Negative impact

[Charlie Gonzales]

I really feal sorry for Bill right now. With a struggling economy the last thing Bill needs right now is a bad public image when it comes to this board. Take a look at Blantons board and how people respect it, its a sharing of information. Where would we all go without this board? Can we all just forget our personal agendas and give Bill some respect(and yes I have been guilty of the same crime).

[Bob Laskodi]

Exactly my point that I made at the end of Ed's thread. This place is starting to look like that old NorCal oriented board that used to have many, many posts to read. I would really hate for this place to go down that same old sorry path. But sadly, it looks like it is.

[Scott V]

I agree Charlie, and I should have probably kept my opinion to myself in my last post on the fish handling. I will do my best to not fuel any fires. I just need to get out and fish more.

[burl51]

Why don"t we all think before we open our mouths. or (start typing).
We are all in this together. This is about having fun.
Like our mothers always said if ya can't say anything nice keep your
freekin mouth shut..........

[Scott V]

Why don"t we all think before we open our mouths. or (start typing).
We are all in this together. This is about having fun.
Like our mothers always said if ya can't say anything nice keep your
freekin mouth shut..........

Actually burl, I believe it was Thumpers mother that said "If you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all. Just a little Disney humor there, sorry.:D

[Fats]

Self regulation is the best, but it is the hardest to maintain. Forums grow over time... regulars come, become known and you can begin to fill in the gaps because you "know" the other people involved in the conversation. Even with that when new folks come in it changes. Forums are dynamic places.

It always gets difficult when strong opinions bump heads... and it is easy to hide behind a keyboard and be a "tough guy."

Just a question... how many moderators are on the board besides Bill? A set of level headed mods can do quite a lot when it comes to keeping the peace as well...

This board ain't my first rodeo....

For what it's worth, I'll try my hardest to make sure that I don't offend.

[Phil Synhorst]

I think/hope that very recently the learning curve has gone up. Myself included.

[bonneville54]

After reading about Bill's consternation and some of the more vitriolic, so to speak, posts, I wondered a bit more about the idea of the online personality and who we truly are online.

Recently, I came across an article discussing what the author called Online Dis-Inhibition That is, the fact that people say and do things online that they wouldn’t normally do in the real world. If I understood the writer, he breaks down this Dis-Inhibition into two camps. 1st, Benign Dis-Inhibition, where unusual acts of kindness and generosity are shown, where personal things are shared…..feelings, emotions, fears and so on. I see that often here.

Then there is – get this – Toxic Dis-Inhibition. A place of rude language, harsh criticisms, even anger and hatred. Perhaps the toxic version is an online catharsis, a blind acting out of unsavory needs and wishes. A place where one searches the darker corners of the ‘net for their own nefarious needs.
Some factors as to why people are less inhibited online seem obvious at first glance, but are kinda interesting nonetheless.

You Don’t Know Me – Most other inmates can’t easily tell who you are and there lies the opportunity to separate ones actions online from ones real world persona, that is, no need to acknowledge ones behavior within the context who one “really” is.

You Can’t See Me – Pretty much that same as above except that this invisibility bumps up the courage a notch, I suppose.

It’s Just A Game – The idea that the imaginary character created for a DB isn’t real because “online” isn’t real. It’s a game with different rules than real life, no responsibility needed for ones actions in make-believe.

I dunno, there’s a bunch more, the Equalization of Authority (we're all experts here) which rather than extolling the traditional internet philosophy of everyone as an equal, peers sharing ideas and so on, becomes a chance to challenge authority under anonymity.

It’s fascinating to try and understand one another from the tiny shreds of fact that one bares about themselves. Can we learn anything about the cultural and personal values of a poster from these dis-inhibited postings. I wonder. Has anyone’s mind ever been changed in a significant way by the brief tit for tat sparring? I pretty sure about that one.

Someone once said, “Everywhere I go on the internet, I keep bumping into………..ME!