Why do you click on threads that you KNOW will rile you up?

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What is the root of this impulse? What positive things can be gained from clicking on a thread that is rather obviously aimed at a topic that will make you cast reason out of the window and start screaming at people?

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

examples?

― amateur!!st, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

boredom?

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

this is a trap isn't it?

― amateur!!st, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

the obvious answer:because somebody started them.

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm trying not to do it these days.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread spun out of me clicking on a couple of threads today after looking at the titles and thinking, "I bet you a million dollars I am going to hate this thread and everyone on it" and LO AND BEHOLD I WAS RIGHT; I was shocked at how much of a Herculean effort it was for me to not start spraying unnecessary imflammatory invective left and right (and, on one thread, someone did precisely that and it was deeply unpleasant).

Clearly, I'm not the only one who does this. Why do we do this? Why is there this almost overriding urge to be a jackass? What is it about Internet interaction that makes people think that being a decent human being capable of observing basic human social graces is unnecessary?

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:45 (twenty-one years ago)

VENT

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

little on ILX riles me up.

― kephm, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

This is the other thing that bothers me; WHY DO I ALLOW POSTS ON A MESSAGE BOARD TO IRRITATE ME? How much emotional investment do I have in this thing and how on Earth can an answer besides "not that much" be healthy?

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

What is it about Internet interaction that makes people think that being a decent human being capable of observing basic human social graces is unnecessary?

probably the relative anonymity and freedom from consequence. However, the flipside, which is that it should be exceptionally easy to state your opinion and not answer for it or engage in an endless debate afterwards, should probably be utilized more often.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I like being riled up.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

posts on a messageboard=peoples opinions, sides of peoples personality, it's perfectly normal to allow them to bother you.

it'd be odd if some didn't!

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe it's a method of avoiding a similar situation in real life.

possible xpost with manthony

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

also, TESTOSTERONE. I'm willing to bet there's hella more males who do this than females.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Talk to the fist, 'cause the hand's getting PISSED!!

― andy, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't have a similar situation in my real life, though! Nine times out of ten I can extricate myself from annoying situations in real life, so why on a message board do I wallow in them?

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

is it *wipes tears*...because you love us?

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

1. I already read all the other threads.
2. I am bored.
3. Sometimes it's fun to argue.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:55 (twenty-one years ago)

is it *wipes tears*...because you love us?

No.

― The Man Who Stomps On Your Halcyon Dreams (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

cos you're at work maybe, Dan, nothing better to do?

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

but Dan, do you extricate yrself from the real life situations by, for example, posting to ILX and looking busy at yr computer instead of talking to the irritating work colleague who will drone on and on about some subject you are not remotely interested in?

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

No. I post to ILX when I'm waiting for things to load/compile. I evade coworkers by leaving the room or putting on my headphones.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Plus, I think that when you're at work, you're a little more stressed. A friend pointed this out to me: 'did you ever notice that you're less moody as the week goes on, and more irritated in the mornings, etc.?' Kinda hard to feel irritated when I'm just sitting on the futon with my laptop.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 19:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't post at work, yet I often post when I've come home, and I think I'm more moody!

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the conversations here get deeper than those with strangers in real life, and therefore there's more frustration and heavier forms of debate. Plus it's easier to get snippy cuz they're not going to be able to pop you in the face.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't usually intend to get riled up, I think I can just go in, have a bit of fun, rib the usual suspects, have a laugh, no harm no foul. And I don't typically get that riled up until someone gets a little personal, and I can't really predict when that's going to happen (though I can usually predict who will do it). Like the "People who talk to God" thread last week, despite having some contentious debate between me and other ilxors, didn't really rile me up to the point of feeling angry. I felt kind of frustrated at times and gave up on it eventually, but I didn't get angry.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

We are all hard men on the internet.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

With all the double entendres that that entails.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Later, a freak accident gave Grimlock, the Dinobot Leader, the greatly enhanced intellect of a Super-Genius. During a campaign against Galvatron and his newly acquired Gestalt Combiner Abominus, who was formed by the Terrorcons, Grimlock created the Technobots, who formed Computron and downloaded all of his newly gained intelligence into Computron, returning Grimlock to his normal intelligence level.

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:08 (twenty-one years ago)

so, entendre=testicle?

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Because getting riled up is real, real fun?

― Towelette Pettatucci (Homosexual II), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude ilxors be rantin'.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:36 (twenty-one years ago)

This is the thread where Momus opines on race, conservatism, ILXers and their dead relatives

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:38 (twenty-one years ago)

It isn't fun, though. I don't enjoy being unpleasant towards people. I don't enjoy gritting my teeth and surpressing the urge to curse out my computer screen. It's not fun.

I think Tom is right and I should read that Transformers history. Then I should get over myself. (Then someone else should take over this thread.)

(XPOST MATT DC DON'T TRY IT except hahahahahahahaha okay I'm over it now)

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:40 (twenty-one years ago)

phear: Matchbox Twenty - C or D?

― amateur!!st, Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:47 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread has not developed into a serious involved discussion of the merits of Matchbox Twenty like I had hoped.

-- My name is Kenny (bogususe...), May 12th, 2003. (link)

Spectacular!

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 20:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude in fairness sometimes it's hard to avoid threads that do that; I mean if people would clearly label their threads maybe it'd be easier. If I KNOW something will bother me, I do go ahead and avoid it, generally, but there are threads that people give these generic ass titles with or nothing that would indicate a specific POSTER who might be hellishly irritating started the thread, and how are you supposed to know? I suppose the easy answer is to click out but once you've started, it's difficult to stop, like eating cookies or some such. POISONOUS COOKIES.

Perhaps there should be a way to show who was the originator of each thread, on the new answers page? Or is there already and I missed it? Quite frankly that'd end a lot of issues as far as I can tell.

With the exception of people who just want to start shit, I guess.

― Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 23:24 (twenty-one years ago)

You probably know this already, but it shows who started each thread on the New Questions page (but not New Answers).

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 23:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but New Questions doesn't use as much of the server's energy as New Answers. I *like* that Poxy Fule message.

― why do old people and old users of ILX such bastardos (deangulberry), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 23:45 (twenty-one years ago)

haha the poster with the most comments on a thread should be listed too

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 23:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I find it is certain posters, rather than threads, that I know will piss me off. Some people just go at it in the same way EVERY TIME and it just gets so obvious I start to laugh. So I dont let it rile me, I just stop, think "hey they're wasting time on line whining/fighting/baiting" and then I go and watch Futurama and eat some popcorn.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 00:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I post to ILX when I'm waiting for things to load/compile.

ha! I do the same (well, not exclusively, of course). We may even be using the same programs!

I *like* that Poxy Fule message.

I hate that thing.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 00:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't ever, ever use the New Questions page--that's what I'm saying, I think that feature should be on the New Answers page, because I believe that is the page most people use most often on ILX.

― Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 04:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Tonight has taught me that the only way I can successfully interact with ilx is while intoxicated. The whole fucking thing pisses me off otherwise.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 04:54 (twenty-one years ago)

A lot of people on ILX are kind of mean, to be honest.

― supercub, Wednesday, 22 September 2004 05:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Shitty thing is that they're probably very nice irl. I don't know why there has to be a difference.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 05:29 (twenty-one years ago)

they're probably not very nice irl. but is too much of a pussy to be as much of an asshole as when they're online in fear of getting the crap beaten out of them

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 07:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe. Or they're just two-faced like me.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 07:18 (twenty-one years ago)

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