Should AMT be shut down?

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^^
Yes.
You just have to speak your mind and deal with what comes.
That is not baiting or trolling.

Taking offense to an opinion and hurling insults should be punished.

Trolling and having an opinion are two different things.

What if there's a suspicion that the opinions you claim to have are not actually genuine and are in fact expressed with the sole intention of causing trouble?

Admittedly this is fairly impossible to prove conclusively

Anyway, sorry SD I went off on my own tangent there.

With regard to it being an 'all-ages forum', to be honest I never consider that children might be reading the things posted in AMT. I wouldn't really consider it to be an area of the forum that they're likely to frequent, then again nor do I imagine there are many people under the age of 18 posting here at all. I expect what underage posters there are most likely post in the more band-related areas rather than in AMT. As you can see, I'm making a lot of assumptions here

I think it's unrealistic though to try and cater for all ages, particularly in AMT. It is just not possible to discuss some issues in a child-friendly manner because quite simply they are very serious topics and it's naturally that discussion can become heated.

badbrains said:

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

Depends if they decide you're bullying them I guess

Amongst the Ani said:

badbrains said:

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

If you laught at the post and not the poster than it is within guidelines.

And therein lies the fine line which can be hard to distinguish. Can you disagree strenuously with someone's views without them somehow construing it as being a personal attack? There are some people who are just inclined to take everything personally

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

Yes I think AMT should continue to exist.
Not quite sure how one could get an entire category closed.
I think the word troll has been overplayed to a point where it is common place to call someone a troll as it is to say hello.
It means nothing to the accused but it means a lot to the accuser.
Talking avatars are merely that.- an avatar on a computer
Could you imagine a forum where everytime someone posts they get called a troll? That would not be a very inviting place for noobs or existing members.
When avatars comment in threads of controversial or even menial subjects one avatar can take it the wrong way and cause a cycle of back and forth bickering leading to personal insults caused by nothing more than a persons input to a thread.
We openly have posters stating why they don't post in certain places of the forum for this very reason. How did it get this way?
Avoiding certain categories on a forum in order to not be included should not have to cross the mind of a member.

My avatar doesn't speak for me on the forum. I speak and my avatar happens to pop up. Does your avatar speak for you? I never thought of someone's avatar speaking for them. That could explain so very much around here.

Not everyone here who posts is called a troll. I have many, many friends here who are delightful people (had dinner with a lovely group of 12 from the forum the other night) and they aren't people I would consider trolls. I text, e-mail, go to concerts with and PM (thank you for PMs) with many people.

What do I consider a troll? I consider a troll to be one who continually pokes and prods at someone then shouts, "It's offending me for this reason, this isn't fair for that reason" and then tells on that individual to Kat or Sea. They bait and then when someone bites, they run and shout that someone wasn't nice to them.

Why throwing all the sand in the sandbox? My mom would have beat my ass for that.

There are some people here who are like speaking to a brick wall. I'm not stating NOT to have differing opinions. Please. By all means. Those differing opinions are ways for us to learn from each other. A mutual respect. Debate. A verbal sparring of sorts, shaking hands and walking away having learned something valuable from each other. I'm not saying that you need to agree, but taking the opinions of all and tossing into a stew pot helps us to learn as people.

Trolling is a term tossed around because there are a handful (I will not call them out by name because I have a good idea that they know exactly who I'm talking about) that do engage in an attacking kind of way. It seems like those individuals seem to go for the jugular each and every time.

And yes, I do believe that trolls aren't reprimanded. I don't believe it is right. Sorry, but that hammer should swing both ways. Right next to that special place in hell for RickRollers should be one for baiters and trolls.

Now go out and debate kindly, please.

deadendp said:

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

Yes I think AMT should continue to exist.
Not quite sure how one could get an entire category closed.
I think the word troll has been overplayed to a point where it is common place to call someone a troll as it is to say hello.
It means nothing to the accused but it means a lot to the accuser.
Talking avatars are merely that.- an avatar on a computer
Could you imagine a forum where everytime someone posts they get called a troll? That would not be a very inviting place for noobs or existing members.
When avatars comment in threads of controversial or even menial subjects one avatar can take it the wrong way and cause a cycle of back and forth bickering leading to personal insults caused by nothing more than a persons input to a thread.
We openly have posters stating why they don't post in certain places of the forum for this very reason. How did it get this way?
Avoiding certain categories on a forum in order to not be included should not have to cross the mind of a member.

