--- In [email protected], turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Many posts made to Fairfield Life seem intended to draw the unsuspecting > into long, drawn-out, multi-post arguments or discussions. Once > embroiled in one of these tarbaby arguments, newbs (and even many > veteran FFLers) find themselves stuck in what can only be described as > an enormous waste of their time and energy. In this Public Service > Announcement post, I suggest a few "stock answers" to these kinds of > posts. > > First, it is important to realize that many FFL posts can, once one is > hip to what is really going down, be parsed to render them down to their > lowest common denominator -- what is really being said or demanded. Once > you've done that, how to answer them fully and at the same time avoid a > world of trouble is simple. I would suggest that most of these posts can > be rendered down to the following brief synopses: > > OUTRAGED DEMANDS > > "I am outraged. The things you have done, said, hinted at, or > personified just by being <spit> you offend me deeply. So I'm going to > rant about the thing that has offended me (you or what you believe) for > the next 100-1000 lines of text. <insert rant here> Now that *I* feel > better having gotten all of that out of my system, *you* HAVE to respond > to it. The proper response, of course, is to acknowledge that I am right > and you are wrong, and that you are just as evil as I said you were. > Failing that, you should become as angry as I obviously am. But at the > very least you HAVE to answer every one of the points I made and insults > I hurled at you in detail, so that I can then demean your answers and > you, and we can continue to repeat this cycle for another 10 to 20 > posts. OK, now it's your turn to respond to my outrage." > > The proper (sane) answer to posts like this is silence. Crickets. The > sound of a wise person ignoring the demand completely, as if it never > existed. This has the benefit of saving time and energy, and it has the > added benefit of pissing off the person making the demand more than > anything you could possibly say in reply. > > DEMANDS FOR UNEARNED RESPECT > > "I demand to be taken seriously. You *have* to take me and everything I > say seriously, because I deserve it. Failure to do this will be > perceived as what it is -- an attack on me personally, possibly even a > death threat." > > The proper response to posts of this type is, of course, the natural one > -- laughter. If you can turn the whiny, needy demand to be taken > seriously into a joke or parody, even better, because in some cases that > can wake the person making such silly demands up and get them to laugh > at themselves. Barring this, the most effective answer to someone > demanding that you take them seriously is "No." > > DEMANDS THAT YOU *CHANGE* > > "I do not like you <you may substitute any other subject in place of > 'you'...including FFL itself and its low-vibe ways>. You are not the way > that I want you to be. You should CHANGE, and act the way *I* want you > to act. Failure to do this will be perceived as a failure on your part, > for which you should be ashamed, and other posters should 'pile on' and > berate you." > > Again, the proper time-saving answer is silence, or laughter. Many have > found that just saying "No" is also effective. Do not be worried about > causing the person making such demands pain or suffering; if they can't > get you to listen to them demand over and over that you change, they'll > just pick someone else and demand it of them. > > There are probably a few more stereotypes that common FFL posts can be > "rendered down to," but these three cover pretty much 80% of what is > said here. For example, all but three of one person's 26 posts so far > this week can be parsed to fit one or more of these three categories. By > following the above guidelines, you should be able to steer free of such > ego-silliness. > > Alternatively, you could simply focus on the 20% of posters who actually > have something to say. Have a good day. >
Good OPINION, Barry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKtwlHV1-O8
