tepples wrote:
Now I appear to have made a fool of myself on Disqus in a
discussion about the necessity of home Internet access. What should I have done differently? Was I not pedantic enough?
1. Learn to ease off social media/commentary sites (read: forums (yes including this one), Slashdot, Disqus, Twitter, etc.). For whatever reason, the Internet is filled with a lot of people who just want to battle/argue (those who have known me for 20+ years will find hypocrisy and amusement in me of all people saying that); it's especially prevalent amongst Americans, for whatever reason. "Ease off" means post less / be more selective about what you reply to,
2. If choosing to respond to someone who has never interacted with you before, stay focused on what is being discussed -- do not get off-topic or make strange connections between Subject X and Subject F. If the subject being discussed is complicated (e.g. politics, where Thing X influences Thing Y + Thing Z, which in turn influences Thing A, which also influences Thing Y and Thing X in a sort of ouroboros fashion), then somewhere in your content state that you're aware the issue is more complicated than you can cover in a single/terse response. If you want to add some sarcasm or humour to your reply, don't use emotes/emoji, instead go with "j/k" or "(sarcasm to lighten the tone of our convo)".
3. If your response solicits a reply which has an argumentative or combative tone, apply 2 things: 1) do not reply for 24 hours (i.e. give yourself time to go back later and re-read it in a different state of mind or state of feeling), 2) remember that there is no obligation to reply.
4. If after a few back-and-forths you sense things are going a direction that's unproductive, stop responding entirely; instead, take the time you would've spent replying to go do something that's relaxing (non-stressful) and enjoyable to you. (If replying to everyone on the Internet is somehow relaxing and enjoyable to you, then I really have no advice to give at all.)
This advice comes from someone who used to battle a lot on Usenet back in the very early 90s -- a trait I learned that will take me the rest of my life to unlearn.
Just don't become
#4, #8, or #13 -- and if you sense you're communicating with someone who is any of those types, it's probably best not to continue conversation with them.
I had more to say, but I'll leave it at that for now.