Sticks and Stones... and an Occasional Load of Bricks

Posted By: Normalized Vector
Posted on: Dec. 18, 2008 at 1:35 AM

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Everyone knows the old saying that's in the title, well, the unmodified version of it anyway. Anyway, people have written books about on this subject with one book coming to mind that probably has nothing to do with the saying, yet is applied so well: "Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff". Although I've never read this book, the title alone is worth a thousand words...

I've been online a long time, since the old IRC days, I even had a 5 digit ICQ number at one point, and the weapons on this battle ground have remained the same. In a world where there are no sticks, there are no stones, there are only words... which can be structured infinitely many ways. I'm sure we've all learned to adapt to this new medium, because if you haven't, you probably wouldn't be reading this right now.

Anyway, in light of recent activities around here, with everyone having a different opinion of what the rules of engagement should be on this new battleground, I thought I would shed some light on my views of the battleground and exactly what the battle ground is.

First and foremost, for people that think this site is has turned into a vulgar pissing ground, you obviously haven't got any lumps and bruises on efnet, or for the gamers out there, well, if you are a gamer, you will most likely think this is a walk in the park from the flame wars on stupid ass subjects, like the finer points of spawn camping.

I have seen my fair share of trolls out there, and to tell you the truth, with exception of the "farias basher", and the "perverted homophobe closet homosexual", there really haven't been any "true trolls" on this site. For the most part, I'm a silent observer, and what I see is basically 3 platoons that take part in this game (and it is a game, I would even go as far as to call it a video game):

The Pompously Stubborn Liberals
Weapons of choice: Larger Words and Witty Sayings (AKA: Sniper Rifles and Combat Knives)
The Hard Headed Conservatives
Weapons of choice: Plain Language, and In Your Face Attitude (AKA: Assault Rifles and 44 Magnums)
And the Rogue Squadron that really don't give a s***
Weapons of choice: One Liners and Name Calling (AKA: Molotov cocktails and Machetes)
Oh yeah, and I can't forget the lone wolf Adam
Weapons of choice: Cut n' Paste and Conspiracy Theories (AKA: Any Refurbished Weapon and Prototype LASER Pistols)

Now that we know the participants on this battle field, what are the differences? Mainly the fighting styles. The Liberals tend to want to carefully snipe and sneak up behind you with sly cuts. The conservatives like to rush in to the battle with a quick assault, sometimes with a punchline. The rogue squadron likes to just jump in and firebomb everyone then get back to what ever they were doing in real life... and oh yeah, adam likes to bombard everyone and make their scroll bar bigger, then hit them with some speculation.

Generally, soldiers have their packs, ammo, armor, and all the other miscellaneous gear that they carry with them on the battle field. In the case of this particular battlefield, the gear are the combatants thoughts, and verbal ammo that they bring to the game. Just like on a battlefield, when you get hit it stings, the gear is like lugging around a load of bricks, and it can wear on the soldiers over time and may lead to battle fatigue. Some of the battles are hard fought, and are usually entertaining for all, after all, that's what this site is all about, entertainment... just like a battleground in any other video game.

OK, so with all these different fighting styles, and all the different battles fought here, how do you determine the winner?

Very easy, when logging off this site, the winner is the one who can drop their load of bricks.

Tags: Sticks and Stones Load of Bricks Verbal Assault Battle Fatigue

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Comments:

adam

Dec. 18, 2008 at 07:50:32 AM

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And the game mimicks life....(what else is there for a reference point?)

You have the herding instinct where those of a kind will flock together to make themselves appear bigger than they really are, too afraid to pop their head up too high, fearing it will be removed.

Some like lemmings, will find a leader and blindly follow will do so to their own destruction.

You have the hunters, shot gunning quail or going after the bull elephant, and even the hunted, who will try and blend in and run at the first crack of a twig.

You even have the Silverback

Games can be valuable learning tools, not only do you get to watch the charactors 1-4 (and God at times), but you get to observe and interact with them in mock 'natural' settings and situations. And as charactors 1-4 tend to represent political movements, this 'game' can be a valuable laboratory tool to test the strong and weak points of each and their interactions.

So with all that said, and as I have said before, I am again going to fall on the side of moron on censorship.

I would ask you to show your strength as owners of the game, keep the trolls under the bridges where they belong and don't ban those whom you disagree with or are critical of your moderation when they think it unfair.

By banning those who disagree with you political, you are playing the game and not moderating. (assuming that these bans are politically motivated, which I really am not sure of).

I see a difference between being critical of your moderating style of the game, and attacking either the format or purpose of the website.
In one they are attacking the Character you've choosen to play in the game, in the other your livelyhood.

For myself, I enjoy seeing charactors exposed to the core, to me it validates or invalidates the power of the role that they take.

But then again, this is all a game and you are God ( or at least have god-like powers for the purpose of the game).

BTW, I do appreciate that you've provided the arena, and I learn here and have a great time.

Thanks!

adam

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My 2 cents

Dec. 18, 2008 at 08:53:33 AM

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Normalized Vector great article, you put it in perspective and hopefully remind people that it is JUST A GAME, but don't forget that these characters are real human beings under the armor.