Do you treat people in "real life" like you treat them on ATS/BTS?

I wonder why so many people come here to this site to have a bad time, argue with others, call other members names, try to force opinion on others, engage themselves in nonsensical "debates" that dont add anything to the purpose to which has brought the majority of us ( I believe) here that is to engance our knowledge of issues that we hold dear while at the same time we deny ignorance.

Why you come here? I wonder if it is because you can hide behind a screen name and an avantar that makes you think that you are safe from people making judgments about you. If you feel you have to hide behind a screen name to treat others the way you do then I really feel sorry for you.

I wonder if you treat people in the "real world" the same way you treat others here. If thats the case then I really, really feel sorry for you, you must have no sense of satisfaction with your life. Always mistreating people left and right, from morning to night, I assume you must be not necessarily a lonely person but indeed a very empty one. You know, there is a few of us that come here to escape from people like you, but apparently there is no escape from your types, you are everywhere.

It absolutely amaze me the amount of you that are here clogging threads with your trollish, vitriolic, incendiary attitude that dont contribute to anything here and frankly makes you look really foolish but more importantly it gets in the way of us who want to discuss the issue in an environment free of your type.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said. Many people that respond to ATS threads are rude and make people that create the threads feel small and embarrassed. Shame on you. You know who you are! It's not right and you know it! The people guilty of this are no better than school yard bullies...and no one likes a bully!

Hey Bunch - I assume you are targeting one specific person or maybe two but posting in general?

To be honest, I am the same on ATS as i am in real life and I am as real as a person gets. I treat everyone with respect unless THEY decide to opt not to be treated with respect then i just ignore them.

Though this is not about about people being nice i based my post on your title Do you treat people in "real life" like you treat them on ATS/BTS?

And my answer is yes

reply to post by shearder


Im not singling out a particular member, just a specific group of people that are just dimishing the quality on these boards. They are everywhere, in religion, ufo, breaking news, 9-11, they are just everywhere. When I got here, and that wasnt that long ago, it was a pleasure to read many of the threads, yes you do had your knuckle head but they were the exception, it seems to me now that now knuckle heads dominate the boards.

I seen many good thought provoking members and really smart members dont even post anymore, many of them just tired of bumping heads with these people, many of them go to exile or what I call BTS.

reply to post by Bunch


I know what you mean. I am seeing it too. I know SO and the Mods are dealing with these issues. But I am with you on this point. It will get better but i recon that due to the number of new users joining and existing users i believe their task is an astronomical one but i believe they are making headway slowly but surely.

It's very much an education of new members and reminders to old of the T&C etc etc... Unfortunately when new members join they are not "on top" of the requirements and tend to NOT adhere to the requirements of ATS/BTS.

Do you treat people in "real life" like you treat them on ATS/BTS?

Oh no, I treat people in real life with much less respect and tolerance. Freaking meat bags

But I have seen this issue crop up time and time again not only on this message board but others as well. wars start and usually derail a thread. I have been guilty of this a time or two. I do try not to engage in hostile activity but sometimes something so ridiculous shows up my fingers just scream and start typing mean derogatory things.

[edit on 6/12/2008 by whatukno]

this type of behavior just proves how powerful the human stare can be

The fact is, its easy to 'act yourself' online because walking away carries no "tingly sensation" in the back of your neck.


But alot of it might, also, have to do with the fact that text carries different tone than words. The tone in which you read text is purely dictated by your current mood.

if you're angry and read a retort to a rant that doesn't favor your opinion, you may take it as a flame, since you're already in a bad mood (just as an example)

Then again - there's also the 14 year old punks who get all excited because they think they're cool because they're using "big boy" words and being "Censored" as a result.

Luckily there's a ban feature.
Also an ignore feature

Next time someone starts that crap with you - send them a U2U being just as polite as possible. Claim that you respect their opinion, yadda yadda yadda

basically play dumb to the fact that they're just trying to get under your skin

9 times out of 10 it shuts them right up
and the 1 time it doesnt, they make complete idiots of themselves and usually do something to get banned

I typically do. In personal relations I am pretty patient and well manored, as I am online, but I do rarely lose my cool. That has happened once online so far. It was on chat and someone was outright lying to me and I proved him/her wrong and stuck it in their face. It wasn't that bad but still I felt bad about it after(although I am not sorry.... that person is on my ignore list).

Oh come on! Most people here are nice!

And YES, i treat people the same- what you see is what you get.

I'm not going to sit and write as my evil twin, i'm myself...still one personality (at least the others havent been diagnosed yet )

Some days are better than others, and its reflected here and at home..

For the most part i am the fun loving nut that i represent here.

I'm a pain in the butt, but a fun one!

reply to post by dgtempe


LOL for sure!! I can vouch for DG

It's amazing to sometimes see how people "change" in different forums but I find that the people i know and whose writing i know remain consistent and that is a sign that it would be real life person(ality) extended for the benefit of ATS!!

reply to post by dgtempe


Don't get me wrong, I acknowledge that the majority of people here are nice, but we collectively have to realize that there are others here that come with a persistent agenda of being obnoxious and rude, becuase I refuse to believe that they behave the way they do out of sheer ignorance.

