Why Is There Such Animosity On The Forum?

Bavafongoul · Nov 25, 2015

Let me start with an apology for stirring up a ruckus with my past thread......no reason whatsoever to even bring up the topic other than to post " I had no idea it would lead to such noise."

Reflect on this....the thread went from zero to 100 way too fast........4 days and 16 pages and a closed thread........and the intended subject/topic was never answered or adequately addressed either......somewhere things got out of control.....it became personal or so it appeared to me from my perusal of the posts......and Mr. Wilson even posted a warning about not letting things get out of hand.......remain civil.

My question is this and please answer only if you care about the swamp the Forum seems to be becoming.....and the Mods can't impose behavioral control other than thru banning people.....why can't there just be simple disagreement.......two different viewpoints. albeit opposing versions, coexisting on the same Forum without imposing a battle of wills or imperial power to prove that the other person is wrong.......and it's much more than that nowadays too........make the other guy look stupid and publicly rebuke & mock the other guy..,,,,,you know.what I mean.....hit 'em hard.

Look, I readily admit I started the last ruckus but I did not create the atmosphere which permeated the thread so early on.......and I threw a couple of jabs too but never a best punch type post which would have been pretty meaningless because at a certain point, the thread had pretty much turned into a free for all bar fight. My question is simply why? Maybe if we can figure out why......or identify the catalyst(s) that turned things sour, we can guard against it happening in the future which kind of seems to be a common event on the Forum. Things seem to go south on certain topics or with certain Azers and the overall combination seems to be absolute poison.

Straightpool_99 · Nov 25, 2015

Ah, the Ivory thread. Well, politics and religion are guaranteed to generate animosity. But if you think those things generate anger and hatred, you should come to the aiming forum! But prepare to see things that cannot be unseen.

Shooter08 · Nov 25, 2015

Bav, personal beliefs just like politics bring out the worst in people. Let's discuss the game and not personal beliefs and disdain will not arise. We are not going to change who requires ivory or not in their cues.

Michael Webb · Nov 25, 2015

No apology needed. I actually enjoyed the History lesson. Been out of school for a long time. But reality is. This is a forum that not many would like to moderate and personalities are gonna clash. People in R. I. And Mass say it all the time. What's happened to AZ over the years.
My personal answer is. It's evolved, more and more people hiding behind a screen name, who don't work or contribute to the Industry. Pushing and pulling to see what they can say and get away with. The forum requires a stronger action sometimes. I have nothing but respect for Mr. Wilson. But....... I think we sometimes, ok a lot of time. Need a moderator like Thomas Wayne. An encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to this Industry and the sack to back it up. Shoot he would probably ban me for suggesting him. But he might send me an email first saying something like. Thanks shithead. YOUR BANNED

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Dead Money · Nov 25, 2015

Bavafongoul said:
Let me start with an apology for stirring up a ruckus with my past thread......no reason whatsoever to even bring up the topic other than to post " I had no idea it would lead to such noise."

Reflect on this....the thread went from zero to 100 way too fast........4 days and 16 pages and a closed thread........and the intended subject/topic was never answered or adequately addressed either......somewhere things got out of control.....it became personal or so it appeared to me from my perusal of the posts......and Mr. Wilson even posted a warning about not letting things get out of hand.......remain civil.

My question is this and please answer only if you care about the swamp the Forum seems to be becoming.....and the Mods can't impose behavioral control other than thru banning people.....why can't there just be simple disagreement.......two different viewpoints. albeit opposing versions, coexisting on the same Forum without imposing a battle of wills or imperial power to prove that the other person is wrong.......and it's much more than that nowadays too........make the other guy look stupid and publicly rebuke & mock the other guy..,,,,,you know.what I mean.....hit 'em hard.

Look, I readily admit I started the last ruckus but I did not create the atmosphere which permeated the thread so early on.......and I threw a couple of jabs too but never a best punch type post which would have been pretty meaningless because at a certain point, the thread had pretty much turned into a free for all bar fight. My question is simply why? Maybe if we can figure out why......or identify the catalyst(s) that turned things sour, we can guard against it happening in the future which kind of seems to be a common event on the Forum. Things seem to go south on certain topics or with certain Azers and the overall combination seems to be absolute poison.

