All right, all right, I’m sorry. I think it was primarily frustration at the fact @NIGHTBRINGER was able to counter anything I said in this debate that made me snap momentarily. I had a very tiring day yesterday and I had just got to a point where I was completely fed up and just let some of I think loose here, but I’m over that now.I agree that I just went too far there in that last post. I’ve removed anything in the post that appeared to be insulting and I’ll make sure not to resort to insults again. I agree with @NIGHTBRINGER that I have met many people who I dislike. I am being treated like dirt at university because the majority of the lecturers there think they are so clever and only show some sort of respect towards the geniuses. Ordinary people like me are seen as stupid when we are still pretty clever, and it’s demoralising. Also the majority of the other students there have no respect for culture or civilisation and would much rather mess around in nightclubs or go to other social events than appreciate the finer things in life that I appreciate. It also doesn’t help when you’re the youngest person in the year like I am when everyone else sees you as the insignificant youngling and enforces their opinion over yours to quash whatever you want to say. I've had this throughout much of school and a good bit of university and if you're someone like me you'll probably know how much it gets you down, and all this has fuelled what I have said in the previous post. Everything about university just bores and annoys me and it seems to have culminated in this, for which I’m very sorry. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again. I have to say, though, there are two things @NIGHTBRINGER can do: 1. Stop throwing your hatred of Jar Jar in my face just because I’m one of the few people who doesn’t hate him. OK, you hate him, and that’s your opinion, but please stop showing your hate towards him all over the off topic section because it annoys me. Keep it for a forum where everyone is a Jar Jar hater. I have my fair share of hated Star Wars characters, but I don’t keep on reminding everyone else of it very much. Also, I think he’s OK, but he isn’t my absolute favourite character as he was when I was considerably younger and I don’t think he’s a ‘great character’ per se, so don’t put such words in my mouth. 2. Stop throwing your hatred of AoS in the faces of all the exclusively AoS players in the forum. I am more or less neutral in this one, but I can see that it can be annoying for those who joined the hobby after Fantasy was deprived of its support to find someone who continually says they dislike the new game system. Again, I have almost continually seen you say that you hate AoS or show some sort of dislike for it in other threads (apart from the Daughters of Khaine and they derive from fantasy anyway) and it would be like seeing a Magic the Gathering player continually bash Fantasy (or the other way around) just because it’s different to what they enjoy. When AoS first came out I was like you - I was saying ‘why did they get rid of Fantasy?’ and ‘I really don’t like the Stormcast or the heavenly scenery’ but I’ve just grown to accept AoS is here to stay and have been showing more interest in it and what others have been doing in it. There’s a rule on Necrontyr Online that says ‘Always post constructive, useful information’, and I think that we should all follow this rule, me included - in other words, if something you’re about to say doesn’t contribute positively to a topic in a thread, don’t post it. Other than that though, I’m sorry all this ever happened. Please say if there’s anything I can do to make it up to any of you. I feel that I have said my piece here now, so let's move on and bring this thread back on track. Also @Aginor - I didn’t say humans had bad eyes - I said that they have poor night vision, which is true because we have vastly improved our day vision at the penalty of our night vision, which is inferior to that of some other animals.
That sounds like a very tough position. I can't speak much on that topic because my experience in University was the polar opposite. It might be really hard with all the negativity being rained down upon you, but just keep at it and hopefully things will eventually turn around for you. University in my eyes is supposed to be a place of personal growth, development and improvement. It should be a place where ideas can be freely challenged, but throughout that process each and every student should be given the chance to learn and flourish. I must respectfully say that this is an area where we fundamentally disagree, but please let me clarify my stance. At its core, I believe a forum is a place for the exchange of thoughts and ideas. It should be a place where opposite viewpoints can be expressed, discussed, analyzed and explored. Sometimes consensus is reached, while other times it is not; and either of those outcomes is acceptable. Now if we start to censor what can and cannot be said, the exchange of ideas dies very quickly. What type of fun or learning can be had if everyone on the forum just posts things that others agree with? Opposing ideas are naturally far more exploratory and insightful, which is why I am against restricting speech. That said, there are a few caveats to the system of thought which I described above: ideas/opinions/viewpoints can be freely challenged/attacked, but those "attacks" should always be aimed at the opposing argument and never at the person proposing them there are certain topics that should be limited or avoided altogether (deep political discussions, race/religion, topics that incite hatred/violence, etc). While I feel that these topics must be explored in society, a forum like this is not the place for them, because they are by nature very difficult to traverse without causing deep offense to people. in regards to your point on providing solely constructive/useful/positive posts, this is a strategy I best feel applied to painting sections. Even if I were the greatest painter (which I am nowhere near ) I would never demean anyone's work. That part of the forum is about providing encouragement (which I do) as well as careful points on routes of improvement (which I seldom do, because I don't have skills/knowledge to adequately do so). Focusing in on the two points you specifically mentioned: Jar Jar First I should apologize for weaponizing him against you in my previous