• _db
    3.6k
    I have come to the conclusion that The Philosophy Forum is not as beneficial to my needs regarding investigating philosophical topics as I had hoped it might be. I appreciate the founders and the work they put into transitioning from the old to the new PF, but I am not finding the environment here very appealing, but rather harsh and a breeding ground for making people feel bad. The motivation for many people on this forum seems to be to win arguments rather than to understand philosophy. Threads seem unproductive and tend to progress into petty squabbles. Whether or not this is the nature of anonymous internet forums, I am not sure.

    I haven't completely given up on PF, mostly because of certain community members that I enjoy conversations with. But the steady decline in quality has provoked me to decide that it is probably in my best interests if I leave the battlegrounds, at least until I have a better understanding of philosophy that I can participate more in the threads that don't inevitably lead to bitter hatred among users.
  • Phil
    20
    Well, I know that I haven't had much interaction with you here or back at the old place, but I have always felt that the topics that you developed were born of a genuine interest in the matter at hand. I understand the frustration, which is why I tend to lurk more than respond, but i do hope that you won't let petty squabbles stop you from continuing to learn or to post, even if only once in a great while.
  • BC
    13.5k
    ...I can participate more in the threads that don't inevitably lead to bitter hatred among users.darthbarracuda

    I haven't seen that happening here. I didn't see that happening much at the other PF either. People may vehemently disagree. People may zero in on a particular statement and blast away (such as has happened in the thread about armed societies being polite...). When people flew into rages, it generally seemed like the standard nonsensical rude internet behavior we all know and love so well.

    But this goes with the territory. It would be terminally boring if everyone approached disagreement as a mere coding problem which required minor correction in texts. One would want to scream, "Come on, show some emotion, damn you!"
  • Baden
    16.3k
    We all have our ups and downs with internet forums, but you've made a really important contribution to the growing community here, and it's appreciated, so I hope at some point you'll consider posting here again regularly. Cheers.
  • ArguingWAristotleTiff
    5k
    As BitterCrank suggests there are topics such as my thread on "An armed society is a polite society" where I have learned to go in wearing a helmet because I can tell that there will be incoming fire AND there was a time where I would have taken it personally. I know how taking a reply or replies personally (sometimes it is unavoidable) can build and cause a burnout of sorts.

    Over time I have realized that the exchange of ideas, the argument presented against each others ideas, is all about 'ideas' not about each other. If you find that someone is dissecting your ideas, that is a positive step in the discipline we call Philosophy, if you find that someone is dissecting you, that is a negative effect on the communication of a forum and should be reported. Sometimes I wish there was a way to see these things brewing before someone gets burnt. I guess we have to be willing to talk about how we feel, before we feel like we are being cast aside.

    Thank you for your being here, sharing and hopefully we will read you on the boards again soon!
    Oh and anytime you feel the need for your own helmet?
    Just drop me a PM and I'll toss you one for I have collected more over time than I will ever be able to put to good use. ;)
  • Soylent
    188
    Is posting a farewell on a forum a suicide letter and attempt done for attention that may, on occasion, actually succeed? Why bother saying something if you want to leave instead of just leaving?
  • Banno
    24.8k
    This isn't a bad interface.

    I had dropped off PF before the sale. I'd had little of interest to say for a while; the arguments I had refuted just kept repeating, is what i'd say; but my interlocutors might differ.

    Also, time spent doing Real Things has increased.

    Meh. It's all Goats, anyway.
  • S
    11.7k
    Take a break if need be, then return when you're ready. That's my advice. It worked for me.
  • Thorongil
    3.2k
    Not to sound crass, but I wonder what you do that enables you to post so much. Perhaps more of your free time could be spent reading philosophy rather than posting about it here. They're both valuable and interesting, but the former vastly more so than the latter (at least for me).
  • _db
    3.6k
    Well, I recently quit my job so there's that.
  • Baden
    16.3k
    Also, time spent doing Real Things has increased
    Meh. It's all Goats, anyway.
    Banno

    I can relate, but a dose or two of your caprine wisdom would be appreciated anyway. Do indulge when you get the time. (Y)
  • Baden
    16.3k
    Perhaps more of your free time could be spent reading philosophy rather than posting about it here. They're both valuable and interesting, but the former vastly more so than the latter (at least for me).Thorongil

    Don't know about this. I find I learn a lot more by posting than by reading alone, or posting requires more reading and so on. I tend to forget what I read fairly quickly unless I process it somehow. And writing is a good way to do that (in whatever field - I'm not just talking about philosophy here). Of course, posting off the top of your head without having read isn't good either. But I'd give reading and using (in whatever form including posting) equal weight.
  • Mayor of Simpleton
    661
    Don't know about this. I find I learn a lot more by posting than by reading alone, or posting requires more reading and so on.Baden

    Agreed!

