More motivation, less pedanticism on this forum

EricExtreme

I recently returned to this forum after being away for several years. I am concerned with the amount of personal attacks and pedanticism that I am seeing. Someone makes an honest post or comment and someone jumps down their throat correcting them or trying to one up them. I challenge everyone to be supportive and if someone needs information corrected to do so in a friendly and respectful way instead of a blatant YOUR WRONG or some similar method. Let's leave our egos and need to be right (and for some a false sense of superiority) at the door. Let's just be helpful and supportive of each other. That's what this forum is for. It seems most people on here are great, friendly, helpful, and supportive and it is great to see. I ask that those who feel the need to defend their beliefs and opinions strongly take a step back and think about why they feel the need to do so in a manner that isn't exactly friendly. I had suggested to a few friends about using the forums for advice and more than one came back to me about how some people are not exactly being friendly to them. I am one voice in a very large chorus... one that is drowned out by everyone around him. But I would love to see those with a rougher communication style tone it down a bit. It is ok to be wrong. It is ok to help people with info and it can be done in a nice way. There isn't a need to defend egos, pride, and to talk down or go at someone with a difference of opinion or idea. Can't we all just get along?

diannethegeek

It's been my experience that every helpful poster on these forums, every single one, will be called rude, mean, negative, troll, bully, etc. at some point or another no matter how carefully they phrase their advice. Posts like this tend not to be very helpful. When every helpful poster is called out as mean at some point or another, then making a post like this without examples or qualifications just ends up pointing fingers at everyone.

There is some actual rudeness that goes above and beyond what should be acceptable here. Report it (use the actual report function not the flags) or call it out where you see it. But posts like this just add to the negative atmosphere that you're trying to combat instead of solving anything.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

BurlzGettingFit

I've also found that a post someone else may find rude, not rude at all. It would help if people didn't interject their own feelings to posts and assume to know the intention or the tone by the writer.

StealthHealth

*Pedentry

quiksylver296

So, if someone says they're going to wear a waist trainer on the elliptical machine for 2 hours a day to lose weight, we're just supposed to cheer them on?

happysherri

Yes, nicely put and I agree.

benjaminhk

And then there are the people that use straw man tactics to distort the original message's meaning/intent.

quiksylver296 wrote: »

So, if someone says they're going to wear a waist trainer on the elliptical machine for 2 hours a day to lose weight, we're just supposed to cheer them on?

CorneliusPhoton

*pedantry ;p

try2again

My personality and back round (customer service) are such that I have always been concerned with how my comments are perceived by others, whether in person or online. I noticed when I started participating more in the forums, I started imitating the more blunt, *eye-rolly* style of others and have been making a more conscious effort to avoid it. I try to ask myself if my intended comment is necessary/helpful & kind before I post. But I admit, it's hard when you see the same ridiculous questions & views put out there every day. When I find myself getting frustrated & snarky, I take that as a cue that I'm spending too much time on the forums.

NewMeSM75

I have found that people read a comment according to how they feel. Same as texting. You can take a sentence and interpret it so many ways. What I've never understood is why people take it so personal. I can guarantee I don't know anyone at all on the forum personally. So, if they don't agree with me or decide to be rude, so what? They're still entitled to their opinions. I, also, think that if you ask for advice, you should be open minded to listening to the given advice. If you don't want to apply it, okay. But at least consider it. I would never intentionally be rude to anyone. I truly think people have great advice on here. Yes, I've seen some be down right ugly. Like mentioned above, report it and move on.

Chef_Barbell

Report it and move on. These threads are ironic, vague, and they don't help anything.

AnvilHead

I find that there are a lot of supportive, helpful and knowledgeable people here on MFP. The best part is, I also find that a lot of them will make the effort to correct bad advice and call out BS when people start spouting broscience or woo. To me that's much more helpful than an endless stream of "Yaaay, go you!" posts when somebody is doing something that's not helpful toward their goals, or claiming incredible results when it can be clearly demonstrated that those things couldn't have happened. The OP doesn't always take it as it was intended (which is how "mean people" threads often start), but it can be very helpful to many others reading the thread, so they don't have false hopes or expectations about their own results.

psuLemon

Dear Posters,

I wanted to offer a brief explanation for the locking of this thread.

The forum guidelines include this item:

2. No Hi-Jacking, Trolling, or Flame-baiting

Please stay on-topic in an existing thread, and post new threads in the appropriate forum. Taking a thread off-topic is considered hi-jacking. Please either contribute politely and constructively to a topic, or move on without posting. This includes posts that encourage the drama in a topic to escalate, or posts intended to incite an uproar from the community.


If you would like to review the forum guidelines, please visit the following link:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines

At our discretion, this locked thread may be deleted entirely in the near future.

With respect,

psuLemon