post. That clearly breaks the rule I outlined above and should be avoided. Things got a bit out of hand on both our fronts, so I acknowledge and apologize for my part in it. Aside from that, I honestly don't see why any fictional character should be exempt from ridicule or critique. I'm a bit puzzled at your statement where you say you consider him to be merely "okay" and yet it bothers you when he is insulted. You can take any character, even my favourite characters and rip them to shreds as you see fit. It won't bother me in the slightest, though I will probably debate you on the topic . After all, what difference does it make if you were to hate a character I love? On the flip side though, banning Jar Jar ridicule shuts down many avenues of discussion. The analysis of the comparative merits of the prequels, originals and sequels is no longer possible. Nor can we discuss good and bad characters or even aspects of characters (for why should you be able to highlight flaws within characters you dislike or even like, when others cannot do the same?). In regards to your comment on keeping Jar Jar hate for a forum where everyone is a Jar Jar hater, that isn't really possible, and would effectively mean it couldn't be discussed anywhere. We have over 6000 members (not sure how many are active, but still), there isn't likely a single character of fiction that at least one person doesn't enjoy. You have discussed characters negatively in the past who are far more popular than Jar Jar and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Are we to stop the critique of all characters? The great thing about a forum is that if we read an argument against something we love, we can choose to either provide a counter argument or just easily ignore it. An attack on any character I enjoy is not an attack on me. Also, an most importantly, while not discussing Jar Jar would not be huge deal on its own, it opens up a very bad precedence in my opinion. Banning subjects of conversation is a very slippery slope. Where does one draw the line? First a character, then a movie, then a game, then a subject as a whole, etc. It's only a matter of time before it escalates. Systematically, all topics of conversion begin to be muted. AoS Most of the same sentiments from above will apply here as well. Additionally, most people on here understand my anti-AoS rhetoric is made from a fun and jovial standpoint. In fact, I often receive anti-anti-AoS comments or comments meant to induce a response from me #nighterbringertrigggered; all done with good intentions. This is nothing more than a fun interaction, and I take zero offense from any of it (truth be told I enjoy it immensely). In reality, I don't care to persuade anyone to quit AoS (even though I may playfully say I do). I personally gain nothing from doing so. If someone were my neighbor then I would at least stand to gain a gaming partner if I were to convert them, but what difference does it make if someone from the other side of the world plays this game or that? Also, my negative feelings towards AoS has zero bearing on my feelings towards people who LOVE AoS. That is a very important distinction. Some of my favourite members on this form are avid AoS players. That doesn't stop me from playfully giving them a hard time every now and again or them doing the same to me. Intent matters, and I would hope that the language used and the over the top unseriousness of my typical anti-AoS post would reveal that the intent is that of humor and friendly joking among friends. There have been times when some of us have debated the relative merits of WFB, KoW, T9A and AoS. There is nothing wrong with that. We can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the games, but at the end of the day people should play whatever they have most fun with. Afterall, someone's enjoyment of a game is just as subjective as someone's enjoy meant of eating a certain food or preferring a certain colour... it comes down to individual taste. I apologize for any offense I may have caused as well. I consider you to be a valuable member of this forum. You and I may have very different viewpoints (probably more so than any other two members on the forum), but I am always interested in hearing what you have to say, even if often times I don't agree. I like to interact with different schools of thought, and if we both work towards keeping our debates on topic, we'll both only grow stronger for it. As they say, iron sharpens iron. Cheers my friend,
To continue with my series of historically themed posts. I'm going to overthrow the double slaan like Napoleon overthrew the revolution..
Thanks mate - I am keeping going with it. I'm doing Software Engineering which is why I'm having such a hard time. Don't worry about it - I know I am on the losing side when supporting Jar Jar, but as I have said before, Rebellions are based on hope, and I am continuing to apply hope to this cause in particular. I think that is my younger self speaking there. I freely admit here that Jar Jar does amuse me, but I also say now that he isn't my favourite like he was when I first saw Star Wars. I've grown to more appreciate characters like Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and the Rogue One team now, although I do still have a love for the Gungans. Captain Tarpals is more my favourite Gungan character because he is a strong character - he isn't annoying and his death scene is quite poignant in the Clone Wars. I can see why Jar Jar can be annoying, especially with his squeaky voice, but several other characters, both in Star Wars and others, annoy me a lot more than Jar Jar. Well, I can see why it shouldn't be banned, but I think it should still just be moderated so that it doesn't get out of hand, like posting pics of him being murdered or having violence applied to him, but then we've agreed on moderating our debates already. OK, I may sound really stupid here but I didn't realise that it was more or less all for jokes. My bad That's very kind of you to say that and I thank you for it. You are certainly the best sparring opponent I've ever had in terms of arguing and I do like to see what you reply to counter my arguments. I will try my best to ensure debates remain on topic and I will maintain my Jedi composure when debating in the future!
That is acceptable. Why double though? But software engineering is like briljant Or well, the studies is, actual work is horrible obviously :'(