The House of Springer (insanely long).

The BBQ Pit
1

Or: Whatever happened to consideration and treating other people with respect?

I am beginning to see a pattern here on the boards that disturbs me a great deal. And it’s no longer confined here to the pit. I am referring to the lack of civility and the increase of distressingly aggressive, confrontational posts and threads I have seen througout the boards. I am not sure if it’s due to boredom, or if the posters in question are posting these things for the shock value, or the heat or WHAT THE HELL IS THE PROBLEM. But there is, indeed, a problem. Nor am I immune to it, as someone pointed out to me this morning (thank you, Helmet, and yes, I will try to restrain my temper in the future).

About a year ago I started posting to a different board. I remarked one day to another poster that I was full up of all the frothing, name calling, finger pointing crap that was going on, and wasn’t there another board somewhere on the web at which people enjoyed debating and discussing without the written evisceration of the other posters? I was pointed here, and was told “The mods there wouldn’t put up with half the crap that goes on here.”

And yet…

When two pets of a poster died within a week of each other, another poster happily jumped up and down on her grief. An apology was only made after a moderator issued a warning. And that warning was not even to the poster who acted so shamefully.

A well respected, well liked mod leaves the board (temporarily, I’m not sure, and I will NOT speculate as to they why and wherefore), and someone actually posts “YAY!” in the middle of a bunch of well wishes from other posters. WTF? “yay?” I do NOT believe that forum was the place for the rejoicing of the mod having his mod status removed…this forum is.

MPSIMS and IMHO rarely hold threads I am even interested in opening anymore. I am truly not interested in your bowel movements or menorrhagia. And yes, I’m sure your boobies are quite lovely. I am very sorry to hear you peed all over yourself. I’ve been doing a lot more lurking and a lot less participating than I used to. That saddens me a bit, as interacting with people from outside my little circle of the world is why I’m here.

I’ll just wander over here for a while and hang in the pit. At least there’s debate…even if no one is really willing to ever admit they may be wrong about anything or acknowledge that someone else may be just the teensiest bit right. But crap, then I end up doing that very same thing and getting frustrated with myself.

I realize I have been very general with my remarks, and am flinging it around pretty thick. But this morning I realized I am right back where I started. I keep expecting someone in spandex with bad teeth to yell “HO!HO!HO!” and kick over a chair.

Thanks all, for letting me get it out of my system.

2

I notice you’ve been around since May. That’s two and a half months. Not exactly enough time to be reminising about “the good 'ol days”…

I agree with you to a certain extent, I just think this particular rant may just be the teensiest bit premature considering how long you’ve been posting here…

3

Nor would I expect to be able to say what is normal around here. And I certainly didn’t mean to make myself sound as if I do. I was simply told that I could expect a more friendly atmosphere from someone who has been around a while.

4

That was more true in the past. There’s been quite a bit of static lately, and the board right now is in a more charm free mode.

5

Maureen, you’re more right than you know. I lurked here a loooong time before I registered and started posting, and there’s been a dramatic decline in all the cardinal virtues of the board of late. However, this sort of thing has happened before, and people will eventually chill the fuck out.

6

So speaks someone who looks more ready to annex the Sudatenland than post on a messageboard.

:rolleyes:

7

It seems like every few weeks we get a post in the Pit from someone complaining that we’ve all turned into uncreative and uncivilized bastards. I guess I’m not convinced.

You want a cooler message board? Great. Contribute. Write charming essays in MPSIMS. Answer questions in GQ. Talk about what you’re reading or listening to or watching in Cafe Society. But starting a post in the Pit seems unnecessarily negative if not counter-productive.

(Slight hijack – I found it ironic that you mentioned posters refusing to acknowledge that someone might be even the teensiest bit right, because I found your posts about Dewey, Cheatem & Howe in Wang Ka’s Pit post to be just that – so much so that I was asking myself “Who is this person and why is she so annoying?”)

8

As I said, Finagle, I am not immune to doing the same thing. I end up completely frustrated with myself because I fall into the same easy to avoid traps of pointing fingers. Usually if it’s something about which I am passionate.

9

And others aren’t allowed to express their passion?

10

Tsk… we are a lumpy, misanthropic, burlap bag full of bad tempered cretins, but the SDMB is my bag and the cretins are my fellow posters so we’ll have to muddle through as best we can.

11

This from the person who sees installing a new e-mail system at the White House as morally equivalent to sending all non-Republicans to concentration camps.

Thanks for the advice. I’ll let you know when I need any more.

Regards,
Shodan

12

:confused: What? Who? When? Why? Link?

13

I suspect she means Eutychus taking a hiatus from moderating.

Regards,
Shodan

14

It’s mainly because all the college students are getting cabin fever. (The rest can perhaps be chalked up to the Euty mess.) We go through phases: spring is too many flirting threads, for example.

15

I’ve been participating in online chatrooms and boards since 1996, and what’s going on here right now looks very normal.

Just like real life, discussions of “interest” (remember the eye of the beholder) tend to ebb and flow, as do people’s tempers etc etc.

I haven’t been here much longer than you and already I’ve seen this here on this board. It’s completely normal, and the type of board that interests YOU should be coming around for it’s turn soon!! Don’t despair.