Forum Decorum....Deshmorum?

[lintoni]

This thread should be locked.

 

[AprilForever]

.
What possesses someone to hand down a slate of commandments for how other people should behave?

Strikes me as the epitome of arrogance.

I would love to see you say that in a court of law to a judge.

Indeed, Dilbert!

 

[RustyTheGeek]

I think this is an interesting thread. Let's be honest... we humans love to see a good fight. Esp a hair pulling, nail scratching girl fight. But any fight will do. We like to see gladiators in all their glory. We like to see NASCAR races with big firey crashes. We love action movies with lots of mayhem and action.

Face it, we're just wired that way.

So when things get heated in forums, regardless of the topic, we just can't resist the urge to get a punch in. It requires a certain level of maturity and discipline to resist that urge. I've always found it to be a fascinating thing that Internet Forums provide detachment and anonymity which allows us to view arguments from a distance, take our time, maintain calm and decorum and avoid the impulsive emotion laden responses that in-person confrontations can provoke... and then many folks still act irrationally anyway.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I think this is an interesting thread. Let's be honest... we humans love to see a good fight. Esp a hair pulling, nail scratching girl fight. But any fight will do. We like to see gladiators in all their glory. We like to see NASCAR races with big firey crashes. We love action movies with lots of mayhem and action.

Face it, we're just wired that way.

So when things get heated in forums, regardless of the topic, we just can't resist the urge to get a punch in. It requires a certain level of maturity and discipline to resist that urge. I've always found it to be a fascinating thing that Internet Forums provide detachment and anonymity which allows us to view arguments from a distance, take our time, maintain calm and decorum and avoid the impulsive emotion laden responses that in-person confrontations can provoke... and then many folks still act irrationally anyway.

I'd agree on that. All the photography forums have to deal with it, most of them are a lot tougher than CR.

Its fine to state your opinion about a subject, but name calling to belittling a person because of their beliefs turns into a free for all pretty fast.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

Yeah, thick skin and an abundance of patience makes life much easier to live. Not to mention a smoother ride.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

I think this is an interesting thread. Let's be honest... we humans love to see a good fight. Esp a hair pulling, nail scratching girl fight. But any fight will do. We like to see gladiators in all their glory. We like to see NASCAR races with big firey crashes. We love action movies with lots of mayhem and action.

Face it, we're just wired that way.

So when things get heated in forums, regardless of the topic, we just can't resist the urge to get a punch in. It requires a certain level of maturity and discipline to resist that urge. I've always found it to be a fascinating thing that Internet Forums provide detachment and anonymity which allows us to view arguments from a distance, take our time, maintain calm and decorum and avoid the impulsive emotion laden responses that in-person confrontations can provoke... and then many folks still act irrationally anyway.

As long as you are only speaking for yourself. ;D I personally disagree with pretty much everything you wrote in your post. The bickering and attacking detract from the enjoyment I get from internet forums.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

I think this is an interesting thread. Let's be honest... we humans love to see a good fight. Esp a hair pulling, nail scratching girl fight. But any fight will do. We like to see gladiators in all their glory. We like to see NASCAR races with big firey crashes. We love action movies with lots of mayhem and action.

Face it, we're just wired that way.

So when things get heated in forums, regardless of the topic, we just can't resist the urge to get a punch in. It requires a certain level of maturity and discipline to resist that urge. I've always found it to be a fascinating thing that Internet Forums provide detachment and anonymity which allows us to view arguments from a distance, take our time, maintain calm and decorum and avoid the impulsive emotion laden responses that in-person confrontations can provoke... and then many folks still act irrationally anyway.

As long as you are only speaking for yourself. ;D I personally disagree with pretty much everything you wrote in your post. The bickering and attacking detract from the enjoyment I get from internet forums.

I'm not asking for you to agree. Keep in mind that I didn't say I admired or endorsed it, I'm just making an observation. Internet forums are simple a reflection of the real world we live in but with more anonymity. Everyone still has a choice to make with their behavior and hopefully not simply yield to the temptation to do what others are doing or misbehave just because it makes them feel better.

 

[phoenix7]

Re: CR Forum Etiquette

Before this, I've never seen a group of people who all share the same passion as one another be so brutal to one another.

That is either nieve or you haven't been around the internet long.
Does anyone remember USENET News? Wow... the original spawning grounds of the Troll species.
The only places that seem to even hold a candle to that classic interwebs time are various 'chans
and Reddit (sort of). And of course the raid chat channels of verious MMOs after some noob
face pulls a boss before everyone is ready. Ahhh those were the days! LOL
Drama... <sigh> as nasty as this gets, and even from my perspective it gets pretty bad, this is all
relatively short lived and much easier to ignore. I sometimes miss a bit of drama, of course reading
a DR thread pretty much fills up that small reservour for a few months. At least here the constructive
posts usually outnumber the nasty ones over all.

 

[tayassu]

Of course, there are some minor wars and surely some who I might even call trolls, but this is normal for a forum.
I think, if you behave like an educated human being, there are no problems on CR. I have never been bullied here because of a perfectly neutral post.
The few times the responses to my posts were a little more harsh than I had expected, they were all based on a controversial statement I had just made. However, I shared my opinion; someone who brings a counter argument with less than respect for my view of things is nobody I shall be affected by. I love a good discussion, but you get personal and I'm outta here (at least I try so...).

 

[RustyTheGeek]

Let me take another approach with some observations. A list...

- If a topic is put out for others to comment on, there will be a variety of comments. Some helpful, some worthless, some nice and some not so nice.

- As the comments progress, branches will form that grow. Some will stay on topic and others will stray. Some will even begin to comment on the other comments and individuals or what some perceive to be poor etiquette.

