Well, at least you had chance to use the chatroom. I've left posts on there quite a lot... not a single response! I feel so alone in this world... Let's just hope the flamers don't start coming along (what am I saying? Of course they will. But heck, the odd argument ain't bad for a laugh. Particularly when the insults from the other side are like "HAV U EVAR GOT ANY PUSSY?" or "YOUR SUCH A FAGGOT! I CUD PUMMAL DA SHIT OUTTA U ON DA FUBBALL FIELD!"
Well, I got chance to use the chatroom for a bit yesterday. Me and a certain other user of these forums were having a quick natter about spammers and trolls; all the recent issues of this website. I look forward to using this facility more often; let's just hope people don't forget about it. As for any trolls who want to come on and start some scraps? Well, do what you want. I like reading your insults; they make rather a good laugh for me.
i_like_1981 wrote:Well, at least you had chance to use the chatroom. I've left posts on there quite a lot... not a single response! I feel so alone in this world... Let's just hope the flamers don't start coming along (what am I saying? Of course they will. But heck, the odd argument ain't bad for a laugh. Particularly when the insults from the other side are like "HAV U EVAR GOT ANY PUSSY?" or "YOUR SUCH A FAGGOT! I CUD PUMMAL DA SHIT OUTTA U ON DA FUBBALL FIELD!"
I like thee way you seem to think every sports fan can't tell the difference between "your" and "you're". Wrong of course. I most certainly can tell. You're going to have to come up with something slightly better than that aren't you? It's hardly a crime to make one small grammatical mistake anyway. In fact, I see some of you anti-sports people do it sometimes - 1981 could be making fun of you as well, possibly.
I like the way you concentrate on the all-important "grammar and spelling" question while you ignore the substance of what i_like_1981 is actually saying. Of course, you're not interested.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." -- Oscar Wilde
Haha, I've got to say, Earl is doing an exceptionally well done job of debating this new sports bore and countering his arguments. Keep it up Earl, you're doing great!
"Mensa membership conceding, tell my why and how are all the stupid people breeding?" - The Idiots Are Taking Over - NOFX
"Basis of change: educate - derived from discussion, not hate, not myth, not muscle, not etiquette" - Hate, Myth, Muscle, Etiquette - Propagandhi
"We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Superbowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair" - Barack Obama
HugeFanOfBadReligion wrote:Haha, I've got to say, Earl is doing an exceptionally well done job of debating this new sports bore and countering his arguments. Keep it up Earl, you're doing great!
"Debating"? A proper debate involves contributions from both sides. What has this guy actually said to us that would be any use for an interesting, fresh debate? "Don't post long essays." "Ignore the 4channers." "Don't get so eaten up over sports." Yep, the same stuff that's been said about 8,000 times before this year. At least it feels like that to me. We're not debating this guy, we're just devaluing his pointless posts that have nothing original to say. And his responses will just be sarcastic or lacking in anything of worth. I think it's time we got out a certain rank again, one which has been used many times this year.
SmartSportsPerson... you're not going to be here much longer, and I can sense it!
i_like_1981 wrote:"Debating"? A proper debate involves contributions from both sides. What has this guy actually said to us that would be any use for an interesting, fresh debate? "Don't post long essays." "Ignore the 4channers." "Don't get so eaten up over sports."
Yeah, I knew that wasn't the right word when I posted it, but I couldn't think of a proper word for the situation.
"Mensa membership conceding, tell my why and how are all the stupid people breeding?" - The Idiots Are Taking Over - NOFX
"Basis of change: educate - derived from discussion, not hate, not myth, not muscle, not etiquette" - Hate, Myth, Muscle, Etiquette - Propagandhi
"We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Superbowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair" - Barack Obama
So what happened to SmartSportsPerson? Isn't he spamming any more? Or has he realised that I just don't care about being single anymore? Has he learned that I'm not really bothered about having someone round to do the dishes? (Sorry about the bad joke. I'm pretty mad about this again. I got turned down yet again today. I think THAT has passed the famous "three strikes" already!)
I would have written this sooner, but I had no time to get on the family PC yesterday.
I can explain why SmartSportsPerson stopped posting. Itâ??s not exactly a short story, but Iâ??ll try to be brief. I started reading his posts in the forum BEFORE I noticed and read a message that he had previously left on the Guestbook webpage Tuesday, which he signed as â??Sportfan80.â? He seemed to be smart-alecky in his forum posts; so, I succumbed to the â??us versus themâ? mentality and actually lost my temper. I deluged him with sarcastic posts of my own.
