I think we might need a new name for “flame wars” here as they aren’t true flame wars.,,,,because still only 4’s are given, even in the most contentious diaries, except of course for our lovely troll bill .
I am hoping the site has settled down now, it was such a roller coaster with many highs and lows these last few days.
So difficult when friends are fighting and you may agree on some points with both sides, but now you can’t say them cause you will be dragged into the fight and called siding. If you try to intervene, better choose your words carefully or they can be taken wrong by one or the other or look over your shoulder a new attack from the right flank.
Seems like we are trying to create here is intellectual debate, mostly based on personal views about many different subjects, or personal perceptions about world events, and then the next thing you know it becomes about my facts versus your facts, my knowing vs your knowing, my writing vs your writing and then me vs you.
And what is resolved in the end, not much, in fact people get hurt, people get angry, people feel put off from even posting anything on the subject lest you may attract one or more of the fighting factions and then boom you are in it too.
So what I am thinking right now is that when you fight you are ruining the experience for the rest of us, we can be all jolly after leaving the cafe and amble by a diary with an interesting topic, settle in to read, hmmmm, scroll down the comments, oh nice comment, give a 4, good discussion going here, what’s next, rubbing hands, next comment, oh dear X is mad at J for what, now let me see, and you go back and read previous comment and what I don’t get that here, so you go back and read the diary and still no, I don’t get that here, then back down to the comments, what did I miss, look at the next and next and oh what fighting going on all the way down.
You make a choice then, leave a diary that might have been good and fun or innformative, but now you are turned off. Others will see the fight and say well I like what he said, so I’ll jump in and add another bat to this fight, back and forth they go, batters coming in, getting out, then a peacemaker may come along, or it may be you if you are very brave and trys to lay some gentle calming on the situation. Boom next thing you know, the peacemaker is attacked.
Another Peacemacker puts up a diary and says, Hey folks tell us why you came here and why you stay, thinking that folks will stop and think, did they come here to fight or come here to talk and learn and have some fun at times and not to be all that angry because lord knows the world is tough enough right now just getting along in life.
This started out as a comment but decided to diary it, because I think it is important for us to realize that fighting ruins it for the rest of us and we want to go running away from the site, we stop writing, comenting,we stop visiting, we stop lurking and then we’re gone. So next time you feel like exchanging harsh words think about the rest of us and not just how you feel.
As they are fond of saying in bars, if your’re gonna fight then take it outside and in this case that would mean, take it to the old email.
Your thoughts?
