I sometime respond to posts in a flippant way. I had religion shoved down throat since the day I was born, I see religion as controlling and dangerous and feel that deities were created by man for that very purpose. There I will always try to show the stupidity of worshipping a myth. I don't mean to be rude, but need to be assertive to save the gullible.
Concerning your behaviour towards others
by ixthis 37 Replies latest jw friends
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wobble
I think I too have been guilty of replying in a flippant way, and also, sometimes when in a hurry, I have replied a little tersely.
I know that some on here find it difficult to "suffer fools gladly" and therefore reply without really thinking how the other person feels.
I know some have said they do not post here for fear of being "attacked".
(I do not think there is any justification for saying things like "You are an idiot" , even if they, or me,are.)
That is a shame, we could easily help such ones to change their erroneous views, if we were prepared to gently lead them to the truth.
Perhaps we all should consider our words before posting.
From a chastened Wobble, who promises to think first, spout off after.
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cantleave
Wobble - can I still be rude to you?
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wobble
Cantleave, do what comes naturally, so yes !
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LouBelle
There are a few that hold their opinion in very high regard and will disregard anything you say or deem it null and void. You get people in RL like that too. You get others that will jump to conclusions about whatever it is you have said or go to great things to twist it. You get name calling and well it carries on. I've experienced all the above, however on here it's an exception rather than the norm.
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ixthis
wobble, I think it is really sweet the way you have replied ...
LouBelle - I participate in many forums from very different purposes and this one does tend to foster some very interesting characters and I dont mean to refer to any people I have interacted with specifically but just generally on other threads too ...
reading these replies is really worthwhile ... and it gives me insight into some of the more prominent characters who seem to care!!
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elderelite
Its an interesting thought and i do think the religion of our birth plays a role.... We were told our message was life saving. Everyrhing we had to say was just that important! So everyone had to hear or they would die! Dont you get it!!! We are the center of the universal issue!!! And so on and so on....
Its a hard habbit to lose i guess, and may be a factor for some. And the whole hidding behind the internet thing im sure plays a part as well
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Mad Sweeney
Likewise, i have seen many nice people but overall this board does have a trend to lean more towards extreme cases of bad behaviour, if you like, towards others.
Flipper corrected this mistaken perception of yours. I will try to do so again. This board overall does NOT have a trend to lean more towards extreme cases of bad behavior. It just doesn't. The cases are in a fraction of threads, in a smaller fraction of posts, and from an even smaller fraction of posters. It happens some, but BY FAR it doesn't happen all the time or even most of the time.
I think Talesin is right that online communication tends to be more blunt and straightforward. This is for several reasons, only one of which is the anonynymity of hiding behind a keyboard. It is also because the text medium has no accompanying body language and facial expression - and some people just don't use smileys. In addition, people don't have time or inclination to add in all the little politeness phrases we commonly use in real live conversation. On the Internet they are (usually) neither expected nor required.
Often people who are new to this form of communication are shocked by it. You'll get used to it. It is the internet. Online communication has been like this since before there were even GUIs and EVERYthing was text.
Finally, people often set the tone for how they are responded to. Dogmatism in any form WILL be called out, usually aggressively. If you want to spout fairy-tales as facts, expect reprisals. Present them as what they are, matters of your personal faith and belief, and you will be respected for that. This goes for science, politics, conspiracy theories, etc. and not just religious topics. People who don't present support for their opinions, or who's support is dubious, and yet they present those opinions as fact DO get dope-slapped.
Again, that's how Internet communications work. These behaviors ARE the accepted culture online and therefore are not rude.
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cantleave
If you want to spout fairy-tales as facts, expect reprisals.
Too right - it's not rudeness - it's freedom of speech.
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Chariklo
I think there's an international difference in the way people express themselves. Americans often come right out and say what they mean as forcefully as they like. Sometimes it sounds rude but isn't meant to be. Sometimes it sounds rude and it is meant to be but it doesn't mean what it would mean if someone of another nationality said the same thing.
Or that's how I came to understand it anyway. We English tend to be a bit more reticent. Some other nationalities bend over backwards to be scrupulously polite and not to offend, but sometimes they don't really say what they mean, so you don't quite know what they're thinking.
I've found this message board to be very caring, on the whole, and often very witty and funny too. I like it very much. It's helped me. Once or twice I've wandered into a situation and said what I've thought and discovered too late that there's a longstanding situation between people of which I was totally unaware. On those occasions, one in particular, the wisest course seemed to be silence. Personally, I don't choose to offend people, but I value very much my right to say what I think and the same is so for other people too.
I'd much rather have people say what they think than be afraid to express themselves fully, especially on a forum like this when people can help and be helped, and have fun at the same time.
So, no complaints from me! And I agree with much that's written above, especially from Flipper, Mad Sweeney and Talesin.