FoneBone said:
Loki:
http://forums.gaming-age.com/showthread.php?t=25840&page=6&pp=50
You never responded to this post... I'll just quote it (I'm allowed to do that, right?) since EviLore put it way better than I could.
And like that, I lost most of my respect for you.
Oh well--
c'est la vie.
I said what I felt I wanted to say, and if that wasn't enough for you, then you're free to not respect me. Unlike you, however, I don't "not respect" people just because of a single view they may have which I do not agree with, and I generally find this to be a more productive and sane way to live life. If I "lost most of my respect" for those who have stated things which I vehemently disagree with, I'd only "respect" about 3 people here. Yet I
do actually respect most of the people here (with the exception of obvious trolls), even if they disagree with my strongly-held beliefs. As I stated in that thread, if you want to sit there and believe that I have no rational reasons for believing what I do, then that's your prerogative. I'd like to think that my posting history would indicate otherwise, but I suppose that's just seen as "self-righteousness" and being "full of shit" (see: Minotauro's comments). You don't respect
me just because I disagree with your views, yet I personally respect all people (yes, even <gasp!> homosexuals) unless they've repeatedly proven to me that they're unworthy of that respect by way of their conduct.
But beyond this, believe me when I tell you that I'm not going to sit here and defend myself. You think that it wouldn't be easy for me to "lose most of my respect" for, oh, about 70% of the forum populace due to the incessant religion-bashing that goes on? And not just the qualified sort (e.g., "religious people who think/do such and such are bad"), but the generalizing, nonsensical bullshit that's seldom punished around here (e.g., "religion is a crutch for the weak-minded; religious people are inherently irrational; Christianity is bullshit; religion is responsible for all of man's woes" etc.). Do I vehemently disagree? Yes-- just as much as you disagree with my views on homosexuality, I'm sure. But in general I don't allow one's opinion on a single topic-- no matter how important it is to me personally-- to determine my overall view of them, or to influence the level of respect I accord them. If you're not mature enough to see why such a way of thinking is more sensible and productive than what you're implicitly espousing, then that's not really my problem, now, is it?
Minotauro said:
This is going to be unpopular but I detest Loki. I think he's full of shit and a self-righteous prick. Additionally, his posting style is incredibly irritating.
I'm "full of shit"? Okay.
I've never been anything but honest here, so I'd ask that you please define "full of shit" for me. If it means "he has opinions that I don't agree with", then that is evidence of
your immaturity, not mine.
"Self-righteous prick"? Why, because I have strong opinions and don't hesitate to make them known? I back up everything I say, and that's one of the reasons my posts are typically quite long (the other reason is because that's just how my mind works, and my manner of expression reflects that). If I were as "self-righteous" as you suppose, I'd simply walk into topics and say "you're wrong", and leave it at that. After all, I'm better than everyone else, right? I shouldn't deign to elucidate the reasoning behind my opinions, right? Yet I do. So you're wrong.
In my opinion, the purpose of his verboseness is to discourage people from making any sort of reply. Honestly, does it take five fucking paragraphs to explain why his opinion is better than everyone elses?
Because the purpose of those five paragraphs is not to "explain why [my] opinion is better than everyone else's," but rather to explain my reasons for holding that opinion in the first place. But in a sense you're right-- the length
is to discourage replies...a certain
type of reply, that is. As I've often stated, I write at the length I do so that others will have access to my full thoughts on the matter, and so will not be able to merely fire off some ill-considered one-liner in response, or argue against a strawman, or raise trivial objections while ignoring the sum total of my thoughts. I loathe captious people, and I do my best to ensure that they have no grounds by which to attack my thoughts.
And yet people still
do reply to my posts, oftentimes at length (Azih, Saturnman, Mandark, Hitokage at times, among others). So why were they not "discouraged from replying"? My personal opinion is because they are capable of comprehending and responding to an argument in a logical, coherent manner, something I'm quite certain you're incapable of doing judging by your posting history.
Do me a favor-- the next time you disagree with something I say, make a post and explain yourself as opposed to taking unwarranted cheap shots in topics like this. I'd argue that the reason you detest my "style" so is not because of some inherent flaw in my manner of expression (though I've always admitted that I could stand to be more concise), but rather because you're incapable of formulating a cogent argument and debating the points raised in a coherent manner. Next time I post something that's "full of shit", as you say, quote it and argue against it, if you're so convinced of its foolishness. You needn't even read my entire post (since that seems to be an issue for you)-- just read a paragraph here or there, and when you find something objectionable, respond to it. I'll be glad to show everyone precisely
why you have a problem with me: because you do not have the faculties necessary to engage an argument on anything other than a superficial level.
The point is:
many people have expressed their distaste for my personal manner of expression, including people I respect and am close to, such as Hitokage, -jinx-, and White Man. I can respect that, and can even admit that their argument has merit. However, when someone takes it to such an extreme as you have, where they literally
detest me because of it, and feel that I'm "full of shit", it evinces something much deeper about you. And I hold that what it shows is that you're insecure and angry at your own intellectual impotence. See? You can analyze me, and I can analyze you. Sucks to be Minotauro.
I mean, Jesus, you're taking
me to task, but have you ever actually
contributed anything of substance here?
<awaits for a ten page reply explaining down to the minutest of details why Loki is smarter than me and why my opinion is invalid>
Your opinion is invalid because it has no basis-- it has nothing to do with which of us is "smarter," though I'm sure that people can come to their own conclusions about that as well.
I have debated civilly and at length with people on this forum whom I feel are more intelligent than I am, as well as those whom I feel are less intelligent; that is because one's level of intelligence is not what makes one "worthy" of a civil, thorough response. All people deserve that respect when entering into a discussion with another person. I'm giving you that same respect right now, instead of just consigning you to my mental "asshole bin" and leaving it at that. You can thank me later.
In closing, please grow up, Minotauro.
As for my own "hate", well, it's limited, but there are a couple of things that irk me:
1) Mandark's usage of my name in topics I am not involved in. It strikes me as a tad juvenile, and I'm at a loss to explain it. I'm not seriously peeved about it or anything, since it's only happened two or three times, but it's kinda peculiar, especially considering that I don't do the same.
2) The whole bannable catchphrases thing. I understand the reasoning behind it, but feel there are better ways to go about improving the quality of discussion than by enforcing such hard and fast rules. I didn't mention it in the threads about it several weeks ago, since I didn't feel it was my place to tell people how to run this forum, but since this seems to be where we can let our feelings be known, I'm making them known. I mean, many of the variants on the catchphrases were quite witty/funny (not Drinky Crow-level witty, but witty nonetheless), and I don't feel that such rules effectively account for the more worthwhile usages of these expressions while eliminating the worthless ones. I used to laugh at "sell your X, it's all over!"...now I laugh no more. :'( Then again, maybe (nay, in all likelihood) I have a terrible sense of humor.
I guess it's easier for a mod to search for "FHUTA" on the database, and do some pruning that way, than to search for "horrendously shitty posts" and have to make judgment calls on whether or not an entire post was "valid." But still...eh.
That's about it, actually. I don't hate anyone here, really, I'm sorry to say.
Nobody whose name I'd recall off the top of my head, at least.
