Posted 30 June 2008 - 04:01 AM
Deadlyassasin - this community is dedicated to helping all people who may have a problem with their equipment or systems. Part of this is making sure that all feel welcome to this site and from the beginning it was dedicated to that premise. Thus, personal insults, put-downs and name calling are definitely out of bounds. No one sits around scanning or perusing the site. There's a good group of regular members who do spend a fair amount of time perusing postings. In addition we also get e-mails with the text content of any discussion we have posted to (unless we opt out) making it very easy to keep up with the threads without actually logging into the site.
We also never deride the choices any member makes in equipment or software. If someone wants to use a slow, ineffective, buggy application that leaves me open to threats, thats their choice, and it is not our right to ridicule them or their choice. It is very easy to slap down an insult in a post, sometimes so easy you don't even realize you have hurt their feelings. You must remember that this community is also part of a commercial publishing enterprise so if someone is upset and leaves, the magazine may also suffer.
Some forums relish flame wars, but many are getting away from them, and they have never been tolerated here. I have been around long enough to have seen some come in that did not fully realize why this community is unique and started off on the wrong foot. Many of them disappear after a while, but some have stuck around and have become valued regular members after realizing what the rules are. Everyone has something to offer, and many times we disagree on something, but if we stray from civil discourse then the hurtful and unnesssary "flame" comments get in the way of your message, as people turn it off and all they remember is the slam.