Why? This is super simple! There are a lot of ****ing assholes on here who can't get over themselves and haven't learned in life yet that every little thing doesn't have to be battled over and argued to death just to prove they are "right." By the way, this isn't just a AZB thing either. It is very common on forums in general, comments sections on news websites and Facebook pages as well.

pt109 · Nov 26, 2015

Michael Webb said:
No apology needed. I actually enjoyed the History lesson. Been out of school for a long time. But reality is. This is a forum that not many would like to moderate and personalities are gonna clash. People in R. I. And Mass say it all the time. What's happened to AZ over the years.
My personal answer is. It's evolved, more and more people hiding behind a screen name, who don't work or contribute to the Industry. Pushing and pulling to see what they can say and get away with. The forum requires a stronger action sometimes. I have nothing but respect for Mr. Wilson. But....... I think we sometimes, ok a lot of time. Need a moderator like Thomas Wayne. An encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to this Industry and the sack to back it up. Shoot he would probably ban me for suggesting him. But he might send me an email first saying something like. Thanks shithead. YOUR BANNED

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Strange....in a post decrying the animosity on AZ, you are creating more animosity,
Michael....and you aren't the first industry member to do so.

Well, I got a news flash for you....many of us aren't selling anything, so therefore,
we don't feel like putting our business on the street...if we did, we'd probably join
FaceBook and post pictures of what we had for lunch....

As I'm posting this, there are 20 members and 83 lurkers present....only 7 of them
are using their names....
...you want to know what the other 96 are, Michael?
They are your customers or potential customers....

pt...owns a Webb cue and has a cork grip on another one installed by Mike Webb.

Michael Webb · Nov 26, 2015

pt109 said:
Strange....in a post decrying the animosity on AZ, you are creating more animosity,
Michael....and you aren't the first industry member to do so.

Well, I got a news flash for you....many of us aren't selling anything, so therefore,
we don't feel like putting our business on the street...if we did, we'd probably join
FaceBook and post pictures of what we had for lunch....

As I'm posting this, there are 20 members and 83 lurkers present....only 7 of them
are using their names....
...you want to know what the other 96 are, Michael?
They are your customers or potential customers....

pt...owns a Webb cue and has a cork grip on another one installed by Mike Webb.

Good point and post.

pt109 · Nov 26, 2015

Michael Webb said:
Good point and post.

That's what I expect of you, Mike....'cause I think you're an admirable person.

....and I agree with your appraisal of Thomas Wayne....he is a sharp cookie...
...and he writes better than some best-selling authors.

....but I disagree about him banning you....
...first he would ban Rick of Esoteric cues...
...then he would resign.....:rotflmao1:

Michael Webb · Nov 26, 2015

pt109 said:
That's what I expect of you, Mike....'cause I think you're an admirable person.

....and I agree with your appraisal of Thomas Wayne....he is a sharp cookie...
...and he writes better than some best-selling authors.

....but I disagree about him banning you....
...first he would ban Rick of Esoteric cues...
...then he would resign.....:rotflmao1:

Your to funny and probably right again.
And your cues must be real old cause I haven't done cork in a long time. And even though my knowledge has increased a lot. I still don't know if I'd do one today. Just sayin
Enjoy your Thanksgiving. I'm still in the kitchen prepping at 3:30

336Robin · Nov 26, 2015

Conundrums in Human Nature

I didn't read the Ivory thread but I have been on the Aiming Forum and man what Human Nature can conjure up. You can sure find out a lot about the core of a person on here that's for sure. I've found people who I am told are so nice really aren't and I have learned a great deal about Pool, how people view it, the lifecycle of Pool Players and when people are open to being helped. I've learned a lot and taken a few bruises over it.

