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FrozenGate by Avery

Introspective Question

InfinitusEquitas said:
The simple answer is no.

The complicated one, is it depends on the situation, and they are often unique.

What annoys me here on the forum from time to time, is rarely that I think someone is stupid (although let's face it, we've all read some facepalm worthy material), but rather that they are lazy.

That they demand a simple answer to a complicated question.

That they continue to ask questions, to which answers are easy to find.

That they in turn perceive as rudeness, an answer that is simply short/terse, and equally as uniforming as their question.

To a person who is simply lazy, I will just stop responding. To a person that becomes rude, I'll use nice language, but no longer feel any obligation to actually be nice.

To take Tmack analogy - of course it's easier to point out the bathroom, but would you really want a customer to whom you also need to show where the Bar is, or the tables, or the back door? I guess yes, if you're a paid host, but none of us here are.
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I think the mantra on the Forum has always been "Don't spoonfeed the noobs"

I don't think the reason has ever been to be rude. If a person dedicates that much time to researching and building and has the intelligence to do so, they are probably not someone inclined to be irresponsible with a Laser. They will most likely have learned about laser safety along the way.

Contributing to discussions on the forum also gives builders and sellers a sense of who the member is. A built in safety mechanism as it were. The Forum tends to weed out potentially "dangerous people". The moderators also work overtime to keep an eye on things even though it may not always be so obvious. Many of the Vets and members also communicate and take care of their own.

Just my opinion. I think LPF is a worthwhile community and I appreciate it and the members :beer:

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~ LB
 





BShanahan14rulz said:
The answer is "Yes."

However, I would not be rude or disrespectful to someone BECAUSE they are less intelligent. Generally, it just happens to be the case. :beer:
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You did find the hole in the question. Should have been phrased -

"Is it morally ok to be rude/disrespectful to someone because you perceive them to be less intelligent than you?"

I do agree with IE that it's a much more complicated reality where being disrespectful can be warranted, but keeping it simple I would say the answer to the rephrased question is "no". Rudeness and disrespectfulness devalues eachother which isn't good for anyone, especially since intelligence can be measured many different ways and isn't necessarily a defining quality of a person.
 
madmacmo said:
And pray tell what is your source within academic psychology to back this up?
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I didn't use one.. I don't need a paper to tell me this when I've personally asked quite a few assholes about why their being assholes. It happens on a personal level however - as an intentional effort to try and connect with them. I don't just walk up to them an ask "Hey, why are you kind of an asshole lately?"

If I have to resort to something called "academic" psychology to present my take on something I happen to be practiced in, then its apparent I'm doing something wrong. Take my damned word for it. I assure you, I mean what I say and I don't say it if I don't think its worth the time. You don't want to hear it? Too late. That's the nature of an opinion. They are difficult to un-hear.

If you are suggesting that the majority of what constitutes man's knowledge of mankind can only be found in "academic" psychology papers, then you are gravely mistaken.

Next time I share my genuine perspective on something, don't go about asking for papers and an "academic" source right off the bat. It communicates to me that you consider my word to be "anti-academic" - and that somehow that means my word is not trustworthy. Well way to take a shot below the belt there.

You hit it dead on. Good to know only a published paper is considered the only "reliable" source of moral takes, on questions such as "Is it right to...".

They say to "think for yourself" and to "reason through everything independently". Don't believe what your parents say, just because they say it, or the words of your friend, pastor, or the old man on the park bench that says your saggy pants make you look homeless.

But somehow a paper if labeled "academic" enough to suit our agenda, is exempt from this rule encouraging us to think for ourselves.

This is not a swing directly at you Mac, I'm just lately very sick of attitude that is too quick to discount someone's opinion, solely based on the fact that it is an opinion. Yeah, there are just as many bad opinions out there as there are good ones (but wait, that's just my opinion! Oh no!), but no where in the context of the opinion can anyone assume that the opinion is not already proven or at least probable enough to not be simply discounted.

Maybe you just thought I was just here to throw around whatever stupid idea came into my head. But I don't operate like that. Especially not here. I'm not some month-old noobie with 1000 posts. My words are not cheap. They cost me time, courage, and sometimes emotion to get them out there. Again, I will not say something unless I really believe that the cost of time is worth it. But I know not everyone is like this.

There are so many better things I could be doing with my time than sitting in front of a laser pointer forum, yet I choose to spend it here anyway because of the people here. I already have a lot of time/words invested into this crowd, because I like to think that when I say something, I can possibly add to the value of the forum. That's the point of posting. But when you take even a small detail of my words (which again, cost me something) and nit pick at them, by throwing out these "prove it" challenges, it makes me think you completely disregarded everything else I took the time to type, just to take advantage of the opportunity to prove someone wrong, or worse, to prove yourself somehow better.

I understand the draw and fun it is to be the devil's advocate, but it seems to me that wasn't quite what you were after.

