[Grandpa Shooter]

I am new here so please bear with me. I come here to read up on topics of interest to me. I don't know any of you, so no one in particular needs to get butt-hurt over my thread.

Is there any way to stop the pissing matches that seem to crop up on threads. I was trying to read up on a topic of interest to me yesterday, and a different one today, and in both cases the pissing matches derailed the topic so badly I just quit reading. It happens between members and between members and moderators.

I thought "The High Road" was supposed to mean gentile behaviour in all things. We come together to share information, and to respectfully add our thoughts in-so-far as they contribute to the purpose and direction of the thread. Can't the posting of inflamatory rhetoric, personal slander, and just general disagreeableness be stopped.

I just re-read the sticky in the reloading section by Mr. Guest and it would be wise to adhere to that phhilosophy on other sections of this forum as well.

That said, I think I'll talk to my dogs for awhile and continue setting up my reloading room.

[kingpin008]

Hear, hear!! I've been noticing more and more of that type of behavior lately as well, and it's made me start to wonder what direction THR is starting to go in.

Wish I had a solution, too.

[Mr White]

I know what you mean. Just put on your rubber boots (make sure they're at least waders, bcuz between the piss and the bull$#l+ it gets pretty deep sometimes :) ), wade through the piss and you'll find some good stuff... and the occasional gem.

[MASTEROFMALICE]

Are saying The High Road posters ain't acting gentlemenly?

Come on over here and say that, Grandpa, and I may have to re-arrange your face!

And what's all this nonsense about pissing matches? Thank God my posts are way better than yours.

For those who don't recognize sarcasm, please see me after class.

[RNB65]

Pissing contests occur in every forum on every corner of the Internet. They're as ubiquitous as death and taxes. THR is better than most because the Mods clamp down if things get too heated. Just ignore them (The pissing contests. Not the Mods. :)).

If you really want to see ugly, check out AR15.com, Glocktalk.com, or any political forum. :barf::barf::barf:

[trooperdude]

What Grandpa said!!!

[Old Dog]

Actually, I was noting that there seem to be far fewer competitive urination situations on THR since the demise of the Legal & Political forum. Though GenGun and Legal still see their share of stupidity, in those forums it seems to boil down to a few basic social issues (which I won't get into now), while in the firearms-specific forums the stupidity seems restricted to those who either espouse/hate one manufacturer/platform above all others ...

This is still about the most civil internet forum I've participated in.

[sm]

Grandpa Shooter,

Yep, gotta agree.
You know where to find me...

People need to be more like dawgs anyway, society would be better off.

[MDHunter]

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

I agree on stemming the flow of rhetoric and slander...I can work through the disagreeable part, since I do sometimes learn from those who disagree with me...as naive as they may be. :D

Thanks again for reminding us that we're all part of the same fraternity of gun owners, and should try to conduct ourselves accordingly.

Michael

[macFarlaine]

Come on this is mild,there are sites out there were people commit suicide,are afraid to attend school,work.Where is your thick skin.Competition,sport it is the spice of life.We brits suffer abuse evrey day and we don't whinge....

[yesit'sloaded]

I guess we all need to police ourselves. I agree there is no calling people out like there is on most forums. I belong to many car forums and several incidences on those have almost broken out in real fistfights(as in real people taking swings at meets). To some degree humorous banter is fine and dandy and lightens everyone up. I think we all know by now that anyone making fun of another caliber is doing it in jest. Some people will always have their feathers ruffled and some people will always go down with a ship of a wrong (not differing I mean just plain wrong) belief into the black depths. I consider it part of engaging in public discussion.

[Working Man]

There is no way to stop them from starting just from getting too ugly.

It is the difference between those with manners and those without.
Disagreeing (even passionately) can be done in a respectful and competent way.

Best advice? Don't participate in the wanker wagging, find what you need to
find, ask what you need to ask, say what you need to say.

Usually the stress release statements are not needed.

