To Avoid Leads to A "Void"?

[matei]

I think you hit the nail on the head Mysterygal...

Many people hide behind their computers and feel that they are free to act like they never would in real life. Cowardice, immaturity, ignorance - they all contribute to this type of behaviour, but I think cowardice is the main ingredient.

I had the pleasure of meeting one such person years ago at a get-together, and he proved to be the exact opposite of his online personality. The virtual vitriolic beast turned out to be a wee, pudgy, quiet fella.

If he would've carried on like he did in real life, he would've been beaten to a pulp many times over.

 

[jake_fink]

The virtual vitriolic beast turned out to be a wee, pudgy, quiet fella.

Thank-you lords of technology for empowering the wee and the pudgy and for ushering in the Age of the Angry Basement Dweller.


I guess these fuzzy little bundles of impotent rage breed on the internet and in "the blogosphere" like flies breed in the stuff flies breed in.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

There are an unlimited number of political forums and blogs on the internet, where political posting morons can foam at the mouth to their hearts content.

We don't need that here.

 

[Feraud]

The Lounge could have a special section (I'd call it the "Political Outhouse") just for Loungers who want to participate in and/or read about such topics. It would make it easier for folks to avoid these conversations if they wished to. They'd know exactly which section to stay away from.

I do not think we need a special section for Politics. The Observation Bar is fine. It is extremely easy to avoid conversations if you need to. Read the topic and stay out of the conversation! lol We all need to respect each others Religous & Political opinions and have the common sense when not to enter a conversation.

The type of person that amuses me most is the argumentative guy who sees no wrong in his political party or religion. Their ability to shift blame on everyone but their group is amazing!

 

[Twitch]

The only reason I like coming here is that political and religious dogma is overrulled here. It has screwed up every other forum site I've seen! There are many, many places on the internet where people can go and use 4 letter words and debase others about their political or religious preferences. Why does trash talk have to be accepted here? And that's what it turns into rapidly.

Some people feel they have an anonymous advantage and can degrade others and name call. Don't imagine for a second that the fueds begun on a political thread don't fester into other topics too. Resentments carry over and create an undercurrent in other areas.

I personally don't give a flying fongulu what ANY politician, party or religious zealot is doing. I don't want to see any of that crapola on this site.:rage:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Don't imagine for a second that the fueds begun on a political thread don't fester into other topics too. Resentments carry over and create an undercurrent in other areas.

Particularly in "The Moving Picture" area, for some reason. People have such strong feelings about movies (at least they did until the latest crackdown). It's amazing.

But what is the general feeling? If someone says (or writes) something that is patently ludicrous, should they be told so (and why) in no uncertain terms? I think they should - and i've been criticised for doing so in the past. I see (and hear) alot of things said (and written) that are clearly and demonstrably false but they have passed into the quagmire that is "common knowledge". Many of these go unchallenged. If it's one that really irks me, i challenge it and back up my position. There are others i dont care much about so i ignore. It seems people have become scared to challenge falsehood. The bartenders ain't gonna throw you out for challenging - only for namecalling.

This doesn't only reference the FLounge. It's in real life too.

Opinions?

bk

 

[mysterygal]

if it is blatanly false then, yes, that person needs to be corrected. In a nice way of course but there is some comments that can just let slide also

 

[John in Covina]

Forest for the trees?

If someone says (or writes) something that is patently ludicrous, should they be told so (and why) in no uncertain terms? I think they should - and i've been criticised for doing so in the past. I see (and hear) alot of things said (and written) that are clearly and demonstrably false but they have passed into the quagmire that is "common knowledge". Many of these go unchallenged. If it's one that really irks me, i challenge it and back up my position. There are others i dont care much about so i ignore. It seems people have become scared to challenge falsehood. The bartenders ain't gonna throw you out for challenging - only for namecalling.bk

*********
It made me think of this famous scene in Annie Hall as written about by Roger Ebert:

Consider the famous sequence where Annie and Alvy are standing in line for the movies and the blowhard behind them pontificates loudly about Fellini. When the pest switches over to McLuhan, Alvy loses patience, confronts him, and then triumphantly produces Marshall McLuhan himself from behind a movie poster to inform him, "You know nothing of my work!"

It is then that Alvy says something like, "Don't you wish it was this easy." :eusa_clap

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Yes, that's one of those wish-it-was-so-easy or I-have-no-more-nerves-for-subtleties scenes in Woody Allen's films. Another one is in Everybody Says I Love You, where the strange political views of the liberal family's son turn out to be caused by an undersupply of oxygen in his brain, which could be fixed.

 

[Pilgrim]

Having studied this a bit, I have a comment about the tendency people have to go overboard with their comments online.

I think there are two basic and closely related reasons this happens:

1) The writer is not in physical proximity to the reader, so there is less personal inhibition affecting the expression. We all tend to word statements more strongly when we're not standing face to face with the receiver. We're less accountable for our vehemence in that situation.

2) The writer doesn't identify with the reader. This is seen in online courses - students tend to relate differently to the teacher based on whether or not the teacher posts a picture of him/herself in the class. The effect appears to be that the teacher isn't as much of a "real person" until the students see him or her.

