How often do you start posting a reply and...

[Neverhoodian]

All the freakin' time. Not just for controversial stuff either, simply posting in general. For every post I make, there are at least two or three that never see the light of day. It's why my post count is so low relative to my time spent here. Hell, I was thinking about starting a topic similar to this one last week, but I changed my mind before I finished.

I think it stems from the type of person I am. I generally only speak up about something if I feel I have something important to contribute that hasn't already been addressed. When I'm typing a reply I'll frequently stop and read the previous responses again. Often I come to the conclusion that someone else has already expressed my thoughts on the subject, and expressing it again would be too redundant.

I suppose another factor is how I approach posting. I tend to treat it as an essay, and as such it often takes me a long time to compose and proofread it. I'll often go back and edit my post (sometimes more than once) if I catch an errant misspelling or awkward sentence structure. Simply put, a lot of time and effort goes into my posts, and sometimes I can't be bothered going through all that. I guess I'm still in my Honors English mindset from high school. Old habits are hard to break.

 

[Hazy992]

Yeah all the time. I'll starting writing my opinion on something and then come to the conclusion that 'yeah this isn't worth it', because I know I'm probably gonna have my inbox flooded with a bunch of passive-aggressive posts having a go, and I just don't have the energy to debate them or defend my position. People aren't usually interested in a healthy discussion so why even bother?

 

[Souther Thorn]

For years now. Being political at all will breed it fast, hanging out on some troll boards quicker.

 

[Saika Renegade]

The last time I did such a thing here, I basically gave an hour of textbook debate procedure (premise/refutation, examples, proof, conclusion, etc.) and did so politely and with plenty of facts drawn from source material. I got back two minutes' worth of infantile put-downs, a truckload of logical fallacies, and not even a token attempt to engage me in honest debate. As a result, I've just closed windows in the middle of typing more often than ever lately, and I don't think I've lost anything by simply not contributing much to even polite arguments any more.

I am buoyed mostly by the fact that some other Escapist forumites called out the party opposed to my viewpoint in that particular instance for their unsporting and impolite behavior.

 

[Euryalus]

Yeah all the time. I'll starting writing my opinion on something and then come to the conclusion that 'yeah this isn't worth it', because I know I'm probably gonna have my inbox flooded with a bunch of passive-aggressive posts having a go, and I just don't have the energy to debate them or defend my position. People aren't usually interested in a healthy discussion so why even bother?

Yeah because that kind of defeatist attitude'll get you far in life.

[sub][sub]You mean like these kind of passive aggressive responses xD[/sub][/sub]

OT: All the time, especially in serious threads. I even did it earlier today in this one.

I just tend to either not know how to or want to make the joke I came to say, or I feel putting my opinion out there is too much effort. Especially when it comes to ethics questions. As shrekfan will be the first to tell you I tend to be irritatingly philosophy like and super literal xD

That takes work man!

 

[Nikolaz72]

I find it helps. You write this completely insulting smearpiece against some other escapist user and after having spend 45 minutes on it you delete it all and instead write a much more civilized and less confrontational post.

It's made sure I've received no warnings except a low content one since a few months after the system was implemented.

 

[Qwurty2.0]

All the time. I usually post some shitty joke or gif in an attempt to lighten the mood or start something more fun, but most people these days seem to want to "debate" more than connect with their online community.

It brings a tear to my eyes, sometimes.

 

[carnex]

Happened to me quite a few times so I developed new habit. When I want to type a reply that's longer than 3 sentences I stand up and start doing something else for at least 15 minutes. If I still want to post then, i start typing. Before that I deleted many walls.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

I want to say for every post I make, there's one I typed but didn't click post. Sometimes it's to avoid getting into a argument, sometimes I type something and I realize it doesn't fit the topic well or its boring or something

Like everyone said, some people aren't interested in discussion and need to retake first grade in order to relearn the difference between an opinion and a fact

 

[the December King]

You see something infuriating and you start thinking out how you are going to respond to this guy who just insulted feminism/'hardcore' gamers/casualgamers/consolegamers/pcgamers/something I like/ etc. You start going to town asking refuting his points and asking him to provide sources yada yada yada. But then, after you finish your typing tirade, or maybe before you finish, you just stop and think, 'Why bother.' You close the page.

Absolutely! Especially during these charged and very polarizing (or at the very least demanding of said polarization) GamerGate threads, and women in gaming threads. I'm often left with only what I think or how I reacted, and even after gathering some facts or links, still realize that I only have my opinion and POV on this, in the end.

I have been really trying to practice what seems to me to be a smart guide in understanding, if not practicing, feminism for guys: listen first, instead of react. No matter what the subject at hand, try to see it from different perspectives. You don't have to draw the same conclusion in the end, but you should try to see it from the other side/another point of view.

 

[Tayh]

I wonder how many thought up a reply for this thread, thought a little about it, and then said "fuck it" and left.

...
...
...

But yeah, I do it all the time, when I can't be bothered getting into an argument or if I don't feel like my reply is adding anything.
Kind of like this one...

 

[happyninja42]

Yeah man, especially with the kind of topics going around right now. I start a reply then I just say fuck it and save myself some grief. Most talks these days just end up going in circles anyways and I don't have the patience for dozens of comments repeating the same mantra.

I close the tab and consider myself a winner. I'll stick to game related threads or silly stuff until this blows over.

Yeah pretty much the same here. I'll decide to just not bother continuing some discussion in these threads all the time. It's usually pointless, or it's obvious that nothing I say is going to actually get through to the other person talking, so why continue a pointless argument if the end result is going to be nothing?

I also don't bother reading a lot of the threads on this forum at all. Anything that has the words Anita Sark, Zoe Quinn, Gamergate, or pretty much any of the other inflamatory subjects in them, pretty much get disregarded right off the bat. I really don't care to join those discussions at all.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

I do this for almost every thread. I've clicked on almost every one and almost left a reply on them. Then I just deleted it and left because there is no hope for discussion anyways so why bother? When I do post, it's typically insubstantial so there's no real point in quoting it.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say no.

I might agree or disagree with a post, (doing some thoughts in my brain-space, ya know)
but I wouldn't really want to engage in a debate.
I wouldn't even know where to start. I'd be crushed in the first reply.
I've never mastered the necessary debating skills, the encyclopedic knowledge of fallacies nor the obligatory passive-aggressiveness.

Now, if it's something I was sure about, and it really, really mattered to me, I might.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Never? I just do nothing against those who have different opinion to my no matter how much it annoyed me. In another word, it's not worth my touble to attempt to reply back to that person or rather my writing skill isn't sophisticated to reply back without sounding like a douche.

 

[happyninja42]

I've never mastered the necessary debating skills, the encyclopedic knowledge of fallacies nor the obligatory passive-aggressiveness.

That's a pretty good start. xD Implying everyone that debates is passive aggressive is a pretty good passive aggressive dig. Well done Sir/Madam/Gender Non-specific person! You are on your way to achieving the skill sets you say you lack! Keep up the good work! *clap* xD

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I've never mastered the necessary debating skills, the encyclopedic knowledge of fallacies nor the obligatory passive-aggressiveness.

That's a pretty good start. xD Implying everyone that debates is passive aggressive is a pretty good passive aggressive dig. Well done Sir/Madam/Gender Non-specific person! You are on your way to achieving the skill sets you say you lack! Keep up the good work! *clap* xD

Thank you, thank you. Though I must confess, it wasn't entirely on purpose. Just a little bit.
I guess spending so much time here has rubbed something off on me ^^