Your posting experience

[redbaron]

I'm only slightly bored, and I know his post was discussing probabilities, but it just seemed silly to quote a post that says you generally don't post in agreement and agree with it. It's quite funny really.

Context is important.

 

[Coolydudey]

In the context of what it is I proposed, it would make sense to reply if you agree to it because it is quite clearly only an opinion/idea. There is no evidence for what I propose, only the non-existence of evidence in the contrary.

You directly asked for people's opinions in this thread, so for the purposes of the thread it DOES make sense to follow the otherwise abnormal behaviour of making a "+1" post, since doing so DOES give an indication as to where the logical answer to your queries might lie. Context is important.

Just be happy that you now know that everyone hasn't overlooked your posts and that people do think they're intelligent.

A statistical analysis of the forums would yield evidence for your theory, which is something we have all approximately done.

On the other hand, I asked for people's opinions for posting experience. So this whole derailment is completely irrelevant right now.

How come you speak for others? I mean ,I don't mind....

 

[redbaron]

How come you speak for others? I mean ,I don't mind....

She already expressed the same opinion, only worded differently. If I misrepresented her opinion (I don't think I did) she's more than capable of saying so and, accordingly to my recently proposed hypothesis it is highly like that she will do so if that is the case.

I reworded it so that maybe you'd understand better. After reading your other replies though I deleted it, since it became apparent that you were just playing devil's advocate for the sake of playing it.

 

[Coolydudey]

Not playing devils advocate for the sake of it here (I was before). What I was saying is how come you speak for the forum in saying that people think my posts are intelligent?

 

[redbaron]

Not playing devils advocate for the sake of it here (I was before). What I was saying is how come you speak for the forum in saying that people think my posts are intelligent?

I haven't really paid that much attention to any of your posts I suppose and I can't recall reading anything that has made me say, "This guy knows what he's on about!", but I'm sure SOMEONE shares the same opinion as you on some topic and just hasn't replied.

The more you go on about this the more I feel like you're just fishing for some sort of validation of your intelligence/wit/whatever.

Stop caring about what other people think so much!

 

[Cavallier]

So much emphasis on being responded to and equating a lack of response for members not reading a post at all. I have certainly felt that frustration but I don't seem to feel it as acutely as Cooley.

1. I sometimes think that perhaps I've worded something well enough that no response is needed. Then I realize this is a bit egotistical.

2. I often read posts that inspire my thoughts to go in a new direction. Since this new direction isn't necessarily directly related to the post I read I don't quote it. This might lead people to think that a post was ignored when in fact it was inspirational.

3. Some post in order to win an argument. Others post to be social. I am referencing something NinjaSurfer said earlier in this thread. Often, I suspect, INTPf members are simply looking for social interaction under the guise of Intellectual Debate. Many posts fall under this category.

 

[Jennywocky]

I guess I should mention too that quite a while ago (more than two years?) I created a thread here in part because I felt like my posts were kind of ignored, or I would get crap back when I posted, and I was planning to leave for awhile... in some ways similar to this thread.

When I eventually came back to the site and read the responses, it was interesting to see people's responses and how they were actually perceiving things, vs how I had perceived they were perceiving things...

Long story short, I had been misreading the lack of response and/or the type of response I was getting.

 

[Cognisant]

Threads and post are IMHO two very different arts.

When posting my objective is to always bring something new to the table, a fresh perspective, a joke, some new point to my argument, whatever, what matters is that it's something that differentiates my post from the other posts because without that differentiation I may as well not post at all, indeed I often refrain from posting precisely because what I wanted to say has already been said. On the reading side of things I do selectively read postings based upon who wrote them and my choice of writer is based mainly on differentiation, because I don't want to read the same stuff over and over again, nobody does, so if you want to be an effective writer you have to build a reputation for differentiation, and the only way to do that is to practice a degree of quality control, if it's not worth saying then don't say it.

When thread making my objective nowadays is to engage people, be it with a game, a question, some shiny bauble of information, whatever, the point is if people aren't engaged by the thread they just read it and leave, and y'know even the most brilliant insight will fall flat if you don't leave people a few low hanging fruit to pick, I mean I could write two or three thousand words and cover everything I have to say about a topic, but then nobody else will say anything because there's no easy entry level points to make, sometimes you have to intentionally restrict yourself to facilitate the engagement of others.

