Argus Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffrey Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. I second that. I think we all need to accept some responsibility for the situation and work towards making it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drea Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I've not seen anything "that bad". Somebody told me to go eff off, but hey, I don't take these things personally. It's just a forum. Walk away, grab a glass of juice, sit outside and chill for a while ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubberMiley Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 A lot of people around here seem to be able to dish it out quite readily, but get really thin-skinned at the first sign of arrogance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 one possible cause is the fact that we just went through a barn burner of an election with the stinkin' Liberal party's record of wasting billions promising the moon and, and... uh, never mind! Seriously, things probably get a little shrill around election time and the emotions respond accordingly. Hopefully we will all simmer down a bit now and make allowances for viewpoints we disagree with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 A lot of people around here seem to be able to dish it out quite readily, but get really thin-skinned at the first sign of arrogance. It has nothing to do with dishing it out or taking it. We all know that even broad insults directed at political groups is forbidden, or even political leaders. Direct personal attacks on other posters is even worse. Together they lower the level of debate to childishness, and instead of discussing the actual topic in any kind of coherent, logical, mature fashion people are hurling idiotic insults back and forth at each other. It's boring. It's stupid. And it's not what this place was like prior to the election. And if that's your favorite posting style BM, find another forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tml12 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 one possible cause is the fact that we just went through a barn burner of an election with the stinkin' Liberal party's record of wasting billions promising the moon and, and... uh, never mind!Seriously, things probably get a little shrill around election time and the emotions respond accordingly. Hopefully we will all simmer down a bit now and make allowances for viewpoints we disagree with. I second that. I don't really think it has gotten THAT bad on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeyhands Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 discourse plummeting.... more Conservatives on the board...... coincidence???? Hmmm..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffrey Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 discourse plummeting.... more Conservatives on the board...... coincidence???? Hmmm..... Actually, in the long run, this board has definitely shifted to the left. There once was a time most of it was right-wing biased, now I'd say most of it is very left focused in many topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
politika Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. I agree. But I think we can all do better in making this forum less bashing and more debating. First of all I think we should start geting rid of some of these posters that cause nothing but trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubberMiley Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 And if that's your favorite posting style BM, find another forum. It's not my favourite posting style, Argus. But my point was that I probably wouldn't have to go back very far...oh look, this morning to find you engaging in the same kind of discourse you would cry to the moderator about: Jeez it's so hard trying to explain things to simpletons. Perhaps you feel bad that you can't get through a debate without calling your opponent a moron. So you blame them for being stupid, or the forum for allowing the discourse to degenerate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 And if that's your favorite posting style BM, find another forum. It's not my favourite posting style, Argus. But my point was that I probably wouldn't have to go back very far...oh look, this morning to find you engaging in the same kind of discourse you would cry to the moderator about: Jeez it's so hard trying to explain things to simpletons. Perhaps you feel bad that you can't get through a debate without calling your opponent a moron. So you blame them for being stupid, or the forum for allowing the discourse to degenerate. Bubber, if we looked hard enough we could find examples from a lot of posters here. You do seem to tend to reach for sarcasm and biting remarks more than some, though others do as well. I know you don't mean anything personal by it, but maybe we could all just try not to be the first one to reach for name calling or whatever. After all, it takes less wit to call names than come up with a counter point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike22 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Preposterous tsk tsk. Imagine people calling people names. Wait a minute polititians do that all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montgomery Burns Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Things can get heated on a political forum but people shouldn't take it too seriously. I agree that insulting other members should not happen, but the majority of us have done it and I hope no one takes it too personal. I try not to. We aren't supposed to call Paul Martin "Dithers" so I try to follow that rule. Instead of Shrillary, or The Hildebeest (I've even seen Hitlery a couple of times *ugh*), I refer to her as Hillary Clinton. Can't stand her but she is a former first lady and at least deserves the repect of her capitalized proper name. However I admit to spelling France's leader thusly--ChIraq. But we should be able to mock politicians. Come on. How can you not mock the wild-eyed DNC head Howard Dean? The guy has terminal foot-in-the-mouth disease and he and his merry band of seething progressives are a barrel of laughs. I hope this place doesn't turn into a tattle-tale-to-the-moderator type of forum. I don't like over-regulated forums. I think Greg does a helluva job. When the crazies from Rense.com etal come on here spewing nazis, fascists, zionists, etc, they don't seem to last here very long. I suspect that Greg has given them the boot. And if one of the "regulars" steps out of line, Greg politely asks them to stop it--not that this happened to me. But I think we shouldn't take it too seriously, take a deep breath, and relax. Go visit Canuck E Stan's political jokes thread--its still on the 1st or 2nd page. Great stuff in there to make you laugh. Perhaps I'll start one myself to get everyone to relax. P.S. Thanks for the info about Greg's first child on the way. Good to hear that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 And if that's your favorite posting style BM, find another forum. It's not my favourite posting style, Argus. But my point was that I probably wouldn't have to go back very far...oh look, this morning to find you engaging in the same kind of discourse you would cry to the moderator about: Jeez it's so hard trying to explain things to simpletons. Perhaps you feel bad that you can't get through a debate without calling your opponent a moron. So you blame them for being stupid, or the forum for allowing the discourse to degenerate. I did admit, did I not, that I was no choir boy and had responded in kind to that kind of language? I believe in the thread you've posted I was responding to the term "imbecile". But no doubt your eager searching through my posts has at least kept you out of trouble for a little while, even if it hasn't led to any actual contribution to the topic at hand. In any event, being provoked into using that type of language more and more