OK, I don't usually jump in the middle of good discussion because most of the time I end up with hoof in mouth but here goes. I believe that the reasons are as varied as the number of people on the site but if I were to condense it I'd say the major reasons are: (In no particular order)
1. Lack of respect, real & perceived. Real disrespect is pretty self-evident and I believe we are all cognizant enough to know it when we see it and when we are RESPONSIBLE for it.
Perceived can be as simple as not picking up on sarcasm, (
Feel free to USE THE SMILEYS. That smart-aleck grin or your tongue-in-cheek doesn't broadcast over the internet without them) taking a sarcastic remark literally due to not knowing the poster or their style. The solution to this one lies on both sides of the fence, think about what you're posting and think about what you're reading. If it pushes your buttons just as quick as you read it, DON'T POST right away. Write a response, look at it, and delete it. You'll get it off your chest, won't make a new enemy, and in taking a second look LATER you might see it in a different light. (OK, not always but it is worth a try.
)
2. Hyper-sensitivity, many times caused by the reasons listed above, and at times caused just because "I'm looking for something to be ticked off about". (Come on, be honest with yourself. We've all been there at one time or another, myself more than I can remember) Adopt what I like to call the "Ted attitude" after a co-worker whose attitude is "I'm easily offended by those who are easily offended. Very little gets to me."
3. Experience, history, life. We've already seen some good examples of that mentioned here and that's one of the things that got this whole thread started.
What can be done to fix it? First, foremost, top-of-the-list (Just trying to catch as many cliches as I can
): RESPECT! While we may not always want to hear what the fairer sex has to say we most likely NEED to hear it. I can't find the exact quote yet but it was something along the lines of "Without women men would be nothing more than savages who shave". We NEED the input of the women here on Nukeworker and we need to value it more, I believe we can all agree on that.
We ALSO need to take this one step further and extend this to all of the NUBS, DINKS, NON-QUALS, and prospective Nukeworkers who are coming here FIRST to check out this industry. While I can understand the line of thinking that says
"They need to learn how harsh this industry/branch of service/profession/craft is so they can understand what they're getting into" there is NO NEED for it to hit a new poster between the eyes when their first post asks something that has already been answered just because we're tired of answering it again.
Short solution: Don't post a smart*** answer just because you can! This site was created to HELP, let's try to do more of that and take the belittling, personal attacks, etc.. "to the barn". It contributes nothing to the discussion other than making that poster feel better about themselves and the attacked feel ticked off, stupid, and less likely to ever come back. What do we end up with? A group of crotchety old farts who know it all and do a poor job of sharing their knowledge with PEOPLE ($1 to Red Hacker) who want & need it. THIS NEEDS TO END, AGREED?
OK, now I remember, nobody wants to read my rambling, over-analyzing theses where I say in 1000 words what most can say in 50.
I apologize for the rambling but to me this has been personal for years as the older brother of 4 sisters (6 now counting my step-sisters). I also realize that ALL CAPS is the internet equivalent of shouting. It was intended.
Peace y'all,
Tom
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