Otherwise speaking of my personal experiences, poetry annoys the shit out of me, and people who don't put enough effort into speaking plainly, I mean sure I use a lot of metaphors but I'm ready to explain them, whereas there's some people whose writing presents an ultimatum, either accept that it's brilliant (for reasons unknown) or simply fail to understand it, and I wish to point out to such people that if I cannot understand you the failure is not on my part for being unable to decrypt your supposed esoteric brilliance, the failure is on your part for not communicating it to me.

There's a lot of inane stuff too but hey to each their own, y'know it's not like everyone appreciates playing in the arena like I do, so I can live with some inanity & poetry here and there.

 

[Moocow]

You're not smart enough to end a thread or change peoples' minds.

That isn't what I was implying. More like, I post in nearly dead threads and fail to revive them.

Edit: Oh, was it a general "you"? I agree- even when someone does make a very good post it doesn't end the thread.

 

[Coolydudey]

Stop caring about what other people think so much!

I'm not, I was just asking since when you represented the whole forum. Have you got this rather simple point yet?

Anyway, lets stop here, this is fruitless. Cognisants advice was well thought out.

 

[Da Blob]

Still and all, I think this thread has brought up a valid point. I have always wondered about the relatively short 'shelf life' of most Newbies. Not being that familiar with any other personality forums but this one, I thought that perhaps the seeming lack of positive feedback could be a factor.

I don't know what options V-Bulletin offers in this regard, but one would think that one could add a Likert scale below the signature or elsewhere or something similar - if nothing is available, so that readers could at least acknowledge to the writers of comments that they have been heard.

No one likes to be invisible forever and for socially inept people, even the slightest of regard can be meaningful. One of the eight dimensions of human relationships, according to Ruthellen Josselson, is this transaction of 'acknowledgement'/respect. I think the Intro Thread, is a beginning, but there can be more done to encourage Newbies to become long term members of the community.

Of course, the greater issue is whether we actually want Newbies to stay...:smiley_emoticons_mr

re Cog: Otherwise speaking of my personal experiences, poetry annoys the shit out of me, and people who don't put enough effort into speaking plainly, I mean sure I use a lot of metaphors but I'm ready to explain them, whereas there's some people whose writing presents an ultimatum, either accept that it's brilliant (for reasons unknown) or simply fail to understand it, and I wish to point out to such people that if I cannot understand you the failure is not on my part for being unable to decrypt your supposed esoteric brilliance, the failure is on your part for not communicating it to me.

I know exactly what you mean...

 

[Irishpenguin]

Speaking for myself here, I definitely participate in this forum for mostly the social interaction. And I will be honest and completely admit that on some deep level I do crave acknowledgement of something I've said. Though this affected me more in the past then it does now, it is still very much there though! It's honestly just the whole thing where, someone replies to me, then me to them, then the back and forth that ensues that is great. Where a thread is going or even how it ends is irrelevant to me, as long as somewhere along the line I walked away with something (Peice of knowledge, a laugh) it was a good thread.

And as for the things that have been said about it being very uncommon for someone to actively make a post simply to say "I agree with what this person said"...well that is very true as I see it, and I do see a whole "Like" button to seem relevant to help out the members that crave to be acknowledged, I however HATE a simple "Like" button, that button on Facebook drives me insane, it is FAR TOO VAGUE! I mean sure it proves that you liked whatever the person said in some shape or form, but WHYYYYYY, simply making three types of like buttons would seem much more effective, examples would be a "I agree with this" button beside a "This was funny" button, and even a "This was an interesting post" button. so that's my however many cents you want to take it as...5 cents maybe? naww the guy on the nickle looks far too fat, and 2 cents would just be Abraham Lincoln clones....whoa that is actually really awesome, I'll go with my 2 cents

 

[NoID10ts]

Around here, I've become that crazy old fuck that lives in a cave that everyone tells their children to stay away from. New people and other crazy fucks don't know any better, but most keep a wide berth.

 

[Da Blob]

Speaking for myself here, I definitely participate in this forum for mostly the social interaction. And I will be honest and completely admit that on some deep level I do crave acknowledgement of something I've said. Though this affected me more in the past then it does now, it is still very much there though! It's honestly just the whole thing where, someone replies to me, then me to them, then the back and forth that ensues that is great. Where a thread is going or even how it ends is irrelevant to me, as long as somewhere along the line I walked away with something (Peice of knowledge, a laugh) it was a good thread.

