Why do people get so fighty on forums like this?

Sunny Disposition · 12-05-2022 4:50pm #1

There's an awful lot of aggression on anonymous boards like this. What is it about people that gets them arguing bitterly with someone they don't know, often about a topic they half understand like what rural Russians think of NATO or what policy levers should be used to ease the rental market?

Another mad thing you often see is someone trying hard to be the top dog on a particular topic. Like a fella who will put down someone else's knowledge of Fermanagh football or Tipperary hurling and try to show off with insights like corner back X is sometimes a slow to clear the ball off his right hand side. These people sort of humblebrag about their knowledge, by making obscure points, but really, isn't it quite a pathetic ambition to be respected on an anonymous forum?

toyotatommy · 12-05-2022 4:51pm

Sweeping essays, multi quote and covid/war expertise is all the rage.

victor8600 · 12-05-2022 4:56pm

isn't it quite a pathetic ambition to be respected

An anonymous forum is a relatively safe playground to test the limits of someone's debating skills. If you don't want to play, then get out of the sand box.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 12-05-2022 4:57pm

I've a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it is the inverse of their real lives, they've never achieved anything of tangible importance, so spend their time massaging their own egos, by forcing their viewpoints and contrarian arguments, and stifling actual discussion.

growleaves · 12-05-2022 4:59pm

People have too much energy from sitting all day and want to practice their strength on other people, particularly their intellectual strength and greater knowledge (real or imagined). Ego comes into it as well obviously.

dxhound2005 · 12-05-2022 5:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058245604/why-do-people-get-so-fighty-on-forums-like-this

Two who each half understand the topic will be able to put their knowledge together and reach an agreement.

BENDYBINN · 12-05-2022 5:04pm

I think that it's because a lot of us highly intelligent people have no patience dealing with ordinary folk and just lash out in frustration.

growleaves · 12-05-2022 5:04pm

'but really, isn't it quite a pathetic ambition to be respected on an anonymous forum?'

I suppose so. It's a low hurdle.

sam t smith · 12-05-2022 5:09pm

Ah yeah, strange behaviour.

One lad was posting something that was factually incorrect the other day. Called him out on it and he immediately gets all shirty like ‘what’s your point?’.

My point is you haven’t a clue, mate.

Continued to badger me because I didn’t ignore his guff.

First person I have had to add to my ‘ignore’ list.

Dial Hard · 12-05-2022 5:13pm

It will never cease to amaze me what utterly random (and pointless) hills some Boardsies choose to die on. It's bizarre.

Sleeper12 · 12-05-2022 5:14pm

Small man syndrome

is_that_so · 12-05-2022 5:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052330#Comment_119052330

Telling someone they haven't a clue is a sure-fire way to get someone's back up. There are 101 ways to draw attention to factual inaccuracies that don't include the old ad hominem call out!

is_that_so · 12-05-2022 5:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052351#Comment_119052351

It's all boardsies at some point or other but a Boards holiday is always a good way to clear the system of such negative thoughts.

sam t smith · 12-05-2022 5:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052368#Comment_119052368

I didn’t tell him he didn’t have a clue. 🤣

I pointed out the inaccuracies. He immediately piped in with ‘what’s your point?’. I clarified again that he was incorrect and another ‘what’s your point?’ and went downhill from there.

Problem is he has built a whole spiel based on the ‘facts’, so he will never accept that he was wrong.

Quite childish.

dotsman · 12-05-2022 5:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052330#Comment_119052330

Could be worse - you could provide countless links to black and white evidence on your post, but the other poster is a mod who then threatens to ban you because you "offended them".

Ubbquittious · 12-05-2022 5:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052381#Comment_119052381

Could you imagine a holiday where there's a load of boardsies on it all together? The drama off it would bate any episode of any reality TV show ever created

toyotatommy · 12-05-2022 5:50pm

Last boards beer meet up was a complete failure as the WiFi wouldn’t work.

Ubbquittious · 12-05-2022 5:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052515#Comment_119052515

What year was that?

EmmetSpiceland · 12-05-2022 6:12pm

There are a large number of angry men, both middle aged and entering into it, who don’t like “change”, lack compassion and, generally, just want to yell at clouds, on here.

The world is changing and they don’t like it. They also don’t like seeing others “succeeding” at life, something they’ve failed to do themselves.

All of this anger is directed at immigrants, people of colour, women (both cis and trans), homosexuals and anyone who doesn’t also hate these people.

Thankfully, most of these are contained in the “Current Affairs” forum but a number of unsuitable threads in here act as a staging post for them to spread out and infect the rest of the forum, spiting their hatred, and spite, towards more normal users.

BrianD3 · 12-05-2022 6:16pm

I gave up on multi quote, long winded arguments years ago. I do sometimes enjoy seeing others participating in them though.

The worst type of snark merchants are the "post count" and "attack the OP" brigade. They'll jump in as soon as they can to get their attack in, scanning through a long post to find one word or sentence to go after. They rarely start threads and the majority of their "contributions" to the site are short. I guarantee that they don't speak to people like that in real life.

Ubbquittious · 12-05-2022 6:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052621#Comment_119052621

What you have to look out for is when someone starts attacking the "thankers" of a post. You know it's an all-out war at that stage 😅

toyotatommy · 12-05-2022 6:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052660#Comment_119052660

The nato posters.

dxhound2005 · 12-05-2022 6:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052396#Comment_119052396

It could have been a woman.

AttractiveAndSingle · 12-05-2022 6:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052597#Comment_119052597

Emmet you are what the kids today call a “white knight”. No offence intended, I agree with your wider points.

sam t smith · 12-05-2022 6:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119052740#Comment_119052740

Perhaps. 🤔

Rothko · 12-05-2022 7:07pm

Some posters just can't handle it when others have a different opinion or disagree with them. They'll lash out at them and twist their words around to paint the poster in a bad light and make themselves feel better. I imagine that most wouldn't dare do it face to face. Wannabe bullies basically.

Thankfully, the vast majority of users on here are nothing like that and it's really only a small minority who act like that.

Jim_Hodge · 12-05-2022 7:31pm

I don't think the vast majority of users are aggressive or argumentative: nor are most of the forums. Current Affairs and AH seems to draw them. They're just being obstreperous because they can't/won't do it in real life. All mouth and no trousers, as my granny used to say.