Feddlefew wrote:So no, I would not believe you if you told me that you were capable of empathy, because I know that people are deceptive.
So nothing I say may have any effect, right? I mean, we're all human, we can all be deceptive. I don't think I have any reason to believe in
you, either!
I just don't know why on Earth would I lie about feeling empathy on a forum like this.
Feddlefew wrote:For some reason, most people do not use their "real" personalities in most social situations, and instead use a persona. For instance, I have observed people faking empathy to take advantage of others and me.
I like the internet because people tend to let their guards down, and act as they actual are.
Why treat that as some kind of universal rule? Why not think that people
also use a "persona" on the Internet? I tend to think that we're all multifaceted beings with many "persona", and we have to adapt to a given situation. It's silly to narrow down one, arbitrary situation and say "THAT is your real self". To sum it up, I can say I use a "persona"
here, on this forum, because that's now how I normally behave. That is STILL a gross simplification to me, though.
Feddlefew wrote:I've found the best way to make other people see my point is to be nice to them, even while making jabs at their view point. People tend to cling tightly to their perceptions of things in the face of hostility.
That's true, yes. But I also find the "hostility" from people in this place quite revealing.
bigjeff5 wrote:I was planning on becoming a psychologist before I changed my mind and went into computer science. The way people think is simply interesting to me. I also have a natural curiosity towards things I find strange. I find you strange, ergo I am curious as to why you think the way you do.
That's fine, you have a sensible justification. Just like I may have my own justification to follow this webcomic to this day. "Curiosity" may be a good way to put it.
bigjeff5 wrote:Making fun of a movie while watching it with someone who enjoys it on the very merits you mock implies that you believe their opinion on the subject is also worthy of that mockery. I don't know where you come from, but where I come from insinuating that someone else's opinions are stupid is hurtful and considered very rude. This is not the same as pointing out when someone's opinion is simply wrong (though, depending on the situation, that can be rude as well).
I'll be frank: I'd have many reasons to take that comment very seriously and claim that you're absolutely right
anywhere but in a forum with so many people who find it "hilarious" to insult sciences and fields of study other than maths and computer science because "it's just a joke". I think people who get offended
that easily should pay more attention to the comic they're reading.
bigjeff5 wrote:I really don't think you can, I don't think I've ever seen you do the former without doing the latter (though I haven't read through your past posts or any such, so I could be wrong. Certainly since I've been paying any attention, it is true).
I'm pretty sure you're incorrect there
bigjeff5 wrote:You also mock the fans constantly, who are people. Again, I'm not sure where you are from, but where I am from, that is considered "making fun of people".
Ehh, maybe, but I also see people making fun of me here, and I think it's their right. They don't seem terribly remorseful at all, and after all, I'm only saying here thing that I'd be willing to hear about myself. And I know when to stop joking and speak politely.
bigjeff5 wrote:And is there something wrong with completely absurd, unfeasible, idiotic topics? Most of the humor where I work consists of absurd, unfeasible, idiotic topics. Most stand-up comedy consists of taking mundane situations or experiences and inflating them into the absurd. This is standard fare for comedy. Hell, Gallagher is a comedy legend, and all he does is smash watermelons for Christ's sake!
There are many variables there. When a stand-up comedian is using mundane, silly situations for humour,
merely using those situations will usually result in awfulness. That's where comedic talent comes in: using the right words and timing, being convincing, understanding the audience and so on and on. If xkcd were a stand-up show, it would have none of that. xkcd has terrible art (in the sense that it often makes jokes harder to get than they should, or being simply nonexistent), stilted and unnatural dialogue (in the sense that it seems written by a person who never had a live conversation), poor timing, a tendency to explain and over-explain jokes and many other things. All things considered, when Randall goes "the core of the Earth freaks me out!", it's completely lifeless, bland, unengaging. Folks like Zach Weiner would probably have a much better chance to make it work, because they know their strengths and weaknesses and know how to work with them (though Weiner himself is not perfect and has some pretty poor comics, though he produces them DAILY).
bigjeff5 wrote:As far as I am aware, XKCD does not advertise anywhere. The only reason I know about it is because people posted situationally appropriate comics on Slashdot (and there seemed to be one for every situation, too). They were hilarious, particularly in context, so I started following the comics. Where is the hype? I've seen none. I think you are far too immersed in it to recognize that there is almost no hype. And yet, it is overrated and over-hyped, to you. Seriously, if you weren't monitoring the forums constantly like you do you'd probably never hear about it. I've stopped reading slashdot, and I never hear about it elsewhere.
Hmm, not quite. I hear about it often in college environments, assorted blogs and stuff. It is still "cool" to mention xkcd anywhere. Maybe the hype has diminished a little? Perhaps, yes. The Wikipedia vandalism, though, seems to be increasing.
bigjeff5 wrote:Your intention seems to be to offend people. You also seem to be mildly effective. Thus I certainly do place you in the "bully" category. To me you are no better. I can see why you wouldn't think it is appropriate, bullies rarely think of themselves as bullies. They generally respond to the idea much the same way you responded. In any case, you are certainly verbally abusive, at the very least.
That's not why I don't think it's appropriate. Bullies only attack those who can't fight back, otherwise they would be mere delinquents. Bullies know they can't lose, because they only go for the certain wins (only rarely coming across one "Zangief kid", but only rarely). Is that my case? I am outnumbered here, and I'm using "weapons" that are free and available to anyone: words. Anyone can attack me back. I'm not overpowering anybody. Besides, if I were truly bullying anyone, it would be totally rightful to ban me. I haven't yet. I'm not willing to do anything that would result in me being banned, not because I'm scared of the mods, but because I know my limits.
bigjeff5 wrote:This probably would not happen if you occasionally made a positive comment. However, when the most positive thing you can come up with is some variation of "at least this doesn't suck as bad as they usually do", and that on very rare occasions, people will eventually take anything you say as an attack on something they enjoy. Like I said before, calling something stupid when you know the people you are talking to enjoy what you are mocking is offensive. In case you still don't get it, people take offense at what you say because they find you offensive. Where someone else can say a mildly negative remark and someone else will actually debate them on it, when SirMustapha says something mildly negative, the response is an immediate "Go away troll". It becomes a reflex. This is not because your remark was negative, this is because you are a self-admitted troll. You should feel proud, then. The kind of reaction you receive cannot be had easily. You have to be an asshole consistently for a decent period of time before you can achieve it.
Eh, it depends on the public. There's a music forum I know in which people can be unbelievably touchy and start arguments for completely mundane and empty reasons, and no way I'd last more than two days there by acting the way I do here. It's a place where we can lay our opinions on the music, whether good or bad. And I don't think I'm being rude by criticising some given music just because some folks there like it. There a limit in which politeness ends and censorship begins.
