Forum Darwinism

[Buzz Killington]

I was thinking about this the other day after seeing yet another poster on WP trash talking the PPR forum there and talking about what a cesspit full of awful people it is.  I think of PPR as comparatively mild, I mean it's a bit rougher than the rest of WP, but is certainly tamer than most political forums on the internet at large.  Apparently that's still too rowdy for some people so they avoid that board, natural selection having weeded them out from participating on that forum.  Some people just can't stand to have their ideas attacked or questioned, or can't separate themselves enough from their opinions to discuss them rationally, or just don't like the confrontational tone there. 

I2 seems to have a similar dynamic in that it's just too rough for some people, while others thrive in the less constrained environment.  It seems to weed out a different kind of person, people who take themselves too seriously or can't laugh at themselves from time to time, as well as the sensitive in general.  I also think it has a blindspot though, in that not having the usual mods and rules that AS boards tend to makes it harder for regulars here to function on a more moderated board.  This is what I was trying to get at in my other thread, until I let myself get sidetracked by other issues and drawn into some drama; being rusty at posting here and all. 

What I'm talking about is the reverse natural selection concerning people who never learn to post with subtlety and discretion because they've never had to, they never break bad habits because they never get called on them.  This isn't a criticism, just an observation I've made over years of posting at different forums with different rules and noticing patterns.  Not being allowed to just directly personally attack someone does have value in that it makes you think harder about how to come at them, how to use them as a springboard for an argument to the crowd, and how to actually persuade rather than bludgeon with logic.  I think that sort of ability is a useful one to have in everyday life, since it's not usually a good idea to verbally abuse someone to their face, and learning to be persuasive rather than trying to win an argument is invaluable for an Aspie. 

Again, just my thoughts and observations.

[Buzz Killington]

Just to clarify, I'm not arguing for moderation or anything like that, merely pointing out an observation made from posting on heavily vs lightly moderated boards.

[eris]

I think being a sneaky about picking on someone or not telling them what you truly feel is cowardly. That being said, shit vomit monkey rape aids enema.

[P7PSP]

After 3.5 years on another forum, not aspie, I recently got 2 mod warnings within a month. One was for a fairly direct personal attack, the other for posting a rather mild girl in a bikini doing a handstand jpg to call someone an attention whore. Prior to that I had been more subtle in personal attacks etc. Maybe I was tired.  I think that tendency you refer to may have contributed to getting the infractions. I never did get a whole lot of warnings at WP, probably 6 or 7 total.

[P7PSP]

This post is cool because it is 11² X 10². enema rape monkey that eris   

[Buzz Killington]

I think being a sneaky about picking on someone or not telling them what you truly feel is cowardly. That being said, shit vomit monkey rape aids enema.

That's not what I'm saying at all; I'm just saying that when the direct approach is forbidden it forces you to branch out and learn new skills.  It's like doing everything you'd normally do with your strong hand with your weak one for a month, it changes how you approach things and adds versatility to your problem solving ability.  I doubt anyone I like or dislike on WP has any doubt about how I feel about them, just because I can't directly insult them doesn't mean I have to sneak around and back-stab them, it just means I have to be more careful in my wording to avoid running afoul of the TOS and the mods.  It's like using a sharp knife vs a blunt object.

[The_Chosen_One]

JesusfuckingChristonacrutch, not more fucking Wankplanet shite again.

What is this, episode 7250?

[Buzz Killington]

After 3.5 years on another forum, not aspie, I recently got 2 mod warnings within a month. One was for a fairly direct personal attack, the other for posting a rather mild girl in a bikini doing a handstand jpg to call someone an attention whore. Prior to that I had been more subtle in personal attacks etc. Maybe I was tired.  I think that tendency you refer to may have contributed to getting the infractions. I never did get a whole lot of warnings at WP, probably 6 or 7 total.

I know exactly how that goes; the driver forums I used to frequent were far more permissive than WP about personal attacks and arguments, and all my mod warnings were in the early days when I was still using both sets of forums.  It's really easy to get used to one set of norms, and then get totally flummoxed when you switch environments and previously acceptable conduct is suddenly not OK.  What's interesting to me is that posting for years under relatively strict moderation has made me a much better debater both online and off, having rules to try and bend provides a challenge and keeps me interested to a certain degree.  I also tend to like arguing lost causes and unpopular positions, I mean what's the point of arguing at all if it's easy?

[bodie]

For some reason i find it much easier to argue on behalf of someone, and
tend to let things go in relation to myself.   

I usually end up supporting the underdog.  Well look at my bloody
footy team

[Al Swearegen]

I have a preference to less moderated forums.
I have been on less moderated forums than this one. None have actually managed to go long term surprisingly 
Thinking of going and trolling a certain site at present. It is a Marilyn Manson site
Could be fun. Yes I will not be direct there, 

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Actually a less moderated forum is more challenging because you have no moderators to exploit and are completely on your own. You rely purely on how you establish your reputation with the community and how well your timing and execution is. The flaw of moderated forums is that, by establishing great standing with one or more of the mods a mutual 'arrangement' can then exist (TL;DR: Easily corruptible). This gives you leeway to being a bit more of an asshole while not suffering as much consequences. The key is knowing when to not push it too far. Relax for a while, agitate, get told off (while secretly they don't really mind, just putting on a show) and rinse and repeat.

It's actually not all that hard to lurk on a forum that's more moderated, and gain the feel of the place and know exactly what's appropriate to say. Once you know how the big players are and what the moderators are like, you can exploit that information to your advantage. I've never been banned from any forum (if anything I gotten other people banned, never reported them, I just pissed them off enough. ), except one where I intentionally just kept at it with trolling until I drove them nuts literally.

['Butterflies']

Dox makes a good point. On this site, I can call someone a dick. On WP, that wasnt allowed so I had to learn new skills.
I learned how to track down someones personal information, and then how to create lots of fake sites in their name.
These are skills I would not have if it werent for WPs heavy moderation.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Dox makes a good point. On this site, I can call someone a dick. On WP, that wasnt allowed so I had to learn new skills.
I learned how to track down someones personal information, and then how to create lots of fake sites in their name.
These are skills I would not have if it werent for WPs heavy moderation.

lol, come to think of it, heavy moderation backfired there because it's supposed to deter you from taking things further.

['Butterflies']

My point exactly. If Leejosepho had just let me insinuate Parakeet was gay, Id quickly have moved on. Because he wouldnt let me make my point, I became frustrated, and caused Parakeet real problems.

["couldbecousin"]

Dox makes a good point. On this site, I can call someone a dick. On WP, that wasnt allowed so I had to learn new skills.
I learned how to track down someones personal information, and then how to create lots of fake sites in their name.
These are skills I would not have if it werent for WPs heavy moderation.

 So WP actually contributed to your embracing the forces of darkness!