Originally Posted by
cubewheels
How can I lighten up when someone assumes I'm doing really stupid things with the bike and having all sorts of horrible problems when I had none of those problems in reality? That would be false accusations..
"Lighten up" means, Take things less seriously.
This is Bike Forums. people will argue if you say a bicycle has two wheels. Peole will ridicule you no matter what you say, because of their personal issues.
The key, I have learned after thousands of argumentative posts and a few bans from the moderators, is to not take other people too seriously, and to not take myself too seriously.
You've seen the cartoon of the guy up at three a.m., exhausted but frantically typing, telling his wife he can't go to bed yet because "Someone was wrong on the Internet!!!" ?
It's like that. Don't try to seek truth, don't try to defend your honor, don't try to win every debate. Some people will argu for as long as you will ... and you can't complain, because you are matching them post for post.
The rest of us find it sort of amusing sometimes,.
Yeah, take it lightly---Don't Giv eit Any Importance. Be able to walk away from a thread even if you don't think you have "won." You have to figure people will see what you wrote, and if one person is stuck on one word or sentence ... everyone else is reading it too. And not everyone else is arguing. Maybe they see it as you meant it ... maybe they are taking it lightly.
Originally Posted by
cubewheels
I had people laugh or joke about things I've posted before which I did not take offense because they're actually true. But now, I'm being rebutted at things that didn't happened. Very dissapointing to say the least.
Now you are boing controlled by some guy who interpreted one of your posts differently than you meant it. Could have been a simple communication error, and now it is a huge emotional issue.
Dude, it's an internet message board. You don't have to challenge the guy to a duel. You can laugh and walk away.
"Dissapointing" is when others see a smart person keep typing into a thread which has gone comically and then tragically off-track, and not catch on that it is a huge waste of time.
If you "take offense" at every tiny disagreement, you will wate your life fighting pointless battles. I say this as a person who has already wasted way too much of his life fighting pointless battles online .... you Can, if you want to .... but why would you want to?
The guy you are fighting with might be one of your best buddies in real life, or might be someone you will never meet ever. Either way .... what's the point of bickering online? Say your piece and if people don't want to listen, drop it.
That is what I mean by "Lighten up."
You know what's a good plan? Before you type your next "defense of honor ' post to whomever ... go out and put 20 quick miles on your bicycle. You will (Hopefully) have a whole new and much better perspective when you get back.