[gunsmith]

I am new here so please bear with me. I come here to read up on topics of interest to me.
SO, you ADMIT then that you neither have ANY IDEA on what is going on and you are here for your OWN SELFISH needs and wants!
I don't know any of you
SO you ADMIT you do not know us but yet you attack our credibility!
Can't the posting of inflamatory rhetoric, personal slander, and just general disagreeableness be stopped.
SO you ADMIT you can't spell inflammatory and you expect us to
ALL GET ALONG! Grandpa Shooter or Rodney King!?
That said, I think I'll talk to my dogs for awhile
Great! When your done berating your helpless enslaved puppies, get back to us!.
:neener::evil::neener::evil::D

Grandpa Shooter, great post! thanks!:cool:

[Carl N. Brown]

Political always seemed to caroom off topic of thread start.
Plus people don't realize that even with a nom de internet
we are speaking in the public square and posting on the
neighborhood laudromat bulletin board. Internet anonymity aint.

[Diggers]

Yeah it happens here as it does every where.

However one of the major reasons I became a THR member is that when it does happen on the THR is much more mild then in other forums.

But yes, it still is kind of annoying when the argument has nothing to do with the OP.

[tnieto2004]

Mr. Grandpa,

I promise the information you get on the site is well worth what you paid for it .. You are free to come and go if you like.. Tough skin is required when dealing with people on the internet .. Why let them get to you? The people who like to stir up the hive are there for just that ..

[TexasRifleman]

I see more very passionate debate about 2A things than pissing contests.

I'm OK with that.

[CB900F]

Grandpa;

I agree wholeheartedly with what several others have mentioned: This is cupcake city in comparison.

My personal opinion is that the moderation here can be stifleing, but I'm not complaining just making an observation. I feel that it's pretty much impossible to get 6 people to agree on what time it is, let alone on weightly matters firearms related. The human condition is contentious, that's why we eat the deer and the tigers don't eat us.

You've found one of the politest forums on the net. It's also has one of the highest member counts too. I don't see the site changing what obviously works and works well.

900F

[jimmyraythomason]

I agree it IS pretty tame here. I'm on several American Civil War Forums and it gets pretty rough at times. Especially for a Southerner.

[tnieto2004]

The funny thing is that I notice the same attitude at gun shows and at gun stores.. Just an observation in my own experiences..

[Evil Monkey]

Pissing match? Well, I don't know about that. I pretty much hang out in the rifle forum.

All I know is that 223 is better than 308.........and the M14 sucks.

:D

[RoadkingLarry]

Welcome to the interwebwidenet thing. Been like that since Algore invented it for us in his effort to end global climate.

[ndh87]

Grandpa has a good point, the military / hunting rifle thread and the mag. capacity and hunting threads both got ugly fast.

[macFarlaine]

I like Al Gore he is a very nice man.He's concerned about the rubbish you emit from your industrial centres and let drift to our Green and Pleasant Land.

[buzz_knox]

People need to be more like dawgs anyway, society would be better off.

Society would be better off if we 1) sniffed each other's butts upon every meeting, 2) tried to achieve dominance through urination and/or fighting, 3) engaged in sexual behavior in public simply due to hormones, 4) rolled around in garbage, excrement, or rotten flesh, 5) ate one or more of the aforementioned items, and 6) cleaned ourselves in public with our tongues?

[Walkalong]

I like Al Gore he is a very nice man.He's concerned about the rubbish you emit
After all, he invented the internet. :evil:

____________________________________________________________________

I joined THR, after reading other forums and seeing all the nasty posts, pissing and moaning and attacks on members, which, for the most part, are few and far between here.

We all get animated now and again. Since all of us are right all the time, sometimes we get fired up at others who don't "see the light" . :rolleyes:

[YZR]

Masterofmalice,
Stop it, you're killing me:):):)

[ArfinGreebly]

Y'know, ya can't win here.

You show up and try to reign in the boisterous kids and lock the occasional thread when things heat up too much, and remind the folks that we need to keep it civil and on topic, and the members trash you for "over moderation." Which is an oxymoron, if anyone cares.

So, you lighten up a little and allow a little more latitude for attitude, and people complain that there's too much eraser-and-spitwad throwing.

*Sigh*

And this, right after I closed the "cat shooter" thread.

Drive a man to drink.

Guess it's time to tighten up a little.

