Originally Posted by
jfowler85
I.e., it's an internet forum, get used to it. Compared with other forums I have visited, bf is well policed and very well organized. I would say that the troll spats here are relatively tame and not worth fretting over.
ChewyBrian's post
#26 hits the nail on the head. I'm not concerned so much with the negativity posted, though I think it darkens the forum when it happens. I'm more concerned with this game of getting the mods to move threads to P&R when they "touch on" politics, and then baiting discussions with politically-oriented comments to inflame a political discussion. It's wrong to complain about something and then provoke it for the sake of getting it banned.
Originally Posted by
kickstart
I didn't receive any censure from the mods, or PMs. I made no complaints to the mods, and a few commented that I shouldn't be bothered by the harsher comments that weren't directed at me. They may not have been aimed, but they still struck none the less.
Someone mentioned their displeasure with how many non regulars would come in, drop a bomb, and leave. That tells me a lot. They visit, get turned off by the judgmental P&R content, make a parting comment, and leave for good.
I'm glad for the shakeup, LCF deserves to be more than somewhere to be measured and found wanting by the faithful.
What if these posters dropping by briefly to 'drop a bomb' before leaving in this way are automotive lobbyists, unionists, or others who are more interested in ruining discussions on these topics than in expressing their point of view? If they are against car-free politics, why don't they post an anti-LCF forum somewhere and post invitations for LCF posters to come argue with them there about the benefits of automotivism? Why do they need to cause problems for LCF?
As for comments not directed at you, 'but which strike nonetheless,' that actually describes how I feel when I read most of your posts. They typically take something that I've been careful to say in a constructive way and re-interpret them as some kind of negativity-bomb, and then make a personal reaction that makes me feel like a mean person for having opinions. You can't take things that people say personally unless they're worded and/or intended that way. You have to give people room to express opinions that differ from yours and then just explain your reasons for disagreeing with them. Don't accuse them of hurting you personally for saying anything you disagree with. That's using emotion as a weapon in discussion.
Like with your comment that by suggesting anyone be free to perform blue collar labor, I am hurtfully threatening the job-territory of blue collar workers. That is so mean to frame in that way. Imagine if you wanted to be free to do something like, say, fishing on a public pier, and others fishing there approached you to tell you how threatening it was that you dared encroach on their fishing territory. They would basically be bullying you off the pier while blaming the victim, as if you were the one bullying them by showing up on the pier in the first place. Incredibly mean tactic.