I've said it before: one should never say anything online that would get him a punch in the mouth in person.

Clearly, some of us live in civilized societies. I imagine in those places, a call to 911 gets a response in less than an hour. Even then, Im sure it will be; "Just the facts, 'mam." kind of response.

In places where you have to rely on your own initiative and protection, you have to set personal boundaries. This becomes our common culture and the makeup of our common sense. Over time, some of us have moved to more civilized areas.

Don't insult any one you don't know personally and well. If you do, fire away; chances are they deserve it. Else;

a. They might take it personally and defend himself physically.
b. invariably, he has family. They may not like it either.
c. You have family. What you say and do reflects on them too. They may have to pay the price for you.
d. Chances are you all have the same hardware or feed store.

The internet is an emotional crutch. It allows even the most stupid, to express any nonsense at any time, without the threat of retribution.

Show some wisdom and some character.

If you're a sociopath, then of course, none of this applies.


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Welcome to Arizona; where brandishing isn't an offense, is a way of life.

"Don't insult any one you don't know personally and well. If you do, fire away; chances are they deserve it." WR

Remove "personally" and you're good. With the benefit of the web & to some extent, the news we've gotten to know the behavior of many people well enough to praise or condemn. We praise heroism & humility, we condemn incompetence and arrogance even here. It's not confined to politics,

Condemnation of bad behavior is integral to this thread. Continued frustration with someone's behavior can prompt another put down. When we're assaulted verbally it's as natural to fight back as it is to turn the other cheek. Ad hominem attack stuff is juvenile & should be easy to dismiss but it's hard not to feel it. Forcing the instigator to cool his heels on the bench for a while's fine by me.

Then:

Its okay to insult anyone you dont know personally but well enough to think you can get away with it.

Yes it's OK, and it has nothing at all to do with "getting away with it." It has to do with their behavior, especially as it affects not just yourself but any larger group. E.g. I will continue to insult Holocaust deniers as vicious & stupid cavemen. Should I meet one in person & push comes to shove, I'd shove back.

Inhumanity and overly aggressive behavior behind the keyboard doesn't get a pass just because you haven't been formally introduced.

Okay Dennis, I get it. I didn't know you were on the receiving end of someone else initiating it.

Standing up for someone else is a different thread.

Well, I read a lot of posts here; but have only posted a handful myself. In every case, I’ve only received friendly and helpful information. I have not witnessed the ugly exchanges you’re reporting here, so I assume it was a fairly isolated incident. From that perspective, BT has been a great source of information, advice, and friendship. Thanks for putting it together.

Tommy,
You are correct, I don't know the numbers, but I'd say less than a very small fraction of all the threads on BT include any derogatory, rude or inflammatory comments. But, it's like a bad apple ruining the bunch. And, we have such a great team of moderators and administrators (Jeff C, Jeff S.) that they know they need to address it now before it grows to be a big problem. I think this proactive approach to nip it in the bud is the only way to keep BT the civil community that we have all come to love and appreciate.

In the short span of four days BeechTalk went from being the first site I look at in the morning to irrelevant.

I believe we should all be part of the solution....

Not add to the problem, as a group we can achieve anything.

GB

...even complete sentences.

Excuse me, but what world do you live in? Everything is circumstantial. Sure, you might insult a holocaust denier at a tax preparers convention. However, you might decide to hold your tongue at a half-way house community outreach if the denier was a 250lb. MMA fighter just released from prison.

The only universal truth is everyone's a bad ass on the Internet.

I haven never seen so many grown men talk about their feelings lol and such long responses. And people wonder where the millenials get it. Lol I'll do my best to keep with the vision as well. I totally agree!

I maintain that people are who they really are at their core, when they're on the internet.

They can abandon all social requirements and just be themselves.

I always shake my head when I read - you should meet so & so in really life, they're much nicer!

Really?

I've met quite a few of my virtual friends in real life (mostly fishing/hunting boards but a couple BT/POA sorts) and they are pretty much like they are on-line.

What I have noticed is the one's that are less than civil on-line simply don't show up for a face to face meeting even when it's an easy thing to do.

I'm good with that.