And as for the things that have been said about it being very uncommon for someone to actively make a post simply to say "I agree with what this person said"...well that is very true as I see it, and I do see a whole "Like" button to seem relevant to help out the members that crave to be acknowledged, I however HATE a simple "Like" button, that button on Facebook drives me insane, it is FAR TOO VAGUE! I mean sure it proves that you liked whatever the person said in some shape or form, but WHYYYYYY, simply making three types of like buttons would seem much more effective, examples would be a "I agree with this" button beside a "This was funny" button, and even a "This was an interesting post" button. so that's my however many cents you want to take it as...5 cents maybe? naww the guy on the nickle looks far too fat, and 2 cents would just be Abraham Lincoln clones....whoa that is actually really awesome, I'll go with my 2 cents

Yes, surely we can devise something that could be envied by all other forums, if not the great youtube itself...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likert_scale

A seven point Likert scale could be a possibility or at least a start until something better comes along. Although, the person who posts the OP probably should have an option as to what type of feedback can be registered on his or her thread. That way if someone was particular interested in a topic they could run stats if the thread generated 14 or more responses... It could be a fun toy, for those of us who have stats in our backgrounds... although dependent variables would not be available...

 

[Coolydudey]

Rather than just saying "I like the thread for X", it would be better to say: I give 2/10 for relevance to OP, 5/10 for laughs, 7/10 for interesting and informative post, and 6/10 for novelty. At least, those four are the ones I feel are important.

 

[Jennywocky]

Rather than just saying "I like the thread for X", it would be better to say: I give 2/10 for relevance to OP, 5/10 for laughs, 7/10 for interesting and informative post, and 6/10 for novelty. At least, those four are the ones I feel are important.

I like to include "using the correct Swedish dialect" as well, just to shake things up a bit.

(Tyvärr har de flesta människor stinker på svenska.)

 

[NinjaSurfer]

INTPs are the most passive aggressive personality type
that is what I have realized in my posting experience
that has spanned the interwebs

INTPs harbor the most repressed anger and sadness

this makes sense, as INTP is probably the most misunderstood type-- thus causing ripe situations for anger and sadness.

 

[noksve]

Here's some general observations of mine:

1. Certain people get more responses than other people, even if what they have to say isn't intelligent or relevant. This is generally because of #2.

2. People are much more likely to respond if you make controversial, emotional, or insulting statements (the same reason Fox News gets the highest ratings of the American news channels) than if you make dry yet intelligent, relevant, insightful, well reasoned posts.

3. Shorter posts are more likely to be read and therefore responded to, regardless of the content.

4. In a long thread, most people will read the OP, maybe the first few responses, then skip to the last few responses. If your post falls in the middle, it doesn't matter if it was the most well thought out and insightful response in the entire thread, it's become obsolete to the conversation (which has either been badly derailed or come full circle again).

5. If a thread is derailed and you pop in on the new conversation by responding to the OP, you are less likely to be responded to.

6. When people make lists of things they enjoy (top 5 favorite books or movies or whatever) or post songs they are listening to, they don't really care about the lists of things the responders make, they just want you to read/listen to and possibly comment on their post.

7. If you have an avatar you are more likely to gain renown (or infamy). More people probably know you by your avatar than by your name.

8. Every extra page/tab that is required of someone (in the case of links) will bring the number of people who keep clicking down by ~75%. For instance, a link to a video will get fewer views than an embedded video, even if the linked one is interesting and insightful while the embedded one is on the level of Youtube poop. If you link to an article that contains a link to a great video, the number of people who watch the video will be very miniscule.

9. The longer a debate goes on, both parties become less interested in being right and the more they become interested in their opponent being wrong.

So much truth in this. I just quoted and skipped the whole thread. I think I read this also because it's neatly ordered with numbers and comfortable spacing in between, I like that.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

INTPs are the most passive aggressive personality type

Not even close, that what makes this place great. Or well, the people here are for the most part not that way.

 

[NinjaSurfer]

Not even close, that what makes this place great. Or well, the people here are for the most part not that way.

I agree, this is the best gathering of INTPs I have encountered

however, I stick with my generalization; do you have proof? or is this more of a reactionary denial statement?

