Why are their so many Haters, in a pool forum?

Couldn't agree more with this, good post, especially this part:

From Classiccues:
"However from the other side of the isle, there are some people whose vanity is so deep, they think that every post is about them. So they engage every post that they think is about them."
 
JAM said:
I see your point, but let me present this thought. :smile:

On a public street, how many people witnessed the person being called a "four-eyed moron"? A few within earshot, I would surprise. :p

For the most part, on the street, nobody knows anybody else. They're all strangers.

On this forum, there are a few of us who are known entities. I am not posting under a fake name and concealing my identity. People know who I am. As such, there are many more people witnessing the name-calling, bullying, flame threads, et cetera, and it does get personal. This is why you read about people committing suicide or getting into legal problems because of their participation on the Internet.
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There are some well known posters.. however that is a small %. For the most part this members list are 99% strangers. So IMHO its still the same thing. People may know me because of the site and cues, but that doesn't disuade me from either defending myself OR voicing my opinion. If people disagree with any stance I have and decide they don't want to buy a cue from me, then, that's ok.

JAM said:
I appreciate your sharing your thoughts, but I kind of think posting on this forum is a lot different than walking down the street and being called a name from a stranger. Rather, lately it's more like attending a party and having half the party-goers conceal their identities and wear masks, while the rest of us are not afraid to display who we really are. :embarrassed2:

If I had to do it over again, though, I would have never, never, never posted as me on this forum. NEVER! Big mistake.
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If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing. :)

JV
 
JAM said:
Jeff, thanks for the good words. :smile:

I believe posting should really be enjoyable. Like playing pool, it should be fun, I think. :cool:

In my honest opinion, I think a lot of problems occur when egos clash. When the IPT came to the fore, some -- not all -- of the naysayers were ones that the IPT did not include in the original 200 members. In other words, if they were included in the original 200 members or acknowledged as a referee or tournament director, then they would have been all for the IPT.

The same holds true today with commentators. Have you ever noticed how upset some people are about Commentator A should be doing the job instead of Commentator B?

Industry members have sometimes slammed other industry members for various reasons on this forum, which I've always thought should occur offline. This isn't the place to do it.

I guess I'll never be a Jean Balukas in the pool world, but I'm definitely the Efren Reyes of my work, which is what I do 14, 15, 16, and 17 hours a day. If practice makes perfect, then I should be flawless in what I do. :D
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all this talk about pool. when are you gonna stop teasing me and let me take you out for dinner and drinks?
 
JAM said:
By the same token, those who begin to single out a poster's words they choose to use in a post, this is also a mechanism for disagreeing with what the person is saying. If they can't reply with a comprehensive opinion that may differ from the poster, they then say the person's words they choose, e.g., "troll," "haters," et cetera, is overused.

You can't win on this forum. I contribute as much positive content to AzBilliards as I can possibly muster, and then there's one post that somebody takes issue with, and all of a sudden, I'm a [fill in the blank.] Nobody recognizes the good content I do try to provide. Rather, they can to take issue with, as an example, my stance on pro players. It's as if everything else I post here about is forgotten.

Forget the amount of times I've donated money to pool-related causes, members falling on hard times, players trying to compete in China, charity causes, pool education fund, et cetera, et cetera. It gets old.

And if you don't think there are multiple-identified banned posters on here posting on AzBilliards for the sole purpose of causing hurt and/or anger for their own personal entertainment, then you may not be reading this forum as much as I do. I can point out poster names today that have been banned and are still posting under another identity. In fact, not once, not twice, but a half-a-dozen different identities. For whatever reason, even though it's against this forum's stated rules, it continues to happen.

I love a spirited debate, but I don't care for having somebody single me out, slam me with curse words, call me a "groupie" at almost 60 years of age, et cetera, et cetera.

Yeah, it might be time for me to take another hiatus from this place, a permanent one. I really can't take the heat anymore, so it's time to get out of the kitchen. I really am trying to regain my enthusiasm for pool, but reading AzBilliards lately is a big downer.
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I agree with some of your points, but you seem to be taking the theme of this thread and making it about you? Or perhaps you are using your experiences as an example, which I can appreciate.

That being said, you must agree that most on here appreciate you and your contributions. You already know this. Everytime someone attacks you, there are many who come out of the woodwork to vehemently defend you. This has also been well-established.

