anybody else sick of online meanies?

In the spirit of spring, and after enduring years of online message board surfing and its inherent negative side...... (I have quit boards before over how ridiculous things get...I don't wanna quit this place!)

(taken from the Tech-metal appreciation thread)

Yes, I have had my share of online bullying and e-terror!  I would here and now like to announce my pledge to try to be a noble and just and do-gooder online!  I've had it with online jerks.  Anybody with me?  Let's treat each other like neighbors....after all, we all have at least one BIG thing in common;  this place... let's not pollute it with petty arguments and lofty elitism and the ridiculousness of long, loopy arguments.  Let's have a love-in!  We can agree to disagree and still maintain a courteous relationship.  This ideal will also reflect well in your personal life too!  Whose with me?  Stand up and declare your love for prog and all its sub-genres, but also your love for your fellow progheads!     

Hey man pass that over...

stonebeard wrote: I propose we troll each other instead. Whose with me?

10/10

Seriously though, the internet is a big anonymous place. Nothing is ever going to change. Accept this as a fact and just try to be nice and ignore trolls.

Henry Plainview wrote: But biting sarcasm is the only way I know how to express affection.

sure it has its place, and when well done, can be ingenius; but it is hard to emote online without being confused... eh, all I am asking for is less jackassery for its own sake.  when it's for fun, yeah that's okay, but let someone know so that we don't have ridiculous ego-struggles.  Maybe this is pie in the sky, and really retarded, but I thought, "what could it hurt to actually try to be decent- even in an anonymous place?"

This is what we have a Moderation team for... People who can't behave decently to others should be kicked out, simple as that. We already get enough aggravation in our 'real' lives to really want to be subjected to abuse when we do something for our own enjoyment. Those who enjoy being mean to each other should establish their own boards and tear each other apart, if they so wish. I can tell you that I would often like to tell people here to get off in no uncertain terms, but avoid doing that because that would demean me.

I used to be a member of a board dealing with family-based immigration to the US, and the things that go on there led me to leave (I still have to have my membership cancelled, but I eventually will), because I could not stand the constant stream of abuse towards everything and everybody, and the moderators' lack of action. In my humble view of the world, mutual respect should be the basis of any form of human interaction.

This excellent cartoon explains it all.  (Warning: language)

zappaholic wrote: This excellent cartoon explains it all.  (Warning: language)   http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/

Spot on.

Online abuse? I don't really care for it. I just reply for fun, but at the end of the day, it's the internet. The majority of the people on it don't even know your real name, let alone anything else about you.

moreitsythanyou wrote: Seriously though, the internet is a big anonymous place. Nothing is ever going to change. Accept this as a fact and just try to be nice and ignore trolls.

As an online meanie, I find this very thread mean.