Just a reminder: the weekly mod criticism thread is scheduled for Thursdays.

See you there.

[Neophyte1]

Grandpa Shooter: Sir; didn't you hit it on the head. Sir; some of these fine folks have strong opinions;:D some just down right ornery about you not falling into line.:) I enjoy the THR; and most of the articles. What I don't care about I easily move on. When an opinion is given I consider it; when I respond and the other sees it as an attack:eek: Time to move on. I'll not waste yours theirs; or the THR; with defending my position. also called [my manhood]
Absolutely; my stuff is better than your stuff; just because your stuff is like my stuff makes no difference, because my stuff is better:D.
5yr olds with a marble

[greenflash107]

Of all of the gun boards I have looked over, this is by far the best one for me. I don't post a lot, but I do visit the HR just about every day. I think the Mods do a good job overall, and yes, there are those who will get a little excited over the "my brand is better than your brand" at times, (I just do not get involved in these threads) There is a lot of good info (and funny) on this board and that is why I am a member, and I do come back day after day. I suggest that you ignor the threads that get to you and seek out the ones that you like. Just my 2 cents worth.

[MakAttak]

It's all those Cat people's fault!!!!....

Oops, wrong thread

I'll say whatever I like and you can't tell me how to phrase it!...

Oops, wrong thread still

Hey, this is the most civil discussion forum I have ever seen.

Ahhhh there we go.


Joking aside, people here GENERALLY (there I go again with generalizations) debate things civilly, honestly, and logically. However, given that people, in general, are dumb (remember, I'm a person too) every now and then people will allow feelings to overwhelm and we get some heated posts as people post before thinking. The plus side is that, on this forum, people usually calm down and come back to their senses, at times with help from the mods, as opposed to other forums where people just get angrier and angrier and end up threatening people's lives. Although there may be a little bit of antagonism here, I don't think anyone here thinks the other members of this forum are less (you fill in the blank) than anyone else on this forum. Except Biker, he's crazy.... :evil:

[RoadkingLarry]

I like Al Gore he is a very nice man.He's concerned about the rubbish you emit from your industrial centres and let drift to our Green and Pleasant Land.

You can have him:) you want him sent parcel post or UPS? Or would you rather come get him I'd bet we could come up with a package deal for you;)

[ilbob]

And this, right after I closed the "cat shooter" thread.
I thought that was a pretty civilized thread.

[macFarlaine]

Can we have Michael Moore instead of AL,he said nice things about our Health Service...

[MakAttak]

If you really want, we'll send both!

[gunsmith]

How do cats shoot?
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i24/PacoJames/11-07-2004.jpg

[MakAttak]

Although I may have a general dislike of cats (not hatred, just dislike) I love Get Fuzzy.

[TexasRifleman]

Grandpa has a good point, the military / hunting rifle thread and the mag. capacity and hunting threads both got ugly fast.

How could you expect otherwise though? In this information age pretty much everyone on this forum should be well aware of the Zumbo incident.

Early on in that thread you had posters saying they agreed with what Zumbo wrote.

You really didn't expect a thread where some called for exactly the same thing the anti's call for to remain 100% nice-nice on a forum that is pro 2A did you?

If you think that's a pissing contest then you are missing the forest for the trees blocking your view.

[sm]

buzz_knox wrote:
Society would be better off if we 1) sniffed each other's butts upon every meeting, 2) tried to achieve dominance through urination and/or fighting, 3) engaged in sexual behavior in public simply due to hormones, 4) rolled around in garbage, excrement, or rotten flesh, 5) ate one or more of the aforementioned items, and 6) cleaned ourselves in public with our tongues?

Gotta admit, it would leave less time for 1911 vs Glock, 45ACP vs 9mm , Which Gun for ___?, Ultimate Extreme Guns and Exotic Ammunition , Moderators pissed in my Cheerios - again, Us vs Them, and Move away from CA, NJ, Australia, UK and Move to Texas as you can shoot folks if they look at you sideways and if they get near your "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper".

*grin*

[Grandpa Shooter]

Geeez! I express my dislike for ungentlemanly behavior and rhetoric.......and my thread turns into a pissing match. Oh well......back to setting up my Lee Turret press..........






