The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I've noticed a lot of common discussions seem to turn into conscientious civil wars. I dont really get the animosity thats been going around lately. Maybe, its a cycle, maybe, it's the pandemic, but it always seems to fade back into normalcy sooner or later. Perhaps a short break for a bit to refresh your interest in discussions is in order?

I'm asking as a relative newcomer to this site (I've only been around for a year or so), is it always like this on this site? I know the internet tends to get nasty the longer a thread goes on, and the mods generally tend to do a good job at shutting down threads before they erupt into all-out flame wars, but has it been this bad forever, or has the pandemic been making it this bad? I like participating in threads on this site (if I didn't, I wouldn't be posting here), but there does seem to be a lot of toxicity from my limited experience here.

 

[Morrus]

I'm asking as a relative newcomer to this site (I've only been around for a year or so), is it always like this on this site? I know the internet tends to get nasty the longer a thread goes on, and the mods generally tend to do a good job at shutting down threads before they erupt into all-out flame wars, but has it been this bad forever, or has the pandemic been making it this bad? I like participating in threads on this site (if I didn't, I wouldn't be posting here), but there does seem to be a lot of toxicity from my limited experience here.

There have been societal tensions and cultural wars in greater society, especially in the US, in the last few years which spill over into places like this. We do our best to keep it calm, and stay on the side of right, but it’s on ongoing battle.

At least it isn’t as bad as Twitter!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

There have been societal tensions and cultural wars in greater society, especially in the US, in the last few years which spill over into places like this. We do our best to keep it calm, and stay on the side of right, but it’s on ongoing battle.

That's what my assumption was. Things have been bad lately in general, so I assumed it was that spilling onto this site.

At least it isn’t as bad as Twitter!

Heh. Not many people can claim to be worse than Twitter.

 

[payn]

I'm asking as a relative newcomer to this site (I've only been around for a year or so), is it always like this on this site? I know the internet tends to get nasty the longer a thread goes on, and the mods generally tend to do a good job at shutting down threads before they erupt into all-out flame wars, but has it been this bad forever, or has the pandemic been making it this bad? I like participating in threads on this site (if I didn't, I wouldn't be posting here), but there does seem to be a lot of toxicity from my limited experience here.

I think its a cycle. Things were awesome here pre-2008 and the E-war made it pretty flammable around here for a few years. Things calmed down, but then the NEXT playtest came around and it got hot again. Then, it was all good. Now, I cant point to any particular current event or topic, it just seems like folks have come to fight and die on every hill over opinions. I'm guessing it will pass eventually like it always does.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

At least it isn’t as bad as Twitter!

“Each day on twitter there is one main character. The goal is to never be it.”

-Maple Cocaine

 

[AnotherGuy]

Serenity Now!

Thank Kagyar for the ignore thread feature.

 

[Asisreo]

I'm asking as a relative newcomer to this site (I've only been around for a year or so), is it always like this on this site? I know the internet tends to get nasty the longer a thread goes on, and the mods generally tend to do a good job at shutting down threads before they erupt into all-out flame wars, but has it been this bad forever, or has the pandemic been making it this bad? I like participating in threads on this site (if I didn't, I wouldn't be posting here), but there does seem to be a lot of toxicity from my limited experience here.

Internet is awful about this stuff due to anonymity. I sometimes have opinions about the game that are extremely unpopular so I sometimes get hit with negativity that makes me need to leave the site for some fresh air.

Remember, its not okay to be rude with your internet associates even when you're "right."

 

[Ryujin]

Internet is awful about this stuff due to anonymity. I sometimes have opinions about the game that are extremely unpopular so I sometimes get hit with negativity that makes me need to leave the site for some fresh air.

Remember, its not okay to be rude with your internet associates even when you're "right."

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde

In other words the way that someone speaks to you, when there is no possible consequence to that speech, is who the person really is.

 

[Umbran]

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde

Oversimplified. Each person is a multitude - in each context, we are who we really are.

 

[Istbor]

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde

In other words the way that someone speaks to you, when there is no possible consequence to that speech, is who the person really is.

Pretty true. I am generally nice, but can be far more blunt or snarky about things over the internet.

However, I think it can also happen when you have to keep that stuff in when doing your job. And when you are stuck at your home, and going to work mostly for over a year, things can begin to spill over.

I think just the general atmosphere of the world is starting to make everyone itchy. Even an introvert like me is beginning to see the limits of that added stress. I am often reminded of when I worked for a phone/ISP company for a couple years. Those became the angriest years of my life. I like helping others. However when both sides of the coin are pushing on you, helping becomes an afterthought. You have the business trying to squeeze as much work out of you as they can for what little they provide in payment, and customers are as you would expect when something is broken. Upset, and frustrated. Being there everyday for a couple of years really starts to affect you. I would get done and be basically unable to talk to anyone for fear that I would explode.

