08-13-2019, 12:36 AM
Today, while grave digging through the forums looking for an ancient meme about that time when Blodo had an invincibility bug (yes that really happened, yes that was hilarious), I stumbled upon a very old post of an old friend of mine. somewhere 2008 to be precise. It caught my eye and I kept reading. I realised that after all those years not much has changed and that it still is a post that's worth reading, considering I mean. To save you all the trouble of having to click on the hyperlink I'll quote it right here and you'll see what I mean.
"I have had quite a lot of people come to me recently saying how they're really upset with the culture here on the forums and in game.
It has got me thinking about some stuff.
I think we're vile to each other here... Utterly insensitive, cruel, dismissive, agressive, nasty, childish -and- condecending.
This needs to change.
Here is where I think the problem lies. We share this space, it may be virtual, but all the people who inhabit it are real, with real thoughts, insecurities, and emotion.
It is very -very- easy to forget that when you look at a paragraph of text someone has written, or the avatar they use, or their ship ingame, which is just a bunch of pixels after all. That distances us from the real person behind it all, and makes it a lot easier to be unpleasant and dismissive to them. I know I fall into this trap and it makes me genuinely sad.
This is something I think we all need to remember. When you're here, and roleplaying, or looking at the forums, remember that there is a real human behind every last letter, or movement of a ship.
This doesn't mean we can't disagree, but when we do we should treat the other people around with dignity and respect, for their views and standpoint. If we forget this we are, as a community, completely screwed.
I am saying this because I like this community, and many people in it have become friends of mine that I would stay in contact with long after either I leave, or the community fades.
None of us should ever forget how human everyone else here is.
Peace.
Joe.
EDIT: I'm not saying this from a doom-mongering "disco is falling apart... oh woe and strife" point of view. It's not. "
Now as I was reading this I wondered about how much I am guilty of this myself.
I suppose I try to be good to people, but I am definitely no st. Denis.
In fact I've been pretty unjust towards someone a while back, lashing out at him while he was just voicing his opinion.
It's stupid, and in retrospect I'm sure that sometimes I too contribute to a bad atmosphere in this community.
So I am wondering, are we closing in on the point where we are completely screwed as a community? It makes little sense because in general at least we all share a like/love for this game that we play together and that's the main reason we are here reading the forum, playing the game, first checking skype, now checking discord.
Still when I was gravedigging I couldn't help to notice that the general tone changed of the years, we are less and less tolerant to one another and more importantly less and less engaged with one another. No matter what state the game is in and if that is good or bad it is mostly strife between people that makes good people leave a faction or even leave the game as a whole.
I've decided that I am going to try harder to be fair towards people, to hear them out instead of overshouting them. I am not a saint but I also lack any skill and intellect to be a dev so this is probably the best way for me to contribute to this weird disco thing and its people that I grew up with and that I really love.
Because if I don't do that, and if that ends up with nobody doing that and everybody shouting at or about one another this community is at risk of only spiralling downwards.
And that leaves me a bit concerned.
"I have had quite a lot of people come to me recently saying how they're really upset with the culture here on the forums and in game.
It has got me thinking about some stuff.
I think we're vile to each other here... Utterly insensitive, cruel, dismissive, agressive, nasty, childish -and- condecending.
This needs to change.
Here is where I think the problem lies. We share this space, it may be virtual, but all the people who inhabit it are real, with real thoughts, insecurities, and emotion.
It is very -very- easy to forget that when you look at a paragraph of text someone has written, or the avatar they use, or their ship ingame, which is just a bunch of pixels after all. That distances us from the real person behind it all, and makes it a lot easier to be unpleasant and dismissive to them. I know I fall into this trap and it makes me genuinely sad.
This is something I think we all need to remember. When you're here, and roleplaying, or looking at the forums, remember that there is a real human behind every last letter, or movement of a ship.
This doesn't mean we can't disagree, but when we do we should treat the other people around with dignity and respect, for their views and standpoint. If we forget this we are, as a community, completely screwed.
I am saying this because I like this community, and many people in it have become friends of mine that I would stay in contact with long after either I leave, or the community fades.
None of us should ever forget how human everyone else here is.
Peace.
Joe.
EDIT: I'm not saying this from a doom-mongering "disco is falling apart... oh woe and strife" point of view. It's not. "
Now as I was reading this I wondered about how much I am guilty of this myself.
I suppose I try to be good to people, but I am definitely no st. Denis.
In fact I've been pretty unjust towards someone a while back, lashing out at him while he was just voicing his opinion.
It's stupid, and in retrospect I'm sure that sometimes I too contribute to a bad atmosphere in this community.
So I am wondering, are we closing in on the point where we are completely screwed as a community? It makes little sense because in general at least we all share a like/love for this game that we play together and that's the main reason we are here reading the forum, playing the game, first checking skype, now checking discord.
Still when I was gravedigging I couldn't help to notice that the general tone changed of the years, we are less and less tolerant to one another and more importantly less and less engaged with one another. No matter what state the game is in and if that is good or bad it is mostly strife between people that makes good people leave a faction or even leave the game as a whole.
I've decided that I am going to try harder to be fair towards people, to hear them out instead of overshouting them. I am not a saint but I also lack any skill and intellect to be a dev so this is probably the best way for me to contribute to this weird disco thing and its people that I grew up with and that I really love.
Because if I don't do that, and if that ends up with nobody doing that and everybody shouting at or about one another this community is at risk of only spiralling downwards.
And that leaves me a bit concerned.