How to take a joke and not get upset on the internet

[Araillac]

So lately, I've been on the interest (the last several years, like 10+) and it seems people get offended by jokes or get upset over things they don't agree with really easily. Here are a few ways you can avoid these problems.

1)Understand that it's the internet. Get over it.
2)If you don't agree with something, don't get mad and flame the person who posted whatever you don't agree with. If you want to prove something you think is more correct, write about it.
3)You don't need credentials to criticize on the internet so you don't need credentials to prove stuff on the internet. Stop asking for them.
4)A great way to avoid frustration. Ignore the content upsetting you.
5)Best of all, if you're finding things that upset you, offend you, bother you, etc., on the internet and feel the need to reply instead of following advice #4, then get a life. Having a life is an amazing thing and you should look into it.

[Tricia]

I agree.

[hover]

Originally Posted by Araillac

So lately, I've been on the interest (the last several years, like 10+)

interest?

[Brummie]

This thread makes me so angry, I have the right to go on the Interest without reading this sort of thing.

[guitarchaser]

Half agreed…I did have a half year flame war crossing over three art sites, and two journal sites due to a friend mentioning that someone had basically screencapped a program and just changed the colours on it.

It was fun, although it was a flame war me and my friends and others from the art sites ended up not taking it seriously while the other side seemed to lose their cool like 'CAPSR4G3!!!ONE!!!ELEVENTY'

The result was some very funny pieces of art taking the mick and the aggressors banhammered from all three art sites! Yes some may feel sorry for them but with their profanity and unable to control their typing along with making accusations about someone on our side and their kids they deserved it.

[Thunderscreech]

This thread is just a disguised attempt to say you are butthurt about your recent failure.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Araillac

So lately, I've been on the interest (the last several years, like 10+) and it seems people get offended by jokes or get upset over things they don't agree with really easily. Here are a few ways you can avoid these problems.

1)Understand that it's the internet. Get over it.
2)If you don't agree with something, don't get mad and flame the person who posted whatever you don't agree with. If you want to prove something you think is more correct, write about it.
3)You don't need credentials to criticize on the internet so you don't need credentials to prove stuff on the internet. Stop asking for them.
4)A great way to avoid frustration. Ignore the content upsetting you.
5)Best of all, if you're finding things that upset you, offend you, bother you, etc., on the internet and feel the need to reply instead of following advice #4, then get a life. Having a life is an amazing thing and you should look into it.

Troll much?

Offending people, then criticizing them for taking offense, is trolling.

[stinger12345]

People that try to give advice over the internet should get a life. People that try to give fake advice over the internet should get an even bigger life. And yes, I should get a life for this post

[Thunderscreech]

Originally Posted by stinger12345

People that try to give advice over the internet should get a life. People that try to give fake advice over the internet should get an even bigger life. And yes, I should get a life for this post

People shouldn't ask for advice on the internet in the first place. It's generally a bad idea, unless it's something general.

[stinger12345]

Originally Posted by Thunderscreech

People shouldn't ask for advice on the internet in the first place. It's generally a bad idea, unless it's something general.

That reminds me.....

People who ask for advice on the internet should get friends.

[Jay Ralston]

I agree with the OP. On my website, I do a weekly online sermon each week. But one of the things I have had to stress to my audience is the fact that with my online sermons, they are only getting the part of my message that is the least used for interpretation and that is the words. When a person talks to someone in person, there are many other things that are factored in to what is being said and actually hold a higher percentage of getting a message across. Things like tone of voice and facial expression or body language are actually the most important but over the internet, you do not have that. You only have the words. If I say something like "Repent of your sins or else hell is your destiny." You may read that and think I am saying it in an angry tone with a harsh look on my face and you may think that my attitude is holier than thou. Yet if you were at my church listening to me preach and I said the same words, you would hear the passion in my voice over concern where your destiny is. You would see the love on my face for every person that there is and then even if you did not agree or believe with what I had preached about, you would at least see that I was saying what I said because of a genuine concern for people's souls and I have the same love that Christ has for them.

The other thing that I have observed is that people get offended way to easy now days. I also work as a Corrections Officer for the State of Colorado. While the job does have dangers, it really is not a super hard job to learn. But the the turn over rate is so high in that field because people get to easily offended. Here is a job that will always be there. It is one of the most secure jobs in the country as far as layoffs go, it has good benefits and even if you only have a high school diploma, you can still promote as high as you want. I know certain people who have worked there way up with just their high school diploma and make around 6 figures a year as upper management. But a lot of people quite the job because one of the offenders cursed at them and instead of using the power that the State has given them such as reporting the offender and then having him go through the consequences of his actions that would include losing special privileges like visits, yard time, phone time etc. they just up and quit over being offended but then they try and find another job that offers the same benefits and the same pay and find out that those jobs are hard to find.

[Thunderscreech]

Originally Posted by stinger12345

That reminds me.....

People who ask for advice on the internet should get friends.

and be prepared for the backlash of listening to the bad advice. How do you think I wound up having to completely re-install a new version of windows on my computer recently?

[Araillac]

Originally Posted by Thunderscreech

This thread is just a disguised attempt to say you are butthurt about your recent failure.

I'll be man enough to agree with this lol

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Jay Ralston

I agree with the OP. On my website, I do a weekly online sermon each week. But one of the things I have had to stress to my audience is the fact that with my online sermons, they are only getting the part of my message that is the least used for interpretation and that is the words.

I think you raise a point here, which is that you have learned to adapt your words to the medium. Recognizing the difference between face-to-face and the Internet is the first step to success.

I've been interacting on electronic forums since around 1990, and it took me some time to learn how to make a strong point without offending people. Like any other social skill, it can be learned.

[BurningSkies]

Epic part II.

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by Araillac

So lately, I've been on the interest (the last several years, like 10+) and it seems people get offended by jokes or get upset over things they don't agree with really easily. Here are a few ways you can avoid these problems...

Pay attention:

Don't joke.

This is one of the very expensive things you are taught when you are being groomed by personal coaches for elite positions in big organizations and corporations, but it's good for everyone.

Why?

Basically it's this: Your "joke" is going to be about like your views on politics and religion. A small number of people are going to be in full agreement but you have more or less alienated the other 90%, some severely and permanently. Even those who smile politely at your "humor" are silently thinking, "Jeeze, what an a-hole..."

Even professional comedy fails over 70% of the time.

So don't clown. It's poison.

On top of this, it's incredibly annoying in a serious thread (and if it's not serious why did you start it?) for someone to post idiotic one-liners. It's abusive and disruptive, and it explains why the class clown gets sent to the vice-principal's office for acting out when the other kids are trying to learn.

[MakiSupaStar]

This thread is almost as big a dog turd as your dating advice thread.

[Jay Ralston]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

This thread is almost as big a dog turd as your dating advice thread.

Link?

[Bongolation]

So lately, I've been on the interest (the last several years, like 10+) and it seems people get offended

I've been on the "interest" since around '83 and back then it was really worthwhile thanks to the quality of the people.

These days, I waste about 80% of my online energy merely trying to feign respect and tolerance for users who clearly deserve neither.

No, I'm not kidding.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Araillac

3)You don't need credentials to criticize on the internet so you don't need credentials to prove stuff on the internet. Stop asking for them.

I have all the credentials I need at TalkBass: almost 21,000 posts. That makes me an authority on pretty much everything.