 

[Noodle]

In my posting experience, I usually get ignored. The only site I've ever gotten replies to was on a shallow 'what do you look like, post pictures' forum. No, I'm not proud of my participation in the forum, but it was interesting considering the people were mostly Korean and I was trying to learn the language.

Question: Does it ever annoy any of you when someone types that they 'say' something on forums? Unless they speak as they type, they never actually say anything.

Feel free to ignore me.

 

[nanook]

you haven't seen "passive aggressive", if you think that describes us. us as a bunch, regardless of all the types that we are. but apart from that i agree with you, of course we have some repressed aggression, as introverts, and it's acted out, sometimes unconsciously (happens for me on odd days), sometimes consciously, sometimes honestly. if you want to see true passive agressiv, join a message board of people who identify with the concept of high sensitivity (HSP). i'm not saying, that true HSP are passive aggressive, btw. true HSP are by definition psychologically reflected, so however passive aggressive they may be, they are certainly not the worst. but it's a persona that want's to be seen as socially sensitive, that shapes aggression into truly obfuscated (passive) forms.

on the other hand, individuals with Fe shadows are often communicating some weird typical attitudes, that are presented as super smart rational shit, but they are actually paranoid and envyous/jealous agendas.

 

[NinjaSurfer]

you haven't seen "passive aggressive", if you think that describes us. us as a bunch, regardless of all the types that we are. but apart from that i agree with you, of course we have some repressed aggression, as introverts, and it's acted out, sometimes unconsciously (happens for me on odd days), sometimes consciously, sometimes honestly. if you want to see true passive agressiv, join a message board of people who identify with the concept of high sensitivity (HSP). i'm not saying, that true HSP are passive aggressive, btw. true HSP are by definition psychologically reflected, so however passive aggressive they may be, they are certainly not the worst. but it's a persona that want's to be seen as socially sensitive, that shapes aggression into truly obfuscated (passive) forms.

on the other hand, individuals with Fe shadows are often communicating some weird typical attitudes, that are presented as super smart rational shit, but they are actually paranoid and envyous/jealous agendas.

I'm not too familiar with the specific cognitive functions yet; I consider myself a HSP actually and have been immersed on a couple spiritual forums with persons who consider themselves as such, so I agree that INTP's as a group are not the MOST passive aggressive, although compared to the 16 MBTI types, yes one of the MOST;

the fact that I believe I am more highly-sensitive than the average person, I can usually sense someone's true feelings, and as such, I am aware of passive-aggressiveness more often than the average person.

INTPs are so logical, they will reason their way around any feeling and justify any behavior, so it is difficult to point out passive aggressiveness to an INTP.

 

[Jennywocky]

...the fact that I believe I am more highly-sensitive than the average person, I can usually sense someone's true feelings, and as such, I am aware of passive-aggressiveness more often than the average person...

...

INTPs are so logical, they will reason their way around any feeling and justify any behavior, so it is difficult to point out passive aggressiveness to an INTP.

Well, that can certainly be a blind spot with some [people], and if an INTP has that blind spot, that's how it functions, sure.

 

[nanook]

cool, ninja

i certainly have the growth-factor overexitability (wiki) that is the origin of the HSP cliches. i've been on a german board about HSP for many years (it might be slighly different, more influenced by a writer from austria, than elaine aaron, but essentially the same).

 

[noksve]

In my posting experience, I usually get ignored. The only site I've ever gotten replies to was on a shallow 'what do you look like, post pictures' forum. No, I'm not proud of my participation in the forum, but it was interesting considering the people were mostly Korean and I was trying to learn the language.

Question: Does it ever annoy any of you when someone types that they 'say' something on forums? Unless they speak as they type, they never actually say anything.

Feel free to ignore me.

Lol, they ignored what you said, just as you said they would. You must be a psychic or something. Say, I personally don't say things as I say them, but I could start to say them now.

But as the guy I quoted earlier said, perhaps one should say more controversial or conflicting things so one doesn't get ignored. After all, we are INTPs, right? We are supposed to like arguing "why?" and such. Plus a tendency to skip/ignore/tl;dr other people's posts. I do that, at least. Perhaps capslock and a deal of [/b] and [/size] may help. I'll try now:

ABORTION IS A SSSSSSSSSSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!!!!!!!

