Everything is too venomous at other sites

[gush]

+1000!
This forum is a great place to hang out! I refuse to participate in true social media, never even created any accounts. Just this and a couple other forums for me. This is definitely the best!

I have a FB account but I don't do a lot with it.

Too much hate going on.

I have a couple HD sites I go to for parts and one is a help stranded biker site.

VR and TGP

 

[Tony M.]

I like it here.
But...
Sooner or later I will say something stupid.
I am asking for my second chance in advance.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

The world is becoming too polarized. People are hating openly again, like it’s 90 years ago. It’s a very sad state of affairs.

Becoming? Openly hating "again"? Where've you been, brother?

I'll never forget when I was driving to work (in 2010) and NPR said that people in the US were as divided as they were during the Restoration Era (the period immediately following the US Civil War). I'd argue that's about as polarised as it gets.

All I have seen, my entire adult life, is people hating each other over ideology - and learning to do it more subversively by the day. I see so many people parading themselves as though they are motivated by love, tolerance, and acceptance while, in truth, they are hate-filled bigots in their own right; wholly intolerant of views that are counter to their own.

I can't stop the tide but I still spend my days teaching my child to eschew identity politics, to take each issue and each person on its own merit, to think about the big picture and survivability of our nation and to think critically about complex issues in a world that wants to prove righteousness with an amusing meme.

This site and very few others are a welcome relief!

This is the only online outlet left for me. I'm rarely even on FaceBook anymore.

 

[WEDGE]

This is home but I do go on TGP to buy and sell. People look at me funny when I tell them I have made friends with people from all over the country on an online forum. I try but can’t explain to them what we have here in a way they can understand.

 

[László]

Becoming? Openly hating "again"? Where've you been, brother?

I'll never forget when I was driving to work (in 2010) and NPR said that people in the US were as divided as they were during the Restoration Era (the period immediately following the US Civil War). I'd argue that's about as polarised as it gets.

All I have seen, my entire adult life, is people hating each other over ideology - and learning to do it more subversively by the day. I see so many people parading themselves as though they are motivated by love, tolerance, and acceptance while, in truth, they are hate-filled bigots in their own right; wholly intolerant of views that are counter to their own.

I can't stop the tide but I still spend my days teaching my child to eschew identity politics, to take each issue and each person on its own merit, to think about the big picture and survivability of our nation and to think critically about complex issues in a world that wants to prove righteousness with an amusing meme.



This is the only online outlet left for me. I'm rarely even on FaceBook anymore.

We agree more than you might think.

I’ve been in the same place for a long time, and by ‘becoming’ I meant ‘becoming worse’. It’s downright stupid when people stop respecting each others’ views, even when they disagree. We can all learn something from the other point of view. None of us has all the answers.

Just because someone disagrees with you, does not make them evil. The overpersonification of “the other guy is evil” makes me sick to my stomach. In fact, extreme polarization, to me, is an evil that could easily destroy the fabric of our society, and international society. Mutual respect seems to get lost in the shuffle.

Just my two cents. Whether we come to the same conclusion from different points of view (I don’t know this, and don’t make any assumptions) is irrelevant to me. Nobody seems to listen any more. All we seem to do is spout off.

You and I would not sit down over a beer and come to blows (speaking only figuratively, not literally).

 

[alantig]

Can't beat you fine folks!

You can if you buy me dinner!!!

 

[alantig]

You and I would not sit down over a beer and come to blows (speaking only figuratively, not literally).

You might, depending on how many beers you have.

Edit: I’ve just been told “come to blows” is normally synonymous with “engage in fisticuffs”. I retract my remark.

 

[Herr Squid]

We agree more than you might think.
Just because someone disagrees with you, does not make them evil. The overpersonification of “the other guy is evil” makes me sick to my stomach. In fact, extreme polarization, to me, is an evil that could easily destroy the fabric of our society, and international society. Mutual respect seems to get lost in the shuffle.

This. So very much this! We could all do so much better just by remembering and living the Golden Rule. "Treat everybody else the way you would want to be treated" is one of the wisest things that's ever been said.

 

[László]

This. So very much this! We could all do so much better just by remembering and living the Golden Rule. "Treat everybody else the way you would want to be treated" is one of the wisest things that's ever been said.

None of us are perfect, but we do need to engage brain before putting mouth in gear (I’m often guilty),and remember that very nice people who don’t agree with us are still very nice people.

 

[Herr Squid]

Indeed, we can't be perfect, but we can keep trying!

