Why the animosity towards one another?

[tenchibr]

I've noticed a growing trend this past couple of weeks. Lately there's been a lot of negative energy flowing around the threads in Sonic Discussion and to some extent, the Marketplace forum. I don't go to other sections as often so I cannot speak on them.

There's been a lot of attacking back and forth and just overall condescending talk going down that discourages me from engaging in the conversations. I don't know how often people come to this section of the forum, but I know this is my first time here to report this, so I have a feeling not a lot of people will read this, but I wish they would.

Without being too specific, I try to play the "innocent until proven guilty" game, so when I see an idea thrown into the ring that might throw some people off, instead of attacking right away, I try to understand that person's point of view first. Who knows? Maybe that person really has good intentions across the board that some of you might be missing out on. If that person at the end of day has proven to me that they are just trying to be a dick or just asking for unnecessary attention, it's not my job to make that call; that's why we have mods, right? So I just let that thread go and move on to something else more interesting.

Overall, the one thing I absolutely hate is when people have a tendency to post how they feel towards something (For example: SA2) just for the sake of promoting animosity ("Bla bla bla this game sucks" and just post that as if it's something worth reading). Please, don't come to a discussion thread if you have nothing worth to discuss.

I can't stop people from saying what they want to say; I just wish that the mutual respect and camaderie that I first felt when I first joined would come back. This is more of a letting-it-all-out post than a request.

Hopefully this phase will subside and things will get better overtime.

[Soniman]

Honestly, I think it would do everyone some good if you just ignore it (advice I should probably take myself), as it isn't going to stop anytime soon, or at all most likely.

Does it annoy me at times? Yes. Do I wish some members could lighten up? You bet. But at the end of the day, you just have to learn to accept it and take it all in stride, because it really isn't to big of a deal at the end of the day (to me at least).

[tenchibr]

because it really isn't to big of a deal at the end of the day (to me at least).

Not a "big" deal to me either, but I do care a little, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned. It's just sometimes, I feel like I have something to say, but I don't think the expected feedback is worth it, so I just let it go.

[Lady Soniko]

The lack of news lately is really testing everyone, i mean Everyone even the Mods because I've noticed them nitpicking over things that weren't hi lighted as a problem before, but it's mostly the cynical and snide attitude of some of the members here that causes me to act in defence lately and it seriously discourages me to interact and post. I normally take part in conversing with other members in the status feed but lately it has just been jabs at each other and I often see people talking about me when I randomly scan over when browsing the forum.

That's not all, I also feel like some of the members here are deliberately trying to get under my skin to try and make me snap and call me out to the mods or fish for rep, which is stupid, egging for drama and i'm quite fucking sick of it, i've already developed some unpleasant relationships with a few of the members here, hence me laying low but this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Also i agree, if you don't have anything worthy of discussion, don't bother posting or going into a topic, people who do are purposely trying to cause a stir and a flame war between the members for their own entertainment, as well as their stupid attitudes adding to problem, is really starting to grind my gears when i just want to discuss things and get along with my online family :/

[tenchibr]

That's not all, I also feel like some of the members here are deliberately trying to get under my skin to try and make me snap and call me out to the mods or fish for rep, which is stupid,

I will be honest: I thought of you while writing this, and some others.

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

There's generally two types of animosity on this board: the jokey kind, where the people just throw around careless statements because it makes for a good punchline, and the serious kind, where people just honestly seem to really detest others or else think their viewpoints worthless. The thing you gotta fight on the internet (and I'm just as guilty as anyone) is the tendency to just treat your opponents as some faceless strawmen that don't have any feelings and deserve no respect. People aren't just punchlines, and people aren't just one-dimensional punching bags.

I honestly worry a bit for poor Miru, for instance. Some people on here just seem to take special pleasure in giving him crap, just because his game ideas are weird and his fanboyishness gets a bit out of hand. Even if it doesn't seem to mind it, we should be better than that. Most of us here are adults; there's no reason not to give each other a bit of respect, strange or not.

Just kind of needed to get that off my chest. Sorry for going all Full House there.

[Silencer226]

The lack of news lately is really testing everyone, i mean Everyone even the Mods because I've noticed them nitpicking over things that weren't hi lighted as a problem before, but it's mostly the cynical and snide attitude of some of the members here that causes me to act in defence lately and it seriously discourages me to interact and post. I normally take part in conversing with other members in the status feed but lately it has just been jabs at each other and I often see people talking about me when I randomly scan over when browsing the forum.