    Reading alone is how many a manifesto has it's beginning... leading to subsequent explosions. :-O

    Meow!

    GREG
  • anonymous66
    626
    hey guys,
    I've continued to hang out on The Philosophy Forum, but missed you guys, so I thought I'd stop in.

    anony
  • Ciceronianus
    3k
    Post when the mood strikes you, when you see something you find interesting; nothing more. Pay no attention to those men, and women, behind the curtain that is the Web.
  • ArguingWAristotleTiff
    5k
    Post when the mood strikes youCiceronianus the White
    Hey Ciceronianus! It's good to see you on the boards!
    How has life been treating you?
  • Ciceronianus
    3k
    Hey Ciceronianus! It's good to see you on the boards!
    How has life been treating you?
    ArguingWAristotleTiff

    Not as well as it should, but well enough. Getting back to Chicago at all? I'll be wandering around the Loop and River North in a few weeks.
  • ArguingWAristotleTiff
    5k
    Not as well as it should, but well enough.Ciceronianus the White
    Sometimes well enough is the best you can hope for. ;)
    Getting back to Chicago at all? I'll be wandering around the Loop and River North in a few weeks.Ciceronianus the White
    Oh how I wish! Please tell her Hello from me and share with her how much I miss her. (L)
    I was there in February for a week and stayed at the Presidential Towers, taking the train out to Westmont and Hinsdale every day and back to the city at night. My Dad is in a Manor Care facility so when I go, it's a family event and a lot of pressure. I have found taking the train back to the city allowed me to decompress and fall back into the city groove by the time we reached Union Station.
    There is something about Chicago and it's might that calls me home. (L)
  • Ciceronianus
    3k
    There is something about Chicago and it's might that calls me home. (L)ArguingWAristotleTiff

    Me as well. In fact, I bet my bottom dollar I'll lose the blues there.
  • BC
    13.5k
    You might lose the blues in Chicago, or about as likely, get shot while they are robbing you of your bottom dollar.
  • ArguingWAristotleTiff
    5k
    You might lose the blues in Chicago, or about as likely, get shot while they are robbing you of your bottom dollar.Bitter Crank
    I'll take that bet. Chicago, is a safe town, just like Mayberry only a bit frisky! ;)
  • ArguingWAristotleTiff
    5k
    Me as well. In fact, I bet my bottom dollar I'll lose the blues thereCiceronianus the White

    Similar souls~ 8-)
  • Wayfarer
    22.3k
    PF is down today. Can't even ping the server.
  • BC
    13.5k
    Actually, I've always had a good time in Chicago, going back to the 60s when Old Town was in its hippie hay days and as recently as last fall.
  • Michael
    15.4k
    If only there were another philosophy forum, eh? ;)
  • Wayfarer
    22.3k
    Well I admit I'm a hopeless addict. I had already announced there in early June that I was done, finished, said all I was going to say....but what else is there to do?
  • Jamal
    9.6k
    You're not addicted. You're just always surprised that you don't stop having new things to say. 8-)
  • Baden
    16.3k
    PF going down is nothing new, so I expect it's short term. In any case, welcome, bienvenue, and failte to all homeless thinkers who knock on our doors 8-) .
  • ArguingWAristotleTiff
    5k
    Actually, I've always had a good time in Chicago, going back to the 60s when Old Town was in its hippie hay days and as recently as last fall.Bitter Crank

    Awww now I am getting home sick to see Chicago in the fall and I was just there this past February. Buddy Guy is a blues singer from Chicago that I always try to catch but the closest he is going to on this tour is California, in which case it might be cheaper for me to see him in Chicago~ (L)
  • mcdoodle
    1.1k
    I bet my bottom dollar I'll lose the blues thereCiceronianus the White
    My brother had that song on a 78, back in the 1950's, that also included songs from High Society. One of my favourite politically dodgy things to do is to perform a passable imitation of the Satchmo contribution to the climax to the song 'High Society'...Bap-bip-pee-oh-mo-yeh-----uuuuuuu-teeeee...
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