Originally posted by BigMackCam We'll try, Bill... It's more difficult to distinguish bait vs reasonable opinion (even if we might not agree with it), but we'll try
That is the bigger concern I have for cracking down on speech.. who is to say someone doesn't have a serious, valid, critical opinion versus being considered a troll? A troll is someone who just does it for the rise in people alone. Who can tell the difference?
The funny here is we all agree for taking care of the problems in the forum, but we are probably each that problem for one another..
So do we just ban all critical or deemed-as-negative comments as a result? I'd be more concerned with this place then becoming an everything-is-awesome borg mentality.
Everything isn't always awesome and it should be OK to discuss it as long as we don't get personal.
There have been a lot of spinups and spinouts... but there have also been some interesting discussions too in the middle of them or as a result of them. That seems to be just how the internet works... this isn't a PF issue.
I see the same issues on every. single. other. forum.
We have a lot of people discussing in a single (often non-native) language over dozens of countries (at least) with different understanding of that language and its regional nuances, different customs and cultures, different personalities, different age groups, different levels of emotion, etc.. all that has to be deciphered through text and smilies. It is easy to misunderstand what someone means or their attitude.
The other issue I see is we tend to share our personal likes with one another as if they should matter to one another more globally. And done so as if we must
WIN the discussion. When that mentality, mixed with arguments on personal choice, only tends to fuel and fan the flames. It is one thing to discuss the specifications of a lens or body, technique, or the sort and it is another to get into the weeds of 5 fps burst or 33 AF points should be enough for you because it is enough for me and I'm going to win this battle. It is there where the heat seems to start more often than not..
So maybe we, as members of the forum, could help by knocking back on the win-the-personal-arguments thinking. And also understanding that just sometimes views get crossed, people bump heads, people get misunderstood, and it is just going to happen online in public discussions.