 

[gush]

We agree more than you might think.

I’ve been in the same place for a long time, and by ‘becoming’ I meant ‘becoming worse’. It’s downright stupid when people stop respecting each others’ views, even when they disagree. We can all learn something from the other point of view. None of us has all the answers.

Just because someone disagrees with you, does not make them evil. The overpersonification of “the other guy is evil” makes me sick to my stomach. In fact, extreme polarization, to me, is an evil that could easily destroy the fabric of our society, and international society. Mutual respect seems to get lost in the shuffle.

Just my two cents. Whether we come to the same conclusion from different points of view (I don’t know this, and don’t make any assumptions) is irrelevant to me. Nobody seems to listen any more. All we seem to do is spout off.

You and I would not sit down over a beer and come to blows (speaking only figuratively, not literally).

I'd sit down with ALMOST anybody and enjoy a beer.

 

[László]

I'd sit down with ALMOST anybody and enjoy a beer.

I’ll drink to that!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

As much as I like to joke around, and even tease people that KNOW I’m teasing/joking, I learned the hard way that the internet of FULL of people, who are not nearly man enough to say things to your face that they gladly say from behind their keyboard. If some people acted in a bar like they act on the internet, they’d be getting their ass beat on a daily basis.

My first forum I ever was in, was the Line 6 forum. After a couple years, I was invited to a small forum of all guys that met there at L6 forum. Over the years, it went from being a group of friends so tight that we had get-togethers and people came from all over the country to jam all weekend together, literally 20 guys showed up the first year and from New Jersey to California to Florida and Texas. But they allowed you to talk about anything. With politics and religion soon becoming the most populated thread, the forum became a free for all with disagreements becoming arguments then bashing and personal insults to all out brawls. Worse those of us who tried to stay out of those sections were often called out directly by those who would call your beliefs into question and pollute gear threads with religion talk or would come into gear threads and challenge you to come into the politics and religion threads.

This forum was at one time home to 30-40 “friends” and everyone got along AND was home of The Friday Night Jam where someone would put up a BT and lots of guys would record their solos over it and post it at the board. We had one FNJ that was over 30 minutes long! A two minute BT, and so many guys submitted thier takes that when they put them all together it was over 30 invites long. Guys were close enough that many of us called or texted or emailed each other regularly. I even spoke on the phone with several guys from out of the US who called just to talk. At one point, there were a core group of 25-30 guys there who knew all the other guys wife’s names, all their kids names, had their home address and phone number.

Within 5 years that super cool place had become so fragmented, and many cool guys had left. Within another 3, the place was down to less than 5 participants and everyone else had left for good, or might poke their head in there every once in a while. It had been a forum that at one point had active conversations going all the time in multiple threads even with it’s small size. By that time I left, there were maybe 3-4 active participants and 5 others who’d post a couple times a week. Most of the guys who left, had such a bad taste in their mouths about it that few of them even stay in touch at all any more. I literally saw guys who were so happy to meet in person that they walked up and hugged someone, 3 years later swearing that if they ever saw each other in person again they’d fight. The insults and bashing got WAY out of hand, and since it was privately owned, nobody policed it in any way. I still don’t know what it is that makes some people such total A$$hoLz on the internet. But I got tired of wanting to punch the computer screen and wondering how people who were supposed to be friends could treat each other that way. There’s just something about hiding behind a screen that brings out the worst in many people.

 

[gush]

I met a guy on FB from watching some threads he was involved in. Really rational, respectful debating is the only thing I saw from him.

We got to be friends I guess and messaged each other quite a bit.

He is from California and was moving a friend of his to the midwest while he was in between construction jobs.

We met face to face, spent most of the day with him. It was very pleasant and unusual.

We are still FB friends. This does not happen very often.

 

[dmatthews]

As much as I like to joke around, and even tease people that KNOW I’m teasing/joking, I learned the hard way that the internet of FULL of people, who are not nearly man enough to say things to your face that they gladly say from behind their keyboard. If some people acted in a bar like they act on the internet, they’d be getting their ass beat on a daily basis.

My first forum I ever was in, was the Line 6 forum. After a couple years, I was invited to a small forum of all guys that met there at L6 forum. Over the years, it went from being a group of friends so tight that we had get-togethers and people came from all over the country to jam all weekend together, literally 20 guys showed up the first year and from New Jersey to California to Florida and Texas. But they allowed you to talk about anything. With politics and religion soon becoming the most populated thread, the forum became a free for all with disagreements becoming arguments then bashing and personal insults to all out brawls. Worse those of us who tried to stay out of those sections were often called out directly by those who would call your beliefs into question and pollute gear threads with religion talk or would come into gear threads and challenge you to come into the politics and religion threads.

