What a marvelous thread. need to take a consensus gathering.
Dood and all, I think what makes a forum actually work is the open minded aspect, live and let live idea and with a genuine "I want to share this" concept.
We've all learned that condescending can come across well in a post, which is ego, or folks just wanting to hear themselves talk without bothering to really read what other's have written.
this internet thing is still feeling new to me, as a way of communicating even though I've been at it since about 1999, I guess thats not a long time. What I've discovered personally in my time here is a lack of empathy from time to time, where an opposite viewpoint appears to be an attack on another and uncalled for, then it escalates. The problem is being entrenched within one's belief system and a certain egotistical righteous posturing occurs, which is how I see what Dood calls military control.
certain factors were born to be police men and women. They will put a banner up and say support your police society, we are here to protect you. We are still in a society which does in actuality need to call 911 from time to time and so you have your cops who maintain the peace, then you have the occassional bad egg cop who pulls over a woman (this true story) under the pretense to give a ticket, and rapes her. the last one he did this to, things got out of control as she fought back so he did her in and got caught eventually. but we still need overall, in the world, police people and we aren't going to judge the whole lot of these type of souls (ministers of hell fire and damnation are included) just because of a few bad eggs who misused their authority.
In the same way, I'm not going to judge Dood's forum Open Minds just from one thread read.
However, I still don't have time to read 400 posts from your favorite poster Dude! lol! I wish truly I did have time. tell u what, I'll compromise. I'll bookmark it!
anyhoo, I'm interested in what makes a forum stay alive because I've seen some do belly flops and I think what makes them fizzle is an unwillingness to take a risk and speak your mind about beliefs, however, at the same time practicing being respectful of the opposite viewpoint, and expressing this basic respect right up front.
many don't give thanks that we are even responded to. I've seen many posts go unresponded to or pounced upon without consideration that it sounds condescending.
In truth, we are all equal. Like SSHS just said to me, the words do get in the way!
u guys got me going, so I need to post some more, regarding that Dood was supposed to be here now and it's been in the works for awhile.
love, alysia