Then I read his Guestbook message in which he expressed frustration over not having his account ratified quickly. He honestly did not understand that this website, being as small as it is, was not being run by the admins every single day. He also said that he didnâ??t â??particularly like seeing what the apparent recent attacks on your forum have done to the morals of some of your members.â? I assumed he meant morale when he wrote â??morals,â? which really wouldnâ??t make much sense. He definitely did not condone what the 4chan trolls had done. So, I used the e-mail function to send him a message in which I apologized for my intemperate response to his posts. I am not proud of my conduct as a moderator on this occasion.
He left me a friendly PM in which he apologized for sounding a bit cocky and explained that he had felt insulted by Rayâ??s response to his Guestbook message. He said that he would not post anymore because he feared that he had ended up with a negative reputation with other members. I chose not to copy and post his PM because I wanted to respect his privacy.
This is my take on this episode. Board messaging is not always the best means to make oneself understood by others. The anonymity seems to bring out an adversarial spirit, which I have been guilty myself several times at more than one website. In a very recent message on the Guestbook, one of the 4chan trolls made a snide remark about how our feelings were being protected. Well, there are also decent sports fans who have feelings. I believe the potential exists for a visitor to a website forum making an impression that is misleading. When people are sufficiently irritated or they are manifesting an exclusively adversarial mindset, the online equivalent of yelling or saying things they regret later will occur instead of attempting to understand what the other person means or is trying to say. This problem could be alleviated by asking the offending poster to explain or a clarify himself.
My point is not to blame anyone. Again, I should have shown more leadership as a moderator instead of reacting emotionally.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." -- Oscar Wilde
Ah, so that's what happened to him. Well, it was good that you were able to get through to him. I on the other hand, can't say I have much sympathy for him feeling too oppressed to post on these forums. I mean, he instantly started coming in with the sarcastic comments about my long posts and my marital status without any provocation from me. Had I gotten to the Guestbook earlier I would have left a civil response to him. I wouldn't have made any snide comments. By believing that all of us are going to be intolerant to him is tarring us all with the same brush. He expects we're all going to come down on him like a ton of bricks if he so much as makes one positive reference to sports. He could have had the guts to at least attempt a debate but no, he has chosen to run away. Well, if he wants to come back, that's fine. I won't stop him. But if he wants to start making fun of me for no good reason, then I can't say I sympathise with him. Again, good of you to give him a chance, Earl. I suppose some of us are just lucky with the sports fans, eh?
I understand why you feel the way you do. SmartSportsPerson did err when he made the slight about your marital status. You just havenâ??t met the right girl yet. Youâ??re a productive citizen and a good person. A real gentleman who, incidentally, sometimes is too hard on himself. Thatâ??s all that matters. A guyâ??s marital status has absolutely nothing to do with his views about sports or just about anything else. That is patently obvious. Sometimes when someone is exasperated or feels insecure, he succumbs to the temptation to make a personal insult. And, yes, some people resort to personal insults in website forums simply because theyâ??re jerks --although I donâ??t believe that this was true of SmartSportsPerson, who probably now regrets what he said to you.
I know that if you had read his Guestbook message, you would have submitted a civil response. You are not to be faulted here at all. Actually, it was the slight about your marital status that caused me to lose my temper. But instead of reacting angrily and sarcastically, what I should have done as a moderator is choose my words carefully (while objecting to his slight) for the purpose of trying to reason with him.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." -- Oscar Wilde
A lot of men don't marry until their 30's. Don't worry about it.
* I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think, you've made a mark on the world if you just get through it, and a few people remember your name. Then you've left a mark. You don't have to bend the whole world. I think it's better to just enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.*
I didn't get married until I was 29 years old, and my future wife was the first steady girlfriend I ever had. (I had dated a few times before; but those relationships never went anywhere, which is just as well.) I've been happily married ever since.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." -- Oscar Wilde
All right. I shall keep my hopes up, then. Let's just hope there are some rather desperate women out there. Joke, joke, joke. Although I'm sure I wouldn't be anyone's first choice. You enjoying this, SmartSportsPerson?! Feels so good to be right, doesn't it?!??! Throw that ball! Grab that guy! That's what the women want to see! (Well, most of the good-looking ones tend to be this shallow.)
Let's just hope the flamers don't start coming along (what am I saying? Of course they will. But heck, the odd argument ain't bad for a laugh. Particularly when the insults from the other side are like "HAV U EVAR GOT ANY PUSSY?" or "YOUR SUCH A FAGGOT! I CUD PUMMAL DA SHIT OUTTA U ON DA FUBBALL FIELD!"
(Sorry about the bad joke. I'm pretty mad about this again. I got turned down yet again today. I think THAT has passed the famous "three strikes" already!)
Throw that ball! Grab that guy! That's what the women want to see! (Well, most of the good-looking ones tend to be this shallow.)