Don't Judge People Based On The Internet
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,674
Likes: 10
From: Myrtle Beach, SC
Don't Judge People Based On The Internet
I watched carefully from the sidelines how things spiraled downhill on Steve's (tenblade) thread about how to spend limited medical resources. I know several of the people who posted. As I watched some of the "attacks" go down, I thought to myself, "if these 2 people ever met they would be best friends in about 15 minutes. I guess my point is...don't judge people based on these posts. It's VERY difficult to get the persons inflection, body language, etc. There is no opportunity for real-time clarification or rebuttal. I've found myself in this situation here before. I concluded that person X was a butthead, only to meet them in person at a later date and found that they were terrific. I can't say that I've known Steve for years, but I've met him once or twice and he seems like good people. 
R steps down from soapbox:
R steps down from soapbox:
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 9,027
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From: Bowie
While I do think you can learn a lot about people from what they say when thinking out loud and posting off the cuff or in the heat of the moment (joking and all), I take your point. You'll be happy to know that Tenblade and I talked, kissed and made up off-line and appreciate and respect each other more now, thank you very much.
Now, as for some of the buttheads I HAVE met in person..........
I'm joking, I'm joking, honest!
PS: You know you like that soapbox, you little pontificator you!
Now, as for some of the buttheads I HAVE met in person..........
I'm joking, I'm joking, honest!
PS: You know you like that soapbox, you little pontificator you!
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 45,244
Likes: 4,146
From: Arlington, VA
You are right, Carmen. I can think of some instances myself where parties argued pretty vigorously online but ended up really liking each other in person. We discuss quite a few sensitive subjects here in Vintage...I think it is one of the reasons the forum is popular. I could be deluding myself. But it can have a downside as you noted. We have some strong personalities out here (count me as one of them). It's just a matter of respecting others and trying to remain calm while posting. Overall, I think everyone does a pretty good job of it. 
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