Originally Posted by
billytwosheds
To be fair, you can't actually *cause* anyone to have feelings. It's also impossible to stop people from having feelings, even if you don't appreciate them.
We all do things, and people have feelings about them. It's part of what makes us human.
Perhaps if the response isn't what you expected, then there is something to be learned. I personally steer clear of using thread titles that suggest that other people are doing something wrong.
Commanding people to do what you think is right won't work out well in many cases, no matter how right we think we are.
Maybe I've spent too much time separating myself from feelings associated with conversations held with strangers on the internet, because unless if someone is threatening to do something that will actually cause consequences for me in real life then I have no feelings to offer in such a situation. I'm posting here because I have the time and I had some thoughts, and when others take the time to respond to me I attempt to repay them with my time as well. Hence the continuing conversation.
I've provided my opinion and my reasons for thinking in a certain way, and anyone who reads through this thread will know I am not alone in having such sentiments regarding the topic at hand. I also realize that many people do not agree and I came into this conversation knowing full well that would be the case, or else the criticism I had to share would likely not have occurred at all.
You're absolutely right, I can't help it if other people feel things. I can also refuse to acknowledge folks who decide to make such a conversation into a personal matter. None of this is a bother to me at all and if it turns out that my bringing this up and all of these people responding will have absolutely no influence on how the appraisals sub-forum is perceived then so be it, but at this point I rather doubt that is the case and I'm happy I brought it up. (EDIT: That is despite the fact that maybe several people will distance themselves from my posts in the future based on their responses here. The "social consequences" of an online forum thread are in fact inconsequential to me.)
Cheers!
-Gregory