Anonymous Guest Posters Are Lame

[wawa]

This has been grating on me, so I'm just gonna lay it out there -

I don't care if you don't want to create an account. You can post as a guest all your little heart desires - but give a name.

In the real world it'd be fucking rude to walk into a crowd of people and just start talking without introducing yourself.

It's rude on the internet too.
There is a little box for a name on the "post as guest" page. Make one up, and put it in there.

[druidp]

Word.
I'm in favor of Sesame Street muppets. Because it's funny as hell for me to think of little Telly sounding off about Jewish Columbus or breast feeding.

[marie427]

And don't just use different SNs thinking no one will know the same person is writing the same kinds of posts.

(See the Columbus thread for more details.)

[secretlyevil]

Seriously - I try to get work done and things like this happen. Off to go read.

[Deleted]

I don't see the problem myself. Its the internet. Its not really real life. It feels like real life to us regulars because we all "know" each other, but to anyone just visiting, its just a forum and keeping your identity hidden online is normal. and it is really what every single one of us here has done, hence using pseudonyms.

Also the poster you referred to openly said he/she wasn't sure if she wanted to join "properly". It makes sense to me to wait and lurk, then choose a name if you decide to stay.

You know I think you are awesome Wawa, but I just don't see the problem here really!

[wawa]

Eh...they don't have to join. But I maintain that it's rude to not give at least some name other than guest.

It's like calling somebody on the phone and refusing to identify yourself. It's just a fundementally rude thing.

Not like "rudeness" on the internet is really that big of a deal, but I reserve the right to bitch about it.

[myst]

I don't think it's rude, but it's extremely difficult to have a conversation with someone if you can't actually tell if you're still talking to the same person.

[Guest]

This is Seesaw Guest.

Sorry it seems so rude to you, wawa. A lot of things around here seem rude to me but I'm told to take my ball and go home or put on the big boy pants. Sorry to have to give you the same advice. I've been part of several boards where it is the job of the mod to keep the place a nice environment to socialize and discuss stuff, minus personal attacks or "flame" posts. I don't understand why this board has no policy against flaming. Attack the argument, the opinion, not the total stranger at the keyboard. There is apparently no expectation of civil conduct on this forum. I have been exercising my right to bitch about it and meeting more "rudeness". It's funny to me that you talk about the rudeness of walking up to a real life conversation without an intro when none of the treatment people want me to swallow would be cool in a real life conversation either.

You can call me whatever you want. I may or may not care to respond to any messages to me personally. I'm not here to make friends or talk about me and you. I'm here to discuss topics important to me and hear other views. I'm getting more opinions about me than I am about the topics though. Why do you want to know which guest is me? Would it get you or anyone else to be civil to me or any other guest if you know which ones were me? Does it assign some value to a post if it's me or not?

[meshaliuknits]

May 23, 2012 15:54:56 GMT -5 myst said:

I don't think it's rude, but it's extremely difficult to have a conversation with someone if you can't actually tell if you're still talking to the same person.

Sits with mystic

[pixy0stix]

I'm only here to do the will of the people, not oppose will upon the people.

[lazyaw]

I would argue that there are a lot of things that happen on these boards that would be rude to do in real life. I actually remember a pretty long thread of mine a few months ago in which many posters made it clear that the reason they are "allowed" to be rude and do offensive things on these boards is because it is the Internet and the board is an "escape from the real world" where they have to be mannered.

[emmybean]

MEH.

[wawa]

Fair enough. I retract my complaint that it's rude. But I maintain that it's still annoying as shit.

And seesaw (see how that work? I can address you specifically because you gave a name for me to use!) this wasn't directly solely at you because i had no way of knowing that all of the unsigned posts were yours.

Funny how that works.

[Deleted]

and yeah, I don't care if you register but at minimum, I'd like to know if I'm talking to the same person.

[MrsAxilla]

May 23, 2012 16:10:31 GMT -5 @Guest said:

I don't understand why this board has no policy against flaming.

Because we LIKE flaming. We like giving it and we like taking it. We're sadomasochistic.

[secretlyevil]

May 23, 2012 16:19:33 GMT -5 @lazyaw said:

I would argue that there are a lot of things that happen on these boards that would be rude to do in real life. I actually remember a pretty long thread of mine a few months ago in which many posters made it clear that the reason they are "allowed" to be rude and do offensive things on these boards is because it is the Internet and the board is an "escape from the real world" where they have to be mannered.

Was that the one about the Duggar miscarriage?

May 23, 2012 16:30:09 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

May 23, 2012 16:10:31 GMT -5 @Guest said:

I don't understand why this board has no policy against flaming.

Because we LIKE flaming. We like giving it and we like taking it. We're sadomasochistic.

This is true. I think my best flaming (as in I was flamed) was bra burning waaaay back in the day. It was either AFB or ML on the "other" board(s).

[Knight]

I'm with Reeve on this one. We all "know" each other but the new people don't know us from Adam so if they want to lurk and occasionally post as a guest I see no problem. Now if that person decides to post more frequently then I would urge them to get an account. It's just easier.

[wawa]

May 23, 2012 16:30:09 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

May 23, 2012 16:10:31 GMT -5 @Guest said:

I don't understand why this board has no policy against flaming.

Because we LIKE flaming. We like giving it and we like taking it. We're sadomasochistic.

I didn't feel like I was really a member of this board until I got my ass flamed for something.

[AJL]

I thought a good flaming was like an a initiation. You know, kind of like getting jumped into a gang.

