[Saoirse]

A rhetorical question, maybe, but given the recent (but improving) state of the forums, I think this may be a subject worth discussing. Could end badly, most likely will, but no guts no glory

[MrFrogger]

We. All. Breath.

[Mercury]

Just by respecting each other and treating other people and other people's opinions a thoughts the way we would like to be treated or how we'd want our opinions handled.

It's the old Buddhist golden rule, shared by almost all peoples, "Do unto others what you would want done to you" as it applies to the Internet.
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Defago]

Inane threads and posts annoy me (on the Music forum especially). Random Chat's awesome, but when every thread looks like it it starts to get on my nerves.

It is getting better, though... You see less X vs Y threads now than a month ago, at least. Also, both a certain user and that certain user's fanclub have reduced their quarreling on every thread, so that's good IMO.

[Silver]

I love you all very very very very very much.

[Mercury]

[Saoirse]

Well in many ways this question would've seemed more immediate up to a few weeks ago, when nearly every other thread was turning into a nasty mud-slinging contest for no reason, where many (but not all) of us were happy to make a big mess but often seemed to point fingers when it came time to clean it all up. The state of the forum discussions have improved dramatically. Even if there is the occasional personal feud, which is only to be continiously expected in a forum of this size, its becoming more an exception than a rule of thumb.

Still, it seems like a question that should at least be confronted and discussed (congenially of course) as it seems like even basic manners can be forgotten in the heat of a particular intense argument for even the most cordial individuals.

Coming to those points mentioned above, one of the best ways to notice you may be getting just a little TOO involved here is when you seem to be able to anticipate the forum regulars every move and often find yourself more ready to pounce than really discuss. Being cooped up with people for too long can make any good friendship turn sour, so yes a breather once in a while never hurts, especially if one finds themselves caught up in a few too many unreasonably testy moments. And yes, if you shout someone down, expect a belligerent response in return. If you want an interesting, thoughtful response, reply with something well... interesting and thoughtful. A classic aphorism so well-known that it can be easily ignored or forgotten.

Really, though, it might just be practicing brevity over bounty, quality over quantity: make sure you're posts actually add to the discussion with substantive, well thought-out ideas, instead of just getting involved in every argument for the sake of arguing. Starting topics where you dont seem interested in actually talking about anything new or just relies on a "who's better?" battle or "why should I care about ___" question can feel completely redundant and has kind of been the main culprit in the music section recently, and often there is a good reason for a random chat and, well, a little thread in the games section called VS. That seems the sure-fire way to really annoy the community here, but more importantly it doesnt' really push the forums as a whole in any forward-moving trajectory, and thats often the root of the problem when the forums start to become static and unreasonably testy.

And yes, while we all here are strong personalities with strong opinions that do stand out on the site's relatively modest scale, which is what often makes the BEA forums (at their best moments) so colorful and engaging, it seems once in a while we have to remember that this site does solely revolve around us; we are all a community here and we should all be helping to make BEA great together, and while there's never a reason not to emphatically state our opinions theres never a reason to belittle those who aren't completely similar to our own. While disaggrements are to be expected, as good debate wouldn't be possible without them, often sometimes there's a tendacy to confuse fact with a subjective opinion, and instead of gaining perspective with a completely different interpretation it often seems like something to be fought against with all ones might, which again often leads to an unreasonably vitrolic tone of discussion. "I disagree and here's why" is always a better tone to take than "your wrong and this is why you should see it my way" if you're expecting to get any respect from others on this site in return. Respect, as always, is something than can only be earned.


I donno, this is a soppy question to ask/thread to start, but Im interested in some of the more unusual and creative responses here, as often something as simple as finding common ground with others can seem harder to obtain the more heated the various debates and discussions on these forums become.

[bongritsu]

I think we should all just be more like me
_________________
Alt Right meme game on point

I FEEL DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AS A PERSON OF JUDGEMENT.

[undefined]

[Mercury]

You make some good points. I feel I've held my aggressive make-others-wrong tendencies in check while here. That's because I genuinely do like this site a lot and ur is very positive. And it's great to have a chance to talk to people as passionate as me about music for a change. So I will stick to that ideal you set forth, Saoirse:
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!