Message Board Psychology 101

[Vladimir Lenin]

In real life Vlad would not have the intestinal fortitude to say this out loud, particularly not to me. Though at one time I may have agreed with a statement like this, I no longer do. At some point, Vlad will peel the mask off these organizations that his indoctrinators have put on for him and discover who has been divorced from reality. Probably about the time he attends his 15 or 20 year high school reunion.

WTF are you, man?

I do, and quite often, say this out loud. Even my friends from fanatical religious families agree that religion is a sham, but it's kind of hard for them to let go after all these years. So I let them wallow in it, and don't really loose any sleep over it.

And if you like to circle jerk with your preaching buddies and keep spreading the gospel, fine, just know that I am not bound by any of that good vs. evil sh1t and have no qualms about taking off the mask of indocrination and opening up a can of whoop ass.

As far as staying incognito on the internet, well, that's something you older folks need to come in terms with. Unless you want your beacon score to take a dive

 

[FlyComAirJets]

Because we can.

Remember back to the early days of the internet, posters who didn't use the proper syntax or show enough computer savvy were mercilessly savaged -- it was called flaming. It is still with us. Witness the often ridiculed Guat who committed the cardinal sin of posting his (OK it was kinda goofy) picture as his avatar.

Besides, nothing kills a thread more than everyone having the same, middle of the road opinion. Controversy stirs debate. It's cathartic and it's stimulating. It ferments a response. As to whether you will sway the opinion one way or the other of those to whom you post a response, I wouldn't count on it. But as for the lurkers out there, that is more of a variable.

The power of the internet allows boastful braggadocio that once was more appropriate in a bar to be repeated over and over across a world wide forum. Imagine what some guy in Latvia thinks about all this.("I tink I vill valk to Amerika!")

 

[Typhoon1244]

Okay, here's my two cents:

There's not very much skin between what's in my head and what I type on Flightinfo. I've always tried to be very honest...tried to keep the rhetorical B.S. to a minimum. In a conversation at a dinner party, it's often necessary to "go with the flow," even though you may not agree, for the sake of social courtesy...but not here. Anonymity eliminates the requirement for social courtesy, so it's easy to be coldly honest.

Now when you've "played nice" at dinner parties (etc.) for long enough, it's refreshing to be free of the bonds of that courtesy and say what you really think. That can lead a person to be overly zealous in expressing their beliefs. We spend so much time tailoring our expression to who we're with, when we finally get to speak our minds it comes out in a big, ugly gush. Instead of saying "I have no faith in the President's leadership," I might say "George W. is a pinheaded imbecile!" Instead of saying "John Kerry's political credibility is quite fragile," I might say "John Kerry's a communist traitor!"

So then what happens? People like A Squared and Chas decide, "boy, that Typhoon guy is a real jerk!" You all may find this silly in light of our anonymity, but finding out that somebody on Flightinfo thinks I'm an as_hole will darn near ruin a whole day for me. Why? Because believe it or not, I'm really a nice guy. (Just ask Ailerongirl! )

So here comes the next question: who are we really? Are we the "socially courteous" people we interact with every day? Or are we the passionate, argumentative people on Flightinfo.com?

 

[Jmmccutc]

i told myself i wasn't gonna get in on this debate, but i'm really getting fed up...this reminds me of grade school; everyone crying about how little timmy made fun of you...

see i think the difference between me and what everyone else is saying is that i'm as straight forward in person as i am on this board, i'm the nicest person you ever will meet, but i don't tolerate stupid people well...(don't think i mean the kid in school that couldn't pass a test, i mean no common sense)...and it's not like i go out of my way to hide that...

part of the bueaty of flight info is the fact you don't see the other person on the end of the the other computer...and that's a good thing cause i'm ugly as all get out...that lack of human interaction is what allows us to be so brutally honest...there is nothing wrong with being honest as long as you don't belittle someone...perfect example is CitationKid, you guys cut that boy up and down for what? a good laugh...

and like typhoon124 said, chas will think i'm a prick, but oh well i don't care...Comm air said, Besides, nothing kills a thread more than everyone had the same, middle of the road opinion...this couldn't be more true...

i think the reason we have raging debates about god, politics, and just nonsense (my drunk posts included) is because our normal everyday lives are so uptight that we need to blow some steam...i hope you guys atleast laugh when i put up my drunk posts, that's the whole idea, i told Ailerongirl that i like to shake the starch out of the old timers' uniforms everyonce in a while (any one over 25 is an old timer far as i'm concerned)...believe me in real life i'd never tell some of these guys what i thought, they might take offense to it, coming from a smart ass kid...here i hope they laugh at me...

ok, now that i've ranted and raved for the last 5 minutes and accomplished nothing i'll stop, thanks for the spotlight...