 

[nanook]

i was thinking hard about what i could possibly reply to noodle, but didn't come up with something

 

[noksve]

It happens to me regularly, but with all posts. Even this one. Choosing each word is a road full of pain and blood and suffering.

 

[Da Blob]

In my posting experience, I usually get ignored. The only site I've ever gotten replies to was on a shallow 'what do you look like, post pictures' forum. No, I'm not proud of my participation in the forum, but it was interesting considering the people were mostly Korean and I was trying to learn the language.

Question: Does it ever annoy any of you when someone types that they 'say' something on forums? Unless they speak as they type, they never actually say anything.

Feel free to ignore me.

OK

Wait a minute, I was already free to ignore you , I did not need permission or did I?

We all are ignored to some degree, but that is cool, if everyone paid attention to us we would begin to feel like prey and it would be difficult to find the interesting people, those who in turn do not ignore us, but find us interesting.

******

Passive Aggressiveness can be seen as an arrested defense mechanism or a frustrated response to stress in the environment. Our natural tendency when confronted with threat/stress is to Flee, Freeze or Fight, all of which are considered socially inappropriate behaviors. So we cope by being sarcastic, instead of being sincere.

EDIT: Hey, I just now noticed the 'Post Icon' function (4800 posts too late?)
Could that be converted to a feedback system? I mean no one seems to use it much for its intended purpose, whatever that could be...

Does anyone actually know what the point of Posting Icons actually is, considering the choice of icons available?

 

[NinjaSurfer]

[...]

Does anyone actually know what the point of Posting Icons actually is, considering the choice of icons available?

functionality wise, I believe it is here as a tool to assist INTPs to get in touch with their/our emotional sides without burdening too much; baby steps.

 

[BigApplePi]

BAP's posting experience

My posting experience on bulletin boards is vast. I began in 1999 and made 30,000-40,000 posts on another bulletin board. That experience was greatly different from this board as not only was it filled with xxxJ's and ExxJ's but I had no idea I was more or less an INTP. The more emotional others were on that board, the more rational I became. I kept my feelings to myself thinking that was the persona I should have. Looking back, I was wrong.

Although there are lots of things I could say about my posting experience, a summary would be it's a lot like speaking to people in real life. If one listens to them and responses to them, they will take an interest and response to you. If, on the other hand, I want to work out some interesting theme for myself and think about it a lot and post some long dissertation, it's not likely to be engaging. I do appreciate responses but am forced not to expect them.

Presently I'm thinking about something Da Blob wrote where my response will be, "How the Brain Works." I hardly expect any responses forthcoming to that even though I'm solving a problem, lol. Too bad for me.

Feel free to ask me Q's on my experiences, lol.

 

[NinjaSurfer]

Re: BAP's posting experience

My posting experience on bulletin boards is vast. I began in 1999 and made 30,000-40,000 posts on another bulletin board. That experience was greaty different from this board as not only was it filled with xxxJ's and ExxJ's but I had no idea I was more or less an INTP. The more emotional others were on that board, the more rational I became. I kept my feelings to myself thinking that was the persona I should have. Looking back, I was wrong.

Although there are lots of things I could say about my posting experience, a summary would be it's a lot like speaking to people in real life. If one listens to them and responses to them, they will take an interest and response to you. If, on the other hand, I want to work out some interesting theme for myself and think about it a lot and post some long dissertation, it's not likely to be engaging. I do appreciate responses but am forced not to expect them.

Presently I'm thinking about something Da Blob wrote where my response will be, "How the Brain Works." I hardly expect any responses forthcoming to that even though I'm solving a problem, lol. Too bad for me.

Feel free to ask me Q's on my experiences, lol.

what loyalty! it is hard to find that quality in this day & age!

did you leave that forum? if so, why?

and looking to your intense participation, I am guessing you are not a contributor at many forums? or after that one, did you say "Fuck it" and now u are a part of many?

 

[Affinity]

In for the last post.

 

[Zero]

I've experienced all the options listed by OP, but the first two are the one affecting me most these days. It just depends on the feel of the community. There's a place I like going to that likely attracts more NF/SFs and they like chatting about mindless things and relationships, which I don't relate to all that well. When I make a thread it might go ignored for a while, but not because I think people hate me (the topic matter I choose doesn't incur dislike.) I've always felt as if people find me odd, cold, blunt and weird online (which I believe is partly due to lack of body language.) I think IRL I seem nervous, maybe kind of cold, but I'm nervous usually. The topic I choose is probably suited to someone more of my interests and I also think the *Fs tire of me quickly, but humor me, because they're essentially kindhearted, though some I know to actually be interested.

