An observation about MFP posters...

OP, that's the primary reason I stay out of the forums. People can be so ugly. I think it's just a sign of the disease that is poor living; i.e. bad diet, lack of exercise, etc.. Everything seems to take on a negative spin when someone feels bad about themselves. When we feel bad physically or emotionally, even someone else's joy can be perceived as negative. I just try to avoid threads that could bring negative comments. It's hard to bite my tongue when someone is acting like a clown. lol!

I too stay out of forums. I'm afraid that someone will make a harsh remark towards me and deter my weight loss. I know I should not give them the "power" but I do!

We need to learn to harvest the energy of butt-hurt. MFP could power the world!

bwahaha! I need that for work

I'll give you a quick piece of advice- 99% of what you believe someone means behind what they write is YOUR perception. There is zero tone or inflection in the written word, so unless you know someone, you cannot accurately judge what tone they are typing in.

With that being said- some of the most knowledgeable and amazing people on here, also happen to be some of the most sarcastic @ssholes that I know. And I love them for it! Sometimes people need to let off steam! I am sure 99% of the "mean" people you read about are those getting bashed by uninformed users who are mad that no one agreed with them and get whiny and start reporting everyone. We are all adults here (mostly), if you have an issue with what someone has said, you can always message them and talk about it like adults instead of running off to the mods and reporting them. I have seen WAY to many amazing people get banned because people are looking to justify there sense of rightness by "sticking it" to someone that isn't being mean- they are just not agreeing with them.. People especially hate it when you use Science!

So as others have stated, take things with a grain of salt, if you are offended easily, stay out of most of the chit chat, fun and game threads, ignore those that you don't gel with, and friend those that are like minded.

The internet isn't utopia...

I don't find it to be all that bad. I will generally lurk about the discussions, get a feel for the direction it's going, and decide whether to post or not. Mostly it's entertainment for me. I've 'met' some pretty awesome people here.

I take it all in stride.

So much doesn't translate into text. Personality, tone, sarcasm (<---this is big for me because sarcasm is very much a part of my everyday humour).

If someone says something I don't agree with or I would have said differently, big deal. We are all individuals, all have completely different pasts and upbringings and events that have formed us into who we are. It's nothing personal - in fact I might vomit if it was all rainbows and unicorns in every post. :sick:

<~~ you see the little drop down arrow next to my username? well if you click on it you have the option to "ignore user". this little trick comes in handy when you come in contact with those people that you feel are being rude/snarky/not helpful. give it a try some time. if you click it often enough, eventually you'll be left with the people that do nothing but spew unicorn *kitten* and rainbows all day long.

Thanks. I was wondering where the magical 'ignore' button resides.

It's been that way since I joined. It seems to mostly be the members following some strict diet protocol, whether it's vegan or Paleo or eat X grams of protein, and the "look at my abs! If you don't eat like me you'll be skinny fat and never look good naked" crowd.

Those that are really just here to improve/maintain weight and health are usually pretty supportive.

There are paleo people like this? Where? I've been here over a year and haven't found any like that...and I've been looking for them. Please provide a list of names so I can send them FRs.

Ha Ha

Brett is absolutely owning this thread, as usual :drinker:

Also, as others have said: so much of this is perception. People perceive something challenging their held beliefs as a personal affront. Just look for a random YouTube kitten video to see a pages long debate of religion, politics, and/or whether Lady Gaga is better than Madonna.

The thing is, many of those beliefs are subjective (to a point >_>). Science leaves less room for subjectivity, and that includes fitness and nutrition. It seems like people aren't big fans of objectivity, so when they read a heavily biased blog post, or post potentially dangerous information, people who are objective are going to step in.

Cue, like those YouTube videos, a flame war.

The problem is that not enough people are objective. About themselves, about the world, etc. They see someone disagree with them and it turns a debate (debate can be healthy) into a fight (not the most healthy thing).

And so much of this "why is everyone so mean here?!" is, again, a matter of perception. Intent is incredibly difficult to read on the internet. I found myself acknowledging a change in point and agreeing with someone in a forum thread a few weeks ago and was met with a super offensive response, because they thought I was being sarcastic since we had been on opposing viewpoints. I was legitimately saying, "See! You clarified your point! Thank you!" and they said, "Do you know how much of a ***** you sound like?"

So, no, I don't think this is an accurate analysis of MFP, even though I've only been on here a year. I think, just like people have misunderstandings in "real life," people misread intent all.the.time.

And if you're thinking "trolling" on here is bad, you must be new to the interwebs

It's been that way since I joined. It seems to mostly be the members following some strict diet protocol, whether it's vegan or Paleo or eat X grams of protein, and the "look at my abs! If you don't eat like me you'll be skinny fat and never look good naked" crowd.

Those that are really just here to improve/maintain weight and health are usually pretty supportive.

There are paleo people like this? Where? I've been here over a year and haven't found any like that...and I've been looking for them. Please provide a list of names so I can send them FRs.

Here is 2,165 of them: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/37-primal-paleo-support-group

ETA: am I the only one who noticed how many people here responded with "I usually stay out of the forums"? Umm, hellooo...irony calling :noway:

I noticed that too. Way funny! :laugh: