Brian Edwards78 said:I notice you never go after anyone who doesn't provide enough material to actually mock.
First off—and let’s be clear, nobody is demanding that forum discussions turn into high-society tea parties or polite salon debates—but let's not kid ourselves here: there are quite clearly certain, relatively rare instances where it actually makes sense to "raise your hand."
It is utterly pointless to advocate for behavior that isn't just permitted on this forum, but is actively encouraged by the administration (not toward everyone, mind you, but certainly not toward everyone). One thing I simply cannot wrap my head around is:
what’s the appeal?Where is the satisfaction in collectively ganging up on some
easy target? Where is the thrill in
joining the fray just to toss your own bucket of crap onto an already massive pile? Is it funny? Does it make a person feel superior, or stronger, or... something?
I just don't see it.
Which is perfectly fine and normal behavior.
On this kind of forum, that is indeed perfectly fine and normal.
In fact, this type of behavior is supported at every level of administration—ranging from labeling it "standard American internet communication" (if you don't like it, go join a different site...) to moderators jumping into a "shout-laugh-spit" frenzy against some vaguely blue-themed user who opens a "dumpster fire" thread, all the way down to the blatant demonstration of a specific "forum hierarchy."
So, yes, this behavior is "normal," but not toward everyone.
There exists a "pool of easy forum targets," and then there are those who are untouchable. A Manchild can easily be slapped with a 500-point penalty—a punishment reserved for
forum war criminals—because, well, god forbid, he's a Manchild, and
we all know who a Manchild is. Meanwhile, if a fellow moderator gets caught exposing user clones, nothing happens. If a fellow admin writes whatever they want, it's just a helpless shrug and an "eh, there's nothing we can do about it." And no, the "untouchables" aren't just the ones with special badges.
The issue isn't about... well,
communicating normally with a female user (certainly not *every* female user)—but when you start dealing with
sharks, the cardboard starts tearing and the bans start flying. If other things were "dealt with"—if the other side tried to recount or expose the
background details—without a doubt, the keys, the privileges, and the permissions would be getting shredded too... It's easy when it's like this, damn it...
This isn't me meddling in things that don't concern me; these are concrete examples of what was requested.
So, you're right—this is "normal" behavior for a forum like this.
Except—and again, I am speaking specifically about extreme cases like this one (refer back to my note about the tea-party debates)—it is simultaneously callous, petty, and sometimes downright inhuman. To dump your
brazen crap while shouting "Because I can!" is just pathetic.
Tekut has spoken.