My Feeler friends get hung up on very stupid trollishness sometimes and I try to kill those threads and yet they thrive. There's a direct correlation to how much I write, how simply I write it and how lively the thread stays. I opt for accuracy to length, but I used to be incredibly long winded. My grip on writing and at understanding people usually makes it so people (in the context of what we're arguing as there tend to be only so many arguments or in the context that I've already guess their personality type, religious/moral affiliations and level of literacy [which can clue me into their age and sex in some instances]) don't disagree with me and if they do they get a lashing. If they still are too daft to understand or there's something stands in the way of our communication I will tell them so and end it. I just don't care to bother with people beyond my tolerance anymore.

I try not to care when people disagree with me about something trivial. There are books I love and others hate. I might phrase my comments to them in a way to make them question why it is they've come to their conclusions, but I thank them for sharing their differing opinions. I wasn't always like that; I've just come to realize I don't need to waste time.

 

[BigApplePi]

Re: BAP's posting experience

what loyalty! it is hard to find that quality in this day & age!

did you leave that forum? if so, why?

and looking to your intense participation, I am guessing you are not a contributor at many forums? or after that one, did you say "Fuck it" and now u are a part of many?

To repeat, I was on that bulletin board from 1999 through today. I'm not sure I would call it loyalty. It was considered the best bulletin board of the day. The Religion thread alone at its peak would receive 100 posts per minute! Some threads had several million posts. The problem was the technology and poor management. It was impossible to police such a high volume and many wars began. Trolls abounded. Top posters were eliminated merely as revenge. What bothered me the most was management took down servers which held historical posts. I lost many of my best posts + wonderful dramas of goings on between posters.

I learned an awful lots from my ten+ years on that board. Lessons that can still be learned on this board if one participates enough. I do go back there on occassion, but my old buddies and antagonists are mostly gone.

Here is just one story. Back in the early 2000's abortion was a hot topic unlike today. The Abortion board had fierce fighting on both sides. I was asked to go over to it to see if I could help out. I was fascinated by how people could be so hot over both sides while I was totally neutral. So I thought I could contribute by straightening out positions of some twenty odd posters. Every week or so I would list all the posters with a one sentence update of their position. I got both acceptance and flak for this. One woman got very angry at me and insisted I remove her listing. I refused but stated exactly that: "didn't want her position published." Another poster insisted I take a position. We talked back and forth but I never could answer him as to why I had no side. That made it interesting for me as to self-understanding ... something people on this INTP board seem to well understand. That's why I feel more at home here. What I should have said to him was, "I do have a firm position. It is not to have a position on this."

 

[Jennywocky]

Re: BAP's posting experience

Here is just one story. Back in the early 2000's abortion was a hot topic unlike today. The Abortion board had fierce fighting on both sides. I was asked to go over to it to see if I could help out. I was fascinated by how people could be so hot over both sides while I was totally neutral. So I thought I could contribute by straightening out positions of some twenty odd posters. Every week or so I would list all the posters with a one sentence update of their position. I got both acceptance and flak for this. One woman got very angry at me and insisted I remove her listing. I refused but stated exactly that: "didn't want her position published." Another poster insisted I take a position. We talked back and forth but I never could answer him as to why I had no side. That made it interesting for me as to self-understanding ... something people on this INTP board seem to well understand. That's why I feel more at home here. What I should have said to him was, "I do have a firm position. It is not to have a position on this."

I can respect that.

I think one of the first things I learned entering "virtual world" (whether on forums or APAs or whatever else) was that it was a losing proposition to get between two sides in fierce struggle with each other. The sheer truth that I did not have a side but just wanted to help them come to terms made me a mutual enemy and target of both, until I was removed from the picture, so that they could begin to attack each other again. It's a delicate proposition to be neutral, unless you just plan to be Switzerland and stay completely out of the picture and focus your efforts on making chocolate and trendy watches.

Abortion's an odd topic nowadays. I was around (and a teenager) when it got really big in the culture wars of the 80's; I missed Roe vs Wade (I think I was five when that decision came out), but I definitely experienced the residual fallout, in terms of being so actively involved in church after. It was the hot-button topic of the time, and faith was judged in one's willingness to go out and picket the lines.