[wawa]

May 23, 2012 16:37:52 GMT -5 Knight said:

I'm with Reeve on this one. We all "know" each other but the new people don't know us from Adam so if they want to lurk and occasionally post as a guest I see no problem. Now if that person decides to post more frequently then I would urge them to get an account. It's just easier.

but they don't have to have an account...just pick any old name and use it in while signed in as a guest. You can even change it later. I don't care. But within the same thread it's just hard to have a back-and-forth exchange with somebody when you're not sure that it's the same person the whole time.

I was really irritated when i first made this post. I am less so now. Mostly because it's not something I care enough about to maintain any measureable level of rage. Also the work day is over. :drink:

[Seesaw]

I've only gone by Guest, guest and Seesaw. All guest posts are not me.

Ok, I hear the problem with knowing you're talking to the same person in a conversation back and forth. I'll go by Seesaw to help with the headache.

marie427 - I went by Seesaw in one thread just because it was the security question for that post and I used it on a whim. I came back and replied to that thread as Guest by mistake. I did not intend to pretend I was two people replying in the same thread. I was trying to have some continuity within each thread, but I messed it up. I admitted who I was when someone said something. And now I see the trouble with talking to me when I have no name, so I'm going to enter Seesaw in that little box just for you internet sociopaths. Across threads, I do not see why it matters what I said in a different thread on a totally different topic. How does it help you formulate your response to a post I make on one topic to know how I felt in a different one? I don't think I like the idea of you carrying your impression of me from one thread to another instead of judging my opinions by topic and not by your mental picture of the kind of person I am from another topic. Ok let me revise, I'll go by Seesaw wherever I've already posted. In any new topic, whatever name I go by and there will always be a name other than Guest, I'll keep the same name throughout the thread. Done.

lazyyaw - Ok, I get it now. Thank you for informing me of the rules around here. I'm free of all common courtesy and it's all just make believe internet fun. I was hoping for more serious conversations, but I am open to being entertained as well as informed. The mod even piped up and said she would not oppose the people. I am not too sure I like this, but I am going to practice posting without care for anyone else's feelings or being fair and reasonable. Could be fun. I'll probably need some drinks in me to really enjoy being mean though. Later tonight I'll try that.

[pixy0stix]

May 23, 2012 16:46:48 GMT -5 @Seesaw said:

Across threads, I do not see why it matters what I said in a different thread on a totally different topic. How does it help you formulate your response to a post I make on one topic to know how I felt in a different one?

Now that I know you're an isolationist with a heavy background of revisionist history with only a fleeting (and wrong) grasp of legal terms (y'know like the majority of the American population), I'll know how to frame my replies to you in a way that you'll understand.

[2vermont]

May 23, 2012 16:33:31 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

May 23, 2012 16:19:33 GMT -5 @lazyaw said:

I would argue that there are a lot of things that happen on these boards that would be rude to do in real life. I actually remember a pretty long thread of mine a few months ago in which many posters made it clear that the reason they are "allowed" to be rude and do offensive things on these boards is because it is the Internet and the board is an "escape from the real world" where they have to be mannered.

Was that the one about the Duggar miscarriage?

I suspect she's referring to the taking the Lord's name in vain thread.

[bqbride]

I literally cannot stop laughing at the outrage over our lack of an anti-flaming policy.

[wawa]

May 23, 2012 17:05:28 GMT -5 @bqbride said:

I literally cannot stop laughing at the outrage over our lack of an anti-flaming policy.

we're savages apparently.
but we're savages with NAMES.

[MrsAxilla]

May 23, 2012 17:05:28 GMT -5 @bqbride said:

I literally cannot stop laughing at the outrage over our lack of an anti-flaming policy.

I'm starting to wonder if the nest drove us off on purpose because they didn't like our culture.

[pixy0stix]

FWIW, just from my random interactions with other forums, nesties as a whole (and I'm including even local boards) are tougher than the general internet population. I've accidentally bulldozed people in conversations outside the tn/tb bubble.

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

You know why it's dumb? OWN your fucking opinions, dude. That's like when you read the comments section of a newspaper online and someone is all "Hi, I have an opinion and it's important and I'm going to say something stupid!!!" but then they don't leave a name or anything so you can't respond. It's passive-aggressive.

[bqbride]

May 23, 2012 17:12:04 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

May 23, 2012 17:05:28 GMT -5 @bqbride said:

I literally cannot stop laughing at the outrage over our lack of an anti-flaming policy.

I'm starting to wonder if the nest drove us off on purpose because they didn't like our culture.

It was the only way they were ever going to get some of us bitches to leave.

[heightsyankee]

May 23, 2012 16:46:48 GMT -5 @Seesaw said:

I've only gone by Guest, guest

Were these worth differentiating?

May 23, 2012 16:46:48 GMT -5 @Seesaw said:

lazyyaw - Ok, I get it now. Thank you for informing me of the rules around here. I'm free of all common courtesy and it's all just make believe internet fun. I was hoping for more serious conversations, but I am open to being entertained as well as informed. The mod even piped up and said she would not oppose the people. I am not too sure I like this, but I am going to practice posting without care for anyone else's feelings or being fair and reasonable. Could be fun. I'll probably need some drinks in me to really enjoy being mean though. Later tonight I'll try that.

Serious conversations and entertainment are not mutually exclusive.

If you're plan is to come on here and now just be mean for the sake of it --- boring. If conversations get heated they often become entertaining. Whining about it is just so... eh.