Thread: What happened to the tone?

Man, people are being mean spirited in their posts......is there a reason we cannot be respectful of each other while still strongly disagreeing in our ideas. We have long time people being condescending. We have people calling each other names. It would be awesome to come here and enjoy the site.....btw, some comments in posts are sarcastic, before responding, think about if the author was serious or not....

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Man, people are being mean spirited in their posts......is there a reason we cannot be respectful of each other while still strongly disagreeing in our ideas. We have long time people being condescending. We have people calling each other names. It would be awesome to come here and enjoy the site.....btw, some comments in posts are sarcastic, before responding, think about if the author was serious or not....

Actually, I felt as if it had improved a lot over the past couple of days. During moments of anxiety (the Span trade), tempers are going to flare. Now that the trade is behind us, it seems like more people are being civil. Just my opinion.

I'm in total agreement, and it's one of the reasons why I have been commenting less often.
It seems like, especially the last few months, the comments in some posts have gotten pretty ugly.
Granted, perhaps we might all be in better moods if the Twins hadn't lost almost 100 games last season and seem poised to do the same in 2013, but at times the name-calling and harshness gets a little old.

Originally Posted by Twins Fan From Afar

I'm in total agreement, and it's one of the reasons why I have been commenting less often.
It seems like, especially the last few months, the comments in some posts have gotten pretty ugly.
Granted, perhaps we might all be in better moods if the Twins hadn't lost almost 100 games last season and seem poised to do the same in 2013, but at times the name-calling and harshness gets a little old.

Just a reminder but when you see name-calling, click on the grey triangle with the exclamation point in it (you'll see it just below the post). That will notify an admin and someone will take a look at the post.

As this community grows, people are going to be more rude. It's just how the Internet works. We try to stay on top of it but none of us can read every post, especially on busy days (this week has been pretty nuts traffic-wise).

People are snarky and mean on websites like this because they can be. There have been more than a few studies that show how being anonymous to others correlates with some pretty bad behaviors, and ultimately, most of us on here are not personally known to the others.

There's not much that can really be done about it other than to not allow yourself to sink to the same level when confronted with intentionally mean words. If enough people do this, the culture of the board becomes one of reason and respect, even in the face of differing opinions.

You say snarky as though it's a bad thing.

Thanks, Brock.
You guys do a fantastic job -- the website just has grown significantly, and of course there's only so much you can do.

Originally Posted by Twins Fan From Afar

Thanks, Brock.
You guys do a fantastic job -- the website just has grown significantly, and of course there's only so much you can do.

And we're still figuring out how all this works. It wasn't until a couple of months ago that we finally nailed down a code of conduct policy.

I do agree, the owners do a great job, this post was not a slam on them at all....and snarky us great, but there seems to be more than that lately. Maybe I am just overly sensitive for some reason.

I think there's a good balance. If there aren't a few tantrums and tangents, I feel like I'm wearing a turtle-neck and drinking expensive wine.

Heh...I do also agree with that...I do want a good discussion with passion.

I also haven't posted much lately -- mostly obeying the old adage, "if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all." That has more to do with the state of the Twins than the state of this site but as the general frustration level seems to rise, people seem to get into weird and somewhat nasty arguments over trivial matters.

For the most part, I read through comments and hit the mental "ignore" button. Spring training (no matter how unpromising) can't come soon enough.

The Tone of Words can also be easily misunderstood. It's easy to mistake condenscending tone for simple disagreement. Sometimes the condescending tone can be real and sometimes it not. It's really hard to factor in the emotion of the poster and the emotion of the reader. They don't always match up. Lots of strong opinion and different viewpoints make for spirited and even overdone debate.

Things would just be so much easier around here if you would all just realize I'm always right and just agree with me. Until then, you're all just a bunch of poopie-heads and I think it's my right... nay, my duty... to advise you of such.

Originally Posted by snepp

You say snarky as though it's a bad thing.

you say that as if you know anything about good snark.

Originally Posted by USAFChief

you say that as if you know anything about good snark.

You say that as if....you....so there!

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Man, people are being mean spirited in their posts......is there a reason we cannot be respectful of each other while still strongly disagreeing in our ideas. We have long time people being condescending. We have people calling each other names. It would be awesome to come here and enjoy the site.....btw, some comments in posts are sarcastic, before responding, think about if the author was serious or not....

We need some way to find if people are being sarcastic. Maybe we use some "patron saint of bad ideas" that we could use to let people know. How about, "as reported by Patrick Reusse".

Examples:
We should have gone to 6 million for Marquis. As Reported by Patrick Reusse.

We could get James Shields for Ben Revere and Anthony Slama. As Reported by Patrick Reusse.

Ahahaha, syves. Nice.

I haven't noticed too much of an uptick in meanness, though Ben Revere seems to inspire some hostility . . .

Originally Posted by syves

Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Man, people are being mean spirited in their posts......is there a reason we cannot be respectful of each other while still strongly disagreeing in our ideas. We have long time people being condescending. We have people calling each other names. It would be awesome to come here and enjoy the site.....btw, some comments in posts are sarcastic, before responding, think about if the author was serious or not....

We need some way to find if people are being sarcastic. Maybe we use some "patron saint of bad ideas" that we could use to let people know. How about, "as reported by Patrick Reusse".

Examples:
We should have gone to 6 million for Marquis. As Reported by Patrick Reusse.

We could get James Shields for Ben Revere and Anthony Slama. As Reported by Patrick Reusse.

How's about "as posted by VodkaDave?"

Originally Posted by syves

We need some way to find if people are being sarcastic. Maybe we use some "patron saint of bad ideas" that we could use to let people know. How about, "as reported by Patrick Reusse".

Examples:
We should have gone to 6 million for Marquis. As Reported by Patrick Reusse.

We could get James Shields for Ben Revere and Anthony Slama. As Reported by Patrick Reusse.

Well played.