Surprise thread!

[jap_man]

I agree with Pienne, there are so many terrible posters in this forums with the most retarded views on the world, as Pienne said before the amount of posters that shrugged a suicide of a young teenager is just completely fucked up and shows the level of audacity and immaturity that's in this forum. The more audacious posters on this forum (not going to name anyone for the time being) should really get off their computers and live life a little bit more and get a better clue on life.

Science questions I can partly understand. It's when it becomes "No, YOU'RE wrong, you stupid piece of feck" like Kszchroink not only does himself but goads people in to doing the same that I don't.

No one understands that.  Why do people have to be stupid and ruin good discussions? No one knows.

The very fact that you're calling them stupid like that means you're actually one of the people i'm complaining about. Not that i'm calling you stupid or anything.

Even though I can't stand most conservative people, I'd actually say Law Gamer is probably one of the better posters on this forum, even though I disagree with most of his opinions. Like I mean most of the topics he starts are the more thought provoking topics that brings on a decent discussion and he might (in my eyes) harbor some pretty stupid opinions (such as the thread he made about collage funds to Black Americans) but he still seems like the kind of guy you could have a decent argument with over a cup of coffee 

[O.R.I.O.N.]

To be honest, lack of empathy and self-understanding is the least of the problems that occur here. Inevitably, there will be idiots. And somehow, many flock here (even more tend to follow me wherever I go). I won't state names, but it's really just an issue revolving around the inability for advanced cognitive thought.

In any case, society sucks. That's not deniable at any point, no matter where you're from or who you are. Why do you think we hang out in an online community in the first place? Hell, it ain't perfect, but it's a sh*tload more entertaining than reality. Plus, when nobody can really know exactly who you are through an online persona, people tend to say or do things that they wouldn't do normally in real life. Hell, I'm no exception.

echo put it best: Human nature sucks.

[Sethamundo]

It's nice to see such a tame discussion in The Lounge.  I applaud all of you for being as civil and polite as you are.

I don't have much to add to this discussion that hasn't already been said, but Pienne has made a lot of good points and I hope that anyone who reads all of the posts in this thread actually does take the time to pause and examine their posting behavior, I certainly have.  As mentioned several times already, I myself am no exception to what has been said.

As an explanation to the behavior of the forumers mentioned, well, I've come to the conclusion that it's all done because of some sort of satisfaction that the poster recieves.  As echo mentioned, one cannot be personally held accountable for their actions in settings such as this, therefor they are free to roam and run rampant with nothing more than trivial boundaries and consequences.  Some people put on a more mature persona for their internet "life", while some prefer to troll around for laughs.  If you think about it, both are similar in an underlying way; they are both, as I said, done for some sort of satisfaction and because for one reason or another they may not act nor want to act like that outside of the internet.

I'm no exception, I've done my share of trolling in various places in the past but I don't regret any of it.  The reason being: I've learned from it and it's made me a better person in the long run.  For those of you who know me, I may come off as a mature, intelligent person.  However, no matter the impression I give anyone here, it's simply because of the internet.  Meaning, I have the ability to plan out my posts and organize what I want to say.

As to why people lash out with such anger and hostility sometimes on these forums is beyond me.  The only guess I have is what I've previously mentioned.  I'm sure that half of the people who express such behavior online would not act that way when offline.  A dichotomy like that doesn't make sense to me.  I feel that a person should be the same no matter the enviroment.

[Demonic]

I myself have done my fair share of trolling and raging around these parts: as said above, some people really need some fresh air out of this place, otherwise we'll be in the same circle of 'you're gay - no ur mom' forever.

It's remarkable how even the better topics around here can go and draft into pety mud-throwing and bickering: I seem to remember a lounge with intelligent, long discussions which weren't threatened of going off-topic or getting engulfed in flames. That lounge wasn't perfect either, but the retard-count was quite lower than it is now. Moaning for the good old days won't help the problem, nor am I fluent in English enough to try and put my finger on the source of this problem: I'll stick to my occasional kicks to the side of this community, slowly fading away for a better and less frustrating hobby, like shark wrestling.

[{LAW} Gamer_2k4]

STOP TALKING ABOUT ME WHEN I'M SLEEPING

Just kidding, it's all good.

Why do people have to be stupid and ruin good discussions? No one knows.

Here I was making a quick post before going to bed, and I chose the blanket term "stupid" instead of something more accurate and descriptive.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to your post, and definitely could have been better put.

You have to realize, this forum consists largely of teenagers whose main purpose for coming here is to talk about a computer game.  However, I've been here long enough to know that there are several people who enjoy a serious discussion.  When I first joined the forum, I would frequent the Soldat-oriented sections.  However, as time passed, I stopped playing Soldat, and now my posts are almost exclusively in the Lounge.  Why? It's because I like a good debate, and I know enough people who will gladly debate with me.

In every unmoderated, unofficial discussion, you'll have several groups of people:
1) People who stay on topic and consider other points of view
2) People who talk solely to tell you what they think, and everyone else is wrong
3) People who disagree for the sake of being disagreeable
4) People who think disagreements are personal attacks and act accordingly

#1s are rare, but make for the best discussions.  #2s can inject information into a discussion that is useful to the involved parties, even if they themselves don't get anything useful from the discussion.  #3, #4? Who knows why they participate.  It certainly isn't logical (well, not to me anyway, I'm sure any psychologist could explain the reason).  The best you can do is not get drawn into interminable, pointless arguments with those people and just continue to debate with the people who ARE interested in a meaningful conversation.

