Anonymity and bad behavior on internet forum boards.

[Wednesday]

Does the anonymity and lack of consequences for being an asshat on internet forum boards make you more prone to be rude and obnoxious?

I find that I prefer to conduct myself in a manner that is respectful of other posters, but there seems to be a growing trend that you can be as unpleasant as you want simply because youre hiding behind a monitor screen.

[Virgo]

"I hear that..."
"That's the truth if I ever heard it"
"Well I'll be... well spoken!"
etc...
etc...

[Mezurashi]

I flip out from time to time because I flip out from time to time. But I try to acknowledge that I'm doing so and not pretend I am being misunderstood.

But juvenile morons with more cowardice than sense will, most likely, utilize anonimity to carry out their 'reigns of shock and awe' in a vain effort to make themselves feel better for not having a girlfriend.

It takes all kinds and some are just more verbose than others, is all.

[Defiant Noquisi]

I find it interesting that you create an entire thread about this without acknowledging that you have done the same.

[Wednesday]

You have debased yourself with namecalling and personal attacks.

Your opinion has no relevance.

[Virgo]

Next question should be: "What can be done about this?"

[Philosopher Foelhe]

Next question should be: "What can be done about this?"

Short of assigning every web site an ambassador? Not much.

It's a simple fact that some people will take advantage of anonymity to harrass others. It's a simple fact that people communicating in print often misunderstand one another (Taking away that pesky body speech makes things a lot trickier than some people think). And it's a simple fact of the matter that even cool-headed individuals tend to be a bit sharper when they're dealing with lines of text.

All you can really do: Ignore obvious trolls, ask people to clarify when you don't understand them, and try to pay attention to what you write.

[Virgo]

We only need one word for that: And that word, is "word!"

[Defiant Noquisi]

All you can really do: Ignore obvious trolls, ask people to clarify when you don't understand them, and try to pay attention to what you write.

Here, here! Something that I suggested someone do when they got all sensitive about a post and completely misunderstood what I had commented about. Especially since others understood it without my having to explain it.

[Defiant Noquisi]

You have debased yourself with namecalling and personal attacks. Your opinion has no relevance.

I didn't realize that you misunderstanding my post would mean I debased myself. Is that what you accuse people of when you bend things out of shape?

[CELL]

Does the anonymity and lack of consequences for being an asshat on internet forum boards make you more prone to be rude and obnoxious?

I find that I prefer to conduct myself in a manner that is respectful of other posters, but there seems to be a growing trend that you can be as unpleasant as you want simply because youre hiding behind a monitor screen.

I wouldnt say growing trend i've seen it for years, especially in chat rooms.

[Keeblergiant]

I behave on chatrooms just as I do in real life. Not saying that I shouldn't behave like that in real life (I've made quite a few enemies), but I prefer to say what I want than to sugar coat it for everyone else.

[Astroboy]

Thank gawd for this... 'cause I can't hear. I'm the same as well as I'm intrigued by this. I use my hands in real life and I'm still using my hands by talking to y'all heh

[Defiant Noquisi]

The AO chatroom is a bit looser than posting in the forums. You can let down your hair in there but attacking other people is still not allowed. You just get to be a bit more disgruntled.

[futrethink]

Wednesday.

Does the anonymity and lack of consequences for being an asshat on internet forum boards make you more prone to be rude and obnoxious?

---I have on quite a few occasions acted like an asshat, usually only after I have been seeing reasons that angered me (others may not find them angering but, for reasons of my own I got pi$$ed).
---I prefer to post politely but, I do know that for someone to physically come after me after I have insulted them on forums requires more time and effort then they are usually willing to apply.
---So, to answer your question: Yes, it does.

[Virgo]

Well, now we've gotten "What we should do."

But it won't happend that we get everybody to follow it. Is it?

[Panda]

Does the anonymity and lack of consequences for being an asshat on internet forum boards make you more prone to be rude and obnoxious?

Oh, hell yeah. It's always easier to do things or say things to people when you they're not there.