Guess I am just getting old! I keep telling people civility hasn't died while my Son and I are still around. Maybe it's on it's last legs.

[jfh]

First, note that I have posted in this BB for about four years now. I also used to post at the old MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) News Forum--which had far more vitriolic posting than here. I freely took part in that style of posting, and still would, were it available.

What I am referring to is a reasonable organization of ideas and thoughts, and not just spontaneous spewing of illogical stream-of-consciousness verbalizations. Many posters here have no concept of how poorly sarcasm can be adequately portrayed by the printed word, and there is enough poorly-written material that any 'valuable' idea may be lost in the presentation. Indeed, what is put up often comes off as a parody of lucid thinking, it is so poorly written.


My guess is that Grandpa Shooter is getting up to speed in a whole new world of discourse on the internet, not to mention the rapidity with which news and opinions are in flux with this 'instantaneous exchange.'

I've been around the Gun Control issues a long time--since before the first occurance of the term "Assault Weapons" uttered by the MSM. Because of that longevity, there are times I would LIKE TO SHOUT when I see one more post in which (new) posters don't know historical context--such as who Kitty Genovese was, or who Josh Sugarman is, what Luby's cafeteria was--and likewise, in the political arena, don't understand that the Democrat Party fundamentally supports firearms registration and confiscation, and that until that platorm of the national Party is changed, there is no point in voting for Democrats, period.

Similarly, I am infuriated with the casual use of the term "Assault Weapons" as a term identifying a firearms typology, when that type is nothing more than a political invention. It is not in the firearms lexicon, period.

But, as a recent exam of my posting will show, I avoid those discussions.

These are my observations--

1. What we gain in reasonable discourse we lose in good writing, in a witty exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, not many of us are capable of such an exchange.

Personally, I see very few pissing contests any more: that is, I believe that the elimination of "Politics" as a Topic and the remarkably good moderation here keeps discussions on track. But such actions also function to lower the LCD--that's the Lowest Common Denominator.

2. What we do gain is the dynamic exchange that makes us all Gunnys, for the most part, regardless of education or skills. If more people would learn to listen to what is being said, instead of feeling that irrestible urge to speak their piece, we would probably gain even more.

It's Oleg's board; he has the absolute right to provide the structure he does for discourse. Given his desired goal of providing an educational forum, I think it is working as well as it can. Now, if the moderators could just edit for literacy, we might get somewhere....

Jim H.

[Gator]

It's all those Cat people's fault!!!!....

Yes it is! And now there is a new "Cat Shooter" thread that is getting pretty nasty.

Welcome Grandpa! Most folks here have a good idea of what constitutes civil discourse, but there will always be a few exceptions wherever you go. That's why God invented the "ignore list" :)

[tnieto2004]

Grandpa.. How many other forums have you been on? This one seems to me to be better than most ..

[pax]

Lower left corner of every post has a little red triangle with an exclamation point in it.

Click that triangle, explain the problem, move on.

Life's too short ...

pax

[kludge]

This thread is OT.

:lock:

:neener:

[jimmyraythomason]

From one grandpa (grandchild #2 is due in mid-March and grandchild #3 is due in mid-July!)to another,welcome. It's a pretty neat place once you get the feel for it.

[jimmyraythomason]

Sure it's OT but I think it's helpful for a little airing out from time to tme.

[Evil Monkey]

Click that triangle, explain the problem, move on.

Yeah, but you can abuse that to the point of being a straight up whiner.

guy1: hey, look at my 1911!!! *PIC*

guy2: eh....I think it looks ugly with that grip.

guy3: yeah I agree.

guy4: me too.

guy1: :fire: I'll show you!
"Dear mod, in the thread I've linked, guy2 said some very hurtful and downright rude and vicious things to me about my 1911. Then, they all threatened to kill me."

lol:D

[sm]

Grandpa Shooter,

Get the dawg(s) a wittle red wagon.
This is great for a Black Lab to pull the bags of shot, wads, powder...reloading components down to the Reloading Room. Current "reloader helper"...this Lab.

