Why is the fluther community so pissy lately?

Hasn’t it always been thus? I think it’s been rather tamer than usual of late.

Really, this is tamer?

Feels like it to me but maybe I’m not seeing what you’re seeing. It feels really quiet around here to me lately.

Yeah, you weren’t on those threads. I think you were the lucky one. :)

It seems really tame to me. I thought most of the flamers had left the building.

IF you can’t say something nice say nothing? Too many here weren’t taught that life lesson by their parents apparently.

To be honest, I think you have been the worst flamer recently. If you’re referencing the threads about catcalling, the commenters have mostly refrained from personal attack, even if they haven’t been particularly respectful of expressed views. That’s not against Fluther guidelines. Certainly, the mods have had no trouble cleaning up any “over the line” posts.

It all comes down to the guideline to “disagree without being disagreeable”, which we expanded on in the blog post section about controversy and debate:
”We would much rather that you politely question, refute, and/or discredit ideas by exposing the conceptual flaws, rather than just declaring them irrational or some other derogatory adjective. It can be done without being aggressive or belligerent, and debate is usually more effective when it is clear that each party is listening to the other and contemplating their points, and not just coming in with a closed mind to attack the opposing views and push their own agenda.”

The goal is to have civilized discourse even when taking an opposing position. It is up to us as individuals to choose how we represent ourselves and how we set the tone for the Fluther community.

No one could take Auggie’s place, but @hearkat comes pretty close.

@dappled_leaves Oh give me a break. I’ve given it back to you when you flamed.

@Adirondackwannabe Not so. You seem to misinterpret differences of opinion as flames, then “retaliate” much harder than is warranted. But if you don’t want to know what people think of that, don’t ask the question.

Oh, the irony

I take my first answer back. Good lord people aren’t happy unless they try to make others unhappy.

Is this the argument clinic?

@janbb I’ve told you once.

No you didn’t!

@janbb Yes, I did.

@Dappled I know I tried as well & failed. When several people notice perhaps it’s time to look in the mirror?

neener neener

@jonsblond @KNOWITALL Kiss my butt bitches. :)

God , you made me smile.

@Adirondack Are you bringing God into this you crazy atheist?! ;) Bahaha!

^psst, I was the first to say Lord. :)

Oh man, now I’ve brought our religious issues into it. The villagers are going after my ass with pitchforks and torches.

@Jonsblond I’m getting soooooo defensive! Boiling….point….reached….BOOM!

@KNOWITALL Hey easy, we take care of each other. We ignore the buttheads. It pisses them off too:)

Most of you know I love God but I’m not a churchy uptight snob, I’m just messin wit ya. Got ya’ll’s backs too fo sho.

I pray to multiple beings. I have no problem with any ones religion.

@Adirondack Scientologist? lol jk

Well never them, :) Oh man, I’m a target again.

@Adirondack Good thing you’re a fangbanger then! (vamp reference)

Pissy? I’m not sure I would have used that word to describe it (maybe “small” or “quiet”).

But we all get pissy. It happens. I occasionally do. Even the most logical contributors here, whose posts I highly value, will occasionally go off the rails into some kind of crazy fit. We all have lives and challenges that we deal with. I can’t imagine some of that won’t come out occasionally here. In my mind, to allow for some of this among our fellow flutherers is a sign of compassion and respect. Zero tolerance for a bit of occasional pissiness seems to be a denial of the fact that we are dealing with people.

But I haven’t noticed much of it lately.

And anybody that takes my kiss my butt bitches crack to heart is an ass. Anyone that knows me knows I’m just having fun. I really like both of the targets of that so much.

Thank you @Adirondackwannabe. I am surprised the comment is still there, you know, because new users might think you are serious. Smiley face and all.

That’s a great answer @hominid.

@jonsblond yeah, I got a lot of that last night. Evidently I’m a real dick. :)

Yeah, @Adirondackwannabe, it’s a good thing that you know that the “bitches” don’t mind you talking to them like that.