Now I do read the forums quite a bit, sometimes too much. For example, I came into the office on a Saturday to catch up, yet here I am! I am well aware that there are banned posters, real trolls etc.
No one is disputing this. I have seen many a poster who seem permanently mired in the world of the Red Rep.

I was making a point that some people are a little too quick to throw the "troll" word around, as well as "hater".

And to be fair, while you have been, and will continue to be attacked by some rather unfairly, I would suggest that sometimes you might be a little thin-skinned on these boards? I have seen instances where you have jumped on people for whatever reason, and when they dish it out to you a war begins and the thread gets hijacked with people attacking you, then others defend, then the defenders get attacked, yadayada.

I have seen many instances where you sarcastically "thank someone for their contributions to the forums" when you don't agree with their opinions. It is almost as though you are passing yourself off as the Grand Dame of the boards.

So, my bottom line is you DO give as good as you get. You may not descend into a bout of vitriolic spewing, but you can certainly dish it out.

We do appreciate the countless articles, photos (though not always a gratuitous photo of Keith no matter what the topic), and many references to pros, and your experiences throughout your long history with the game. You must also know this.

I think you focus a litte too much on the negative and take things too personally.

By the way, I don't hide behind a keyboard. My name is Curtis Branker. I live in Baltimore and I occasionally play in Action Pool Tour and Planet Pool events. If you ever show up at one of these events look me up.

Please do not take my perceptions, or interpretations of your forum presence as an attack on you...they are my observations.
 
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inside_english said:
I agree with some of your points, but you seem to be taking the theme of this thread and making it about you? Or perhaps you are using your experiences as an example, which I can appreciate.

That being said, you must agree that most on here appreciate you and your contributions. You already know this. Everytime someone attacks you, there are many who come out of the woodwork to vehemently defend you. This has also been well-established.

Now I do read the forums quite a bit, sometimes too much. For example, I came into the office on a Saturday to catch up, yet here I am! I am well aware that there are banned posters, real trolls etc.
No one is disputing this. I have seen many a poster who seem permanently mired in the world of the Red Rep.

I was making a point that someone people are a little too quick to throw the "troll" word around, as well as "hater".

And to be fair, while you have been, and will continue to be attacked by some rather unfairly, I would suggest that sometimes you might be a little thin-skinned on these boards? I have seen instances where you have jumped on people for whatever reason, and when they dish it out to you a war begins and the thread gets hijacked with people attacking you, then others defend, then the defenders get attacked, yadayada.

I have seen many instances where you sarcastically "thank someone for their contributions to the forums" when you don't agree with their opinions. It is almost as though you are passing yourself off as the Grand Dame of the boards.

So, my bottom line is you DO give as good as you get. You may not descend into a bout of vitriolic spewing, but you can certainly dish it out.

We do appreciate the countless articles, photos (though not always a gratuitous photo of Keith no matter what the topic), and many references to pros, and your experiences throughout your long history with the game. You must also know this.

I think you focus a litte too much on the negative and take things too personally.

By the way, I don't hide behind a keyboard. My name is Curtis Branker. I live in Baltimore and I occasionally play in Action Pool Tour and Planet Pool events. If you ever show up at one of these events look me up.

Please do not take my perceptions, or interpretations of your forum presence as an attack on you...they are my observations.
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I have tried many times to contribute positive content, as you stated, but I have also been slammed in the very same threads.

As far as my "gratuitous photo of Keith," well, I can't help that. When I'm at pool events, I am with him, and so most of my photos contain Keith.

I will continue to defend myself when I am attacked unjustly. Am I perfect? Nope! We are all members of God's human family, and as such, we are all imperfect. That's human nature.

I would relay my opinion of what I think of your posts, your contributions to this forum in the past, and you personally, but it would be interpreted as a tit-for-tat.

Thank you for your contribution. :D
 
classiccues said:
There are some well known posters.. however that is a small %. For the most part this members list are 99% strangers. So IMHO its still the same thing. People may know me because of the site and cues, but that doesn't disuade me from either defending myself OR voicing my opinion. If people disagree with any stance I have and decide they don't want to buy a cue from me, then, that's ok.



If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing. :)

JV
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Good for you! I get what you're saying! :smile:
 
inside_english said:
I agree with some of your points, but you seem to be taking the theme of this thread and making it about you? Or perhaps you are using your experiences as an example, which I can appreciate.

That being said, you must agree that most on here appreciate you and your contributions. You already know this. Everytime someone attacks you, there are many who come out of the woodwork to vehemently defend you. This has also been well-established.