So I believe that much of this goes back to human-human interaction, and the lack of emotional context for that interaction when people can't see each other.

This is one reason that I thought twice before removing my picture from my Avatar and replacing it with a Stetson ad. One reason I used the ad is that it has a human face that looks vaguely like Jimmy Stewart. Who would want to be rude to Jimmy Stewart??

 

[Caledonia]

Hi. Been shyly hanging about in the shadows behind the potted plants for a while now and thought I'd introduce myself in this thread by saying "Wow"! Until I found the Lounge (will come in and say Hi in the Powder Room soon - still trying to get the hang of this posting melarky!) I thought the age of civilised conversation, intellectual debate, witty banter, and just being ladies and gentlemen was long hidden behind cobwebs and dust. It's a breath of fresh air to find you. Thanks and I hope I don't let the side down! Sorry to interrupt the thread and hope I haven't broken the rules - couldn't resist.

 

[penfencer]

Welcome, Caledonia. I found this place a few months ago and it quickly became one of my favorite stops on the web.

Yor're going to like it here!


pen

 

[mysterygal]

Hi Caledonia! I'm glad you did jump right on in you'll find no better place than here

 

[matei]

The fact that we can debate certain "taboo" issues here in itself is fantastic. It proves that some people still exhibit self-control and are able to engage with others in a mature matter. Those are the people I like to hang around with!

The Fedora Lounge is head and shoulders above the other forums that I have visited. In the other joints, it was one extreme or the other: either the moderators ruled like iron-fisted despots, quashing any form of debate and creating an uber-PC atmosphere, or there was no control at all - many threads deteriorated into childish, insult-laden, slur fests.

I feel that MK and the bartenders do a good job of showing the riff-raff to the door when they don't want to play by the rules. They have created an atmosphere in which we can all interact, exchange ideas and points of view.

I only wish that there was a "real" version of the Lounge around the corner where one could go in, order a pint and have a similar experience to the virtual one!

 

[CWetherby]

I only wish that there was a "real" version of the Lounge around the corner where one could go in, order a pint and have a similar experience to the virtual one!

I agree!!! And could we have one in every state and country, please?

 

[mysterygal]

we got next to the best thing to having a lounge around the corner and that's all the get-togethers that are going on

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I do not think we need a special section for Politics. The Observation Bar is fine. It is extremely easy to avoid conversations if you need to. Read the topic and stay out of the conversation! lol

That would be great if it happened, Feraud, but it doesn't. The Observation Bar has lots of threads that were never intended to be political. Folks who don't want to read political posts click on these threads, thinking that they'll be spared from political discussion. And then: BAM! It hits them. Feathers get seriously ruffled, and the threads end up being closed or pulled off the website by the moderators. In the most extreme cases, heads roll. We've seen it happen several times in the past six months.

Seems to me that a section marked *specifically* for political debate would help keep the other sections free from such stuff.

Don't imagine for a second that the fueds begun on a political thread don't fester into other topics too. Resentments carry over and create an undercurrent in other areas.

You're right, Twitch, but what can be done? One alternative is to make all political debate verboten -- but how do you do that? Or perhaps we could all exercise self-restraint and avoid stepping on each other's toes. Easier said than done ... and maybe impossible. In the end, I say to myself: "Don't take it personally." And at this point in my life, I no longer do.


.

 

[mysterygal]

and that's the thing, you can't take it personally, although my feathers have gotten a little ruffled up as well
I have noticed that the ones who do stir up a lot of trouble usually don't stick around for very long

 

[jamespowers]

Everything is under control here. If people can't be civil there are moderators that will either make the post civil, step in and tell them to tone it down or both.
I find that the people who complain the most about some subjects are those that will cause a ruckus about those self-same subjects! :eusa_doh: A few suggestions:
If you don't want to see what is in the subject line then do not click on the link.
If you don't want to see dogfights then don't start them or participate in them.
If something makes you see red then don't instantly hit the reply button. Stop and think first.
If some one rubs you the wrong way or makes it personal, contact the moderator of that section and inform them of what is happening. Don't take it on yourself to berate the person back and cause a flame war.
These are just a few suggestions from what has worked in the past. The last one works very well and keeps things under control.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Twitch]

Marc- the thing that HAS seemed to have been quashed here is the agenda-ridden snot that goes like "Bush is a dork" or "Kerry was a loser," "baptists are so stone age," or "TV evangelists are crooks." These are examples of topics that beg some schmoo to prove his ascendency over the unwashed masses on the forum and tout some sillyassed rhetoric that sounds like the 60s.

Most evry other topic is a give and take of people asking questions and others supplying information in a mannerly way. The religio-politico topics ALWAYS degenerate rapidly to name calling. Around here one guy can love Stetson Open Roads and another guys says they aren't his style. Fine. End of discourse. In religio-politico gone wild the guy that says Donald Duck woulda done a better job as Prez over Mickey Mouse inevitible gets rankled when someone says Donald Duck is a dork. And it goes on and on and on......