Termyn8or
Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline
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Well well, I guess it is apparent that my monster creating abilities are still up to snuff.
I did not do a jumpthrough, but I do admit that I have not read every word of every post. That's because of the quoting. I try to keep that down. I try to only use it to indicatre what part of someone's statement to which I respond. I don't use it to try to shove someone's own words back down their throat.
I have skimmed or read just about every reply on this thread, and it is about time. I just gotta tellya something. The people who think it is OK to berate those, even for sheer ignorance, are in the wrong. They are not maintaining themselves properly, in the mind.
People can be smart in some areas and stupid in others, and from the looks of the world today it seems that people lack people skills. The first and foremost point is : What is the purpose of an argument ? Why are you arguing ? Don't you know you could be eating a cookie or something you like ? Why do you CHOOSE to engage in an argument when there are so many other possible activities to engage in that would be much more pleasureable ?
Such tendencies have been called a "power trip". If you have a valid reason to get into an argument, certain facts are extant. First and foremost is that the whole purpose of an argument is to convince another that you are right. That they are wrong, or more politely put, mistaken.
Think of it as a sales thing, a salesman does not walk out of a deal unless he has somehow been beaten. And if the customer walks out the game is just as over. Arguing ideas means verbal or literary intercourse, responses etc. If somebody just says "fuck you" it is over. A good analogy would be that an argument is you trying to sell your opinions and ideas, with your opponent doing the same.
I try to see both sides. I do that for more than one reason. First of all, at my age I know I could be wrong. I haven't been always right since my early thirties. If you expect to be allowed to make your case and have them listen, you must afford them the same right. Fair is fair. That means LISTEN, and listen very carefully to what they say, because.....
Yes, you can use it against them. But I am not talking right now about quoting in the forum, this is more akin to why football playbooks are guarded, kept out of prying eyes glances.
In other words, understand the "emeny". This gives you ammunition. The more you know about them the more intuitive you will be in forming your responses. I am actually one of the few people who have really won arguments. This because I feel the other person out, take in what they say and really try to see their point of view. They do have one too, otherwise they would not be arguing with me. Insight into why they believe what they believe is very valuable information.
But if you alienate them, it is all over.And people getting nasty over even OPs who will dismiss their advice. I don't know how to put it, really but here goes, if you are right, sit back and later you can say "I told you so".
The root problem is that many people did not have access to their elders for the purpose of having real conversations. They learn manners in a schoolyard who think it's OK to do all kinds of stupid shit. They are not grown up properly, in the mind. They could be rocket scientists and be pretty much dumb as a post.
When I was a kid we had discussions with the old folks. The kitchen table. The respect did not need to be called for, it was observed at all times. When I was about 12 my Grandfather and I had a small side business going. These days I talk to my Parents, in their sixties, I can get some real history from them. Not washed like the normal version. The old guy down the street, telling me that when he was a kid during the depressuion they raised rabbits.
That kind of ettiquette, exhibited by the young is respected by the old, I am 47 now so I know this. I try, not 100% successfully, to use that ettiquette here. But I have Ms. 11 to watch over me, and I actually have mailed her and apologized for being a pain in the ass.
That is because I want to be here.
And last but not least. When a post goes to four pages I usually leave it alone, not always, but usually. That is because I know that half of it is going to be a few people incessantly quoting each other, demanding proof written in blood or some shit. I ain't dealing with it.
You post to a thread with no real opinion on the OT, but an opinion on the other posters ? Are you that small ?
It has taken me a while to learn how it is here. But one way to sum it up is that we are collectively writing an online journal. It is there forever you know. I have embarrassed myself on Usenet here and there (this probably comes as no surprise to Mod 11). You look later at what you posted and it's like "Oh shit, why did I do that ?".
Hey, I am probably one of the most opinionated people you will find, so give me more opinions, I might just agree.
But the petty arguments I see here are actually a hijack. How many posts in this thread itself do not contain quotes ? Fill the thread with bickering over who was the guy who did some shit that means absolutely nothing now. Well, it's really not that bad, but look at the direction. I think Funkadelic had it right "We must rise above it all, or drown in our own shit". You can't just think of the here and now, you have to see your direction, and more importantly, control your direction.
T
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RE: Thread Hijacking - 
Profile
I would be delighted, you have moxie!
that made my brain hurt
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