We’ve all said things in real life that we wish we could take back, either because of stupidity, wrongheadedness, incorrect facts our outright lies. To make matters worse, here on the Dope our words are the stuff of immortality, likely to become our legacy. Hell, I’ve started entire threads that just totally imploded. In one in particular, every single detail was latched onto by everyone and became the cause of my ruination and embarrassment.
So I think I’d like to take back maybe 5% of my posts, mostly for impetuous responses that I hadn’t thought through . . . and of course my trademark inappropriate snark.
Relatively few. I almost always read and re-read for spelling and punctuation, and then think about “do I really want this remark preserved in amber for eternity where anyone can read it” before I post. I probably decide not to post about half the posts I write.
I asked a question once and over-shared the backstory of the question. I wish I could take back that post due to the ass-ripping I got for the way I live my life.
At least I learned a valuable lesson about not over-sharing and that there is always someone out there who wants to tear you down.
None of them, really. I prefer to leave them out there as reminders that I could use some work. When I end up regretting one, I think: “Man, I need to be less of a jackass.”
Not very many. When I do, it’s often because I read the thread afterwards, and discover that I’ve repeated what somebody else said, or that I misinterpreted the gist of the topic. A common hazard when there are several hundred replies to a thread that’s been around for a while, and I’ve forgotten that I replied weeks or months ago…
I perceive my own participation in these forums to be, in a way, auto-cleansing. I have a thought that is relevant to the topic, and I start writing, and then I realize I’ve reached an impasse, and I cannot defend the position I have started to take. When I realize this, I just close the page and move on. Sometimes I don’t realize this and someone else has to point it out to me. But writing replies to posts is a good way to test my opinions to see if they are justifiable, and rethink my position if necessary to bail my own self out…
The ones where I show my ignorance or arrogance or both. I think there are relatively few or at least a lot fewer than about 20 years ago when I first started replying to people who are wrong on the internet.
5-10% maybe. I regret engaging with certain posters and/or participating in certain arguments/threads all the time. It’s usually a pretty mild regret to be sure - as regrets go they tend not to keep me up at night ;).
I have a habit of revisiting old comments when I get bored. I have a fairly low cringe rate based on the content of my posts. I don’t usually post without thinking. But I have a ridiculously high number of typos per post. I’m tempted to place the blame on my mobile device usage, but that ain’t it because I compose the majority of my posts from home. I’m just careless. I’d say that 50% of my posts have enough typos to make me embarrassed.
Sometimes I have regrets when I bail out of a thread prematurely. I stop posting not necessarily because I feel defeated by opponent, but because I just don’t care anymore and/or whomever I’m arguing against is working my nerves. Sometimes I look back at my old “debates” and wish I had put up more of a fight.
