PAINTBALL
12-01-2003, 01:49 PM
Prior to this football season, I have never before participated in a chat room. Since this was my youngest son’s senior year and he was playing for the number 1 ranked team in the state, I found myself thinking more about the up coming football season then I ever have in the past with him or my other sons. I was referred to this site by a long time friend to satisfy my urge to discuss Burnet and their season. My participation in the discussions this year has been very educational and I hope you guys and gals will bear with me while I pass on some of the things I have learned.
1. Chat rooms are not good places for open debates. I learned with one of my first post (If You Were the Coach) that the concept of debate is not a part of chat rooms. Many posters simply state their opinions and everyone who disagrees with them are stupid. This brings me to my next lesson.
2. If you participate in chat room discussions you cannot be a sensitive person. I took offense at the names I was called early on and kept trying to make my point about there being two sides of the issue when everyone else was tired of the subject. An old time poster pointed this out to me in a very intelligent post that taught me this valuable lesson about chat rooms.
3. Chat rooms can become addictive. As paintball developed a personality in the chat room I found myself in this chat room on a very regular basis. I even found myself talking in this forum on a daily basis. I am even taking the time to make this post at work while there are files on my desk I should be working on. I have an addictive personality though and this may not apply to most people. (Bite my fingernails, smoke, and over eat).
4. Many intelligent posters love to be hated. Their post, however, reveal their true intelligence. Gobbla and Jason come to my mind under this lesson although there are many others. No matter how much you like to be hated, I have always liked both of you. I think because you both have a good sense of humor and remind me a lot of my own sons. Good luck to you both. I think you both should pay attention to number 3 above, however.
5. If you own your own business, have a child playing on the team, you’re a coach, administrator, or a community leader do not use your true identity and do not tell anyone who your are and do not say anything that will allow people to figure out who you are unless you only intend to post polite post. People will start attacking your personal life and your family for what you post in the chat room. I don’t know if this is right or wrong, but I’ve noticed that the people who say the meanest things have their true identities hidden so it is difficult to know their true motive. Did you kid beat out their kid for a position on the team? Did you represent their wife or husband in their divorce? Other reasons. I think mean post will be directed at you from people who dislike you even if you post only nice post if these people feel their identities are hidden. This brings me back to number 2 above.
6. People begin to believe that the posters in the chat room who they have never met in person or only for a brief time are their friends and some even call the posters their “family.” This prompted my comments this weekend on the dangers of chat rooms. I believe that moderators should prepare some type of WARNING that is posted on a regular basis so as to warn people who are not used to chat rooms of the danger.
7. It is alright to curse if you miss-spell the word. I have a hard time understanding this concept. All you have to do is substitute a $ for an S in the word and it is acceptable or put a * in one or more places in very vulgar words and that is acceptable.
I have really enjoyed my several months on 3A Download. Chat rooms are fun. I don’t know if I’m cured of my addiction or not, so I may be back. Paintball may return as a fan from another town or continue to be a fan of Burnet, but he will for sure be under a different name. He will also be more aware of how chat rooms work. So in the future when a scrub says something that sounds like something paintball would have said, it might be him, but this new person will never admit it, not even to his friends. Anyway paintball still has two weeks to live, so let’s have fun.
1. Chat rooms are not good places for open debates. I learned with one of my first post (If You Were the Coach) that the concept of debate is not a part of chat rooms. Many posters simply state their opinions and everyone who disagrees with them are stupid. This brings me to my next lesson.
2. If you participate in chat room discussions you cannot be a sensitive person. I took offense at the names I was called early on and kept trying to make my point about there being two sides of the issue when everyone else was tired of the subject. An old time poster pointed this out to me in a very intelligent post that taught me this valuable lesson about chat rooms.
3. Chat rooms can become addictive. As paintball developed a personality in the chat room I found myself in this chat room on a very regular basis. I even found myself talking in this forum on a daily basis. I am even taking the time to make this post at work while there are files on my desk I should be working on. I have an addictive personality though and this may not apply to most people. (Bite my fingernails, smoke, and over eat).
4. Many intelligent posters love to be hated. Their post, however, reveal their true intelligence. Gobbla and Jason come to my mind under this lesson although there are many others. No matter how much you like to be hated, I have always liked both of you. I think because you both have a good sense of humor and remind me a lot of my own sons. Good luck to you both. I think you both should pay attention to number 3 above, however.
5. If you own your own business, have a child playing on the team, you’re a coach, administrator, or a community leader do not use your true identity and do not tell anyone who your are and do not say anything that will allow people to figure out who you are unless you only intend to post polite post. People will start attacking your personal life and your family for what you post in the chat room. I don’t know if this is right or wrong, but I’ve noticed that the people who say the meanest things have their true identities hidden so it is difficult to know their true motive. Did you kid beat out their kid for a position on the team? Did you represent their wife or husband in their divorce? Other reasons. I think mean post will be directed at you from people who dislike you even if you post only nice post if these people feel their identities are hidden. This brings me back to number 2 above.
6. People begin to believe that the posters in the chat room who they have never met in person or only for a brief time are their friends and some even call the posters their “family.” This prompted my comments this weekend on the dangers of chat rooms. I believe that moderators should prepare some type of WARNING that is posted on a regular basis so as to warn people who are not used to chat rooms of the danger.
7. It is alright to curse if you miss-spell the word. I have a hard time understanding this concept. All you have to do is substitute a $ for an S in the word and it is acceptable or put a * in one or more places in very vulgar words and that is acceptable.
I have really enjoyed my several months on 3A Download. Chat rooms are fun. I don’t know if I’m cured of my addiction or not, so I may be back. Paintball may return as a fan from another town or continue to be a fan of Burnet, but he will for sure be under a different name. He will also be more aware of how chat rooms work. So in the future when a scrub says something that sounds like something paintball would have said, it might be him, but this new person will never admit it, not even to his friends. Anyway paintball still has two weeks to live, so let’s have fun.