hello!? fathead started this whole bullsh't!? i was just doing my everyday thing...
good god ... i'm outa here
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I'll admit I only read the first 5 pages, but I don't think I have the stomach to read the rest. You'll have to forgive me for that. I can understand your dilemma skater. You should be able to freely express your opinion and state what you think is right or wrong, in your own rhetoric.
But...(you knew there was a but)... you can't really do what I described up above. Here on the internet we have to edit our posts several times before posting and sometimes feel like completely rational, mindless people. It is why it is best to really express what we feel outside and go on the internet only when we're bored (so we can answer tech questions and give opinions) or have a question to ask. I come here because I'm bored, and I admit most people after reading my slew of posts probably wouldn't like me either.
I edit my really long posts as much as 10 times before I post them but it still can sometimes look threatening to some people. That's another thing, choose your wording carefully. When we read things sentences flow together and depending even just on our moods they can either be positive towards us or negative, so we have to worry about things sounding negative to other people (read: not us) all the time. Sucks, doesn't it? Again that's why hanging out at these boards is really hard to do unless all you do is quote figures and facts and ask the occasional techie question.
Still, it can be fun, after all, it's about hardware right? Hardware in whatever shape or form is really a hobby for everyone here. Flaming isn't a hobby so that's why when someone flames the first time it spirals out of control because besides the two people who have done things to hurt each other, there are the spectators who are forced to read all of this stuff and they have to put their own word in. They have to come along and say "okay guys break it up" but the two original guys don't want to break it up, so they make enemies with the new guy, and on and on and on.
It's not even that simple. If a message board doesn't have enough fighting, pretty soon it will be dominated by the people who post the most, and eventually they will develop their own presence (kind of like the signature at the bottom of a message) along with a bunch of people who are friends of this guy. Since this guy talks so much, people can begin to hold grudges against this guy but keep saying to themselves "no, I can't flame, I can't start fights". So it becomes horribly unpleasant for people who want to make sure everyone is heard, but only a few people are really allowed to be heard. These people are labeled as "elitist" or having no life. I think everyone's seen a time when someone else on a message board was called an elitist...