When is it ok to start being a forum jack@ss

[plasticman]

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I’m often amazed at how totally new forum members come here and start insulting and denigrating other members straight from the first couple of posts. But I also realized there’s an implicit assumption included in my reaction, which is that it’s “less bad” that long-established members behave like jackasses towards each other.

I sort of feel you get to know people over time, and some you block, some you shrug off, some you always agree with and some feel like forum doppelgängers - people who seem to share exactly the same life as you do, but maybe on the other side of the world.

What do you think? When’s it ok to behave like a forum jackass? 😀

[Gibbo]

Tomorrow 😉

[farnz]

9 minutes ago, Gibbo said:

Tomorrow 😉

Or the day after (to allow for time zones).

Pete.

[pgk]

After a time you realise that few people (especially new members) actually seem to use the search function - because it is easier to repost a question. There also seem to be cyclic questions, queries and comparisons. Having been busy moving I have come back to find that whilst a few long standing members have moved on and are as interesting, thoughtful and considering as ever, most of the chatter is all too often at a low level of understanding and doesn't seem to want to engage above it. It would be nice to think that people using cameras like the Ms, which require considerable user input to get the best out of them, would be interested in more than just comparisons with other models, which lens is best (most are more than fit for purpose IMO) and what faults individual cameras have, and might actually be interested in imagery as a whole. I've met some great people here, and a few I have met up in real life too and they have been thoroughly pleasant to meet. But there are also a lot who I wouldn't want to spend the time of day with. Jackass maybe, but can't we strive to raise the bar a bit?

[Herr Barnack]

@plasticman the thing you have to realize is that when people act like jackasses, they aren't just acting.

Given the epidemic of RPD (Rectal Personality Disorder) that our modern world sometimes seems to be a breeding ground for I am seriously considering launching a line of casual wear that I have been threatening to create for years.  Baseball caps, tee shirts, sweat shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the catchphrase "Life's short - don't be a penis."

I have no doubt my line of clothing would be a runaway best seller.

[mujk]

Well, we've all been newbies in the Leica world once, but it certainly doesn't mean that it's ok to come on this (or any) forum and act in an uncivilised way. I fully understand that someone might have bought a Leica, particularly an M, without understanding how this works and then expesses the frustration on the forum with a lot of seemingly stupid questions. If this is done in a respectful way, it's of course ok. After all, the forum search is not the best in the world.

But it's not ok to be rude. Admittedly, people are different, and I would say that it you've been on the forum for a long time it's ok to show your "personality" more than when being a newbie. But insulting other people on purpose is never ok IMHO.

[Herr Barnack]

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On 2/15/2020 at 4:40 AM, plasticman said:

I’m often amazed at how totally new forum members come here and start insulting and denigrating other members straight from the first couple of posts...

What do you think? When’s it ok to behave like a forum jackass?

Uuuuuuh... Never.  As a matter of fact, I think there is an actual forum rule - "don't be a jackass" or words to that effect; doubly so with regard to being the "organ" I reference in post #5 above.

I have thought a lot about this phenomenon.  My take on it is that there are some [not all of us, mind you - but some] Leica users who frequent this forum that have attained high positions in life and have acquired a certain amount of success - economically, politically, academically, professionally or otherwise. 

As the success of petty and small-minded people grows, so does the ego - along with a distorted and erroneous self-entitled belief that they have some sort of right to disrespect, mock and/or berate others for no good reason. 

This is not me sniping at other people - it is merely a statement of psychological fact regarding the obnoxious behavior that we all see played out on the world stage today, from the highest echelons of political, business, sports and academic leadership all the way down to the (supposed) high and mighty customer who verbally abuses a waiter, waitress, flight attendant or a beleaguered refund desk person at our local Target store.

Such arrogance and infantile behavior is sad and beyond pointless when you stop to consider the fact that we all bleed red, none of us are getting off this planet alive and we all pee ourselves when we are born and when we die. 

This insane asylum we call Earth is neck deep in feces at the moment, as are all of us who are along for the ride on it, hurtling through the blackness of space at 30 kilometers per second or 67,000 miles per hour while hoping to not be smashed into by an asteroid the size of Montana.  I would therefore humbly propose that we each refrain from being forum jackasses - or "organs" - at least through the Christmas season. 

Please? 😳

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Herr Barnack