I am disappointed

@kewpie said
I am disappointed to see what these forums have become.

I see posters whom I consider friends attacking each other in public. I see nasty little cliques forming in both public and private forums. I see posters getting a ton of thumb-downs for legitimate posts. What I don't see is threads and posts which are even mildly interesting, funny or thought-provoking.
This is no longer a real forum.

The trolls and persistent contrarians know who they are. And so do we!

Witty banter is one thing, but constant and bitter interjections of spite have derailed many attempts to have mature conversation in this forum.
Unfortunately, one can bet that that's not changing any time soon.











Wait for it...

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Pot, Kettle, Black.

You know the rest.

@torunn said
I don't think we should have thumbs up/down - if we have something to say we should say it.

You yourself have experienced the attacks, the demeaning denigration, the crusade that some here launch into whenever they see someone disagreeing with them, no matter the level of disagreement.

"Saying it" leads to exhaustion when those attacks continue even after you leave the futile discussion. For many, signaling one's disagreement anonymously is vital to avoid the avalanche of nasty posting that follows. Because grudges are held by these people and it becomes all they can talk about. Soon, people say "Why bother?" and the valid criticism most have starts to drop off because the constant crusade against them is just too much for a casual comment on a casual website. This is what eventually got the Duchess banned. She never differentiated her viciousness, she attacked even those expressing support for her "side".

The thumbs system is vital for those who wish to show their disapproval without enduring a campaign of lies and endless friction merely for stating one's opinion.

-Removed-

Enjoy your crusade.

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You understand that sentence was itself hypocritical,...right?

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Were you his mentor?

-VR

-Removed-

You know the sad part here?

I use to be YOU...at least the way you are acting!

-VR