All I can say is that the lessons I learned from working with people in their earthiest more base form taught me two things and these resound here, they are:

1. People will eventually show you who they are....when they do....Believe them. and 2. The hardest person that you will have to work to get past is....yourself.

I think if you talk here you are really going to see some keyboard warriors who are really showing you who they really are so......and if you seem to be in discussions where all you seem to do is argue then maybe you need to look at yourself.

Pretty damn telling in my opinion.

People being what they are, there are a lot of things that influence a persons life but not being marred by them is an art. I come here and I am made thankful for my family and my friends, it makes me want to do things for my friends whenever I can because when you think about it, life doesn't mean anything without friends. When you continually bump heads with someone who is scarred from their life experience and they say nasty things to you and they act as if they could care less if you live or died then well there you go again....why are you wasting your time? At a point its you.

M.G. · Nov 26, 2015

People will be people - afraid, self-centered and in search for external attention. We are social animals at last. In a forum (or the Internet) they just get away with certrain things, in real life there would be real consequences.
Moderating is not easy, also due to the sheer volume of posts.

I do like a good stirr from now and then, too

But you can take my words and think about them or simply ignore them or tell me that I'm wrong because good reason X I did not take into consideration.
That's how it's supposed to work.

Leave religion and beliefs out of it - tell what did work for you and if something else works then it's fine, too.

Cheers.

trob · Nov 26, 2015

It's not complicated. Your not face to face so you can be an a$$ hole. A conversation that face to face maybe a friendly disagreement escalates when you don't have to look into someone's eyes to say it. I have a simple rule. I read my post and ask myself would I say this in this tome if I was face to face? If the answer is no erase it.

(((Satori))) · Nov 26, 2015

336Robin said:
I didn't read the Ivory thread but I have been on the Aiming Forum and man what Human Nature can conjure up. You can sure find out a lot about the core of a person on here that's for sure. I've found people who I am told are so nice really aren't and I have learned a great deal about Pool, how people view it, the lifecycle of Pool Players and when people are open to being helped. I've learned a lot and taken a few bruises over it.

All I can say is that the lessons I learned from working with people in their earthiest more base form taught me two things and these resound here, they are:

1. People will eventually show you who they are....when they do....Believe them. and 2. The hardest person that you will have to work to get past is....yourself.

I think if you talk here you are really going to see some keyboard warriors who are really showing you who they really are so......and if you seem to be in discussions where all you seem to do is argue then maybe you need to look at yourself.

Pretty damn telling in my opinion.

People being what they are, there are a lot of things that influence a persons life but not being marred by them is an art. I come here and I am made thankful for my family and my friends, it makes me want to do things for my friends whenever I can because when you think about it, life doesn't mean anything without friends. When you continually bump heads with someone who is scarred from their life experience and they say nasty things to you and they act as if they could care less if you live or died then well there you go again....why are you wasting your time? At a point its you.

Lol

I wouldnt judge someone based on what they have posted on a forum. You would likely be wrong.

Ask yourself this... Does Barton aim as well as he talks? The personalities you have attached to people are likely just as far off. Its an internet forum... 95% of what you read is not even close to reality 80% of the time.

cubswin · Nov 26, 2015

Walk into a pool tournament at a bar, bring up ivory with everyone, and report your findings back here.

Also Matt, you seem to think you are in charge quite often, which just gets some folks wanting your threads to derail.

It's a forum, where politics are allowed, made up of all parts of society. Arguments will happen.

Island Drive · Nov 26, 2015

Trickle down effect....

It's societal....our governments dysfunction, has in turn made it's people the same animal. When your parents keep screwing up and all you see is BS lies and entitlement....it's easy to become an ''animal'' ''mosity''.

ideologist · Nov 26, 2015

cubswin said:
Walk into a pool tournament at a bar, bring up ivory with everyone, and report your findings back here.

Also Matt, you seem to think you are in charge quite often, which just gets some folks wanting your threads to derail.

It's a forum, where politics are allowed, made up of all parts of society. Arguments will happen.