I've done this forever with dawgs.
Cocker Spaniel I had (with a Pedigree a mile long), had his own box of 28 ga shells, and 28 ga single shot shotgun in the corner in a rack.
He was so excited the day I put 28 ga on the side of his wagon...

*woof* and after re-sizing a few hulls, he wanted to use his gun to make sure resized correctly.

*grin*

[Walkalong]

and my thread turns into a pissing match. Oh well..
Nah. We're just having fun with it now. :D

[jeepmor]

Go to APS and have a gander at that. It'll make this forum seem rather gentlemanly IMO. Even the mods over there will call you names. Don't think so, just mention 9/11 and conspiracy and sit back and enjoy the recoil.

Everyone gets in a mood, sometimes, everyone at once. Call it the moon cycle, all our spouses chew on us at the same time, all our bosses get on us at the same time of the month, or whatever.

Keep it civil, call people on their behavior and keep moving. Realize that even otherwise quiet and docile people have bad days. It's easier to take it out on the anonymous internet than your boss, spouse or what have you for the repercussions here are just whining for the most part, nothing more.

I try to be civil, but have to admit, I get in moods too where I type inappropriate comments. I've been cuffed by the mods on occasion, and I deserved to be cuffed. Be big enough to apologize for your actions when you overstep your bounds, it's the least you can do. If you can't do that, your problems are beyond the scope of an internet pissing match. The pissing match, in that case, is an indicator of your behavioral problem, not anyone one elses. If you can't admit your wrong once in a while, don't worry, everyone will let you know. If you choose to ignore it, well, it's still your problem, not others.

[IRISH-Shooter]

Long time lurker and I love this place for being a more respectable board to talk about things. Any kind of discussion involving an opinion will cause heated debates some times. If we all thought alike, we wouldn't have to talk to each other.

[rdhood]

The problem is that there is virtually no way to separate guns, the law, and the political. Guns rights are guaranteed by the Constitution (political), regulated by law (both legal and political... made by the representative, enforced/signed off on by the executive, and interpreted by the judicial).

If you existed with your gun on a continent where only you roamed or where you made the law, there would be no argument. But when we put you with hundreds/thousands/millions of people who don't want you to use your gun (period) and who seek to use the police-powers of government to restrict you and stop you.... well, then you have the police and lawmaking powers that be in your business. Virtually any discussion that advances very far will devolve into the law and politics of guns.

These powers affect you in your home (castle doctrines, DC's ban on guns, etc), in your car, across state lines, etc. You can't go to a range (if the legal and political spheres in your locality have allowed your area to have one), to the woods (outlawed in many parks/forests/wilderness) , or anywhere else without knowing the law so as to not end up on the inside of a prison cell (that legal/political thing again, where lawmakers have specified how/where/when you can use your gun, and police are looking to make sure you follow *their* local laws).

[JohnBT]

"Just a reminder: the weekly mod criticism thread is scheduled for Thursdays.

See you there."

Can I invite gunkid? He knows everything.

http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/mad/mad0007.gif

[boredelmo]

Even though this forum is the best as far as conduct goes, there are still some intolerable things that go on.

Hopefully some people take the high road and realize the internet isn't so serious.

Some others just mess with other members to get a rise out of them.

I really wonder what would happen if we decided to have a REAL forum, as in meet in person. I doubt many would be as rude as they are on the internet.

[Robert Hairless]

Which is an oxymoron, if anyone cares.

Sigh. Please let's refer to them as oxymentallychallenged. I care.

[Jorg]

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=67377

[Art Eatman]

I freely admit to some nicey-nice about what words are suitable for polite company. Like I told a cuss-mouth in a bar one night, "Watch your language. I have my mother's picture in my billfold."

People of all ages read what we write. We go to cussing, it might well turn parents negative toward us as gunfolks.

We go to squabbling and being insulting, it makes the fence-straddlers figure that yeah, those gun guys are a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.

Sorta hard to promote RKBA when we behave in a way which makes folks think we're idiots.

We're pretty much aware of all the Keyboard Kommando heroism that derives from the anonymity of the Internet, so I won't bother with that.

All we gotta do is act like grownups.