It's interesting that the gay rights has slowly but steadily become a reality in US culture (give us enough time for the Boomers to pass on, and it's basically inevitable at this point, even among the religious demographic due to the Gen Y and younger attitudes); but I think modern tech, which allows us to see more and more the developing baby in the womb (people are giving their babies names within a month or two after conception nowadays) via ultrasound and whatever else is contributing to keeping the percentage steady of those who do not prefer abortion be used in any situation but the typical "mom's life in danger / massive problems with infant, health-wise" category.

Sorry that a large part of your history there was lost. I have a track record of about 30,000 on a different forum over the last 5 years and I'd hate to see those go bye-bye (although some of them were modding posts, not really public forum posts about topics). That must have been a data management nightmare, but still... it hurts to invest so much in something and then know it's gone for good. still, at this point, you probably wouldn't even have enough time to keep up with the daily flow, let alone reading the "back issues" so to speak. I try to "save out" any posts I don't want to lose, to my hard drive.

 

[MichiganJFrog]

Had a similar experience on a music forum back in the '00s. If I didn't take a position on something, or tried to see things from both sides and offer a balanced perspective, someone would inevitably call me a wimp. One person actually accused me of not existing, as if I were the fictitious creation of some committee that posted under my name.

Then someone brought up politics, and I quoted H.L. Mencken talking about conservatives: "Not all conservatives are idiots, but all idiots are conservative." I thought a couple people on the forum were going to hunt me down and kill me. Now that I've gotten older and can understand the conservative point of view better, I'll probably be called a wimp by some, and there will probably be some liberals who want to hunt me down and kill me. So far, though, I haven't caught that kind of vibe here.

Plus, apparently it was John Stuart Mill and not H.L. Mencken who made that crack about conservatives.

 

[BigApplePi]

My Feeler friends get hung up on very stupid trollishness sometimes and I try to kill those threads and yet they thrive. ... I opt for accuracy to length, but I used to be incredibly long winded. My grip on writing and at understanding people usually makes it so people (in the context of what we're arguing as there tend to be only so many arguments or in the context that I've already guess their personality type, religious/moral affiliations and level of literacy [which can clue me into their age and sex in some instances]) don't disagree with me and if they do they get a lashing. If they still are too daft to understand or there's something stands in the way of our communication I will tell them so and end it. I just don't care to bother with people beyond my tolerance anymore.

@Zero.
You like the "feeler" threads for fun? If they get hung up on some "feeling thing", what do you mean by "kill the thread"? Do you mean you get reasonable and they believe you and stop or what? I'm fond of figuring out what's going on when people take sides. I don't want to "kill the thread" but sometimes it does come to a resolution.

 

[Noodle]

OK

Wait a minute, I was already free to ignore you , I did not need permission or did I?

We all are ignored to some degree, but that is cool, if everyone paid attention to us we would begin to feel like prey and it would be difficult to find the interesting people, those who in turn do not ignore us, but find us interesting.

******

Passive Aggressiveness can be seen as an arrested defense mechanism or a frustrated response to stress in the environment. Our natural tendency when confronted with threat/stress is to Flee, Freeze or Fight, all of which are considered socially inappropriate behaviors. So we cope by being sarcastic, instead of being sincere.

EDIT: Hey, I just now noticed the 'Post Icon' function (4800 posts too late?)
Could that be converted to a feedback system? I mean no one seems to use it much for its intended purpose, whatever that could be...

Does anyone actually know what the point of Posting Icons actually is, considering the choice of icons available?

You weren't supposed to reply, Isdfkjsfj! My predictions! My planning! My hypothesis! Gone!

I need to pee.

 

[redbaron]

I like to include "using the correct Swedish dialect" as well, just to shake things up a bit.

(Tyvärr har de flesta människor stinker på svenska.)

Something about Nordic languages drives me crazy.

 

[BigApplePi]

I need to pee.

If you wait a little while, maybe the feeling would go away.

You remind me of a reindeer. Don't know why.

 

[Noodle]

BigApplePi.

That is so offensive. How dare you compare me to an animal? Reindeer? They are hideous creatures that don't deserve to be able to fly without wings. If by Reindeer you mean Caribou, it's even more of an insult.