You're right, lots of people disagree with him. He said to leave it at "two different viewpoints", but that really means to bear down for his dissertation since you are "aberrant" for having the gall to disagree.

pdcue · Nov 26, 2015

Bavafongoul said:
Let me start with an apology for stirring up a ruckus with my past thread......no reason whatsoever to even bring up the topic other than to post " I had no idea it would lead to such noise."

Reflect on this....the thread went from zero to 100 way too fast........4 days and 16 pages and a closed thread........and the intended subject/topic was never answered or adequately addressed either......somewhere things got out of control.....it became personal or so it appeared to me from my perusal of the posts......and Mr. Wilson even posted a warning about not letting things get out of hand.......remain civil.

My question is this and please answer only if you care about the swamp the Forum seems to be becoming.....and the Mods can't impose behavioral control other than thru banning people.....why can't there just be simple disagreement.......two different viewpoints. albeit opposing versions, coexisting on the same Forum without imposing a battle of wills or imperial power to prove that the other person is wrong.......and it's much more than that nowadays too........make the other guy look stupid and publicly rebuke & mock the other guy..,,,,,you know.what I mean.....hit 'em hard.

Look, I readily admit I started the last ruckus but I did not create the atmosphere which permeated the thread so early on.......and I threw a couple of jabs too but never a best punch type post which would have been pretty meaningless because at a certain point, the thread had pretty much turned into a free for all bar fight. My question is simply why? Maybe if we can figure out why......or identify the catalyst(s) that turned things sour, we can guard against it happening in the future which kind of seems to be a common event on the Forum. Things seem to go south on certain topics or with certain Azers and the overall combination seems to be absolute poison.

It's the Internet.

I lurked on the old RSB for years.

On its worst day, this is Episcopalian Sunday School compared to RSB.
And don't even mention Alt.sport.pool.

Dale(experienced multitasking lurker)

CuesDirectly · Nov 26, 2015

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, enjoy the day.

MDSPHOTO · Nov 26, 2015

IMHO, most of this poor behavior comes from people hiding behind a keyboard, whether they are using their real name or screen name, there is this confidence that I can say what ever I want with little fear of retaliation, Oh, I may get banned, but big deal, the Internet is filled with other forums.

There are two cigar forums I belong to that have banned all political discussions, as that topic tends to bring out the worst in people. This has led to much more civil behavior on the forums. I don't mind the lack of political discussions because this is one topic that people are more passionate about than the hobby forum itself.

Think about this; has a republican, democrat, independent, libertarian, tea partyer ever walked into a bar, forum, pool hall and convinced the others in the room that they should stop what they've known and believed all their life and now adopt all his/her ideas and beliefs? To my knowledge that's never happened and not likely to happen here.

Perhaps the owner or mods should consider banning any political discussions and see what impact it has on the forum.

SamLambert · Nov 26, 2015

I find it a bit amusing to see this thread, because I wanted to start a similar one a few days ago. It is interesting to know I am not the only one with this view of this forum.

This forum is indeed not a very friendly one. I participate in many web communities and unfortunately, this one, the one which interests me the most right now, is a very vitriolic one.

I have started a few threads on here, most with the sole goal of improving my pool game, and all of them have a quite large number of useless low-life replies from people who probably can't run 3 balls.

I have been told to forget about ever playing pro speed, "drop those stupid dreams and get a job" is what I apparently should do. I have been told I was just "a troll who think he can plays" after posting a video of myself playing asking for help & review. I can't recall the number of times I was called a "stupid kid" or something to that effect. I have even been called a "googan" whatever the hell that is. Apparently it means I suck and I buy everything to help me suck less, but without much result because I just suck too much.

Whatever.

I do receive some PMs every once in a while from members on here asking about my progress. I actually really like getting those, it adds some motivation.

I don't bother posting much on here anymore. I have learned what little I could learn on here and for the most part now, it is mostly people arguing or talking down to other people. I expected this forum to be more mature considering the nature of the game. Seems like quite the opposite.

Why Is There Such Animosity On The Forum?

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