@canidmajor Well obviously you don’t get me at all. I’m not going to sweat it.

Somewhat relevant.

I love Dilbert.

@Adirondackwannabe I’m surprised you like me. Didn’t you know I’m a big bad bully?~

@jonsblond You stand up for yourself and your family. What’s not to like? We don’t always agree, but we care about each other. Good enough for me. :)

@hominid Excellent. My kind of mod.

I think the Fluther policy as @hearkat posted it is adequate. Everybody knows flamewars are unproductive, but they happen. The trick is to allow differences of opinion to be discussed, but not browbeat anyone into . What happens in all sites like this, sites that are not getting new blood injected quickly enough, is that eventually only one or two general type personality survives and the place gets boring and often dies. In other words, when people feel popular pressure to conform, they either do so or leave, and dissenting opinion dries up. The place becomes homogeneous, and people are left standing around wondering what has happened to their formerly interesting social environment. I think the Fluther guidelines have slowed this process down somewhat, better than other sites, and at the same time prevented on-going surface hostilities between individuals. It a delicate balance.

I recently read this and it makes all the sense in the world to me. It is also sad. Even with the anonymity the net supposed provides, people will still be people and revert back to pack behaviour so reminiscent of high school:

Social Media Stifles Dissent

Social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, have the effect of tamping down diversity of opinion and stifling debate about public affairs. It makes people less likely to voice opinions, particularly when they think their views differ from those of their friends, according to a report by researchers at Pew Research Center and Rutgers University. The researchers also found that those who use social media regularly are more reluctant to express dissenting views in the offline world. The Internet, it seems, is contributing to the polarization of America, as people surround themselves with people who think like them and hesitate to say anything different. Internet companies magnify the effect, by tweaking their algorithms to show us more content from people who are similar to us.
—Claire Cain Miller, New York Times.

It would be nice if that didn’t happen to Fluther, but that might be wishing for too much.

I haven’t noticed any extra pissiness lately, maybe because I am too busy shoveling snow shovels full of real piss in the horse barn here. lol
.I WAS a little pissy yesterday when a newer member made a blanket statement about female sexuality. I only get pissy about blatent stupidity, otherwise, I’m happy to piss the night away.

Sometimes a good piss is one of life’s great pleasures. Just sayin’

@Jonsblond You’re a bully? lol, wow, haaven’t heard that one?

WTF do you mean “pissy”?

This

Or if that offends you, This

There now. EVERYONE’S happy.

Lately? Where have you been? There is hardly a day week that goes by I have not seen a need to check the yard for shanks, and hide the bullets.

It hasn’t been so bad for me either lately. Of course, I haven’t asked any questions about Indians wearing pajamas and slippers, either.

I guess I’ve missed it fortunately, and will continue to do so since I’ve decided to really scale down my time posting online. I need to spend more time getting my life back on track after a rough past year financially and emotionally. I’ve noticed that my group has gotten a bit smaller, and that several other frequent posting users are gone. Most of the new users who’ve ‘joined’ the collective seem to be invisible to me, so I’m not sure of they’re making up for the unfortunate losses on here.

Everyones group has gotten smaller. You’ll gain from the newer users if you put a little effort in.

This is funny! :D Thanks for the laugh!

@jonsblond What I meant was that I’ve noticed most of these new users never make any posts or write any questions, and if they do it’s usually only a few, then they disappear. Most of the new users appear to either be spam or banned users.

oops. I misunderstood @Paradox25

@PAradox Several jellies are on Quora now if that interests you.

@Paradox25 What I meant was that I’ve noticed most of these new users never make any posts or write any questions, and if they do it’s usually only a few, then they disappear.
Because they got smart after they got beat with the rubber hoses. Before they had to contend with being tarred and feathered while getting slapped in the head with large phone books they high-tailed it out off here.