Netiquette

One thing that truly galls me is how people seem to have no compunctions about insulting people online, whether by design or by just being blunt to the point of what could be perceived as rudeness. Owing to the fact that we cannot see each other's faces or hear each other's vocal expressions, it's very easy to engage in conversation that could all too easily insult someone even if that was never the intent. Lately, it seems, people have managed to break up old friendships of mine by insulting people in conversations on Facebook, and I really do not appreciate that one bit. There are some people who just simply do not know when to shut up and who seem to always want to get in the last word, so they keep on ratcheting up the tension in conversations with perfect strangers to them but friends to me, resulting in several lost friendships that people blamed me for ending when it had nothing to do with me at all. I usually try to step in and smooth over ruffled feathers but that can be hard when someone blames me for friends of mine insulting them over seemingly innocent statements. Some folks have made some pretty nasty comments that I did not at all appreciate and that should never have been made at all. It's easy to throw flames around when you are online and you are talking to someone you don't even know and you make all kinds of ridiculous accusations about things they say because you aren't standing in a room with them talking face to face, one on one. I just wish I knew why certain people don't seem to get how to say things without coming off as accusatory or insulting. I have learned over the years that you must choose your words carefully before you put them out there for all to see. It's very easy to flame someone or to vent angry words at them and then hit the "send" button before reading them back and thinking how you would take them were they directed at you. I get very tired of reading things that people say online that I know darn well they would NEVER say to someone with whom they were talking face to face. It strikes me as a sign of social awkwardness that people who could probably be charming and interesting to be with in person are totally different online and can spew vitriol at the drop of a hat. Saying things online adds an element of anonymity because you do not have to say something to someone you may not know and would not normally find yourself speaking to at a social occasion where people were in a room who didn't necessarily know one another too well, if at all.

You can throw flames all you like at someone you will doubtless never meet in person and have to deal with later on. There are no real consequences to suffer for so doing as well. Oh, you may piss the person off a lot and get into an online argument, but other than that, there's nothing to lose or gain by so doing other than a feeling of moral superiority that you argued with someone with whom you disagreed over something. I just do not see the point in being petty online and trying to assert your feelings of superiority over someone by lording your opinion over them and acting like you and you alone are right without allowing any give or take in the conversation. But there are folks who are sure that they alone are right and everyone else is wrong and by gum, they won't shut up until they prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that they are right, even if it ends up in a stalemate or an angry departure from the argument by one of the aggrieved parties. More often than not, that is how online conversations end anymore, with one party feeling angry and insulted and walking away from the whole thing and ending old friendships in the process. Is it any wonder that nothing's getting done in this country anymore? No one seems to be ready, willing or able to get along these days, no matter what you say or how you say it. Hell, you could say "the sky is blue" and there's always going to be someone willing to call your bluff and argue with you over it. I just don't get why people use online forums - like Facebook, for example - to engage in flame wars extraordinaire or to drive away people's friends by carrying on stupid or useless arguments with them. Just makes me mad enough to want to spit nails these days. Remember folks, the golden rule: treat others as you would want to be treated yourself. After all, didn't you learn that in kindergarten?