MB board and usage

[K K Rossokolski]

It is largely us "lifers", to use a US Army term, who are responsible for the mess, individually, collectively or both. Let's try and get back on the rails...and that does not preclude robust debate.

[Mike Abberton]

Part of the problem is that "witty" and "ironic", which might be fine in face-to-face conversation usually come across as sarcastic, annoying, insulting, etc. when written on a message board.

And that goes triple when your being witty and ironic to someone with whom you have had past run-ins or ongoing issues even if you really are trying to be witty and ironic and not just trying to :censored: someone off while looking like your witty and ironic.

Oh, and if at any time you feel the need to qualify an upcoming sentence with "Now don't take this personally" or "I don't want to insult anyone, but" or something like that.. :eek1: ..just stop typing, don't hit "Post Reply", walk away from the computer, and come back in 30 mins. Hopefully that next sentence won't seem like such a good idea at that point, and you'll be able to rephrase it without needing the qualifier.

Mike

[Kool Kat]

I think that a good indiction of Hijacking behaviour is the number quotes used in a single post

I am inclined to disagree.

It is a valid method of discussion, allowing one to focus on the subject matter being discussed while weeding out the unnecessary information.

Jason Petho

Jason:

I understand your point and it is valid to a point... however; breaking apart an individual's post to comment on EVERY sentence EVERY time and then continuing to utilize this "tactic" on EVERY reply is annoying behavior in my book. :mad:

Everything in moderation? :chin:

Again, think before pushing the Post Reply button? :smoke:

[zeiss]

I understand your point and it is valid to a point... however; breaking apart an individual's post to comment on EVERY sentence EVERY time and then continuing to utilize this "tactic" on EVERY reply is annoying behavior in my book. :mad:

Quite right. Overusing the quote button to post a long list of one-liners is considered bad netiquette. It's a pain to read and things can easily be taken out of context, which is usually the point with over-quoting..

[von Krieg]

Something I've learned as the original arbiter of what was allowed and not allowed on the club message boards... In the heat of the moment, don't lose perspective... As has been mentioned, let something go 24 hours to let reason prevail if it is something that pushes your buttons... argument for the sake of argument is self-defeating to the goal of creating a friendly environment for all...

Respect and open dialogue should be our goal; which means we each need to control ourselves at times... don't readily give offense when none is meant... and don't readily seek offense when none was intended...

We are a community of individuals who share a common passion with wargaming and history.... There are many ways to look at something and our way is not necessarily the only way... We should come together in such a manner as to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives...

Regards,

Jim "Lawrence of Iraq von Krieg"

[Glint]

Well said Jim!
regards
Peter

[K K Rossokolski]

Part of the problem is that "witty" and "ironic", which might be fine in face-to-face conversation usually come across as sarcastic, annoying, insulting, etc. when written on a message board.

I think you are getting into a very tricky area here. Humour, irony etc are totally subjective qualities. Are you suggesting we not employ them? An attempt at humour that fails can destroy an argument quicker than anything I know.

[Von Earlmann]

I would contribute to more threads if I knew I wouldn't be boiled and tarred for trying..

Dev,
That really you........I saw a few posts by Red Devil but hadn't seen or heard from you for so long thot probably you had faded away as it were ( yes this is an attempt at humor no reply required :-))

Anyway if we didn't agitate each other,and contribute to the posts on this message board, how the hell could we ever catch up with the CM board? You can usually tell when I am being facetious because I use the :-)

If you can't laugh at yourself you can't laugh.......and don't take yourself to seriously...........hell no one else does :-)

VE

[RedDevil]

Yep it's me Earl,
You know I still need to get up your way for that lobster and Pat's Cooking :) I've seen your pic and I know she's a good cook!

I laugh at it all now & After taking a break for a year the games seem fresh and interesting again, just like the people here LOL

[Mike Abberton]

KKR,

I think it is possible to inject some humour into a post, but the tricky part is doing so that:

A) everyone knows it's a joke. And assuming we are talking about a vigorous debate thread, that should include not just your buddies or routine opponents who have some feel for your written sense of humour, but particularly people you either have bad history with on the MB or with whom you are engaged in vigorous debate. And,

B) there is not an obvious (although perhaps unstated) butt of the joke, except maybe yourself.

Sort of like I said before, if you have pre-qualify a comment that it's just a joke, it's probably better to skip it entirely or re-phrase it so it doesn't need the pre-qualification. For every joke that defused a tense situation with laughs all around, there is probably another one that made one side or the other feel they were being mocked

As always, my thoughts only, and your mileage may vary,
Mike

P.S. By the way, the whole mileage thing was just a joke to lighten the mood. :)

P.P.S. Oops, now I just violated my own rules by having to qualify that it was a joke.