why do so many discussions turn contentious?


just venting....why do so many discussion posts need to turn  contenious and nasty?  do you guys find that constructive and/or enjoyable?  I have no clue who or how this forum is moderated, but I sure would love to see a stop to that...it makes me feel like this hobby is dominated by total jerks.

Can't we play nice, share OPINIONS and OBSERVATIONS, realizing that  they often are subjective and biased.  
"if you dont have anything nice to say, say nothing"?  If you wish to disagree, do it in a constructive and mature fashion, no need for "argument ad hominem"...

with all the chaff, one must waste so much time finding the wheat, figuratively speaking.  

I doubt my writing this will change anything, but, like most social media, people writing to others without facing them does not bring out the best, sadly......



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Showing 1 response by mijostyn

@whart , yours is the politically correct approach which in many if not most instances is the correct approach for maintaining your reputation as a "Nice Guy." I prefer the Galileo approach where you are put under house arrest for believing in the truth. Nobody thinks the earth is flat.

People are easily misunderstood online as expression is absent but still the mythology and lack of understanding and willingness to understand are rampant. Much of this is generated by marketing and appealing to lay instinct. Since none of this is life or death and nobody is going to get their back side sued off for being wrong, wrong is free to flourish. 

This is a very complex subject involving physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, acoustics, neurology, physiology and aesthetics. Very few of us have a handle on all of it. There is a lot to learn. In many instances there is more than one right approach or areas where compromises have to be made.

The environment we evolved in was rough putting it mildly. Losing was dying. You had to win, you had to be right and this instinct is in all males. The best way to survive was to make everyone else think you were the most vicious mother around. Study gang behavior. Study history. 

There comes a point where political correctness becomes dysfunctional. Neville Chamberlin is a great example. 

In order to learn you have to be ready to cast off firmly held beliefs when proven wrong. The tendency is to hold on to them. Some egos just can not tolerate being wrong.

Now I going to go get an Aperol Spritz and bury myself in sine wave sweeps. Installing my new cabinet has change the room acoustics enough that the system's imaged has blurred a little.