Something important that we are losing....

[Intense]

People actually get banned from this board? I have visited many boards and this one has perhaps the lack of enforcement of the rules that I have seen. Or maybe I just don't see it happening.

Our general policy is to have a light touch. There are lines. You cross them, you will know.

 

[martinjlm]

........<clipped >

Now why am I supposed to stay civil with people like that when its proven they will NEVER be civil themselves.


I spent YEARS trying to get them to be civil.

It is not going to happen.


No con Ive met in my entire life ever respected me in any way whe I was civil to them.

What you need to do is just be YOU. Be the same person you are when you wake up and greet your family. If others want to be asshats, just move on to someone or some thread that behaves in a manner you find appropriate.

Do NOT enter a thread thinking you are going to change anyone's mind. That is probably one of the easiest ways to get flamed. I do, however, never hesitate to confront ridiculous assertions with documented facts. That is usually more for the benefit of other parties who might read and believe some of the "opinion stated as fact" that seems to be common on every newsgroup I participate in, whether it be USMB, my musicians newsgroup, any of my car newsgroups, my church newsgroups, etc.....It's an Internet thing.

In my short time on this board I have "met" several posters who when I see their name on a thread, I'm in. Because I've noticed that they have intelligent things to say and actually bring information, not just opinion to the conversation. Some of these people consider themselves right wing conservative. Some consider themselves left wing liberals. There are intelligent and civil people on both sides.

I've also recognized a few posters whose posts I skip past, or skim at best. They are the single minded, single missioned, all-or-nothing types. Some of these people consider themselves right wing conservative. Some consider themselves left wing liberals. There are intellectually and/or integrity challenged sorts on both sides. In one extreme case I just added one poster to my Ignore List. Currently, he sits there alone. Hopefully I don't find reason to add anyone else to that list of lameness.

 

[Meister]

what rules do I keep breaking?

I suggest that you read the PM Guidelines, the Language Guidelines and the rules for the clean debate forum.

no thanks.


why cant you just tell me the rules you think Ive broken?

Oh brother,
I could tell you, but then I would be breaking the rules.

 

[BlindBoo]

I remember my first message board experience with AOL "Turmoil in the ME" It has this forum beat as far as vugarity and nasty posters. While there are a few posters here who might rival some of the posters then, all in all it's not so bad. If it bothers you, simply try and not respond to the personal insults.

 

[Freewill]

I remember my first message board experience with AOL "Turmoil in the ME" It has this forum beat as far as vugarity and nasty posters. While there are a few posters here who might rival some of the posters then, all in all it's not so bad. If it bothers you, simply try and not respond to the personal insults.

Now that I think back that was true of my first board as well. Anything went on that board. I left because it was so vile, and that was a religion discussion board. But that was years ago and now I think boards have gotten some rules.

 

[Connery]

…the ability to engage in adult conversations. Below are actual posts that were made by one person over the past 5 or 6 days. Whether we disagree or are angered by different viewpoints, we should be able to have spirited discussions.

Has anyone else grown tired of the escalation in name-calling and vitriol replacing civility, mature discussion, disagreements or disputes? All sides have guilty parties – it’s not just one or the other.

It would make this board much more enjoyable if we could retire the exhausted labels of idiot, moron, stupid, retard, ____tard, etc. For those who must resort to childish insults regarding mental capacity, you may want to use a spelling and grammar check first because most of those judgmental responses are fraught with errors, making them hilariously ironic.

Although I am relatively new here, I would like thank you for your thoughts. I come from a background, both in forums and RL, where the rules of engagement were stringent and strictly enforced, sometimes by me. I have found this forum, the manner in which it is moderated, the rules and the camaraderie to be refreshing and a fertile ground to discuss issues and express ideas..

Before we register we can lurk and see what type of material is being discussed. We agree to the TOS when we register. There are no surprises here.

As the expression goes, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

 

[PredFan]

I came from the Hannity boards where they don't allow personal attacks at all. They claim among other things that it's to promote better discussions. I was there, and still am, since 2007 and despite the strict rules, they get no more accomplished than we do here. People fight and argue left and right, nothing gets done, no one is ever convinced that they are wrong, no one is converted to the left from the right or vice versa.

Trust me when I say that doing something about persoanl attacks or to promote a more "civil" discussion won't make any difference. Besides, some times you have to call an asshole an asshole.

 

[BlindBoo]

I remember my first message board experience with AOL "Turmoil in the ME" It has this forum beat as far as vugarity and nasty posters. While there are a few posters here who might rival some of the posters then, all in all it's not so bad. If it bothers you, simply try and not respond to the personal insults.

Now that I think back that was true of my first board as well. Anything went on that board. I left because it was so vile, and that was a religion discussion board. But that was years ago and now I think boards have gotten some rules.

They took it down soon after 9-11. The mods would delete the most vile stuff but you still got to see most of it before they did.

 

[g5000]

I can't be the only one interested in better discussions, am I? Anybody?

Most every topic started in the Politics section is an attack topic. Very rarely does someone put a positive proposal on the table.

I was heartened a little bit yesterday when someone started a topic to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Flat Tax and the Fair Tax. It was a great discussion.

But 99.9999999% of the rest are "Republicans are stupid poopie heads" and "Democrats/Obama are commie fags" type topics.

