How to prevent closed threads and win friends ;)

Flyfisher Tom

Flyfisher Tom

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Just two friendly reminders that might help, or maybe not, as I see both situations happen on our beloved forum.

1) When you disagree with the policies of a particular government, please refer to that government, regime, administration specifically, rather than using a nationalistic label. Keep in mind that in modern democracies, nearly half the people usually oppose the ruling administration, regime, government. You only get one vote, and you can't control your fellow countrymen from voting stupidly ;)

Thus using nationalistic terms unfairly tars an overbroad group. In fact, it tars and offends a group of people who might very well agree with you.

For example, when you mean the former, don't use the latter :

Bush administration (not American)
Blair government (not British)
Caligula (not Romans)

Nothing worse than being lumped in unwillingly with a group you oppose yourself.

2) When a response to your answer is ambiguous, always give it the benefit of the doubt. Read it as humor rather than sarcasm. Frequently people mean well and are trying to be funny. However, communicating online, without the benefit of tone or other contextual cues, it is frequently easy to mistake humor for sarcasm, or ambiguity for personal attack.

I still think it is a futile exercise to ever try to convert someone on issues of morality, politics or religion. But if you must do it, it would help to conduct it with civility, specificity, and a sense of humor. That should prevent most conflagrations :p
 
Tom. Tom Tom Tom Tom.

The best way is by not being funny. Humour is what's political. By either having humour or lacking it is how you lose friends. A joke is always going to be offensive to someone. Not laughing at a joke is going to be offensive to someone.

Just agree. Oh crap, I disagreed with you. You agree with that, right? ;)
 
Good points Tom. There's no reason why this community of gentlemen can't discuss issues intelligently in the Off Topic forum, without getting personal, or insulting entire nationalities, political persuasions, and ethnic or racial groups. People who read these threads and then complain about the content are the same that watch TV reality shows and condemn the networks...change the bloody channel for godssakes.
Matter of fact, these non-photo conversations are essential AFAIC....how do you know who you're REALLY talking to if all you've discussed is Tri-X vs Tmax?
The Off Topic forum can actually perform a function; you soon learn who is incapable of carrying on a civil dialogue.
 
how do you know who you're REALLY talking to if all you've discussed is Tri-X vs Tmax?
Click to expand...

I hope you are also displaying an Ilford Tree this holiday TMax season, just to be all welcoming.
 
One of our responsabilities as citizens, believers and/or human beings in general is live with the people who *disagree* with us and share the consequences of their acts, decisions. Read disagree = vote for the other side, believe in a different god, drink pepsi instead of coca-cola, use canon not nikon etc.

What I mean is this: If I am hungarian and suddenly seventy procent of the hungarians decide it's time to invade Austria and conquer it, then I, even when I disagree, am supposed to bear the anger of the world and I, even if I have nothing to do with such a decision, have the *highest* responsability to convince my fellow bearded, un-mediterranean, high-suicidal-rate compatriots that it's a stupid idea. Not the austrians, not the UN, not the US army and not Greenpeace but me. If the world talks about this as hungarians misbehaving, then yes, i am included in that until I manage to convince the world that I did everything against it. And no, a lost election is not enough for that, it is just a good excuse.
I think this is the key to living in a community, NOT the idea of isolating yourself from the rest of your community just because you have a different oppinion on an issue.

The only other way out I see, is being an anarchist. A peaceful one, of course.

Please translate this to your own case, your own nationality, country, religion, situation. In fact this is a fictional situation, I swear I don't know any hungarians that actually plan to invade Austria.
 
Is it possible to laugh about everything? Yes. But not with everyone.
quote from a famous french humorist from the 80's.

:angel:
 
darkkavenger said:
Is it possible to laugh about everything? Yes. But not with everyone.
quote from a famous french humorist from the 80's.

:angel:
Click to expand...


I may be wrong but I think this was a quote from Carl Valentin whom was German
 
Actually, i have a new german colleague that is an extremely funny guy. We still try to find out about his real ancestors.
 
See, I don't know how these pernicious rumors start ?

My understanding is that the Visigoths were reputed to be a very humorous people in their time ... see, now the Romans are going to be offended ;)
 
Tom, are you lumping all the Visigoths and all the Romans together there? I thought you were cautioning against that
;)
 
Pherdinand said:
One of our responsabilities as citizens, believers and/or human beings in general is live with the people who *disagree* with us and share the consequences of their acts, decisions. Read disagree = vote for the other side, believe in a different god, drink pepsi instead of coca-cola, use canon not nikon etc.
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I agree entirely Pherdinand. That is why whenever I see someone drinking Pepsi instead of Coke (which we all know is the King of Softdrinks), I always try to knock the Pepsi out of their hands :)
 
Pherdinand said:
One of our responsabilities as citizens, believers and/or human beings in general is live with the people who *disagree* with us and share the consequences of their acts, decisions. Read disagree = vote for the other side, believe in a different god, drink pepsi instead of coca-cola, use canon not nikon etc.
Click to expand...

Careful...you're dangerously close to being on topic with that whole Canon/Nikon thing.
 
see, what did I tell you?

nothing better than a cold refreshing 4th version pre-asph Coca Cola ;)

btw, any grits or BBQ at the reception ? :)
 
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