That's not all, I also feel like some of the members here are deliberately trying to get under my skin to try and make me snap and call me out to the mods or fish for rep, which is stupid, egging for drama and i'm quite fucking sick of it, i've already developed some unpleasant relationships with a few of the members here, hence me laying low but this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Also i agree, if you don't have anything worthy of discussion, don't bother posting or going into a topic, people who do are purposely trying to cause a stir and a flame war between the members for their own entertainment, as well as their stupid attitudes adding to problem, is really starting to grind my gears when i just want to discuss things and get along with my online family :/

But you're so nice, I don't get it. :\

I've also noticed the atmosphere here becoming more and more... what's the word... I dunno it feels kind of conceited.

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

It really seems like that's just the nature of the Internet. People just act that way, and I think it sucks. If these people act like this in real life, then holy fuck do I feel bad for them.

I'm outta likes, so I hope this will suffice:

[tenchibr]

I am glad I am not the only "good guy", but yeah: you cannot expect an Admin to make a rule that says "Everyone needs to be nice to each other in a world filled with pink clouds and cute elephants" (In fact, if that happened, I would be against it, because now everyone's thoughts would be surround with this uncertainty of "what if they don't mean what they say?"), but I learned in this world, some people are just evil, and we just have to learn to tolerate them.

[Lady Soniko]

I will be honest: I thought of you while writing this, and some others.

Why did you think of me?

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Why did you think of me?

Probably because of the whole anti-fanservice fiasco, unless I'm misinterpreting.

[Andrew Albacia]

There have been a few threads that have been winding everyone up in particular (Heroes/Generations one year spectacular) and also some threads that I'm almost certain have had the intention of winding people up (ignorant arguments/troll threads etc - you know the ones). I've been trying to keep out of them, honestly.

I've stepped in between opinions clashing to try and calm stuff down a few times already but maybe I'm too neutral... maybe I don't care. I dunno.

I think it'll pass over when we can learn to celebrate things together. Remember, you're here to discuss and bond with people. Not to snipe at them. There's a difference between being aggressive and stating your opinion - a joke or a jab.

Hell, coming up on my second week now and this is how it has always been for me... Don't feel it's my place to really say anything either which way. I'm just trying to be as playful as possible and I'm not sure how well I've settled in but uh, yeah. I have had a few conversations related to this over the past week or so... which is pretty funny for the new guy. Some people are getting a little down about it.

But then, the last line of my profile says I'm never serious and I'm getting far too old to let some forum drama drag me under. You can disregard this at will.

[tenchibr]

Why did you think of me?

Because I do every night... Nah.

Last week, with the situation with the "non-Sonic additions" thread and the avatar situation... I don't think you're the kind of person who likes to instigate (and there are some here who are that way), so I feel that some of what happened to you was unfair, but whatever was at your "fault" or against the rules, you resolved and moved on.

I see some cases where members will make a bigger deal out of it instead of just being more understanding and empathetic; because at the end of the day, this is not your bedroom where you can commit murder and get away with. You are being watched, read, judged, and (for the most part) respected for such. If I have offended anyone here in any of my posting history, I always want to let them know I did not mean to; by the same token, if I have a moment where I feel I need to express my disagreements, I try to do so with as much respect as I can.

[Blackthorne]

It really seems like that's just the nature of the Internet. People just act that way, and I think it sucks. If these people act like this in real life, then holy fuck do I feel bad for them.

Yeah, it's just an internet thing. Every forum I've been on has been about the same. Say something that people don't agree with, and you'll get your chops busted. Goodness knows I have plenty of times, and yeah, I've been on the offensive end of it too. Best thing to do is just let it go and not take it too personally, because 9 times out of 10 it isn't anything personal.

[Mr. Taxi]

What can I say? I'm sorry.

EDIT: Aaaalright. Let me say something.

I feel guilty of this, yes. You could say I'm a terrible person, yes. I can be bratty and rude, often speak as I shouldn't and am not generally charismatic. Yet, what can I do except stop posting altogether? I honestly prefer being as sincere as I can than trying to be friendly without really meaning it. That, and I honestly like the heat of discussion. I tend to approach people who disagree with me before people who agree with me. Heck, Meito is one of my favourite members and we've agreed, like, once.

I could come and say "hey, I'll change my attitude", and might as well - but I can't just change the fact that I don't dislike animosity entirely. It's... part of the game to me.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Palas

[Andrew Albacia]

EDIT: And I'm not really speaking from personal experience (though I'm sure things like this have occued to me before, which I just brushed off), but rather how I see other users treat each other. I usually just keep my mouth shut, but I have taken note on a lot of things here.

I've just been bundling it all together as kids trolling each other and ignoring it but as I said up there - I have nothing to contrast to.