Nothing very productive here. Each day I visit here I find less and less to make me want to participate.

It is easy to find faults in the other guy. Any jackass can do that. That kind of tactic has only one purpose: to avoid looking at the mote in one's own eye.

For some people it appears to be impossible to find solutions or to come up with a good idea.

Hell, some people can't even properly identify a problem. There is a lot of manufactured crap here. A lot. I do not understand why so many people willfully blind themselves.

Any solution based on false premises or lies of omission is preordained to fail.


.

 

[Liberal]

I agree, adult conversations are virtually non-existent here. They do happen from time to time..

However, I know who most of those comments came from.. Have you ever tried to have a sane conversation with those people?

They just revert to ad hominem and referring to people with dissenting views with childish names like "Obamaturd".

 

[WillowTree]

I can't be the only one interested in better discussions, am I? Anybody?

As long as you belong to the party who feels comfortable in calling their opponents, "felon" "murderer" "vulture" in order to win a political office you get absolutely no sympathy from me.


Now that was civil wasn't it?

 

[AquaAthena]

Has anyone else grown tired of the escalation in name-calling and vitriol replacing civility, mature discussion, disagreements or disputes? All sides have guilty parties – it’s not just one or the other.

Yes, which is why I am not here as often, as before the election. And I speak for many conservatives.

 

[Liberal]

We all know that the sides which are guilty of this will take no real steps to stop the problem.

I see some of the biggest offenders here placing blame on the other side.

Rise, repeat.

 

[Duped]

That is what the Clean Debate Zone is for! There is no subsutute for some adjectives you know. You can also place people on your Ignore list.

 

[WillowTree]

We all know that the sides which are guilty of this will take no real steps to stop the problem.

I see some of the biggest offenders here placing blame on the other side.

Rise, repeat.

What I love so much about the lectures from the civil left? "WE WON WE WON WE WON WE WON WE WON WE WON WE WON!"

 

[Barb]

I can't be the only one interested in better discussions, am I? Anybody?

Most every topic started in the Politics section is an attack topic. Very rarely does someone put a positive proposal on the table.

I was heartened a little bit yesterday when someone started a topic to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Flat Tax and the Fair Tax. It was a great discussion.

But 99.9999999% of the rest are "Republicans are stupid poopie heads" and "Democrats/Obama are commie fags" type topics.

Nothing very productive here. Each day I visit here I find less and less to make me want to participate.

It is easy to find faults in the other guy. Any jackass can do that. That kind of tactic has only one purpose: to avoid looking at the mote in one's own eye.

For some people it appears to be impossible to find solutions or to come up with a good idea.

Hell, some people can't even properly identify a problem. There is a lot of manufactured crap here. A lot. I do not understand why so many people willfully blind themselves.

Any solution based on false premises or lies of omission is preordained to fail.


.

Hurting someone's feelings is not menacing, dipshit.


Oops. I called you a dipshit. I apologize for menacing you, asshole.

Any jackass can do that

 

[Avatar4321]

I can't be the only one interested in better discussions, am I? Anybody?

Yeah, how about you worry about raising your level of discourse? Because this sure as heck isn't a partisan problem.

cant lose what some people never had.

 

[Avatar4321]

We all know that the sides which are guilty of this will take no real steps to stop the problem.

I see some of the biggest offenders here placing blame on the other side.

Rise, repeat.

Well, why don't you take real steps to stop the problem. Other people can't force you to act like a jerk.

 

[Avatar4321]

That is what the Clean Debate Zone is for! There is no subsutute for some adjectives you know. You can also place people on your Ignore list.

We shouldn't need a clean debate zone. clean debate should be the default. And yes, there are substitutes for some adjectives. And even if there weren't there is no need to use those adjectives in a civilized discussion. And we shouldn't have to ignore people.

 

[g5000]

I can't be the only one interested in better discussions, am I? Anybody?

Most every topic started in the Politics section is an attack topic. Very rarely does someone put a positive proposal on the table.

I was heartened a little bit yesterday when someone started a topic to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Flat Tax and the Fair Tax. It was a great discussion.

But 99.9999999% of the rest are "Republicans are stupid poopie heads" and "Democrats/Obama are commie fags" type topics.

Nothing very productive here. Each day I visit here I find less and less to make me want to participate.

It is easy to find faults in the other guy. Any jackass can do that. That kind of tactic has only one purpose: to avoid looking at the mote in one's own eye.

For some people it appears to be impossible to find solutions or to come up with a good idea.

Hell, some people can't even properly identify a problem. There is a lot of manufactured crap here. A lot. I do not understand why so many people willfully blind themselves.

Any solution based on false premises or lies of omission is preordained to fail.


.

Hurting someone's feelings is not menacing, dipshit.


Oops. I called you a dipshit. I apologize for menacing you, asshole.

Any jackass can do that

I don't believe clean language leads to civil discourse. That's a fool's gambit.

I'm not interested in civil discourse. When you have to start censoring yourself then free thought is inhibited.

And that post is actually a perfect demonstration of using harsh language to make a very important point about free speech. If you wanted to find examples of me being a dick toward someone, there are far better ones.

But you will also find plenty of examples of topics I have started which put solutions and good ideas on the table.

.