Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
I do believe aliases, madeup screen names etc. Tend to bring out the worst in people sometimes.
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Hmm, I don't know. I have always used my real name (or at least first name), and it hasn't stopped me from saying stupid or hurtful things at times
I understand that people can get angry when reading a post. This has happened to me and will doubtless happen again. I have learned to wait before I answer in anger - I would like to say that I always follow this rule but I don't, and I always, always regret it when I don't. But I like to think I have gotten better at this with experience.
What I'm driving at is, this is something you learn to do over time. I suppose it's easier for some people, harder for others. But avoiding any "dangerous" subject is not the way to educate people to behave in a more civilized manner. Because everyone will run into one of these posts that pushes their personal buttons, sooner or later. It's part of the learning experience on the web to learn to deal with it.
And of course, different things annoy different people. I have seen several posts referring to the Lounge as a place people get aggressive. Me, I come here when I get too annoyed at the discussions in the General discussion forum. To me, the lounge is a much more friendly and fun place, where I turn to when things go ugly elsewhere. And at least the subjects people get heated about here are, IMO, worth getting heated about. I'd much rather exchange passionate opinions about global warming, geopolitics and health care than about copyright and Apple. Though to be honest I usually stay away from all of those, because I know I will end up feeling angry at some of the comments sooner or later.
Anyway, I'd just like to say that I don't think it would be practical or desirable to ban subjects, and even less to delete threads or posts. I have seen this done in another forum, and it only breeds paranoļa when all you know is that some threads have disappeared, without knowing why, how many or what was in them.
All forums go through these crises from time to time, and I'm sure our great team will find the right balance between censorship (a dangerous tool but unfortunately necessary sometimes) and freedom of speech. Whatever you decide, I'd like to thank you all for taking that burden and making MR such a great place
