I think my snake loves me

[JLC]

I don't really care to argue whether snakes are capable of emotion and/or to what level, because it's all speculative. I do know humans are capable of emotion, however, and that the way some of you treat each other is downright unnecessary and appallingly unkind. I saw a lot of it in this thread and it upset me a lot.

There is no reason to be cutting. It doesn't promote your point of view... at all. If anything, it turns people off to it and makes them write you off as conversationally not worth while. I see it all over this forum. I hear people complain about it all the time. I think this is the kind of thing Brian was talking about the other day on Reptile Radio, and it sucks.

Unfortunately, this is true of all Internet forums. And really, any human society. It's just that on the Internet, people feel more free to be snotty to each other than they would face-to-face. But they're still just as snotty in their hearts in real life, if they behave that way in the semi-anonymous venue of a forum.

The problem is, we can't legislate "nice". We can't make rules that force people to be kind and generous and patient and understanding. We can't control the fact that some people are just naturally abrassive, even if they are kind hearted. And we can't control the fact that some people behave rudely just to entertain themselves and see how much drama they can start without actually breaking any rules.

The best we can do is set a good example and use community "peer pressure" to help people learn to get along with each other. And I'd say that BP.net does a much better job of it than 95% of all other forums of similar size and nature.

If someone feels that this sort of thing is becoming a problem...the very best thing to do is set the example by being kind and patient to everyone, even those who annoy you. Complaining about it openly only makes things worse by making it appear to be a far more prevelant problem than it really is. Although I'll say this...one benefit to a public complaint is it gives me a chance to step in and remind everyone to try a little harder to be nice and remember that people aren't going to come and learn how to do better if we make them feel stupid or drive them away with sarcasm or elitist attitudes.