A Discussion of Veiled Insults and Paranoia
Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 5:48 pm
For example, I find this thread disingenuous because I see you, Nalates, as one of the primary users of the veiled insults you're railing against. I believe I agree with you on many of the issues (mostly in the realm of "acceptable" content in Uru) but when you go around responding to criticism with the excuse of "you lack social skills" it gets silly. Furthermore, the use of "disingenuous" is highly insulting to anyone (Calam made a post about this back in 2007) and unlikely to do anything more than further the anger.
Since this topic seems to be talking about my posts (I've been called insulting and I believe I am accurately describing the situation) I will explain my frankness. I know there are other people who you have disagreements with (and they seem to avoid this forum because they, rightly in my opinion, feel this forum gets nothing accomplished) and they will have to speak for themselves.
The term I most often use is "paranoid." This is obviously something people are likely to react to, but I use the term not to get a reaction but to make a point. Using a weaker term would imply there is another side in this debate when there is not. The argument is a shell put forth relentlessly and aggressively by people longing for what was and angry that it will never be. For me, paranoia is the exact definition that fits the behavior I see. People are frightened that their version of what Uru is will not survive a free and open competition of ideas and so they demand that their version be the only version or the primary version, etc. I could site obvious examples but since I apparently can't cite actual facts and instances of behavior here, I'll use unattributed examples and you can . . . PM me or something if you want to know what on earth I'm talking about. When people advocate moral cleansing because someone exploited the game and equate the exploiters with people advocating creativity and experimentation, that is paranoia. When people tell others not to use* tools until the producer gets Cyan's "okay," that is fear-mongering. When people reject the idea of an in-game economy and proceed to attack the person who suggested it, and demand they go to other games, that is bullying.
If you can find another term for this ugly, divisive, counter-productive behavior, let me know.
(EDIT: replaced "download" with "use" as this referred to uproar over OHBot, not Hoikas' WhoM. It's hard to keep track of the insane sometimes. They all seem to be attacking everything.)
Since this topic seems to be talking about my posts (I've been called insulting and I believe I am accurately describing the situation) I will explain my frankness. I know there are other people who you have disagreements with (and they seem to avoid this forum because they, rightly in my opinion, feel this forum gets nothing accomplished) and they will have to speak for themselves.
The term I most often use is "paranoid." This is obviously something people are likely to react to, but I use the term not to get a reaction but to make a point. Using a weaker term would imply there is another side in this debate when there is not. The argument is a shell put forth relentlessly and aggressively by people longing for what was and angry that it will never be. For me, paranoia is the exact definition that fits the behavior I see. People are frightened that their version of what Uru is will not survive a free and open competition of ideas and so they demand that their version be the only version or the primary version, etc. I could site obvious examples but since I apparently can't cite actual facts and instances of behavior here, I'll use unattributed examples and you can . . . PM me or something if you want to know what on earth I'm talking about. When people advocate moral cleansing because someone exploited the game and equate the exploiters with people advocating creativity and experimentation, that is paranoia. When people tell others not to use* tools until the producer gets Cyan's "okay," that is fear-mongering. When people reject the idea of an in-game economy and proceed to attack the person who suggested it, and demand they go to other games, that is bullying.
If you can find another term for this ugly, divisive, counter-productive behavior, let me know.
(EDIT: replaced "download" with "use" as this referred to uproar over OHBot, not Hoikas' WhoM. It's hard to keep track of the insane sometimes. They all seem to be attacking everything.)