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I'm not sure how healthy it is to think about people entirely in terms of goals or statistics.

• axod 17y ago
  OTOH How healthy is it to get hung-up/offended/upset about random internet strangers?
  • potatolicious 17y ago
    Say you just met someone at a party, and you're having a conversation about something, when suddenly unprovoked they start tearing you a new one. Would you be upset? But yet, this person is no less of a stranger to you than someone on a board on the internet, or anywhere else. The fact that you don't see their face makes little difference. It's nice to pretend that we're logical machines where we don't care about anything that doesn't materially affect us, but the truth of the matter is that we're all human, and when someone rails on us, even perfect strangers, it sucks. Now, a healthy human being will pick themselves up and move on, but I don't think at any point it will simply not affect us at all.
    • axod 17y ago
      I disagree. In real life, there's an element of safety. If someone's hurling verbal abuse at my face, I'd be worrying that they're going to get physical. The same isn't true online unless they cross over into real life and come hunt you down. If someone writes a ranting email/comment on here about how much I suck, I'd likely read it, see if it's funny or just boring, and move on. If you're going to rant, you should at least try and make it witty and clever.
      • wdewind 17y ago
        Just by posting on this board you are kind of proving your own point wrong. If you don't get affected by the negative (because it's virtual and has no real risk), it's hard to argue you'd be affected by the positive. If your connection isn't real/risky enough etc to feel pain I don't think it's real enough to feel pleasure either. In which case I'd ask why you are bothering talking to us.
        • gloob 17y ago
          Eating chocolate gives pleasure and comes with little real risk. Not everything needs to be deeply emotional.
          • wdewind 17y ago
            Eating chocolate isn't a form of interactive communication. Kind of irrelevant here.
        • axod 17y ago
          >> "In which case I'd ask why you are bothering talking to us." Mainly boredom, apathy, reluctance to do any work, etc Seriously though, the same applies to the positive - If someone posts a comment saying how awesome I am and how much they admire me, I'd just laugh and move on. I wouldn't suddenly be euphorically happy. It's just online banter - they could be deranged, they could be being sarcastic, they could be trying to get something, etc. Anything said online/in emails etc shouldn't be taken that seriously. I'd say 1 real life person saying something (positive or negative) is probably equivalent to about 100 online people saying the same.
          • roundsquare 17y ago
            An interesting view, but I don't think it will last (it might with you, but not in general). Our online identity is becoming more important and people will increasingly rely on it for a part of their personal identity in the coming years. Hopefully, however, it means that as people invest more of their identity into their online interactions they will become more sensitive to the fact that others do as well.
        • keefe 17y ago
          This is utter nonsense. Why is it that you assume that negative emotions are necessary and valid? I'll read the rant and maybe learn something from it. If the girl doesn't respond to me, there's a reason for it. Pain is a fleeting thing, let it pass you by. It is not necessary to identify with it other than as a signal that something needs to be dealt with. This does not diminish positive emotions. Quite to the contrary.
      • donaq 17y ago
        So what sort of rants do you consider witty, then? Use me as a target. :p
    • keefe 17y ago
      I wouldn't be the least bit upset. Fuck 'em.