Why be such an asshole?

Feb 28, 2006 109 Replies

I notice when I post a question or subject, two out of three commentaries are from assholes trying for a prize.



I'd like to understand some perspectives... from the assholes, as to what they have to gain, or why aren't they trying to make some useful contribution to themselves or others instead of wasting keyboard time being a general annoyance instead of somehow constructive.



And I'd like some perspective from the people who know how to avoid the assholes.



I would think the internet and some prisons are the only places in the world where the primary activity is mutual abuse, as though that were the goal.



So, strategies for not feeding the trolls? How does one avoid attracting attention from the feeble minded majority?



It seems like the only solution is to join private newsgroups, if at all... as the world is rife with assholes, most of them being americans or brits, obviously.



Geoff



Well it seemed to me that you invited it. The 50 ohm thing was *not* some trivial detail, it was fundamental. When asked for clarification you just went off on one.

How about by not calling people assholes?

Many people will respond to an insult, (real or perceived), with a bigger one. If two such people correspond, positive feedback results. If your desire is to not waste time in a slanging match... well, don't do that.

Right now it does seem that *you* are the troll.

John Devereux

I'd recommend learning to ignore them. It's the rare one who will continue to post even if there is absolutely zero response to his postings. There are some people whose postings I've simply learned to not open because they have far more potential to be damaging than valuable. Your cell-mate in prison would be really hard to avoid and ignore. On the internet, it's relatively easy and the person you're ignoring won't even know you're ignoring him. In effect, you make your own private group.

I don't have control over what others post, but I do have control over what I post, as well as over what I read. I believe (most) trolls feed on recognition, on a chance to keep a diatribe going. If I (and everyone else) don't rise to that bait, chances are really good they'll go somewhere else. It's the rare thread that has 50 replies or more that has anything new to offer at that point!

Though there are a lot of people who are more annoying than contributing, a lot more really are here to contribute and to learn. In addition, I've gotten feedback from a regular contributor (in another group) that for every posted response, there are commonly ten lurkers that are simply reading and trying to learn. That's a strong incentive to post accurate, informative articles. Those lurkers are quite able to see the trolls for what they are, too.

Cheers, Tom

Thanks Tom.

It seems that I could do better to just ignore the attitudes I find objectionable, and as one person put it "What do you care what other people think".

It's a treasure trove even for experienced people, as one never knows who will shed light on something.. and makes easy work of research too.

I think it's upon me not to get hung up on the b.s. and see the bait as it is.

Geoff

Well, you might ask yourself why *you* get 66% hostile responses. The basic noise floor here is more like 15%.

Start by not calling people assholes. That establishes an unpleasant dynamic.

It is for some people. Usenet provides a forum for the hostile and the insecure, people who, in real life, quickly find themselves alone at their end of the bar.

Be polite, friendly, helpful, whimsical, and stop calling people assholes.

Gosh, you really *don't* know how to make friends. Better go to another newsgroup and start over... you've just alienated most of the posters here.

John

I don't know whome you are referring to, Win is certainly American, but Phil is neither US nor Brit. When there is some funny OP, we laugh, so what? Would be better to smile too. We had some poster called "news...", but he was not posting from Europe. Or did you emigrate?

ciao Ban Apricale, Italy

Mr Gallo, or whatever your alias is this week, the problem is YOU.

""What do you care what other people think". " Um, if you're trying to sell something to other people, yeah, you have to care. It's not that difficult a concept.

[snip]
[snip]

Which would seem to imply that Mr. (f*****ad) "engineer" is French ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

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| 1962 | It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.

Simple. Just quit responding. And if you give in to temptation, quit again. You cannot lose. If your position was right, you exit on a high note. If you were wrong, you limit the damage.

Another thing: Many people are incapable of admitting (detecting?) that they are wrong and will never concede a point. Recently I had an exchange with a know-it-all on another NG, but after he started insulting me I just gave up. Just today I noticed that he has adopted my position and is now attacking others with it.

-- Joe Legris

"Jim Thompson" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

No, he claims that assholes are often Americans or Brits, not the reverse or something. He can be of any nationality, take your pick.

Of course it takes an asshole to come to a stupid suggestion that he might be French. An American asshole in this case. An asshole's task is to free the body from s*it, and you're full of it. A wrapped pile of s*it, with one single orifice, that only produces s*it, s*it, s*it and s*it.

Thanks, Frank. (remove \'q\' and \'.invalid\' when replying by email)

It appears he's posting from somewhere around here:

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(a couple hundred clicks west of Boston)

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Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

"it\'s the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

--- On the contrary, If you'll recall from your 'wave generator' thread it was you who was asking for opinions, and then when they were forthcoming and weren't what you wanted to hear, you reacted childishly with namecalling and America bashing. Like a spoiled child who couldn't get her way screaming, stamping her feet, and generally what would be called asshole - like behavior if exhibited by an adult.

---

--- If you're serious, I'd suggest introspection.

---

--- If you were truly as erudite as you're pretending to be it would be obvious that avoidance is as simple as not responding. In your case however, I think that you're playing a game and looking for some quick recognition and trolling for attention.

---

--- Then you'd be wrong. For starters, I suggest that you reach back into your childhood and take a look at the relationships which existed between your parents and between your parents and their offspring. Looking at your current behavior here and extrapolating backwards, I think you'll find more than just a modicum of abusive behavior there.

---

--- Silence works. Try it.

---

--- Perhaps. As I and others have suggested, perhaps you'd find a happy home at misc.business.product-development. Tell Guy we sent you and I'm sure he'll welcome what seems to be a kindred spirit with open arms.

---

--- Well, I wouldn't say rife, exactly, but I do know of one... :-)

-- John Fields Professional Circuit Designer

That\'s out of context. What I was suggesting was that since he felt he had such a whiz-bang product, he shouldn\'t get his panties all in a bunch by caring about what _we_ thought about it, he should just get it to market.

I see your point. However he seems to not even care what the market would think. At least that's the feeling I get from his messages.

That certainly explains it ;-) I was misled by his American/Brit insults... but he's still a village idiot ;-)

...Jim Thompson

| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | | http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | It\'s what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.

Hey Frank, since this thread and this continuation thereof is so far off topic, thought that I'd share something with you. We spent over a week in France late last year and the French were very nice people. They knew we were from the USA and were nice in spite of that. We were in some areas not geared to tourism, by the way.

Most people are nice, regardless of where they happen to live. If that were not true, very few of us (if any) would be left on this planet.

Your mistakes:

1/ You posted something that smacked of product promotion ... many forum types become immediately rankled over that. 2/ You did have a bit of a technical problem with what you posted. 3/ You asked for opinions and then became VERY defensive ... not a good thing. 4/ You over-reacted. 5/ You probably picked the wrong forum.

I wouldn't, at least, be embarrased to say I was french, knowing the difference.

Your Mistakes,

You fail to see that most people who worked my posts are in fact assholes, and everything they say is to acheive that effect.

Big flipping deal, I DESCRIBED the thing in a way that ANYONE who knows electronics could figure out the scene

PLUS the conversation was NEVER about spec, it was about appearance, but the ASSHOLES have another agenda, to be assholes. adios

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