The line between debate and confrontation

S

Strubes

It's very clear to me, as I'm sure it's clear to all of you, that there's alot of confrontation and personal arguments going on around the boards instead of pure debate. Words are being thrown at eachother...even if they're not curse words (i.e. idiot, retarted, etc) and there's an uneasy atmosphere around here. I think BV said in one of his posts that this should be a place where anyone and everyone should be allowed to voice their opinion without being flamed and attacked by others. Because of all the recent confrontations (me being guilty as well), I just want everyone to know that I respect all of your opinions. I'm going to heavily cut down on any words being thrown at others, and also, you will NEVER see a personal attack from me to another member of this forum. Guitarwizard's also taken a step in the right direction with me as we've decided to cut down on the harshness of our debates. So, I'm here to ask two questions:

1. Are you willing to help make this site better, not just for us, but for every visitor that comes to the site as well?

2. If so, where do we draw the line between a healthy debate and a bad confrontation?

I don't want to come off as saying I'm better than anyone, or that I'm more mature, but I just thought I needed to post a topic on this.
 
I agree. And I too will go along with this. Although I don't use foul lnguage, I do come off as being sarcastic. But that's how my sense of humor runs.

1. Are you willing to help make this site better, not just for us, but for every visitor that comes to the site as well?
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Yes. Integrity is everything. And with that the image of high integrity. If there is compromise, then it's all for not.

2. If so, where do we draw the line between a healthy debate and a bad confrontation?
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I think the line has already been drawn by the forum rules. Heated debate is not wrong. It's the words used that can be harmful. And I think that the only thing that can be changed is by having the mods bite more often and bark less often (not trying to offend the mods, just making an observation). I do see a lot of warnings being thrown around, but rarely do I see any action on repeat offenders. But that could just be me...

In the end, it's going to be high faith high trust on the forum members, and maybe a little more punch from the mods.
 
I will help as well. Not only because it's a good idea, but also because everytime I say my opinion I feel like..geez people hate me here.( Which some probably do but ) We do need better stuff here.
 
Hey we may not all agree on the same things, or share the same opinions and thoughts, but that doesn't mean we all can't respect each other and have some fun here.

I've seen much, much worse than this before on other forums. It has consequently forced me to leave other forums. This forum however, despite the recent hostility has done a great job of addressing the hostility and taken steps to remedy it.

Let's keep things fun, free, and easy here. There's enough tension and hostility in all our lives away from this forum, let's use this forum to help ease that tension and just enjoy each others thoughts and opinions, and darn it just have some fun. :D
 
Death_By_Pumpkins said:
I feel like..geez people hate me here.( Which some probably do but ) We do need better stuff here.
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that's simply not true Squash Man, I mean...Pumpkins

I do feel like some lines have been crossed here and I apologize if I've taken part in any flaming or degrading of this forum's members

I think a key factor in when the debate line is crossed is when one side downplays the other sides opinion and expresses their point of view in a shrewd and disrespectful manner becoming antagonistic and can be easily characterized by foul language

I will do my part to keep debates from raging out of control
 
Nothing that transpires here can really be termed "debate."  :lol

We argue, plain and simple. But it's all in good fun. Most people here are respectful, and while opinions are thrown around a lot disagreements *usually* do not carry over into multiple threads, which in my opinion is the most important thing. To disagree with someone's opinion on one subject is perfectly fine, but to disagree with one person because of their particular views on one subject is completely wrong.

Heated arguements are not against the rules, and can be quite interesting, but if they start to carry over into other threads... that's when problems start to arise. If you can draw the line there, you can avoid most conflicts.

However, certain threads can spiral out of control, and often the case with those is simple misunderstanding. It's important to remain somewhat separate of the arguement you're in (take a step back, don't take it personally), and thus you can avoid getting into petty squabbles. Stick to the issues being discussed, be respectful of other people's opinions, and (most importantly) make sure you always bring a sense of humor.  :lol

The problem with language in general is that it is quite nebulous. And what I mean by that is... the word "rock" can have several different meanings based on the context it's used in and the person using it. A geologist describing a cliff face does not think of the word "rock" the same way a minister does when speaking of Peter the disciple. The written word is especially problematic like this, and a lot of the time miscommunications are the root of disagreements. Just be aware that the intended meaning of a post may not mean exactly what you think it means, and the thread can more easily remain on topic.
 
I don't know about anyone else, but I think that if you feel like confronting someone about something, that you take it up with them privately, just to make it easier on eveything else. As for debate...it's a tricky subject. I love debate but when I am doing so I can be very blunt, I mean blunter than I usually am, and that can hurt some people without meaning too.

It all comes down to how a person perseives something...
 
^^^ :?

Anyways, I agree with Pumpkins that people do not usually interpret the tone of others correctly or make it so others can interpret their tone. I actually read a report on that, I'll try to find it. Interesting stuff. Basically, most people assume others take something they wrote as they intended, but in fact most people do not.
 
It's the internet. Take it easy. It's just some dude on a computer.
 
we're all gamers...I don't think there's going to be much problem. Pretty much every gamer I know is too laid back to get all in a tizzy about something.
 
Dray said:
I don't know, I've seen some Halo 2 mutiplayer matches that got ugly
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The voice chat both greatly enhanced and greatly depleted my love for the title, depending on who I was playing with. Sigh.
 
Sartori said:
It's the internet. Take it easy. It's just some dude on a computer.
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If this is supposed to be a family-friendly site and we live by that...then we're not gonna have too many family-friendly visitors or members. :-\
 
Dray said:
I don't know, I've seen some Halo 2 mutiplayer matches that got ugly
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I hear you. I hate it when I'm in a match and the person kills me ( maybe even gets a double kill) and yells, swears and brags about it. Drives me up the wall. Especially if I'm winning and they call me a n00b. Yesterday these english chaps were bragging every kill they got (double team) and the one goes "hey there's one n00b near the jeep." i replied "I didn't know they had jeeps in this game."
 
Lol...I actually like the smack talkers, they make it just that much more satisfying when you crush their spirit.
 
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