It's like when the stars came back. People were just using it to troll the fuck out of each other instead of using them properly.

[Linkabel]

There's negative energy in the marketplace?

[tenchibr]

EDIT: Aaaalright. Let me say something.

I feel guilty of this, yes. You could say I'm a terrible person, yes. I can be bratty and rude, often speak as I shouldn't and am not generally charismatic. Yet, what can I do except stop posting altogether? I honestly prefer being as sincere as I can than trying to be friendly without really meaning it. That, and I honestly like the heat of discussion. I tend to approach people who disagree with me before people who agree with me. Heck, Meito is one of my favourite members and we've agreed, like, once.

I could come and say "hey, I'll change my attitude", and might as well - but I can't just change the fact that I don't dislike animosity entirely. It's... part of the game to me.

You fall under the "jokey kind" category that Flareon referred to earlier. As a fellow Brazilian (assuming you are one), I can relate to that kind of wit. Yes, I can tell you like the debate atmosphere, but I don't feel like your posts are degrading. Not yet, at least.

[Autosaver]

After seeing a couple train wrecks, it seems like the negative energy is coming from a couple member that really aren't regulars. One thread managed to get locked with the mod commenting on a baseless argument that spanned 7 pages. I'm sure if it really gets serious then the mods will start handing out warnings and bans.

I really don't see SSMB as the community that will rip each other apart. Maybe a minority, but not the majority. And when there is a disagreement, it usually ends up being a friendly argument with no attacks. Well, for the most part!

[Komodin]

There's negative energy in the marketplace?

From what I've seen, some of the posts made by the likes of Miru and The_Master_Board has garnered quite a negative response from others.

[Burnt Ash]

If there's one thing that I've definitely begun to notice over the past few weeks, it's the comments made toward members who make topics that are "stupid". I dunno, at first it wasn't much of a problem, but recently, it's become kind of a pain to read through posts like that. I've seen the mods stress this point so many times, asking for threads to be reported if people don't think they're good or something, but I keep seeing the same type of comments made over and over again. It really tends to hinder discussion and it's ultimately really discouraging to some people to even post in a topic like that. Yeah, there may be a time when a member posts something illogical to a lot of people, however, I don't think it's a good idea to make comments to a post like that which is irrelevant in nature. There's the report post option, there's ignoring the person, there's replying to the person with something that contributes to the topic at hand, yet some of us tend to go for the snide comment as our first choice. I mean, once in a while isn't so bad, but after a while...it kinda just gets grating. Overall, I dunno, that's my view on the situation and I may be overstating the frequency of these occurences, but from what I can gather (which may not be accurate), this is kinda what it seems like.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Burnt Ash

[Vertekins]

There IS an unfriendly aura about this place sometimes and with increasingly remarkable frequency, I see condescending attitudes and even something akin to bullying of certain members. You know, I honestly stop to wonder how some of you get by in your lives offline if you're so inclined to be hostile online.

It's sad and slightly funny how easily provoked some people on here are, them paying attention to...questionable antics of other members instead of doing the more prudent thing and ignoring them.

Oh how I wish that arrogant attitudes regarding views on, say, how Sonic games should play got knocked down a peg or two...

Edited October 31, 2012 by Vertekins

[goku262002]

Really dude you must be new here because we been having that kind of problem for literal years. Message boards change but people never do. just get used to it and get a tougher skin is all I can say.

I'm not gonna throw anyone under the bus by naming names, but goddamn, some of you are so rude, condescending, and overall unlikeable.

Aww stop it you. Your makin' me blush.

[Linkabel]

From what I've seen, some of the posts made by the likes of Miru and The_Master_Board has garnered quite a negative response from others.

Oh yeah, somehow I forgot about that thread (I don't really mind their posts though).

I think Burnt Ash has the right idea though in what he said.

[LATER BUDDY]

I'm pretty sick of it.

As regular on the public skype chats that circle this board, most of the grudges that people have against each other started over a really petty disagreement or snarky comment that someone thought they were being funny but the other person didn't find it so. This bleeds on for weeks and tensions rise, and usually the rest of us have to sit and watch and work around it. Hell it just happened yesterday even.

From a moderator standpoint, I've almost had it. I mean it's been like this since like, the beginning of summer it seems, and it just gets tiring. Due to it, I honestly feel pretty isolated from the board, as I don't really communicate with anyone since I'm finding it hard to approach a majority of you anymore. I say it like this since it seems like the bunch of people that are usually pretty lax have retreated to a lurking mode or just straight up jumped ship. Don't take this personally, it's just part of my "eh-ness" on the board is due to this on my end.