My avatar doesn't speak for me on the forum. I speak and my avatar happens to pop up. Does your avatar speak for you? I never thought of someone's avatar speaking for them. That could explain so very much around here.

Not everyone here who posts is called a troll. I have many, many friends here who are delightful people (had dinner with a lovely group of 12 from the forum the other night) and they aren't people I would consider trolls. I text, e-mail, go to concerts with and PM (thank you for PMs) with many people.

What do I consider a troll? I consider a troll to be one who continually pokes and prods at someone then shouts, "It's offending me for this reason, this isn't fair for that reason" and then tells on that individual to Kat or Sea. They bait and then when someone bites, they run and shout that someone wasn't nice to them.

Why throwing all the sand in the sandbox? My mom would have beat my ass for that.

There are some people here who are like speaking to a brick wall. I'm not stating NOT to have differing opinions. Please. By all means. Those differing opinions are ways for us to learn from each other. A mutual respect. Debate. A verbal sparring of sorts, shaking hands and walking away having learned something valuable from each other. I'm not saying that you need to agree, but taking the opinions of all and tossing into a stew pot helps us to learn as people.

Trolling is a term tossed around because there are a handful (I will not call them out by name because I have a good idea that they know exactly who I'm talking about) that do engage in an attacking kind of way. It seems like those individuals seem to go for the jugular each and every time.

And yes, I do believe that trolls aren't reprimanded. I don't believe it is right. Sorry, but that hammer should swing both ways. Right next to that special place in hell for RickRollers should be one for baiters and trolls.

Now go out and debate kindly, please.

Agree completely (as I generally do with you )

I'm not a fan of passive-aggressive bullshit. Anyone's open to air their views, no matter how lovey-dovey or controversial or anywhere within that spectrum.

It's weird, I've read some REALLY over the top stuff, gotten a handful of pm's meant to incite anger but instead resulting in laughter and an amused "the fuck are they on about?" Never felt the need to report anyone; if anything, I've checked myself behind the scenes in a couple of threads.

By the way, good post, deadend!

And worthy discussion, SD.

hedonist said:

I'm not a fan of passive-aggressive bullshit. Anyone's open to air their views, no matter how lovey-dovey or controversial or anywhere within that spectrum.

It's weird, I've read some REALLY over the top stuff, gotten a handful of pm's meant to incite anger but instead resulting in laughter and an amused "the fuck are they on about?" Never felt the need to report anyone; if anything, I've checked myself behind the scenes in a couple of threads.

By the way, good post, deadend!

And worthy discussion, SD.

Agreed on all fronts. The flag option just never ever crossed my mind. I wouldn't consider it unless I was being threatened.

Are there PJ Forum meet-ups happening in Northeast Ohio?
I live in South Northeast Ohio!
Maybe a booze cruise at Atwood Lake next summer??

rgambs said:

hedonist said:

I'm not a fan of passive-aggressive bullshit. Anyone's open to air their views, no matter how lovey-dovey or controversial or anywhere within that spectrum.

It's weird, I've read some REALLY over the top stuff, gotten a handful of pm's meant to incite anger but instead resulting in laughter and an amused "the fuck are they on about?" Never felt the need to report anyone; if anything, I've checked myself behind the scenes in a couple of threads.

By the way, good post, deadend!

And worthy discussion, SD.

Agreed on all fronts. The flag option just never ever crossed my mind. I wouldn't consider it unless I was being threatened.

Are there PJ Forum meet-ups happening in Northeast Ohio?
I live in South Northeast Ohio!
Maybe a booze cruise at Atwood Lake next summer??

I apologize in advance for thread derailment:
A bunch of us just met up at Great Lakes Brew Pub in Ohio City/Cleveland the other day before the Chris Cornell show.

Carry on.