often was one of the main reasons I am complaining. I shouldn't use that type of language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Preposterous tsk tsk. Imagine people calling people names. Wait a minute polititians do that all the time. Yes, and if they do it in the House during debates they are thrown out. Why? Because it's difficult enough to have any kind of reasonable discourse between people of widely differing political viewpoints without them shouting insults at each other. The rules here are equally clear and I am simply reminding people of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribblet Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I've not seen anything "that bad". Somebody told me to go eff off, but hey, I don't take these things personally. It's just a forum. Walk away, grab a glass of juice, sit outside and chill for a while ;-) Why should we have to do that? I came to this forum because it is well run and has a better level of civility than most. I don't come here to be told to eff off or anything else, I agree with Argus, we should all try to keep it at a mature level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. I think you're right. We should start by not calling Sikhs "goat herding terrorists." No? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Guy Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Argus: During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. You get struck by lightning over the weekend, did you have a vision that god talked to you Argus. When i read this i near fell out of my chair. I even went as far to check to see if there was 2 Argus's. But guess what just the one thank god. Because two people could not have the same size ego as you. When one is as magnificant a human being as I am, one finds few people able to meet ones high standards That was your quote was it not. Don't get your panties in a knot. I have the same condescending attitude towards almost anyone under thirty, towards ivory tower intellectuals, towards bleeding heart liberals, towards animal rights activists, towards anti-porn campaigners, towards cigar chomping, hard-hat wearing gun lovers, towards born agains and chanting anti-abortionists and snivelling, self-centred college students. In fact, I'm pretty much condescending towards almost everyone With comments like these , you still have the nuts to complain that "you have been provoked" into doing the same. Give me a break, And now your tired of it. You need to find your meds and start taking them. I think you should start reporting it Argus, you can start with our posts in the PM is distressed topic. Let me know how it turns out for Ya. All hail Argus !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike22 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Argus:During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. You get struck by lightning over the weekend, did you have a vision that god talked to you Argus. When i read this i near fell out of my chair. I even went as far to check to see if there was 2 Argus's. But guess what just the one thank god. Because two people could not have the same size ego as you. When one is as magnificant a human being as I am, one finds few people able to meet ones high standards That was your quote was it not. Don't get your panties in a knot. I have the same condescending attitude towards almost anyone under thirty, towards ivory tower intellectuals, towards bleeding heart liberals, towards animal rights activists, towards anti-porn campaigners, towards cigar chomping, hard-hat wearing gun lovers, towards born agains and chanting anti-abortionists and snivelling, self-centred college students. In fact, I'm pretty much condescending towards almost everyone With comments like these , you still have the nuts to complain that "you have been provoked" into doing the same. Give me a break, And now your tired of it. You need to find your meds and start taking them. I think you should start reporting it Argus, you can start with our posts in the PM is distressed topic. Let me know how it turns out for Ya. All hail Argus !!!! Now boys, girls, transvestites others?... pull-ease let us not forget our decorum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Guy Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Sorry, split hot coffee over my B*lls when i fell out of my chair laughing so hard. Just had to vent I'm good now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted March 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. I think you're right. We should start by not calling Sikhs "goat herding terrorists." No? I never said that. But if I want to express my amusement at religious fanatics who dress in costumes and run around with swords I feel free to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted March 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 Argus:During the last couple of months, while Greg has been busy with the impending and then birth of his first child, the level of debate and maturity here at Maple has dropped steadily, to the point where direct personal insults and obscenities are being regularly hurled back and forth. I admit to having been provoked into responding somewhat in kind, but I have to say I'm tired of it. If people can't control themselves any better it might be neccessary to start reporting these kinds of posts to the moderator rather than responding in kind. You get struck by lightning over the weekend, did you have a vision that god talked to you Argus. When i read this i near fell out of my chair. I even went as far to check to see if there was 2 Argus's. But guess what just the one thank god. Because two people could not have the same size ego as you. When one is as magnificant a human being as I am, one finds few people able to meet ones high standards That was your quote was it not. Don't get your panties in a knot. I have the same condescending attitude towards almost anyone under thirty, towards ivory tower intellectuals, towards bleeding heart liberals, towards animal rights activists, towards anti-porn campaigners, towards cigar chomping, hard-hat wearing gun lovers, towards born agains and chanting anti-abortionists and snivelling, self-centred college students. In fact, I'm pretty much condescending towards almost everyone With comments like these , you still have the nuts to complain that "you have been provoked" into doing the same. Give me a break, And now your tired of it. You need to find your meds and start taking them. I think you should start reporting it Argus, you can start with our posts in the PM is distressed topic. Let me know how it turns out for Ya. All hail Argus !!!! Feeling contempt towards the world is not against the rules. Feeling contempt towards individuals is not against the rules. Expessing direct insults towards people is - and yes, I don't deny I've been guilty of it from time to time, as well. I am, after all, so much above you on the scale of evolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubberMiley Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 But your post title is about "The Level of Debate," not about "Flagrant Rule-Breaking." In terms of name-calling, I don't see a lot of that around here. There are the usual Liberals are this/Conservatives are that/NDP should be exterminated arguments, but most of that is just residue from the election. In terms of a low level of debate, I think the main problem is the contempt you are suddenly (in an almost bipolar way) defending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uOttawaMan Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 The best part about these forums, is that everything breaks down into "shut up you left wing hoser" and "you right wing nut job, learn to have a heart kthnx". Well that's my synopsis anyway. As long as the forum doesn't degenerate into reply's of : "lol" I think we are still in the clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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