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If you use an @yahoo.com email or any related Yahoo services, they have blocked us also due to "user complaints"
-UE
Sarcastic macros when a thread has barely started
-Do not get carried away with drama in this thread about specific other threads. Be conscientious.-
When people make a serious attempt to start a discussion on something potentially controversial, I find it incredibly rude when the first/second/third posts are baity macros that don't add anything to the discussion other than that person's cheeky attitude.
Sometimes I really feel like the rule about not posting unless you have something constructive to add (at least to serious threads) goes unnoticed a lot, and it's detrimental to those that were actually seeking to have a serious discussion.
I wanted to make this thread a few times in the past, but I guess now's as good a time as any, when I haven't personally seen this happening in a while, though experiences do vary and all that jazz, so it couldn't hurt to talk about it.
When people make a serious attempt to start a discussion on something potentially controversial, I find it incredibly rude when the first/second/third posts are baity macros that don't add anything to the discussion other than that person's cheeky attitude.
Sometimes I really feel like the rule about not posting unless you have something constructive to add (at least to serious threads) goes unnoticed a lot, and it's detrimental to those that were actually seeking to have a serious discussion.
I wanted to make this thread a few times in the past, but I guess now's as good a time as any, when I haven't personally seen this happening in a while, though experiences do vary and all that jazz, so it couldn't hurt to talk about it.
Comments
<3 you waltzy
> <3 you waltzy
... :> oh u.
I considered making an inb4-like statement in the OP but I thought that might be too encouraging. ~////~;; I see now that it doesn't matter. XD
But yeah, that's the gist of it. Observe how just one macro of Vivi's has rewritten the tone of the thread. As I type this I wouldn't be surprised if one more had appeared.
When people make a serious attempt to start a discussion on something potentially controversial, I find it incredibly rude when the first/second/third posts are baity macros that don't add anything to the discussion other than that person's cheeky attitude.
Sometimes I really feel like the rule about not posting unless you have something constructive to add (at least to serious threads) goes unnoticed a lot, and it's detrimental to those that were actually seeking to have a serious discussion.
I totally agree with you there. I am not a fan of disparaging image macros in general because I feel like they rarely do anything productive at all. Some days I actually wonder if there are too many negative reaction images and not enough positive ones.
I think a good rule of thumb is to respect more serious conversations when they happen. That does not mean that humor may not be helpful even in those threads, just that when employed it should not be used in a discouraging manner. I think that using the image macros you mentioned helps support the idea that good conversations about certain controversial issues are impossible, thus discouraging people from making an effort to contribute to them in the future and creating a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
"When people make a serious attempt to start a discussion on something potentially controversial, I find it incredibly rude when the first/second/third posts are baity macros that don't add anything to the discussion other than that person's cheeky attitude."
It comes off as smug and hypocritical. I am reminded of the old IJBM where people that used these macros constantly acted like they are the ones smart enough to avoid drama when they were the ones causing it in the first place. Kind of like people who go into a thread just to say "I don't care".
I personally think that nothing gets the point across more that a thread is stupid or irrelevant than the thread having no responses.
;_;
Not wanting to make it a "do or don't for this/that" kind of thing was what I was worried about too, because every situation is different and really it just comes down to using a little bit of common sense.
I guess a TL;DR of this whole issue would be that there's a time and a place for everything, and that's all I really wanted to point out. <3
It's perhaps not so much the image macros that are the problem as the attitude behind them of "I don't like this; I will shoot it down with snidery (if that's a word)." It's human nature; but I agree that we should just not be posting if we don't like the thread.
And if you insist on posting, it is perversely more polite to actually say in words why you think the thread sucks. This at least suggests you've given it proper thought.
I'm not anti-image macros, they're often really funny, but there's a time and a place for them.
It was predictable, but that doesn't make it any less amusing.
"It was predictable, but that doesn't make it any less amusing."
Indeed. What makes it less amusing is it cheapens the discussion.
"or in cases where the OP didn't have a Chagen-like opinion."
Admittedly, in cases where the thread is clearly exporting drama from another one, it might as well be considered an extension of the original thread. Or if the thread happens to be based on a Point Refuted A Thousand Times, then I see no reason why people have to try refuting it yet again.