[Svirin Kerath]

3) People who disagree for the sake of being disagreeable

Hahah. I admit that I do this sometimes, mostly to see how people react, but also because I think it's good to question what we "know."

[Will]

3) People who disagree for the sake of being disagreeable

Hahah. I admit that I do this sometimes, mostly to see how people react, but also because I think it's good to question what we "know."

aren't those 4 year olds?

[Graham]

like that plane on a treadmill thread

I agree there... it was fun as a little scientific talk but it turned into a horrible thread.

Hahah. I admit that I do this sometimes, mostly to see how people react, but also because I think it's good to question what we "know."

Half the people questioning what we know are just doing it to make themselves look smart... the other half are just doing it to annoy.

[O.R.I.O.N.]

Put up an intelligent thread on a massive online community, and inevitably, someone's gonna' come along, say something stupid, and feck the whole thing up. It's just a matter of who and how long it takes.

*starts a timer*

Though, by no means am I saying that I want this to happen; it's just an inevitability.

[Svirin Kerath]

3) People who disagree for the sake of being disagreeable

Hahah. I admit that I do this sometimes, mostly to see how people react, but also because I think it's good to question what we "know."

aren't those 4 year olds?

like that plane on a treadmill thread

I agree there... it was fun as a little scientific talk but it turned into a horrible thread.

Hahah. I admit that I do this sometimes, mostly to see how people react, but also because I think it's good to question what we "know."

Half the people questioning what we know are just doing it to make themselves look smart... the other half are just doing it to annoy.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the "Devils advocate." They say (at least in science) that the best way to test if something is true is to see if there's a way it can be refuted. I certainly pick and choose what to be disagreeable with, usually simply bringing up facts from the other side of an argument, one I may feel like sympathizing with because the largely held position doesn't seem to mesh together too well with me. Some positions are under-represented, and in those cases it's more fair if someone supports them. That's largely how debate works.

Of course, an immediate satisfaction may come from how people react.

[KorrupT MerC]

Ok, i dont see how people miss the point of my topic... its clearly said 3-4 times, seeing how you pointed it out.

Its not about religion, its not about science, its about personal ideas... lets say it together.... 'PERSONAL' ... 'IDEAS'. Since it cant really be proven and its a highly controversial question, its a great topic in my opinion, if a topic goes far off subject, it gets locked. Whats the problem? People will argue, yes thats the point of a discussion, its no good if everyone agree's with each other.

Also, so what if people have a stupid idea, maybe it really is their idea, your not going to change it, and its interesting to learn where other people stand, open your mind up. Maybe this isnt the greatest place for an intellectual discussion, but really this is the place where i waste my time the most, and you have people from all over the world, so you get to hear the opinions internationally, not just from your own city/state/country wherever you have it otherwise. Relax, not everyone can be supremely mature 24/7, some people like to chill, make fun of some things, not correct someone elses grammer and spelling and not complain about other topics that ''dont have any good come from them'' if it really was that bad, we have mods for a reason, but my topic is not hurting anybody, you dont like the discussion? gamer has one, go to that.

[Zero72]

I pretty much come back here all the time as a habit. I don't really expect anything out of it except for an occasional snippet by somebody worth a quarter of a damn. I skim over the active topics and dismiss all but maybe one thread right off the bat as the same old worthless internet drivel this crud hole has been churning out endlessly for years. Isn't that neat?

How many of you have actually thought "How can I be happier than I am now?"

Daily. Unfortunately, I am weak and do not provide well for myself.

[Pienne]

Here I was making a quick post before going to bed, and I chose the blanket term "stupid" instead of something more accurate and descriptive.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to your post, and definitely could have been better put.

Eh, it's just that people seem to be so quick to say things like that without realising that it can kind of snowball in to bigger things.

Put up an intelligent thread on a massive online community, and inevitably, someone's gonna' come along, say something stupid, and feck the whole thing up. It's just a matter of who and how long it takes.

*starts a timer*

Though, by no means am I saying that I want this to happen; it's just an inevitability.

That's the thing, actually. Someone manages to pull them in but they let themselves be pulled in.

Also... You kind of make a point, Merc, in that the thread is a way to understand that other people think completely different things, but the topic was built in such a way and is such a question that there's nothing for people to actually discuss and only room for - as the thread drags on - flaming between people who can't disagree.

[O.R.I.O.N.]

*cough*Weapon Balance*cough* ¬__¬

More often than not, someone posts something that another peson will misinterpret, and start the chain reaction towards flamewar/insanity/etc. Hell, I've done it before. Of course, when you're talking about someone who couldn't understand anything you say, well, that's a different story...

[KorrupT MerC]

Well, pienne, the topic is doing ok as far as flaming thus far, people are actually discussing and i guess are trying to understand another point of view, which is good. Im guessing the idiots are avoiding the topic, maybe the word 'religion' scared them off

But maybe i should have put it into the Fisting Zone, but if i had done that, it would have attracted the idiots because flaming is allowed there, which is not the point of the topic.