Raise the Hammer

@A Smith

Your independence is admirable.

The it to which I refer is the act of self-absorbed nonsense in which some people seem to revel. the constant questioning of why people don't support my views. What do these people do when they are with other people debating a topic and one of the group starts by saying, "I don't agree with the point you just made."? (perhaps the verbal equivalent of a downvote?) Do they start swearing at the other person? Do they call them names? Do they engage in uncivil behaviour? Some people on this site do essentially that, and they know who they are. Those who act this way have been labelled trolls. Others, avoid the nonsense of numbers and instead engage people with what you might call "independent, grown up behaviour".

If the numbers are so unsettling, stop looking at them. It's easy. Just focus on the words. They're so much more engaging than numbers anyway, although the numbers provide some people with the outlet to say, via an up or down vote, "I agree with your point, or, I don't agree with your point." A downvote on a lucid comment does not mean I think you're an idiot. A downvote on what is obviously a vulgar attack is people's way of saying, "Stop it."

As for an example of the kind of dialogue I think I still see on RTH, I need only look to the article I posted today.

Highwater raised some very good questions about my position and wrote a civil, lucid and direct post to which I responded. Not only did I not feel attacked, I felt engaged. Although I don't know Highwater, s/he and I often agree on many things, and we differ on some. The great thing is neither of us ever refer to votes/numbers, only to ideas.

Lawrence (Larry Pattison) is another good example. Many people on RTH did not agree with his stance on refurbishing IWS, but dialogue was the end result, not personal attacks, no matter which way the vote meter went. Larry is a gentleman. His passion was palpable. He was supported for both behaviours.

There you have it, some results.

Comment edited by H+H on 2011-02-18 18:51:21