem to be tons of arguments on this forum, it's interesting you bring up not liking Reddit's whole system.

The system here is that the posts with the most replies stay at the top, and the posts that don't get replies go to the bottom.

People who are just positively agreeing with, or positively contributing to, a thread tend to leave one post - see my "let's have a positive thread" post for an example, which was lovely and was primarily 3-4 pages of people responding to the prompt of the OP with the thing they'd like for their army.

Arguments on a discussion board forum I'd say go on for a conservative estimate of...twenty back and forth posts? It only takes a few running arguments to keep a particular post up on the top of a category for several days.

yes, the posts you see on reddit are driven by the way that reddit is programmed.

The posts you see on here are ALSO driven by the way dakka is programmed.

"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
Made in us
Rogue Daemonhunter fueled by Chaos






Toledo, OH

I think there are a lot of good points raised in this thread, but the one thing I'd disagree with is the concept that anonymity is essential to the sort of petty, incendiary argument we see all the time. I've joined dozens of 40k focused Facebook groups, and hoo boy, they often can veer into crazy drama. And that's when you can see people!

Still, I think there are some really good ideas floated, when you consider that Dakka doesn't use an algorithm, so you simply see all posts in submission order, it's lightly moderated (and almost never permanently bans posters), and it's been around for a long time. I've been posting here for many years, and while the longest active posters seem to mostly be people with computer access and down time, it has attracted plenty of people with clear Dark Triad characteristics.
   
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Battlefield Tourist






Nuremberg

the_scotsman: That's a good point and I considered adding it to my post, but I left it out. But you're right, perhaps Dakka is an automatic "sort by controversial"!

But at least that is based on responses, rather than clicking a button without responding. I prefer to have responses, because at least they might make me think. A downvote number is not so thought provoking.

   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Threads here do not get de-railed or go off-topic here anymore than other message boards or even real-life conversations. I will second the fact that things on Dakka are WAY more chill than they use to be.

I recall Warseer was the whiny board, Heresy Online was a wasteland, and Bolter and Chainsword was for Beaky Porn, and Da Waaagh! was the chillest but limited to Greenskin sniffers. Dakka was the "hostile and angry" board comparatively. Yet, somehow, only two of the boards mentioned have survived!

This made me think of Female Space Marines. I think they would be totally cool, especially Primaris ones!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/03/04 16:03:47


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Made in us
Slaanesh Veteran Marine with Tentacles






@OP Because a forum about miniatures is bound to be filled with people who get lost in the details. I think we just notice the negative times more than the positive, but there are lots of threads that are left open days/weeks after the original subject has been mostly abandoned because they are fun/interesting/productive.

 Polonius wrote:
I think there are a lot of good points raised in this thread, but the one thing I'd disagree with is the concept that anonymity is essential to the sort of petty, incendiary argument we see all the time. I've joined dozens of 40k focused Facebook groups, and hoo boy, they often can veer into crazy drama. And that's when you can see people!

Still, I think there are some really good ideas floated, when you consider that Dakka doesn't use an algorithm, so you simply see all posts in submission order, it's lightly moderated (and almost never permanently bans posters), and it's been around for a long time. I've been posting here for many years, and while the longest active posters seem to mostly be people with computer access and down time, it has attracted plenty of people with clear Dark Triad characteristics.


Agree on anonymity. You see it in most major news articles where people will comment on things read by millions of people with their full legal name and very little filter.
   
 
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