Discussion about acceptable styles of argument in VPT

[David]

Admirable restraint and good humour, chaps and chapettes. Things were looking a bit dicey towards the end of page 7, but it was followed by one of the all time great page 8s. Consider yourselves unignored.

[think positive]

Bugger

How do I offend you again?

God knows, your hard to offend

[luvdids]

No argument.

I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy at the spirit of congeniality I may have to empty my ignore list and embrace the differences.

Or that may just be the red wine. See how I pull up in the morning, If I wake up in a shitty mood I may put everyone on ignore.

or luvdids water!!

It WAS the water!!

[think positive]

Ok, here's the deal.

Nick's BB has over 4000 active members. It is not a community solely for people who think the same, talk the same or have the same interests (apart from Collingwood, naturally). That means that we need to be able to tolerate a broad spectrum of personalities and viewpoints. It goes without saying that you will not get on with some people and you will not like some people. All we as moderators ask is that discussions be respectful, topic-focused and free from bullying, abuse or other inappropriate behaviour.

Here are things that are clearly against the rules. In an ideal world, they will be censored ('snipped') from your posts every time. If it doesn't happen, it means that we've failed to enforce the rule, not that it's acceptable.

1. Name-calling

The purpose of name-calling is to discredit a person's argument by giving the writer a label with negative connotations.

Examples:
"Get over it, Princess."
"Nice logic, George W."
"Steve, you utter turnip."
"Darryl, you're a nasty old man."

None of these deal with the argument at hand; all function as shorthand personal attacks. All are unacceptable, and repeat offenders from hereon in will be on notice. If you feel like you want to express these sentiments, a somewhat more acceptable way is to refer to the behaviour, not the person. But even then, we encourage people to keep off-topic posting to a minimum.

2. Personal attacks/observations

Lengthy screeds offering analyses of posters' shortcomings, personal circumstances or psychiatric state are unnecessary and, in any event, off-topic.

Examples:

"Your need to feel superior to others in your personal life is spilling over into this forum."
"You'll think differently when you get a job and enter the real world."

3) Bullying and 'alliances'

We've all been there. Don't do it.

Example:

Poster A: "David, it's about time you learned some basic history."
Poster B: "Ha, that'll be the day."
Poster C: "Couldn't agree more. You are both great by the way."

4. Abuse

This one goes without saying, surely.

On the other hand, here are a couple of things that are not necessarily against the rules but will still be monitored:

1. Sarcasm

Sarcasm is a legitimate mode of expression, but it can be overused. It is, as they say, the lowest form of wit, and it does tend to piss other people off. I generally attempt to avoid sarcasm in my personal relationships, and if it's meant more as a put-down than a wry attempt at humour I'd advise against it.

Good sarcasm:
"Of course, as we know, the Liberal Party has always championed the rights of the disadvantaged."

"David, you would never advocate for wealth redistribution, would you? "

Bad sarcasm:
"Of course, a genius like yourself won't have any trouble understanding this."

2. 'Belittling' language

Put-downs and other active forms of belittlement are unacceptable. But it's not necessarily our role as moderators to protect you because somebody's using too many big words or making you feel uneducated by quoting too many poststructuralist philosophers.

3. Expressing extreme political views

We generally believe in freedom of expression here on Nick's, so long as posts are not overtly racist, misogynistic, homophobic, fat-shaming etc. Beyond that, the fact that someone has expressed something that you consider to be offensive or oppressive to minorities does not give you the right to break the other rules I've alluded to. On this forum, community comes first, and respectful discussion is an essential part of that. If you feel like someone has crossed the line, feel free to report their post; otherwise, you are expected to reply within the boundaries of acceptable discussion on here.

Finally: the ignore list. If you really can't stand someone and find yourself involuntarily grinding your teeth every time you see them post, it's probably time for the ignore list. You are encouraged not to broadcast your decision, as tempting as it may be; just click and move on, and for god's sake control your desire to still pass negative commentary on that poster in the future.

Sorry if the website's bbcode makes this function unwieldy, but it's the best we can do. If that's not satisfactory, grit your teeth and scroll for your life.

I hope that helps. Now can we please, for the love of Mike, try to be a little more civil to each other?

ghehehe!! the good old days! i just found an unopened message about this post!!

[stui magpie]

@think positive , nice bump. Wow, almost 9 years ago.

Maybe we could round some of the olds who posted in this and settle some arguments in a physical manner, A Nicks Inaugural Jousting contest.

Competitors push their walkers toward each other in opposite lanes of a nursing home hallway and try to poke each other with their walking sticks. First to fall over loses the contest.

[think positive]

Yeah,nah, there is a couple I’m more than happy to keep in the rear view mirror!

Although I’d have a fighting chance if it’s hereditary, my mum on herwalker chucked a lit cigarette into the gas bottle room when she got sprung smoking inside the home, from her wheel chair she tossed a full cup of coffee over an enemy, and another time launched out offer hair and attacked the woman - she told me she wanted to say hi, and then just bam! She was damn nuts!

[stui magpie]

Nah, I'd pay to watch WPT vs Tannin.

WPT with a "Wide Load" sticker on his arse, wearing his bicycle gear and using a pedal powered walker vs Tannin who's coming from the other end holding his walking stick under his armpit while in one hand he has a cup of tea and the other holding a rhubarb crumble, with a ginormous possum sitting on his head.

[think positive]

Hey the crumble wins, it’s incredible, the man can cook!

[pietillidie]

This thread is hilarious. Everyone else can still bugger off retrospectively, though!

[David]

Damn I was a good mod, back when I cared

[think positive]

Damn I was a good mod, back when I cared

yeah nah!