Do DUers take themselves too seriously?

[Modem Butterfly]

Poll question: Do DUers take themselves too seriously?

After FLAMEFEST 2005 yesterday, I've decided that it seems some of us take ourselves WAAAAYYYY too seriously. Then I flamed someone out on a picayune issue and realized, "Hey wait a minute. Maybe I'm taking myself too seriously,". Maybe all of us take ourselves too seriously from time to time, or even most of the time. What do you think?

[kick-ass-bob]

1. I do. See?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2688141#2688269

:bounce:

[SCDem]

2. Yes sometimes

One DUer I met got so offended by the moderators not canning someone that he thought was a troll that he hasn't been back since. I think it's pretty goofy to make such big a deal of something on the internet. But who am I?

[StopTheMorans]

3. SCDem

[kick-ass-bob]

4. you are on a roll today, sir!

:bounce:

[SCDem]

6. Thanks for reminding me!

[terrya]

5. I try not to.

TRY not to. :-)

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Yes. You wanna make something of it?

;) :hi:

[kick-ass-bob]

10. Did you see that Molly's death was not your fault after all?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2688141

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. OH MY GOD!!!! I don't think I can possibly repay you!!!

Molly has not died in vain afterall. Perhaps we can help save other unsuspecting Sims from the same fate. I wonder if this person was part of the contracting group and purposely placed the smoke alarm on the outside...or perhaps he switched it, while she was slipping into something more comfortable.

[datasuspect]

8. i've noticed that

if you have less than 300,000,000 posts, non-mod people get kinda proprietary about the forum . . .

but that is not uncommon in newsgroups and discussion lists/forums

[kick-ass-bob]

9. hush up.

You only have 1483 posts.
:grr:

[datasuspect]

12. i'm sorry

i'm trying to divest myself of a life so i can post here every waking minute.

[kick-ass-bob]

14. excellent work.

you will be one of us soon.

:P

[datasuspect]

16. i'm doing the best i can

i NEED other peoples' approval otherwise my fragile identity sputters like a 75 pinto with bad gasoline.

[Misunderestimator]

17. LOL.... good work.

[miss_kitty]

11. some do some don't

I think the problem stems from people taking umbrage with others holding an opinion which differs from theirs.

And fuck ANYONE who disagrees with my simplistic assessment of the situation.

[Misunderestimator]

15. LOL... Yes and no... when it's important to me then it's serious...

:) :hi:

[hippiechick]

18. Some so much moreso than others

:evilgrin:

[progmom]

19. I love that you said "picayune"

What a great word.

:)

[JVS]

20. Flamefest 2005?

What thread was that?

[progmom]

22. well, there was the whole kids in restaurants thread

which devolved into - once again - this whole:
kids suck!
no they don't!
you suck!
you hate kids!
i hate whiny voices!
i want my mommy!
grow up!
i'm going to throw up!

...thing which really went nowhere.

and then there was the vegan/fat-ass/retard thread...and a lot of that anger boiled over into other threads. it was really ugly here for a few hours.

[Modem Butterfly]

23. Vegan/Fat Ass/Retard Thread

For some reason, that juxtaposition of words makes me giggle everytime.

[progmom]

24. Me too

If only the OP had been giggling when she originally typed it, you know?

[hollywood926]

41. She was, actually.

She was laughing even harder when she won $50 - she bet a friend that she could prove that Democrats are exactly like Republicans - they just hate different people.

:smoke:

[datasuspect]

25. was it really ugly?

and i'm being serious, but i didn't see anything that compared to usenet/newsgroup flamewars.

it just sounded like people popping off and riffing off each other.

or are people really that thin skinned?

i was here, but i didn't see what lots of people saw. the impression i got is that some people went into proprietary mode and seemed offended because the lounge perverted into chaos and didn't focus on insider mutual admiration and warm fuzzies.

or maybe i need to get back on my meds.

[khashka]

28. No, it wasn't

People got worked up a bit. But it was nothing compared to what happens on usenet. Especially in small newsgroups where everyone gets to know everyone intimately and then when the arguments start they quickly degenerate into vicious personal abuse and exposing each others dirty little secrets in public. Now those are flame wars!

This was really just a heated discussion.

Khash.

[Modem Butterfly]

29. If it was anything like Usenet around here...

...Skinner would have shut us down long ago.

