For being bitterly disappointed at the language and attitudes of people on MN lately?

[CS1753]

I started using MN for support when I was going through hard times, hopefully supporting people when they were going through their hard times, learn new things, catch up with news etc. Lately however every thread I go on seems to be one big fight session. People are either being purposefully nasty or having a go at anyone who disagrees with their opinion - foul language included in the bundle. Is this really what this site is turning in to? Surely everyone is entitled to an opinion and surely if you don't agree and can't be mature about you should follow my mother's advice 'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all'.

IMHO the very best, most interesting, intelligent, witty and well argued 'heated' threads are the ones where there is little or no name calling.

Here here tigermoth!

madamez - just because your victim will survive, doesn't give you the right to take your aggression out on them.

agree, tigermoth.

Nightynight: and just because people are 'easily' offended doesn't give them the right to shut down all discussion of sensitive subjects.

ah that's a different issue!
imo, it isn't fair on the people involved, to hang a discussion of a sensitive issue onto specific families/people, especially if those people are likely to be very unhappy. The issue is better discussed in a neutral way, which may mean talking about it at a different time, or in a different place.

in general, if one is in the minority in wanting to say something that is likely to be unpopular, common sense dictates that it is more likely to be accepted if it is politely phrased.
after all, you want to get results, ie persuade people that your point of view is reasonable, don't you? Your objective is presumably not to ram home your right to annoy as many people as possible.
just my opinion.

Oh I don't know, sometimes I just want to annoy.

But couldn't we all spend our time more productively doing something else than scrapping on here?!!!

Nightynight: sometimes polite reason is appropriate, sometimes telling people to get a fucking life is the most useful approach. People's thresholds of offence are variable, and sometimes, with the irredeemably fuckwitted, a few choice insults at least put a smile on other people's faces. But no one has any kind of "right" never to be offended. SOmetimes, being offended is just life's way of pointing out that an individual needs a bit of a wake-up call, after all.

that is as good a justification for bullying as I have ever read.

bullying is horrid , a good heated debate is ok as long as it not nasty

Nightynight: in my book, internet bullying would be the repeated singling out of individuals for attack ie (with regard to internet discussions) hunting them across threads, starting threads saying "X is a moron/crook/bad parent/ugly", or sending them private messages/emails criticizing or insulting them.
Not disagreeing with someone, however robustly, or saying less than gracious things in the heat of an argument. Accusations of bullying are used, just as much as claims of being offended, to shut down disagreement and debate.

that would be repeated bullying.
Bringing a smile to the faces of one group of people, by insulting an individual, also counts as bullying imo.

as in Yah boo sucks, malory?

Nightynight: YABU = you are being unreasonable - though I don't know if Malory is addressing you or me.
And I don;t agree wtih your definition of bullying. If people can't accept being the butt of a joke when they've done something twatty, then they're really not going to get along very well in the world unless they can grow a slightly thicker skin.

I dont agree, obviously - people's definition of "twatty" or "fuckwit" is too different. And I am truly astonished that an adult person can think it is OK for a group to laugh at an individual if that individual makes it clear that they feel hurt.

I dont think there are a lot of terribly sensitive fuckwits around, actually, but there are a lot of normal ordinary people who dont like being insulted.

This thread has breached Internet protocol, please all report here immediately.

what a funny thread.

Now wheres the Boden chat??

The fly-fliers??
the other MN nutters?

lol 'twatty'
will def. try and use that word in RL tomorrow.

'irredeemably fuckwitted'

MN genius.

littlelapin -
is your name french for rabbit?

Are you french, or indeed, a rabbit?

also according to my baby name book 'Malory' is French for 'unlucky'
Do you find this is so, Malory?

and have you dusted the old cow collection tonight ktmoomoo???

and I have killed the thread!!

You can rely on Moi.