Manners, Rudeness and Examples There Of

This was originally posted by katareen:

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Greetings everyone. I realize I have almost no experience in this forum, but reading all of the posts, I am ashamed at my fellow evolutionists. No one should be attacked, insulted, or criticized for WHAT they believe, no matter how incredulous their beliefs may seem. I am ashamed at the sassy and rude insinuations the creationists are receiving on our part. If we truly desire for them to accept what we know is true, the best way is gentle persuasion and thorough explanations. Responding to anyone in an offensive manner will only bring about defense from them, not consideration for what we believe. I would encourage all of us to approach these issues with a genuine concern for what the other believes, not a heated annoyance.
Cheers

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Part of my response was:

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I agree with you in spirit. That is that all of us on both sides should remain polite and reasonably respectful.

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However, we are all human and some lapses might be acceptable if the provocation is enough. There are individuals who pop up, post junk without checking that it has already been discussed ( I lurked for a couple of months before posting) and then run off into cyberspace (booboo shows some characteristics of that kind). I find it hard to remain respectful of this kind of behaviour. But I agree with you that I should anyway. I will try.

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Maybe there should be a separate thread (no, I think there definitely should be along the lines of the "post of the month") that picks examples of dubious posting behaviour and suggests a better approach to it.

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Here's an example of a post I made today.

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The original post was:
"The Ceolocanth was thought to be a fish that was part-dinosaur and was extinct for millions of years,"
My Response was:
"LOL LOL LOL LOL -- part dinosaur!!! "

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I think this response qualifies as "sassy" and maybe "rude".

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If I try to creatively construct a defense for it that might go like this:

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The individual posting this needs to know when he has stepped over a line in a fashion that makes him look foolish. If I simply say something like:
"The coelocanth is in now way part dinosaur." It just doesn't convey that problem and he might not learn to be more careful of his facts.

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I would like to suggest that members post other examples. It will serve as a place to refer new members to when they are not being so polite (ok, ok, and patient).

Is there a problem with our DNS - I seem to be logging in to Terry's board? One of the difficulties with internet forums is that we don't get the rich interpersonal feedback which is so important in moderating our conversation. A clumsy phrase can elicit a withering response, or cause offence. What to one person is little more than banter is another's gross affront.As an example, when I read the following from Booboocruise ...

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If evolution is true, then what did the first cell capable of sexual reproduction reproduce with.

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... I was tempted to say that he had given clear indication of being in a better position than most to comment on solitary sexual practices. I restrained myself (temporarily)Actually, collecting examples doesn't help too much, because the degree of rudeness (or sass quotient) is so dependent on context, culture and the indivduals involved.Most issues can be dealt with by the "offended" party calmly pointing out the issue without compounding it.[This message has been edited by Mister Pamboli, 04-14-2003]

Ok, I guess you can delete this then. I thought it might also allow the "offended" parties to let off a little steam by posting to it.I worry more about my behaviour to others than their behaviour to me. I'm pretty thick skinned.I also worry, as Katareen does on how the group that I may be placed in appears because of the behaviour of some members. Thanks for the note though.