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

i told Ailerongirl that i like to shake the starch out of the old timers' uniforms everyonce in a while (any one over 25 is an old timer far as i'm concerned)

d.a.m.n, kid, that hurts

 

[TonyC]

see i think the difference between me and what everyone else is saying is that i'm as straight forward in person as i am on this board, i'm the nicest person you ever will meet, but i don't tolerate stupid people well...(and like typhoon124 said, chas will think i'm a prick, but oh well i don't care...Comm air said, Besides, nothing kills a thread more than everyone had the same, middle of the road opinion...this couldn't be more true...

(any one over 25 is an old timer far as i'm concerned)...believe me in real life i'd never tell some of these guys what i thought, they might take offense to it, coming from a smart ass kid...here i hope they laugh at me...

In just a few short minutes you managed to contradict yourself and prove the point with which you disagreed.

While you initially wanted to claim that your online persona is no different thatn your in-person persona ("the difference between me and what everyone else is saying"), you admit you'd never talk to these 25-yr-old oldtimers in person the same way you'd talk on-line. So now that you've proven the premise of the first post by Caveman, can you provide insight into the explanation?

 

[Jmmccutc]

thanks for clearing that up tony, st. patrick was giving me some devine liquid intervention last night...

 

[Typhoon1244]

...everyone crying about how little timmy made fun of you...

Well to be fair, I've never actually cried about it. (I only cry during E.R. and checkrides. )

I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me when people get the wrong impression of me, though.

 

[Timebuilder]

Well to be fair, I've never actually cried about it. (I only cry during E.R. and checkrides. )

Would that be when Mark green died while on vaction in Hawaii, or when Luka died in Africa?

I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me when people get the wrong impression of me, though.

That bothers me, too. I often smile when I post, and sometimes it just doesn't come through. I don't even "thump" my Bible (bad for the binding) but that doesn't come across either.

I think it's just a limitation of the medium.

 

[V-1]

I believe at least part of it is miscommunication. Let's face it, how many of us ten years ago, before the growth in popularity of message boards, would have considered our written English skills excellent? I certainly wouldn't have. Today these same people, myself included, have an easy-access outlet to express themselves - the catch is the only way to communicate is to use skills that ten years ago didn't hold as much value.

How many letters did you write ten years ago? With the explosion in popularity of e-mail and message boards, now nearly everyone is writing more frequently...even if they have poor writing skills.

I remember reading that communication is 70% non-verbal. Strong written communication skills are necessary to express oneself correctly when writing is the only form of communication available.

We have a few members on the boards who have outstanding writing skills, and I enjoy reading their posts, even if I don't necessarily agree with them.

Now, because I've written something in this post someone will misinterpret, someone will need to post a response expressing their outrage.

Who'll be first?

Come on now. Don't be shy. I know you're out there!

 

[bobbysamd]

Message board psychology

My theory would be that a reasonable discussion will start and someone out of nowhere and for no apparent reason will flame one of the posters. That person will react to that person in kind. Then, it goes downhill.

Admittedly, it's hard to avoid reacting in kind to someone after he/she has fired off invective and insults at you, again, for no apparent reason except that he/she disagrees with you. Or, for no apparent reason at all.

Some people tend to be blunt. Some people cannot handle bluntness, so they react to it. Sometimes, talking (or writing) in a straightforward manner without sugarcoating is taken as an attack, when that is not the intent. In other words, "I want to know the truth!" "You cannot handle the truth!" And the discussion deteriorates.

Perhaps the best philosophy is to try to keep discussions on as high a level as possible and try to give less credence to those who refuse to or are incapable of reasonable discussion.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Re: Message board psychology

Perhaps the best philosophy is to try to keep discussions on as high a level as possible...

I agree, and you, Bobby, are the best example of someone who does just that.

Bart and Vladimir Lenin, on the other hand...

 

[bobbysamd]

Message board psychology

Perhaps the best philosophy is to try to keep discussions on as high a level as possible..

I agree, and you, Bobby, are the best example of someone who does just that.

I appreciate that, my friend. But, as I amended my post above, it's hard not to react to invective, especially when the "invector" has it coming.

Try to keep it professional. It can be done, no matter how emotional one is about an issue. We've had some great, constructive discussions here. The one about two years ago on unions which Enigma started is one example.