Dr. Jon
Well-Known Member
Hello;
OK, admittedly I'm a new guy here. The down side of that is I don't know all the history. The upside is I'm not invested in all the history, one way or another. Here's my $0.02, and older members feel free to set me straight.
In just a few months on RIU, the tone of many posts has degenerated to the point where it's hard to even follow. Much of it lately is just bickering, hostility, and petty insults. As I said, I don't know the history, so I wouldn't presume to say who's at fault or why.
My impression when I joined was that it was an online forum for people knowledgeable about marijuana use, growing, etc. I thought it was primarily intended, as many of these forums are, as a place for fellowship with like-minded people, and exchange of information, given that there is a lot of knowledge represented here. The wonderful thing about online forums is that you can post a question, and someone, somewhere likely knows the answer. Healthy, even spirited, debate on various topics is worthwhile. I often learn a lot from reading opposing viewpoints. However, as is often said in my profession, you can disagree without being disagreeable.
In even just these few months, I have noticed a fair number of people leaving the forums because of this trend. For the good of everyone involved in RIU, wouldn't it be better to have everyone involved take a deep breath, and tone down the rhetoric a bit? The nice part about a fairly anonymous online forum is that if you don't care for someone's attitude, approach, style, beliefs or whatever, YOU AREN'T REQUIRED TO INTERACT WITH THEM! If they post something you don't care for, so what? Does that really impact your daily life? Are they likely to show up at your house to debate you? I have often found that my own mental health improves if I just disengage from conflict like this. Say "what an idiot" in your head, then move on. Your psychiatrist will thank you, and you'll save a ton of money on anti-anxiety meds.
At any rate, without casting aspersions on any individual, here's hoping we can move RIU on from this pettiness, and return it to being a fun, educational community.
OK, now feel free to bash me, if that's what has to happen.
OK, admittedly I'm a new guy here. The down side of that is I don't know all the history. The upside is I'm not invested in all the history, one way or another. Here's my $0.02, and older members feel free to set me straight.
In just a few months on RIU, the tone of many posts has degenerated to the point where it's hard to even follow. Much of it lately is just bickering, hostility, and petty insults. As I said, I don't know the history, so I wouldn't presume to say who's at fault or why.
My impression when I joined was that it was an online forum for people knowledgeable about marijuana use, growing, etc. I thought it was primarily intended, as many of these forums are, as a place for fellowship with like-minded people, and exchange of information, given that there is a lot of knowledge represented here. The wonderful thing about online forums is that you can post a question, and someone, somewhere likely knows the answer. Healthy, even spirited, debate on various topics is worthwhile. I often learn a lot from reading opposing viewpoints. However, as is often said in my profession, you can disagree without being disagreeable.
In even just these few months, I have noticed a fair number of people leaving the forums because of this trend. For the good of everyone involved in RIU, wouldn't it be better to have everyone involved take a deep breath, and tone down the rhetoric a bit? The nice part about a fairly anonymous online forum is that if you don't care for someone's attitude, approach, style, beliefs or whatever, YOU AREN'T REQUIRED TO INTERACT WITH THEM! If they post something you don't care for, so what? Does that really impact your daily life? Are they likely to show up at your house to debate you? I have often found that my own mental health improves if I just disengage from conflict like this. Say "what an idiot" in your head, then move on. Your psychiatrist will thank you, and you'll save a ton of money on anti-anxiety meds.
At any rate, without casting aspersions on any individual, here's hoping we can move RIU on from this pettiness, and return it to being a fun, educational community.
OK, now feel free to bash me, if that's what has to happen.