This forum was at one time home to 30-40 “friends” and everyone got along AND was home of The Friday Night Jam where someone would put up a BT and lots of guys would record their solos over it and post it at the board. We had one FNJ that was over 30 minutes long! A two minute BT, and so many guys submitted thier takes that when they put them all together it was over 30 invites long. Guys were close enough that many of us called or texted or emailed each other regularly. I even spoke on the phone with several guys from out of the US who called just to talk. At one point, there were a core group of 25-30 guys there who knew all the other guys wife’s names, all their kids names, had their home address and phone number.

Within 5 years that super cool place had become so fragmented, and many cool guys had left. Within another 3, the place was down to less than 5 participants and everyone else had left for good, or might poke their head in there every once in a while. It had been a forum that at one point had active conversations going all the time in multiple threads even with it’s small size. By that time I left, there were maybe 3-4 active participants and 5 others who’d post a couple times a week. Most of the guys who left, had such a bad taste in their mouths about it that few of them even stay in touch at all any more. I literally saw guys who were so happy to meet in person that they walked up and hugged someone, 3 years later swearing that if they ever saw each other in person again they’d fight. The insults and bashing got WAY out of hand, and since it was privately owned, nobody policed it in any way. I still don’t know what it is that makes some people such total A$$hoLz on the internet. But I got tired of wanting to punch the computer screen and wondering how people who were supposed to be friends could treat each other that way. There’s just something about hiding behind a screen that brings out the worst in many people.

I've been through similar things. I had to walk away from people I thought I knew.

 

[Boogie]

...I can't stop the tide but I still spend my days teaching my child to eschew identity politics, to take each issue and each person on its own merit, to think about the big picture...

I wasn’t going to voice my typical response, but you did it for me...raise your kids differently. There are things that I think and must reprocess because how society - and my parents - trained me. Social things that disgust me today. I can’t help it, but we did our damnedest to raise better human beings. They are our only hope.

There’s my touch of bleakness for the day. But two hearty thumbs up for brother Hans.

 

[veinbuster]

Becoming? Openly hating "again"? Where've you been, brother?

I'll never forget when I was driving to work (in 2010) and NPR said that people in the US were as divided as they were during the Restoration Era (the period immediately following the US Civil War). I'd argue that's about as polarised as it gets.

All I have seen, my entire adult life, is people hating each other over ideology - and learning to do it more subversively by the day. I see so many people parading themselves as though they are motivated by love, tolerance, and acceptance while, in truth, they are hate-filled bigots in their own right; wholly intolerant of views that are counter to their own.

I can't stop the tide but I still spend my days teaching my child to eschew identity politics, to take each issue and each person on its own merit, to think about the big picture and survivability of our nation and to think critically about complex issues in a world that wants to prove righteousness with an amusing meme.



This is the only online outlet left for me. I'm rarely even on FaceBook anymore.

I wasn’t going to voice my typical response, but you did it for me...raise your kids differently. There are things that I think and must reprocess because how society - and my parents - trained me. Social things that disgust me today. I can’t help it, but we did our damnedest to raise better human beings. They are our only hope.

There’s my touch of bleakness for the day. But two hearty thumbs up for brother Hans.

I am totally onside with raising kids to have a good sense of what is right.

 

[mark cassidy]

I don't do social media, as in Facebook, twitter any of that nonsense. it's not real. you want to talk to someone, call them, go visit them. Be brave. I enjoy the banter around guitars, hence this site. I belonged to a jazz group on Yahoo one time and even it turned nasty.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I like it here.
But...
Sooner or later I will say something stupid.
I am asking for my second chance in advance.

I do several times per visit. They’re a forgiving bunch.

This is home but I do go on TGP to buy and sell. People look at me funny when I tell them I have made friends with people from all over the country on an online forum. I try but can’t explain to them what we have here in a way they can understand.

Yeah, some of my friends don’t understand this place. My wife certainly doesn’t. She’s still convinced I bought myself an SE 245!

Thanks so much to those who have reached out. And a big thank you to all the kindness that has been shown to me.

 

[DISTORT6]

From the ORIGINAL PRS Forum, to Birds and Moons, and finally to here, it’s been consistent.
The absolute finest members and attitudes anywhere on the inter webs.