Civil Discussion Checklist

[danhezee]

Just wanted to share this tidbit of information.

I noticed there is a tendency of a few us to add an insult before or after responding to someone with a different opinion than theirs. Below is an example of such poor discussion.

Jack:"I am annoyed by this thing"

Pat:"Just ignore it, you idiot"

Which leads to a counter-insult which grows to pointless back and forth arguments between several groups of people. and sometimes those people have a hard time letting things go and continue the insults and arguments into the next thread. Which seems barbaric and primitive to me, I dont understand the need to continue to argue with the same people from thread to thread just for the sake of arguing.

You can have a difference of opinion and share it without including an insult before or after it. Consider the following example:

Jack:"I am annoyed by this thing"

Pat:"Just ignore it."

Pat shared his opinion with out insulting Jack. There is an actual discussion of the topic forming. Which could lead to a conclusion where they either both agree to disagree or Jack or Pat change their mind. Whatever the outcome an actual discussion of the topic will have taken place.

Below is a checklist of things to do before posting a response to an opinion you disagree with:

• Clearly state why you disagree with that opinion
• Remove all personal insults about intelligence, culture, upbringing, etc
• Double check the checklist
• Submit your post

[CommieBuffalo]

I wholeheartedly disagree with this.

Am I doing it right?
btw, I actually agree with the OP. It seems awful how this little piece of common sense gets stomped on so often.

[Conduit]

I wholeheartedly disagree with this.

Am I doing it right?
btw, I actually agree with the OP. It seems awful how this little piece of common sense gets stomped on so often.

Are you stupid? Listen here you little s-....
Hm, I've considered the following and I do agree with you my good friend.

[Fleischgeruch]

I'd love to have an intelligent chat about some original topic but every time someone like Somnium/zeb99/puggles/vlad has to come up and share the autism and pretty much ruin the thread. In my opinion it's the hmm...checklist... checklist 'lesser-intelligent' people and not the assholes that ruin a forum, because the former can't control their condition, but the latter are only at their worst in the presence of the former.

[ZEB 99]

this actually happens everywhere.(well at least the forums i went on)
if you have a different opinion from someone its like his
1:hey i don't like gun control
2:fuck you in the ass you goddamn retard, you don't know shit about politics, go to hell motherfucker

[extra]

I totally agree with you.

[[RUS] Vlad01]

I can see this everyday on IRC.
I thinks what people raging on each others in IRC because they having some bad shit IRL

[Willy]

This forum would be a much nicer place to post if there wasn't this dumb tit-for-tat, circular conflict between 'stupid people' and 'smart people'. To be honest I'd expect better behaviour from the latter - if someone is annoying you, you find you disagree with them or believe their post consists of complete and utter bullshit then by all means post in response, that's what a forum is for. However, if you find you're unable to do this without deliberately instigating arguments with people you believe yourself to be above (I see this quite a bit) or resorting to ad hominem insults when discussion gets a little heated, don't bother. Keep it civil, respectful and calm, or just don't post. Additionally, some of the time I can't fathom why the 'smart people' around here even bother getting involved - why not take solace in knowing you're 'smarter' than Deuce22, rather than jumping straight into the shitfight yourself and satisfying an asinine desire to 'prove the other guy wrong'? The moment you begin actively searching for a user you don't like and have had negative experiences in the past simply to 'disprove', bitch about or otherwise antagonise them is the moment you stoop to their level and step into the exact same plane of idiocy.

[danhezee]

I wholeheartedly disagree with this.

Am I doing it right?
btw, I actually agree with the OP. It seems awful how this little piece of common sense gets stomped on so often.

Yes!

I'd love to have an intelligent chat about some original topic but every time someone like Somnium/zeb99/puggles/vlad has to come up and share the autism and pretty much ruin the thread. In my opinion it's the hmm...checklist... checklist 'lesser-intelligent' people and not the assholes that ruin a forum, because the former can't control their condition, but the latter are only at their worst in the presence of the former.

You have the wrong attitude about it. See Will's post it is better stated than I would be able to say.

this actually happens everywhere.(well at least the forums i went on)
if you have a different opinion from someone its like his
1:hey i don't like gun control
2:fuck you in the ass you goddamn retard, you don't know shit about politics, go to hell motherfucker

If you learn to have a civil discussion here you can apply that skill to the other forums you frequent.

This forum would be a much nicer place to post if there wasn't this dumb tit-for-tat, circular conflict between 'stupid people' and 'smart people'. To be honest I'd expect better behaviour from the latter - if someone is annoying you, you find you disagree with them or believe their post consists of complete and utter bullshit then by all means post in response, that's what a forum is for. However, if you find you're unable to do this without deliberately instigating arguments with people you believe yourself to be above (I see this quite a bit) or resorting to ad hominem insults when discussion gets a little heated, don't bother. Keep it civil, respectful and calm, or just don't post. Additionally, some of the time I can't fathom why the 'smart people' around here even bother getting involved - why not take solace in knowing you're 'smarter' than Deuce22, rather than jumping straight into the shitfight yourself and satisfying an asinine desire to 'prove the other guy wrong'? The moment you begin actively searching for a user you don't like and have had negative experiences in the past simply to 'disprove', bitch about or otherwise antagonise them is the moment you stoop to their level and step into the exact same plane of idiocy.

Very well said.

[Articsledder]

I agree with the sentiment in the OP, I really don't reply to or even read any threads here anymore because there is a good chance that if they make it past 2 pages then they have devolved into 2-3 people arguing back and forth.

I understand that everyone can have a bad day, but it seems like a lot of the same people are kind of just repeatedly instigating these arguments, and we kind of need too find a way too tell them too stop. For example, a couple weeks ago I kind of blew up at someone who I felt wasn't getting the idea, too which Dan replied too me and calmy informed me that I was being kind of closed minded.

I understand this may not work in all situations, but simply having larger staff presence in these threads may work to help end these arguments or stop them before they start.

[Ninja_pig_pro]

[Jdrew]

Should have told him to stop

[danhezee]

I would agree, but I myself violated these rules do to annoyance from Somnium.

It is easier said than done in some cases

[pugglesthecow]

I'd love to have an intelligent chat about some original topic but every time someone like Somnium/zeb99/puggles/vlad has to come up and share the autism and pretty much ruin the thread. In my opinion it's the hmm...checklist... checklist 'lesser-intelligent' people and not the assholes that ruin a forum, because the former can't control their condition, but the latter are only at their worst in the presence of the former.

I am sorry for kinda ruining the overly american post thread by starting a debate with battlefire, but as soon as i became aware of how I was ruining that thread I immediately created a different thread, which a lot of people actually enjoyed. I am also sorry that you think people with different opinions/ different demeanor than you are less intelligent.

[Battlefire]

I'm sorry too.