epackage
Well-Known Member
It's really come to my attention lately that you can't treat online friendships and discussions that you have in open forums the same way you do real interactive friendships with the people you know and see in person. People can't 'hear' your tone of voice or any inflection in your voice you may want to convey. All the smiley faces in the world won't help everyone involved in a discussion understand what you're try to get across when in a forum such as this one. You live your whole life talking to people who can hear the different tones, see you roll your eyes or see the smirk or anger on your face when you're talking to them directly or in a group setting.
Then BAM!, the interwebs get here and suddenly some of the things you say are taken differently by those people you've made 'friends' with online, even though you only know them thru their ramblings and maybe a few pics of them and their dog/cat/rooster that they've posted on forums just like this one. Where I grew up everyone was and still is a ballbuster, that's the world I know, and I'm a product of my enviorment. When making posts on forums I say what I say in the way I would talk to my lifelong friends, alot of that is because I feel like the online friendships are the same as those personal friendships I've always known. That's really not the case though, there are some folks who feel that I'm being a bully, when in fact it's just me trying to be open and honest. Yes, that has caused me to have my fair share of 'face offs' over the years, but online it seems that it happens 1000 times more often because people don't really KNOW me, and I don't really know them.
I don't plan on changing the way I 'talk' on the forum, that just wouldn't be the real me, but I will look closer into the interactions I have and who I have them with. It's never really my intent to piss off anyone(sometimes it is but rarely), so instead of changing the things I say in my posts I need to rethink who I have discussions with. It makes it tough sometimes because it's easy to forget that some of the fine people here are just 'kids'(no disrespect) who have no experiences outside the area they can cover on their bicycles, and I need to remember that. As for the adults who don't like me or the things I say and the way I say them, I'm just not gonna worry about them because I doubt we would be friends in person. I'm sure PM's have been sent between a number of people about what an A-hole I am and I'm cool with that, that's real, that's how the world really is. As for what I consider 'my sense of humor' I can tell you in person I am the most self depricating SOB on the planet, I make fun of myself and my family before I would ever do so to another person.
Well just felt the need to get that out there, there are many of you I do consider friends, people I have NO DOUBT I would be friends with if we lived near each other. I enjoy the PM's and emails I get from you and I think you know exactly who you are. For anyone who doesn't like me, my BIG MOUTH or anything else about me you should probably not bother chatting me up. It would save you the headaches and troubles I appear to cause you with the way I say the things I say...[
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Then BAM!, the interwebs get here and suddenly some of the things you say are taken differently by those people you've made 'friends' with online, even though you only know them thru their ramblings and maybe a few pics of them and their dog/cat/rooster that they've posted on forums just like this one. Where I grew up everyone was and still is a ballbuster, that's the world I know, and I'm a product of my enviorment. When making posts on forums I say what I say in the way I would talk to my lifelong friends, alot of that is because I feel like the online friendships are the same as those personal friendships I've always known. That's really not the case though, there are some folks who feel that I'm being a bully, when in fact it's just me trying to be open and honest. Yes, that has caused me to have my fair share of 'face offs' over the years, but online it seems that it happens 1000 times more often because people don't really KNOW me, and I don't really know them.
I don't plan on changing the way I 'talk' on the forum, that just wouldn't be the real me, but I will look closer into the interactions I have and who I have them with. It's never really my intent to piss off anyone(sometimes it is but rarely), so instead of changing the things I say in my posts I need to rethink who I have discussions with. It makes it tough sometimes because it's easy to forget that some of the fine people here are just 'kids'(no disrespect) who have no experiences outside the area they can cover on their bicycles, and I need to remember that. As for the adults who don't like me or the things I say and the way I say them, I'm just not gonna worry about them because I doubt we would be friends in person. I'm sure PM's have been sent between a number of people about what an A-hole I am and I'm cool with that, that's real, that's how the world really is. As for what I consider 'my sense of humor' I can tell you in person I am the most self depricating SOB on the planet, I make fun of myself and my family before I would ever do so to another person.
Well just felt the need to get that out there, there are many of you I do consider friends, people I have NO DOUBT I would be friends with if we lived near each other. I enjoy the PM's and emails I get from you and I think you know exactly who you are. For anyone who doesn't like me, my BIG MOUTH or anything else about me you should probably not bother chatting me up. It would save you the headaches and troubles I appear to cause you with the way I say the things I say...[
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