I think that enough people have enough of a common outlook so that the really huge flame wars aren't going to happen here. But people do get remarkably tense on DU from time to time.

[enigmatic]

37. USENET flame wars are Performance Art on Angel Dust...

There have been flamewars going on for upwards of 10 years on some groups; it's quite a sight to see..

[Misunderestimator]

30. That sounds awful.... exposing secrets... egad... they were adults?

(sorry to all the puking children out there :) )

[khashka]

45. It can get really nasty

But enigmatic described it as performance art and sometimes it is. A friend and I once staged a very bitter and public divorce during a flamewar. It had gone on so long and gotten so mean that we were both sick of it. Saying calm down and be nice didn't work. So we decided to make them all feel guilty by using their actions and words as the cause of the destruction of our relationship. It had mixed results. But I have known of relationships that fell apart because of what was said in flame wars.

In a text based medium it is very easy to say things that you would never even think of saying face to face. It's easy to let yourself go. That can be great because it allows you to be more creative, to overcome any shyness. To be judged on the content of you're character rather than age or race or gender or looks. It can be awful because it also makes it a little harder to realize there is another real person on the other end. Someone who can be hurt.

Sorry, it's a particular hobbyhorse of mine in a stable of hobbyhorses.

Khash.

[progmom]

31. well it was ugly for the lounge

geez - is that how you feel about things here? insider mutual admiration and warm fuzzies. you say that like it's a bad thing.

[datasuspect]

32. it was a value-neutral statement

and it is not restricted to just DU. it is an internet phenomenon. being a perpetual outsider, i tend to notice these things.

and warm fuzzies are bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!

[progmom]

34. you only wish you were a perpetual outsider

you are a warm fuzzy just waiting to blossom.

i am adding you to my buddy list, just to piss you off! :evilgrin:

[datasuspect]

35. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not that!

[progmom]

38. once you've been embraced by progmom

...you've officially lost your "perpetual outsider" status.

:hug:

HA!:evilgrin:

[datasuspect]

44. thanks

i think i needed i hug

[blondeatlast]

40. "vegan/fat-ass/retard " Scary how that just sums up the entire thread

in a nutshell.

That was one for the books...

[blondeatlast]

39. The entire Lounge on Feb. 22. Maaaaaaaaaaaaan... nt

[xmas74]

21. I try not too

that is why, in my short time in the lounge, I have really enjoyed myself. But I did get involved yesterday, even though I should have sat back.
No more. I am saving any more flaming to flame the pukes on another site!:evilgrin:

[Tsiyu]

26. They don't take themselves too seriously

but some are pure wuss material.

I mean WUSS with a capital W.

They want the best stools in the lounge, prompt service and free boiled peanuts. It's time to stop thinking only of yourselves, people. Or there's gonna be a revolution, I tell ya.

The little people around here are getting fed up with warm beer and pork rinds.


:headbang:

[khashka]

27. Most of us have a sense of humour

What made yesterday's flamefest so much fun was how many people turned it into a joke. People who in one thread were deadly serious and fighting, in another thread were laughing about the whole thing.

I think that's good.

Khash.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. I tend to take others too seriously

Not the nice folks...the ones who seem to bend over backwards to antagonize and annoy people.

There's no point in getting in a hissey over people like that.

[enigmatic]

36. I think it has alot to do with those who have the one pet "cause"

And if they see somebody posting something that clashes w/ their view of it, they snap. Most of the time it happens in GD; it just happened to be in The Lounge yesterday.

I could have used a couple beers after posting yesterday though; oy!

[hollywood926]

42. That's not exactly what happened.

The original poster (me) merely asked why it's OK to bash vegetarians, but not others (she chose to mention fat people and retarded people as examples). The original poster (me) really doesn't care what anyone else eats and it's hardly a "pet" cause of mine, particularly when I just made a crock pot of meatballs on New Year's Eve.

Flame Wars usually start when people see certain emotional words that excite them or upset them and neglect to comprehend the point of the post. "Fatass" and "retard" were those words. But they were used on purpose - to get people to feel what vegetarians and vegans feel when they log on to DU every day. They feel mocked and ridiculed in a place full of people who claim to be tolerant, but only when it suits them.

[enigmatic]

43. I'm not talking about your thread..

I was talking about the original thread JulieRB started about the child throwing up in the restuarant. It was pretty tame until one poster poured gas and lit the match.