See ya
 

The overwhelming majority of topics on this forum are little other than a pretext for confrontational hatred. The forum long ago drifted away from “discussing” politics to using the topic only as a transparent façade for what is evidently a number of very unhappy people with nothing else in their lives but to argue and vent obvious frustrations which have little or nothing to do with any topic. There nothing positive to be learned or gained from this kind of thing.

Even worse, in a week after one of the moderators states changes will be made, not a single thing has changed.

I don’t blame the moderator for a lack of change. What transpires here has become so routine that it clearly meets the expectations of the regulars. Just as water always seeks the lowest spot, so do most of the discussions.

All the same, the place is an embarrassment to anyone who values intelligent discussion.

The following words are as hollow as the content of 99.99% of the threads to be found going back years and years and years:

Yesterday was like today and will be like tomorow....

First Howard Zinn's passing and now this. How much tragedy can this little corner of the internet bear?

I can certainly agree with much of that.

I open many of the threads simply for their entertainment value alone.
That, and every now and then I feel the need for a “What a narrow minded hypocritical self serving moron this guy is.” fix. :D It gives me an opportunity to count my blessing, and to give thanks that I am not like them and pray they are a limited breed on this earth.

Bottom line however, is this:

1. Be happy that you aren’t stuck in a room with these folks. Now that, would be something to get upset about.

2. This is an internet discussion board. You, and only you, are in charge of how it affects you. Nobody here is making anybody else here read their tripe.

3. See #2, above.

One mans discussion is another mans arguement. This is an open forum and you are free to ignore it if you find it intolerable. I don't believe the flowery discourse of which you speak can exist between those with opposing beliefs. Personally, I have learned a lot from this forum. You just have to have thick skin.

Do you own a mercedes?

Just tell them that they are not worthy adversary :D and ignore what they have to say.
I agree with you 100% about the fact that some forum members are here just to argue whatever the subject it is. We all know who they are and we all ignore them :D
Just wait and he will chime in a minute :D

why cant people just ignore topics they dont like???

Don't click on the topics that are going to bother you. We also offer an "ignore" freature for members who can't play nice together. It does work, take advantage of it.

Great point, but love a topic or hate it, I always like stirring up the sediment on the bottom of the pot - you know,:D enough to get it to mix with the muck floating on top?

BUT seriously, ANYONE AND EVERYONE put off by 'open discussion' should head on over to 'diesel discussion' where 99.9% of us talk cars, engines and sometimes other machinery. Oh, one word of advice, it is heavily oil-centric.

Why is it, when members feel they cannot endure the forum, feel compelled to chastise other members behavior? Typically, although not exclusively, the "final words" are well turned, polite forms of "you guys suck."

3 posts in other forums, but 17 pages of prior posts in Open Discussion? Somebody needs a better balanced diet of posting.

LMAO!
 

Funny!:D

Don't forget to write............seriously, with the diametrically opposing vews held by members on here, what else would you expect? It is not nearly as nasty here as many other open forums. that being said, I occasionally find myself agreeing with view points of the people I spar with daily. That is valuable, because at some level it shows that we can get along. There is nothing wrong with strident arguments or heated discussions. I, for one, would never wish to live in a world where everyone thought and acted the same..geesh how boring, how dangerous....:cool:

You will feel better if you help someone with their dead battery...

The peanut is neither a pea nor a nut.

If I only concern myself with people who have the exact same opinions as myself I do not grow, or learn anything.

When I interact with people that have opposing opinions I seem to learn much more.

This forum gives us a unique venue to discuss topics that are vehemently held by both sides without the direct threat of physical violence.

I truly enjoy the opportunities given here to interact with people it would be nearly impossible to in public.

And I have been derided enough about my spelling to actually start using a spell checker once and a while.

While it is often said that bad spelling and grammar on the internet should not affect the content of the message . . . there are times when it is akin to hearing "Stairway to Heaven" . . . played on the bagpipes. :D

One of my friends is a bagpiper. I'm going to ask him to try that:eek:

Spelling and grammar may have a limited effect on the content of a message, but it certainly affects the way the message is percieved. I have seen posts on this and other forums in which the grammar, spelling, and punctuation were such that it was nearly impossible to determine what the poster was trying to communicate. Obviously an argument isn't going to be persuasive if it isn't understood.

Neurobiologist researchers found the same areas of the brain are activated when we read misspelled words, hear vulgar language, or heavy foreign accents.

As much as I might agree with you, I think you should simply try to provoke more thought. Fight fire with water.

Post the things you would like to discuss, then when Billybob and Aklim rip you apart.... tell them 'its okay' and that you 'still love them'.

....starting now.

That is funny.

I might have brought those names up too.
But for one of them anyway, “rip you apart” is far from any credit of ability I’d give them.
:D

With regard to your first paragraph, you're largely correct. The forum has few members that are willing to make the effort to research a topic and put up relevant info for discussion. It's much easier to let your emotions rule and simply blast the opposing viewpoint. 90% of the political posts on OD are just that. However, and this is important, most of those should be simply ignored in favor of discourse with the remaining 10%.

I'm quite confident that it's eminently clear to you which members are absolutely not worth two words of a response. In fact, some of them are not worth the time necessary to read their posts.

There are several members here who are well versed in both sides of an issue and will have a good discussion with you and advance your own understanding of the topic. But, you must seek them out and simply ignore the chaff in the background.

The only alternative is to simply delete 90% of the posts on here due to content not worthy for discussion. This would be a disservice to the 90%. In similar manner to politics, the forum must cater to its readers to a certain degree.

With regard to my statement that changes will be made, it's clear to me that you have neither understood the intent of the change nor observed it in action:

Firstly, many posts on the board can be considered "trolling" to a certain degree. There is a negative reference to the opposing viewpoint or an insult to a politician of the opposing party. These posts are considered acceptable in most cases if they are accompanied by additional discussion. If a post is put up simply to antagonize the opposition.............."liberals are mentally deficient".........as an example...........this will earn a trolling infraction.

Furthermore, if the OP has any hint of a negative reference or an insult to the opposing party, it will be deleted, and/or the OP will earn a trolling infraction. The standard for the OP is much higher than the standard for members who post on the thread.

What you have failed to observe in the past week are several threads that were deleted and several OP's that have earned trolling infractions. Furthermore, there are a couple of members that are currently on hiatus due to accumulated trolling infractions.

We (the moderators) are going to be a bit more sensitive to your concerns in the future and will attempt to steer the ship slightly toward more intelligent discussion. However, this will cause additional trolling infractions to accumulate and potentially result in the temporary departure of the member. We don't wish this to occur frequently, especially if the member is a frequent contributor to the technical forums. Be understanding of the fact that OD is here as the stepchild of the technical forums and the Webmaster has absolutely no love for it whatsoever.

In closing, personally, I appreciate all your contributions to OD and would hope that you could take my words in earnest and reconsider your position.