So I have see what stress can do to me, and I am pretty mild mannered. I am sure there are others going through similar things, and when you get like that, everything, every pass time, starts to look like a battlefield, especially when what makes you feel relaxed may seem under attack.

 

[Ryujin]

Oversimplified. Each person is a multitude - in each context, we are who we really are.

Aphorisms are over-simplified. Thanks for the news update

 

[Ryujin]

Pretty true. I am generally nice, but can be far more blunt or snarky about things over the internet.

However, I think it can also happen when you have to keep that stuff in when doing your job. And when you are stuck at your home, and going to work mostly for over a year, things can begin to spill over.

I think just the general atmosphere of the world is starting to make everyone itchy. Even an introvert like me is beginning to see the limits of that added stress. I am often reminded of when I worked for a phone/ISP company for a couple years. Those became the angriest years of my life. I like helping others. However when both sides of the coin are pushing on you, helping becomes an afterthought. You have the business trying to squeeze as much work out of you as they can for what little they provide in payment, and customers are as you would expect when something is broken. Upset, and frustrated. Being there everyday for a couple of years really starts to affect you. I would get done and be basically unable to talk to anyone for fear that I would explode.

So I have see what stress can do to me, and I am pretty mild mannered. I am sure there are others going through similar things, and when you get like that, everything, every pass time, starts to look like a battlefield, especially when what makes you feel relaxed may seem under attack.

That last bit may be the most pertinent. Stressors can put you in a frame of mind, in which you're more likely to misinterpret what someone is trying to say. Add to that the fact that text is a very poor medium for concisely conveying emotion, sarcasm, etc. and you have a potential powder keg. I try to first ask myself if I would say what I said to someone if they were standing right in front of me, before committing to the < ENTER > key. The obvious inference being that I'm asking myself if the listener would hand me my own teeth for saying it. Yes, I can be an arse (see above response), but not typically one that people would lay a beat-down on because of it as a result.

 

[Eltab]

At least it isn’t as bad as Twitter!

That's ... not exactly a high level to rise above.

I think the creeping things that crawl upon the earth are embarrassed to have Twitter for company.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I do that. I have autism, and don't have great social skills (reading the room, gestures, etc), which makes it difficult to communicate in person. I prefer communicating online, because it's easier for me to get my point across through text than speech.

That's fascinating. Most people completely screw up communicating on the internet. (I think it's because most people aren't very good writers - even good writers can easily fail to convey intent by text, why would we expect bad or at least amateur writers to do it successfully?)

I am glad to hear that some people find it helps. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

That's fascinating. Most people completely screw up communicating on the internet. (I think it's because most people aren't very good writers - even good writers can easily fail to convey intent by text, why would we expect bad or at least amateur writers to do it successfully?)

I didn't say I was good at it, but I'm at least better at communicating through text than I am through speech. (I guess if most people are worse at communicating through text than speech, that would be more unique.)

I am glad to hear that some people find it helps. Thanks for sharing!

No problem.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I didn't say I was good at it, but I'm at least better at communicating through text than I am through speech. (I guess if most people are worse at communicating through text than speech, that would be more unique.)

I think most people are terrible at communicating through their writing, and yet here we are, expected to try. More of us communicate by text all the time, and there's a very fine line between communication and miscommunication. I think that's yet another reason (among many) that things seem rude here. We're most of us stressed, but even when we don't intend to share that, just typing things quick and short, can make them come across as mean-spirited even when it's unintended. I work really, really hard to communicate with respect here, and yet I've been called out for being rude. I can only imagine how I'd "sound" if I wasn't trying, far or less how I'd sound if I was actually meaning to be rude to people.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Sometimes, I think that certain threads are just edition warring by another name, but substituting vitriol for D&D / not D&D for the prior vitriol. Every time I want to post in one of those threads, I get serious Admiral Ackbar vibes.

 

[Umbran]

Sometimes, I think that certain threads are just edition warring by another name, but substituting vitriol for D&D / not D&D for the prior vitriol. Every time I want to post in one of those threads, I get serious Admiral Ackbar vibes.

I refer to such things as "Dichotomy wars". Pick a thing you can describe as poles, and folks will fight over it.

 

[Morrus]

I refer to such things as "Dichotomy wars". Pick a thing you can describe as poles, and folks will fight over it.

One podcast I listen to reviews movies simply as “Best Movie Ever” or “Worst Movie Ever”. The joke being that there’s no nuance on the internet; a movie can only be one of those two things.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I refer to such things as "Dichotomy wars". Pick a thing you can describe as poles, and folks will fight over it.

The internet is like the not-corpulent-yet Marlon Brando:

"Hey, random internet person, what are you arguing against?"

"Whaddya got?"