I don't know for sure what you were trying to get at, and what intentions are behind it, but the effect you're having is causing me to reconsider sharing anything genuine on here at all. Like its not worth the cost to do so because I'm somehow not "academic" enough for your standards. The "pray tell" part is particularly insulting.

I know we differ in opinion on this particular question posed by the OP Mac, but I'm not going to discount your opinion just because its an opinion at all. I think your opinion is valid (I wish you had elaborated on it more), but please,

don't make me or anyone else feel like they are just a big waste of your time. Its daunting to realize you took the time to make this clear to me.

If you want evidence, the best I can offer you is my experience. I'm sorry if that is not good enough for you. Just know I didn't mean any dishonesty or bad intentions by it. So again I'm sorry if I sounded like I was trying to come off as "knowing sh** no one else has".

For now, this is all I can afford to say. I'm sorry.

I hope I can somehow stay off your ignore list.

-Tyler
 
Meatball said:
I didn't use one.. I don't need a paper to tell me this when I've personally asked quite a few assholes about why their being assholes. It happens on a personal level however - as an intentional effort to try and connect with them. I don't just walk up to them an ask "Hey, why are you kind of an asshole lately?"

If I have to resort to something called "academic" psychology to present my take on something I happen to be practiced in, then its apparent I'm doing something wrong. Take my damned word for it. I assure you, I mean what I say and I don't say it if I don't think its worth the time. You don't want to hear it? Too late. That's the nature of an opinion. They are difficult to un-hear.
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Personal experience should be quite valid, especially for an opinion ;)

I rather enjoy your posts and appreciate the time and effort you and others put into it.

Meatball said:
They say to "think for yourself" and to "reason through everything independently". Don't believe what your parents say, just because they say it, or the words of your friend, pastor, or the old man on the park bench that says your saggy pants make you look homeless.
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I Like this. Please continue to contribute. Both you and MadMacMo are highly respected for different reasons and perhaps that is the beauty of "community". Bumpy at times but worth it :thinking:

~ LB
 
madmacmo said:
BTW - I think it sure would be a boring world if it were full of only love and kindness without any Assholes to provide enlightenment and perspective :beer:
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Surely you don't think they are the only source of enlightenment and perspective?

Trevor
 
I gauge a person by how hard they work, not how intelligent they are. It is morally acceptable to be rude to someone who is lazy, IMO.

If you're not that intelligent but hard working I'll be patient with you.
 
TheDukeAnumber1 said:
"Is it morally ok to be rude/disrespectful to someone who you perceive to be less intelligent than you?"​
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Like so many poll questions, the answer is more a shade of grey than black and white.

Usually when you "perceive" someone as less intelligent than you, which may prompt a rude response, it comes from one of two contexts: 1) the person asking questions that are out of place (i.e. "stupid questions") or to disingenuously try to fish out agreement, 2) the person is giving erroneous answers as an authority. In the former case, there is a demonstrated lack of respect to the person(s) being asked. In the latter case, perhaps being rude is a means to chastise the person for misleading others, especially if the misleading persists. In either case, it shouldn't be used as a means to prop yourself up.

Now if a person is coming as a student, wishing to learn (and has reasonably done their "homework" in order to not ask stupid questions), or is simply ignorant of a subject outside of their control (like a person who is lost), that does not warrant rudeness.
 
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So all of a sudden my opinion doesn't matter? Fuck you, MMacro! You're an asshole!

Wanna sing kum baya with me?

:san: (here, was trying to poke fun at how everybody is raised to feel like they are special, and that everything they say is important and true in its own way, and how this brings about a sense of unfulfilled entitlement when people don't acknowledge them)

You may have forgotten to clarify that not everybody who you perceive is less intelligent than yourself is an asshole (, and that's probably where the confusion of this question comes from)

Also, Dave, I thought you lived in CA? Isn't it a law that you have to agree with all the Wussification of America bills before you are recognized as a resident of CA? I mean, I live in the south, and I had to fill out a form promising to be a biggot, I just assumed CA had the same thing :thinking:
 
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BShanahan14rulz said:
Also, Dave, I thought you lived in CA? Isn't it a law that you have to agree with all the Wussification of America bills before you are recognized as a resident of CA? I mean, I live in the south, and I had to fill out a form promising to be a biggot, I just assumed CA had the same thing :thinking:
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He's American, technically, we're all assholes.

 
I think there are two different questions that are being discussed at once and people are confusing one for the other:

Is it okay to be mean to stupid people?
Is it okay to be mean to mean people?
 
I think people are reading between the lines, when there are no lines.

Simple question. Is it ok to be rude to somebody you perceive to be less intelligent than you?

Not... Is it ok to be rude to somebody you perceive to be less intelligent than you if they keep asking the same question if you already showed them

Not... Is it ok to be rude to somebody in an Internet forum if they are noobs and you perceive them to be less intelligent than you.

Simple answer, no. Since when have rude and disrespectful ever been considered a good thing.
 
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