Now I do read the forums quite a bit, sometimes too much. For example, I came into the office on a Saturday to catch up, yet here I am! I am well aware that there are banned posters, real trolls etc.
No one is disputing this. I have seen many a poster who seem permanently mired in the world of the Red Rep.

I was making a point that someone people are a little too quick to throw the "troll" word around, as well as "hater".

And to be fair, while you have been, and will continue to be attacked by some rather unfairly, I would suggest that sometimes you might be a little thin-skinned on these boards? I have seen instances where you have jumped on people for whatever reason, and when they dish it out to you a war begins and the thread gets hijacked with people attacking you, then others defend, then the defenders get attacked, yadayada.

I have seen many instances where you sarcastically "thank someone for their contributions to the forums" when you don't agree with their opinions. It is almost as though you are passing yourself off as the Grand Dame of the boards.

So, my bottom line is you DO give as good as you get. You may not descend into a bout of vitriolic spewing, but you can certainly dish it out.

We do appreciate the countless articles, photos (though not always a gratuitous photo of Keith no matter what the topic), and many references to pros, and your experiences throughout your long history with the game. You must also know this.

I think you focus a litte too much on the negative and take things too personally.

By the way, I don't hide behind a keyboard. My name is Curtis Branker. I live in Baltimore and I occasionally play in Action Pool Tour and Planet Pool events. If you ever show up at one of these events look me up.

Please do not take my perceptions, or interpretations of your forum presence as an attack on you...they are my observations.
Click to expand...

From a casual observers point of view, the sex of the poster is quite important when it comes to how they are treated on messageboards. Put simply, females can get away with things males can't. This is my experience from a number of forums, not just this one.

As I'm not a sexist, well not much of one, I'll say it straight. I find jam's world-weary 'this place is not as good as it used to be, and it's full of trolls and haters' diatribes immensely tiresome. Nothing is as good as it used to be. NOTHING. It's all about ego and loss of control.

And who cares about real names? That's just a stick used to beat people with, to stifle debate and force your views onto people. Let people have their say freely, in anonymity, and ignore it if you don't like it.
 
TheThaiger said:
.... Let people have their say freely, in anonymity, and ignore it if you don't like it.
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The problem is that they can't be ignored. I've seen a discussion group destroyed by a single person (with multiple logins). That's why a moderator is needed.
 
TheThaiger said:
From a casual observers point of view, the sex of the poster is quite important when it comes to how they are treated on messageboards. Put simply, females can get away with things males can't. This is my experience from a number of forums, not just this one.

As I'm not a sexist, well not much of one, I'll say it straight. I find jam's world-weary 'this place is not as good as it used to be, and it's full of trolls and haters' diatribes immensely tiresome. Nothing is as good as it used to be. NOTHING. It's all about ego and loss of control.

And who cares about real names? That's just a stick used to beat people with, to stifle debate and force your views onto people. Let people have their say freely, in anonymity, and ignore it if you don't like it.
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And you've got quite a fan club on this forum as of late. None of your posts are world-weary or tiresome. This forum could use some more just like you. :rotflmao:
 
Bob Jewett said:
The problem is that they can't be ignored. I've seen a discussion group destroyed by a single person (with multiple logins). That's why a moderator is needed.
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That's a separate issue, I think. People may crave anonymity for a variety of reasons, and you take the rough with the smooth. It has more benefits than drawbacks IMO.
 
TheThaiger said:
Lady, you're allllright.

(when you're not moaning about things).
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If you're lucky enough to hit 60 years of age, you'll moan and grown yourself.

I gotta go. We're getting hit with a tornado and hail. Yikes! :eek:
 
Lock N Load said:
Everyone has the same option, read a post or thread or not read a post or thread!!! Very simple. If you do not like what a person writes in the forum, pass it by. I would really like to know why people cannot be nice and kind? I thank you for your input. I am speaking of pool players, so it is pool related.
Many Regards,
Lock N load.
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I have not found this to be the case in this Forum. I would say to me well over 90% have been both very civil and forgiving.

That percentage is as good or better than normal life itself.
 
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TomHay said:
I have not found this to be the case in this Forum. I would say to me well over 90% have been both very civil and forgiving.

That percentage is as good or better than normal life itself.
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I see you have been a member since 2007 with 600-plus posts. Lesson learned here, I think, is that if one posts with less frequency, they are less likely to have a bad experience.

I need to follow this lead, 20,000-plus posts later! :embarrassed2:
 
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