[thejakeman]

Originally Posted by Schwarzd354

Jakeman, I don't believe that people can decide whether or not to be upset by something. Emotions are, by their nature, not an intellectual process. And yes, escalation is a two way street. But so is compromise and understanding.

but is this not the entire point of being self aware and civilized? to learn to control our emotions?

I feel I must ask, why should I be required to assume that people are joking? I personally tend towards a more serious slant in my life. I'm not saying no one should make jokes on this or any forum, I've seen some rather good internet humor. I'm am not asking anyone to accommodate me, but I feel that there is an equal responsibility on the part of both the poster and the reader to make an effort to ensure the message is clear.

because it will save you hours of grief over things you can't control.
especially on the internet.

I felt I made it clear that I support everyone's right to freedom of speech. I place no restrictions on that right. However, there is such a thing as social awareness. If someone's mother died, it would be inappropriate to walk up to them and say "Yo mamma is so fat, her grave needs it's own zip code." Would I stop someone from doing that? No. It is their right to do so. However, I would say that it is inappropriate and a sign of poor judgment.

great. so it's just an opinion of yours.

I will admit that there is more social interaction on the internet than in real life, if only because of they ability to converse with more people. And while I could avoid people online, or use the ignore feature. I choose not to, because I feel it would impinge upon their right to free speech. Perhaps I was not clear in what I said, so let me try again. I go online to find more people who share my point of view. I know that I will not fully escape people I wish to stop dealing with, nor do I really intend to. But one reason I began this thread was to resolve and find compromise with some of the problems I have had with interacting with people on this site.

really? your first post here just looked like your opinion on trolls. the first post of yours that i read had you viciously attacking another poster for a fairly obvious joke. the joke wasn't directed at you, so i would say that you made that an issue. no one is starting fights with you.

Finally, Jakeman, your closing comment to Clickme supports my point. This is the beginning of what has occurred on countless other threads. I'm not saying your opinion or reaction is wrong, nor am I saying that about Clickme's statement. But the way you each have handled your expressing your point is almost guaranteed to provoke the other into a similar reaction. And perhaps guaranteed is the wrong word, but using any other thread as evidence, this is the textbook beginning of the degeneration of a thread.

hey, if he chooses to get annoyed at me, that's his choice. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy here. i don't pretend to be anything other than what i am, it is other people who choose to label me. i have never called myself an intellectual, or a troll, or so on, it is only others who foist these labels upon me. clickme has a very well defined self-image that he reiterates about once a week as a "nice guy" who is always courteous and will always be your friend, unless you try to hurt his friends, which is when he'll raise an arm in protest. also, he may always be friends with chicks, but never get reciprocation. taruby wrote a rather good post concerning the negative effects of acting (or believing you act) this way. clickme balked at this, since the entire point of being a "nice guy" is to avoid having any negative effects on the world around you, and refused to believe it even while he displayed a bunch of those behaviors. so me and click go way back. i'm trying to prod him into a more assertive sort of person and he rebuffs the idea as somehow being detrimental to the world around him. one of these days i'll get him to realize that HE is the most important person in HIS life, not all of the people he grovels obsequiously to.