Types attitude towards controversial threads that offend

[Such Irony]

I thought it was interesting that you seemed fairly unbiased in your analysis of the various groups of people, until you got to Group F, #2 group, and then felt the need to say that you thought they were psychologically unhealthy in contrast to all the other groups that you did not have a criticism for.

Do you think any of the other groups you've listed might also possess some psychologically unhealthy traits, or do you think those other behaviors are all benign in nature?

I think other groups can be psychologically unhealthy. It's unhealthy to be too avoidant of conflict just as it's unhealthy to seek out conflict for the purpose of offending. I guess the extremes are most likely to be psychologically unhealthy but the those taking a more middle of the road stance can still display unhealthy behaviors sometimes.

No one is in just one of these groups. The groups I listed are just tendencies I've seen in posting patterns among members of various forums I've visited. People can display posting patterns of several of these groups and sometimes their posting style can vary depending on the forum or the topic. On a more heavily moderated forum, someone might tone it down more than on a forum where 'anything goes.' What I meant when I said someone is in one of these listed groups, refers to their most common style.

I also think the anonymity of the Internet goes to peoples' heads at times. I'm talking mostly about trolls who say things just to get other people worked up. Do these people also act like jerks in real life? Maybe some do but not necessarily to the degree they would on the Internet.

 

[Viridian]

you forgot option G... posts in the thread just for the pure joy of making fun of those participating in the thread and making a mockery of all things held good and holy by the people who are arguing back and forth, for example, discussing penises

otherwise, it just depends on the topic and whether I think that the other posters are being melodramatic and silly or not... they usually are and it makes me laugh ... if it's a topic I actually care about I will participate in earnest and it depends as to how I deal with my level of offensiveness on the topic

And its corollary, G.2 - nonchalantly adopting a position of intellectual aloofness and dismissal of any viewpoints in order to prove you're above silly things like positions or *snert* ideals. :bookish:

 

[Randomnity]

When a thread has becomes a pissing contest, it's just more productive to make a mockery of the whole thing by talking about penises.

Yeah, I pick this option too.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

I see myself in A-C.... If a thread has just become over the top insulting one another instead of debating I won't post....BECAUSE... One of two things always happen. 1.) My post is completely ignored because people are busy waiting on the other person's response to insult them. 2.) I get insulted for whatever my stance happened to be. If someone has stated something, and they are being attacked for it...and I can tell it's obviously misunderstood (they've tried to explain themselves in a better way) I will step in and try to smooth things over. C really only applies when a thread has first started and people aren't being nasty and vicious yet.

 

[yenom]

Man, I love being part of the F group.

Proud member of category F.

 

[garbage]

Oh, yeah. If I'm part of a group and comments (especially negative) are made about the group, I'll chime in with my perception. As helpful as it can be to see how we're perceived from the outside, and although those comments could be rooted in a well-understood perception of those groups, they can often use some clarification--so, I may as well speak "from the horse's mouth" to clear the air, spread awareness, get at the truth, etc. That is, I don't mind directly defending myself at all with respect to controversial topics that I actually have some personal stake in; in any other case, I'm much more neutral.

This assumes that the other person has signaled that they're actually halfway attempting to understand the thing that they currently have a negative opinion about. If not.. then, yeah, talking about penises is more productive than trying to persuade them.