- As the thread evolves, some folks will attempt to defend, attack or otherwise assume a particular role in the discussion. Some threads are more heated, some are more benign.

In general, the thread will be as constructive as the folks posting allow it to be. The word 'drama' above is a good description of what so many people crave. Some folks like to 'stir the pot' and then sit back and watch the brew boil as a result of their inputs. As has been said, "All the world's a stage..." and so when something piques our interest, we stop and watch. The news media are masters of getting our attention with dramatic and charged news stories.

So in our little corner of the world here at CR, I think we enjoy a pretty polite and knowledgeable bunch. I've never had over 1000 posts in a forum, ever. (And I go back to the BBS days on 2400 Baud modems!) I learn a lot here and I like to think that I can avoid the temptation to contribute to the 'trolling' and bickering that sometimes happens.

I think my biggest sin here is getting cheeky and poking ribs once in a while. I have no problem admitting that I'm a smart ass but if I poke someone to get a response I expect I'll need to brace myself for whatever that response is. I respect everyone here a great deal and I hope I never cross a line that brings that respect into question. If I do, I hope someone tells me. I've received a PM or two from other members that discuss behavior offline and I think that's where those discussions belong sometimes. Because if someone is truly interested in 'cooling the pot', a private discussion is often much more effective.

Perhaps CR should create another thread topic called "The Padded Room" or "Fight Club". That's where more charged topics could be discussed like "Should the Breaking Bad dolls be sold at Toys R Us?". Also, when a photography thread starts to degrade into chaos, the mods could send some folks "to the room" and let them continue the drama in there so that the original thread can refocus on the original topic.

OK, I know the fight club topic area is a pipe dream but I had to end with something so I could get the Breaking Bad dolls thing into the post! Bait! Bait! Bwaaaa Haaa Haa!!!

 

[distant.star]

I've never had over 1000 posts in a forum, ever. (And I go back to the BBS days on 2400 Baud modems!) I learn a lot here and I like to think that I can avoid the temptation to contribute to the 'trolling' and bickering that sometimes happens.

I'll go off on a tangent and enter the oneupsmanship world: I go back to 300 Baud acoustic coupler modems. Things sure have changed!

 

[RustyTheGeek]

I've never had over 1000 posts in a forum, ever. (And I go back to the BBS days on 2400 Baud modems!) I learn a lot here and I like to think that I can avoid the temptation to contribute to the 'trolling' and bickering that sometimes happens.

I'll go off on a tangent and enter the oneupsmanship world: I go back to 300 Baud acoustic coupler modems. Things sure have changed!

Yeah, you've got me beat on that one. I just wasn't interested in going online until later. Our family really couldn't afford a computer so I used computers everywhere else. Friends, school, etc. No one really got online much then so I didn't start until a bit later. My best friend's dad always liked to upgrade his PC often so the first time I got online was on a 286 AT with a Hercules Graphics card on an amber monitor. It was smokin'! So even though I had been using computers since 1980, I didn't really get online until about 1984.

But hey! To put that in perspective, my buddy also owned a Canon AE-1 Program that he was very proud of. I used it too. Most of us in my little gang didn't usually buy stuff the other guy owned because it would be redundant. We just shared a lot of stuff. So I just got a 35mm point&shoot Minolta instead. It worked pretty good too. I used it for many years.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

It occurs to me to mention one more thing about the Decorum topic...

Read my signature line below. I put that there quite a while ago. It started out as me being a little silly and poking some fun at surapon. (I even received one PM from a concerned CR member asking if I meant him any disrespect.) It's not secret how fond everyone is of Mr. Surapon!

But it soon occurred to me that it could represent something a bit more profound. Anyone here that has read a post from surapon instantly knows how smart, kind and compassionate Mr. Surapon is with his posts. He is infinitely humble, respectful and selfless. In short, he is the epitome of how we all should aspire to behave.

So when I submit a post, I often consider my signature line and I ask myself, "Yes, but what would surapon say?". Get it?

 

[AcutancePhotography]

So when I submit a post, I often consider my signature line and I ask myself, "Yes, but what would surapon say?". Get it?

Or more important, how would Surapon word a post.

I don't always agree with Surapon's opinions, but I do respect and appreciate his manners on this forum.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

So when I submit a post, I often consider my signature line and I ask myself, "Yes, but what would surapon say?". Get it?

Or more important, how would Surapon word a post.

I don't always agree with Surapon's opinions, but I do respect and appreciate his manners on this forum.

You never know, for all we know the kind and humble Mr. Surapon could be a major crime syndicate kingpin boss but we'll never know because he's so unassuming and nice. It's amazing what a few good manners will do for someone!

 

[lintoni]

You never know, for all we know the kind and humble Mr. Surapon could be a major crime syndicate kingpin boss but we'll never know because he's so unassuming and nice. It's amazing what a few good manners will do for someone!

We'll know if he is, and you've blown his cover - your camera bag will be sent to Canon Rumors, containing a halibut.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

So when I submit a post, I often consider my signature line and I ask myself, "Yes, but what would surapon say?". Get it?

Or more important, how would Surapon word a post.

I don't always agree with Surapon's opinions, but I do respect and appreciate his manners on this forum.

You never know, for all we know the kind and humble Mr. Surapon could be a major crime syndicate kingpin boss but we'll never know because he's so unassuming and nice. It's amazing what a few good manners will do for someone!

Yes, se sets a example that is almost too good to be true. It may be a cultural thing. There is a person at our local Costco named Kittipong who is exactly the same way. Always uber polite, friendly, and smiling. I prefer to go thru his checkout line when possible, its a nice feeling to leave the checkout feeling good and smiling. Most of the checkers are friendly, but he goes way beyond.