When I came here I was dumb as a rock on some issues and I became aware of details on some of the issues that I hold dear to my heart and I was able to change my views, but why? Because I came here to learn, to see what others think and not to only preach my rethoric about what I think is right and close my eyes and mind to the opinions or facts that others might present.

No difference here,in real life yes I do get pissed at people and I'm not afraid to tell someone either,I'm very approachable and make friends quite easily,but just never cross me

The personality that people exhibit on the www. is usually different than what they show in the real world. It's only natural; anonimity lends itself to fantasy and roleplaying.

Not me though, I'm the same brutally handsome, fun loving, movie star here as I am with my adoring fans in the streets of America and the world for that matter; except in Bolivia. They hate me in Bolivia. I just don't get it. What have I ever done to them???

It is true, the internet makes for the great equater.

You see, here we only know what you say.

We don't know or care how good looking, big, strong, rich, powerful............

Nothing else matters but what you say.

In that sence, I think people are much more willing to speak their minds, where as in public it they chose to be more polite.

I won't deny, that some people will take advantage of that and be rude little idiots, because they can, not to make an special or given point.

It is the price of freedom of speech, everyone gets to their say, even those with idea's vastly different from your own.

reply to post by Bunch


Excellent post! I totally hear where you are coming from. Hopefully for their sake, the people you describe do NOT act like that in real life. If they do, they probably have no friends and get a new black eye every week.

To answer the title:

Friends get treated the same: Sickly sweet.

Foes/Trolls/Baiters/Haters: Get treated differently. In real life I just walk away, ignore them, use humor, use the 'a kind word turns away wrath' approach, let Hubby deal with them if they are super nasty, etc. I'm a total weenie, very shy, and completely non confrontational. Extremely meek.

On ATS, I can't help but get a bit snotty sometimes. And, yes, even sink to their level if I'm in a mood. lol TYPICALLY, though, they have to 'throw the first punch.' I try not to float around in threads just to irritate people or start stuff. Unless, again, I'm in a mood.

Yes, I do. Basically if you're cool with me I'm cool with you. But if you say something I don't like..then it's and on some occasions That's just how I've learned and mostly have HAD to deal with people. And (imho) seriously, the latter is how some people MUST and DESERVE to be dealt with.

[edit on 28-11-2008 by The Scarecrow]

[edit on 28-11-2008 by The Scarecrow]

Good thread!!!!!..I actually came to BTS to get away from ATS...Ive never seen so many rude and unbending people and most members post information that is not even accurate on ATS and most members post just to get their points up and there are so many one liners, I have been doing tinwiki work and I have not receieved my points yet but its no big deal. Im here for knowledge not points. I even had somebody tell on me because I accidentally posted an article that was not breaking news and they felt that I should not have posted that, wow may god strike me dead for making a mistake!! BTS has been great so far and the members here are much better and more cyber friendly. I still like ATS for certain information but everytime I post information to a thread about the military which I served for ten years and I post information on Afghanistan or Al Qaeda, I get nothing but flak from members that refuse to see all sides of the information but I digress and simply leave the thread or ignore the uninformed member. Looks like im going to be spending more time here on BTS!!! and Im glad

I treat people with respect in my daily life and I do the same here on BTS/ATS..Life is too short for me to be nasty and miserable, Life is precious and I try my best to be a good person!!

[edit on 28-11-2008 by cmd18B]

[edit on 28-11-2008 by cmd18B]

Do I treat people here the same way that I do in Real Life?

Pretty much Yes.

Here is why:

1) I treat people the same way that I want to be treated.

2) I just don't see the point in pretending that you are something that your not. It's a lot easier for me to act online the way that I act in person. much less confusion that way.

3) In a small way though I am different online than I am in person. A part of me keeps in mind that whatever I type is around for ANYONE to read. Not just now or in the near future but anytime that someone digs up a thread. Call it thinking of future people if you will. So I try to take a little extra care.

4) There is the small possibility that in the future I might actually be able to meet ATS/BTS members in real life.

For the most part though I do indeed treat people online the way that I treat them in real life. In a good way.

I try to be kind in all respects. I guess we have all blown a fuse once in a while.(NOTE: Example.:bash:..........And afterword.. :bnghd:...............If I have offended anyone I'm sorry(Yeah, Right).......I meant no harm(Hey! do they believe me?)..........(Why did I post anyway,can't stand these people!)...................Love you guys....lol...

[edit on 28-11-2008 by rikk7111]

Yes.. I mostly treat people the same way that I treat people here in real life. I mostly respect everyone so I try to make it a point to not be mean to them or anything. If people say something stupid in real life I call them out on it. I don't get into that many arguments with people in real life.