Hello all, this is not directly related to any particular game, just an off the cuff rant of sorts, which i am certain will be attacked ruthlessly by the moderators here, but here goes anyway…
Is it just to be expected tin gaming forums that responses to posts are religiously met with flaming, and rude responses?? I mean, I almost never post in a gaming forum without getting an endless litany of replies from people who seem intent on being a rude as possible.
Worse than that, it almost always seems that the ‘Moderators’ immediately focus their attention on me, and what I posted, instead of the literal novel of obnoxious responses from other posters. Why is it okay to be rude, and degrading to people, as long as it was not your thread?? Maybe that is not what is called Trolling, but Flaming seems to be just as bad, but is not covered in any of the relentless Codes of Conduct on the forums.
Also, I have yet to get a definitive explanation of what Trolling actually is, from anyone, Moderators or otherwise, and it seems to be just a term that is used to pull rank, and attack posters without good reason.
Is it just par for the course that people on gaming forums are rude, and inconsiderate little brats, or is this something that I am experiencing solely??
Please, if you have nothing useful to add, go find a different thread to nerd rage on!!
You’re in a guild called “Pull My Finger”, yet, you seem to have no sense of humor…
Humans and anonymity are never a good mix. There’s an image about it referring to John Gabriel’s GIFT (slight language warning should you go searching for it) which pretty much sums it up nicely.
To that end, you’ll find such examples on pretty much every forum for pretty much every field - not just gamers. Some handle it better, but there’s only so much you can do to curb such behaviour when everything has to be dealt with manually.
Mind you, you aren’t exactly helping the matter with how you post: “Moderators” in quotes suggesting you don’t believe they deserve their status, “inconsiderate little brats” showing your feeling for your peers on such forums, and the clinching " Please , if you have nothing useful to add, go find a different thread to nerd rage on!!" at the end to suggest that you feel your stance is all that matters and anyone who disagrees in the slightest needs to leave.
These, and many like it, are public forums. Anyone with an active account in good standing is free to post whatever they please. And you’re free to agree or disagree with it, just as they’re free to agree or disagree with you. It’s when you forget that freedom that things will invariably come back to bite you.
It’s an interesting subject. In my experience, having lurked on various forums since 2000, there are three variables that dictate the average ugliness level in a forum:
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Size
It’s simple numbers, the more people participate in a forum the higher the percentage will be trolls/butthats/combative/etc. This is illustrated with Reddit, where small hobby subreddits are fun and cozy but the largest subreddits make the surface of Venus look hospitable in comparison. -
Subject
Many will deny it, but the main subject of a forum indeed has bearing on how rude/nasty it is, and while they’re not all bad gaming forums indeed tend to skew nastier. There’s a bit of history behind this which I’ll get into. -
Rules and how strictly they’re enforced
Forums with practically no moderation will degenerate almost as a matter of course, and even those that do manage to keep themselves civil will be sent into a spiral at the slightest touch. Lawless forums act as troll breeding and training grounds.
Of course, all of this enabled by the anonymity as mentioned by Asterchades, though point #3 kinda applies to the real non-anonymous world as well, because some people just don’t give a crap.
As to why gaming forums tend to be nastier on average, I think it started back when the internet community was much smaller, more nerdy, and more insular. Trolls existed back then too, but there was also just a lot of ribbing that had no malice behind it and people generally understood that. But then the masses came, saw the ribbing behavior, and over time took it more and more seriously (both dishing and receiving) until you get where we are today where virtual personas often end up at odds and genuinely at each others’ throats.
And then of course you have the competitive element of gaming, and for as many good qualities as competition draws out of people, it draws out plenty of ugliness that gets piled on as well.
Welp. This may be too late but never mention the M-word. They hate that. Or the C.o.C. I’ve been silenced a couple of times for minor infractions mean while others have their posts rewritten or are given a warning. This is definitely not the place for those mentions or these kinds of conversations.
You’re a warlock. Act like one! 
As to the trolling and the like. That depends on the topic and who has an interest in that topic.
Addendum: Forgot to include the serious bit in the first paragraph. The thing to remember about moderators is they are ultimately people first. They have their own views, opinions and interpretations. What one person sees as insulting another sees as a harmless joke. Mods are not machines and thus make judgements accordingly.
But seriously. Don’t bring them up. Doesn’t matter what forum or group you are discussing. That’s asking for trouble.
I thought it was expected in every forum & social outlet. Like someone else mentioned, most people will do whatever they can get away with. Give them anonymity and an open forum, and they’ll go wild.
This is why I wouldn’t take anything personally.
The forums aren’t really very rude. In fact, I just looked through every thread and post you’ve ever made on this character, and while not all of them received responses, nobody was rude to you and every thread received generally helpful responses! One time someone asked if you were trolling - I don’t consider that rude, considering you have a very unusual posting style and add lots of unnecessary punctuation, and a lot of your comments are just complaining about blizzard. I also never see a moderator addressing you, unless that was done in private.
I expect rudeness anywhere online.
This is something you are experiencing solely. It shouldn’t even be possible. To fix this problem, permanently delete your windows folder and/ or reformat your hard drive.
The whole point of gaming forums is rudeness.
Sense of humor??
What are you talking about exactly, did you even read my post??
There was nothing concerning humor in what I was saying at all…
You just seem to be doing exactly what I was posting about, jumping into a thread you have nothing useful to add to in order to make a obnoxious comment, and THAT was my point!!
I did not say my opinion was all that counts, I just asked a basic question, and of course got a snarky response…
Thanks for proving my point!!
It took you 26 days to respond. Wow.
I’ll explain, since you seem not to understand things well.
What you call rudeness, others might find to be humorous. People come to forums like this and post some of the most inane and ridiculous things, this thread for example, and when someone responds in a humorous way, whether adding to the conversation or just as a way to diffuse the tension there, there always seems to be someone, like yourself, with ZERO sense of humor who doesn’t understand.
Lighten up, you’re playing a game, and posting on a gaming forum. Also, you’re on the INTERNET. You need to stop taking yourself so seriously, because there’s a VERY good chance that no one else here will.
You’re right. You didn’t. You suggested it, which is why I stated (in the quote you provided) that you, indeed, suggested it. Perhaps “implied” would be a better word to use in this case, though I feel that’s splitting hairs at this point.
Mind you, if that quote is all it takes for you to feel like you’re being attacked then I’m thinking the internet isn’t for you. You’ve managed to read hostility into an analytical response, which leads me to believe you’re simply looking to feel victimised. Why is entirely beyond me, but hey… you do you, I guess.
at this point, you’re just making stuff up. nobody is or has ever been rude to you on here. i’m not sure if it is intentional or due to an inability to understand what people are saying, but i’d spend less time complaining and more effort making sure you’re understanding people correctly,
Just don’t say anything stupid and people won’t call you stupid. That’s how I roll.
What did I say that was stupid exactly??
Or are you just searching for a way to be a troll??
Making stuff up?? What are you even talking about??
See this is what I mean, there is no reason for a ton of people to jump on this as an excuse top attack, but here you all are!!
You know what, nevermind my question has been answered by your responses, and the answer is YES, people ARE rude for no reason on the forums…
I guess just to make themselves feel more important or something!!
You are not living in reality. But good luck to you.
Whatever loser, I AM living in reality, just not YOUR REALITY!!
Good. Good. Let the hate flow through you!
PS see how I removed your last exclamation mark? That’s how I was able to quote (almost) your entire post!
What Hate??
Are you people just bored or something??
Why bother to comment, if you have nothing to add but venom??