Art

[Bazooka Joe71]

All we gotta do is act like grownups.


If I do that, then when I get mad I can't stomp around in the dirt and call people poopheads!:banghead:

:p



What is all this "cat-shooter" nonsense I'm hearing about?

[ArfinGreebly]

Thread: Best caliber for cats? (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=316760) (now closed).

[cpaspr]

Cat shooter? You want cat shooter? Now this is a cat shooter.

[Paulus]

I also am a long-time lurker because my vocation is definitely firearm-phobic. I teach in a University and my field is Religion.

I have a Professional reputation and if my colleagues knew I own firearms, I would soon be alienated.

Sad fact. But there it is. Gunowners are assumed to be paranoid.

I don't share that anti-gun opinion. I own a number of quality firearms. The Second Amendment is a part of American democracy and I would like it to remain so. I pity my colleagues who have to live in Europe where they are not Citizens but Subjects.

On THR, I can meet kindred souls here that I couldn't in meatspace. We come from different backgrounds. I still am very much anti-Republican because I think gun rights and the rights of citizens are more important than the rights of corporations. Sure, I don't share many of the political opinions thrown around here under the lead of Foxnews. But I am proud to be member of THR.

And, I don't participate in pissing contests. (Except that the HK P7 and the Makarov are the finest handguns ever made. I haven't yet fired a 1911 but am open to suggestions :)).

Paulus

[sacp81170a]

Except Biker, he's crazy

In an insane world, the crazy man is normal... :neener:

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm afraid that I've been party to at lease one pissing contest today, and I am heartily sorry for it. I shouldn't have gone there, but I did. I would like to take this moment to apologize to the members and moderators of THR.

It's been a difficult day today. It was my last day of employment for a while due to the death of my employer and the closing down of his business, but difficult days are never an excuse for bad behavior.

Again, I apologize.

[Titan6]

Art:

All we gotta do is act like grownups.

Sadly it is the grownups who cause most of the problems in the world.

Still I like this site a lot. You can have an adult conversation with most posters here without profanity, vulgarity and in most cases stupidity. There are some very intelligent people who post here and have some good ideas as well. (A few have some very disturbing ideas as well but that is okay.. that is why there are mods).

I guess what I want to say is there is a wide cross section of folks here from every state in the Union, several countries, every ethnic group, most religions (don't know about Hindu's maybe...) and certainly we will not get along at all times. But debate, discussion, compromise (and 1.5 civil wars) built this country and it has turned out okay so far. So if you get offended that people are hashing it out take heart in the fact that it is the American way... otherwise we might as well all be souless communists.

Edit: You should have been here when we still discussed politics. That was awful. I am really glad they shut that one down.

[gunsmith]

It is a duplicate thread, MY thread was first and was a far more superior thread!
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=269274&highlight=cat

[XavierBreath]

General Gun Discussions.

I thought "The High Road" was supposed to mean gentile behaviour in all things. We come together to share information, and to respectfully add our thoughts in-so-far as they contribute to the purpose and direction of the thread. Can't the posting of inflamatory rhetoric, personal slander, and just general disagreeableness be stopped.The High Road, is an online discussion board dedicated to the discussion and advancement of responsible firearms ownership. It is the declared mission of this board to achieve and provide the highest quality of firearms discussion on the internet, a standard set by the discussion board The Firing Line from 1998-present. You can read more about it here (http://www.thehighroad.org/code-of-conduct.html).

We often view those who disagree with our positions as inflammatory and disagreeable. As moderators, we cannot be every where at once. If you have an issue that needs resolving, PM a particular moderator if you like, or use the little red and white triangle icon with an exclamation point inside it to report specific posts to all moderators at once. We do try to keep the threads on track. We do try to keep the chest beating, the slander, the trolling, the baiting, the ad hominem arguments and general ignorance to a minimum. We are not, however, all seeing or all knowing. We depend on members to help us in this endeavor. You can be with us, or ambivalent. Chances are, if we realize you are against us, you will not remain for long. That is the best we can do.

We also try mightily to keep the individual forums on track. This forum is for general gun discussion, not ego trip squabbling.