Mutual respect in the listserve -- a proposal

We all passionately care about the Twins. If we did not care, we would not be here and we would not bother to debate about almost every aspect of the Twins universe.

Lately, there have been a lot of threads where people took diametrically opposing views. I like the debate, but I keep getting turned off by the personal attacks.

I urge people to keep their passion but cut back on the personal attacks. Often, I think that both sides are making worthwhile points that would be more persuasive if not for the personal attacks. And I come to this website for baseball talk, not drama.

I think of all of you as brothers (with the occasional sister). Please keep your passion. But please also at least consider that there may be many of us who want to hear everyone's views, but are turned off when there is name calling, regardless of who started it.

I have a proposal -- whenever you want to disagree with someone, begin with the words "my brother." Then be as passionate as you want and point out every flaw in their thinking, but substitute the words "my brother" for "retard", idiot" and whatever else you may really be thinking, We will all know what you mean but the drama will be less unpleasant and maybe we can even focus more on baseball.

If you are willing to commit to this, please vote in the poll.

MY BROTHER, I completely agree...wait, I think I just called you a retard/idiot and I didn't mean to! Ha!

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Originally Posted by RodneyKline

MY BROTHER, I completely agree...wait, I think I just called you a retard/idiot and I didn't mean to! Ha!

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It's working. I do not feel insulted.

I don't think you're going to have much luck in trying to trick adults into behaving like adults. And it's not really our job to do that.

What might prove useful is if the board admins would start locking (and maybe even removing) some of the more troublesome threads to show that they are serious about having rules governing content posted to the site. That could get people's attention.

I agree, my brother.

I think it's time we start cracking down on some of this bickering. Thanks for the thread, Glunn. I've been off the forums quite a bit lately (been really busy) but I'll try to start tracking problem posts a little more closely. Be sure to report problem posts, people!

My brother! I completely agree. The tone of the comments has become ridiculous in the last weeks. I think we all just need spring training to start, some games and soon the regular season, primarily so we don't have to rehash the same old topics that have been over-discussed in the last two months. I'm glad you wrote this glunn, and I definitely think that we will need to start cracking down a bit.

Agreed. Good luck cleaning it up. I am weary of the name calling and tone. There are respectful ways to disagree.

I also found the "ignore" function handy. :s-instagib:

The problem with ignore is that you do miss some nuggets......my brother.

Hey look, its the bi-monthly "lets stop being mean" thread:whacky028:

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Originally Posted by mike wants wins

The problem with ignore is that you do miss some nuggets......my brother.

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I only have one person on my ignore list and I'm fairly certain I'm not missing anything....

Glunn... I will buy you a beer... Anytime. :th_alc:

There are a few women who post here .... is everyone your brother? :) I have no problem with the premise of your post -- the bickering gets tiresome. But I'd also like to remind everyone that it generally takes at least 2 posters to bicker (otherwise the lone "bickerer" is just posting into thin air and that person should easily go on your "ignore" list) -- if it becomes apparent that no one is going to "win" the argument, it is often better to just walk away. Walking away doesn't mean that you "lose" -- it just means that you're sane.

My internet brethren,
I think it's fine to police our etiquette, but really the problem lies beneath the surface layer of snark and insults. There's a few posters here who purposely inflame discussions, try to rope people into some inane and endless back-and-forths. I know I get stuck in these conversations, and even if I believe I'm working with some principled reason behind my (good) fight, I'm just making things worse. It's not politeness that will make the board more pleasant, it's completely ignoring the provocateurs.

It would help if we didn't have people starting threads about RON DAVIS!!1!

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Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Agreed. Good luck cleaning it up. I am weary of the name calling and tone. There are respectful ways to disagree.

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Absolutely true, brother.

Glunn, thank you for this thread. Be it ever so humble, my brother.

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Originally Posted by PseudoSABR

My internet brethren,
I think it's fine to police our etiquette, but really the problem lies beneath the surface layer of snark and insults. There's a few posters here who purposely inflame discussions, try to rope people into some inane and endless back-and-forths. I know I get stuck in these conversations, and even if I believe I'm working with some principled reason behind my (good) fight, I'm just making things worse. It's not politeness that will make the board more pleasant, it's completely ignoring the provocateurs.

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Well said, Pseudo. Those posters are one of the biggest problems on a large internet forum. They don't violate rules so it's hard to bring a hammer down on them without coming off like an ass. They slowly eat into the forum's attitude and anger what are often level-headed people into starting a flame war.

Figuring out what to do with them from a moderation standpoint is extremely difficult. I hate the idea of banning people because I dislike their posting style. It makes me feel like a self-important tyrant and I don't like running sites in that manner. On the other hand, they're a giant pain in the forum's ass and they're usually relentless about it.

So, again, if you don't like someone's "stupidity", ignore them. Please. And the moment they clearly violate a forum rule, report it.

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Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

So, again, if you don't like someone's "stupidity", ignore them. Please. And the moment they clearly violate a forum rule, report it.

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This is just difficult to do. My "justice" sense tingles during these threads, and I feel the need to set the record straight.

What's more maddening is that these same posters can sometimes make astute, legitimate points and be cordial throughout an entire thread--and then I have trouble validating even their good points for fear it gives the arrogance to turn back into a bully.

I think we need a custom user titles like "possible troll" "rabble rouser" "lockerroom nick pinto/kyle lohse" "aj pierzynski." Posters could earn them through continued poor behavior.