Death of civility?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by PsychPhD, Oct 28, 2006.

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Is civility dead?

  1. You betcha, here, there and everywhere

    9 vote(s)
    56.3%
  2. Yeah, but just a few "bad seeds" on the Internet

    4 vote(s)
    25.0%
  3. Yes, its all over the Internet

    2 vote(s)
    12.5%
  4. Nope. People say what they mean and mean what they say.

    1 vote(s)
    6.3%
  1. PsychPhD

    PsychPhD New Member

    I am not going to "prime the pump" by describing any particular incident, but I am curious if participants on this forum have noticed a particular lack of civility/respect/courtesy (however you want to term it) in this or any other particular venue?

    Is this a sign of the times? Or a "side effect" of the Internet?

    Interested in hearing others' perspectives.
     
  2. MrLazy

    MrLazy New Member

    I'm surprised you stuck with that other thread so long. I probably might have given up after being attacked by someone using false logic on a tangential point.

    Of course, I have to admit that I have responded multiple times to a poster because they could not see the error in their logic.
     
  3. PsychPhD

    PsychPhD New Member

    Combatting arrogant ignorance

    Thanks ... I hear what you're saying.

    I have been teaching for 10 years now -- first high school science, now college psychology.

    The title of this response was also the title of an EMail I sent NASA's Apollo museum several years ago when I was confronted by a 9th grade Earth Science class who had recently watched a FOX "documentary" on the faking of the moon landing.

    Using my best scientific methodology, I explained away the many "points" presented in the television program, to no avail. They saw it on television, so it had to be true.

    :: sigh ::

    As I tried with the PhD(c) thread, I was unsure about something I saw and sought some feedback from people I thought (perhaps mistakenly) would have some advanced knowledge of education related topics.

    I had to move to rural IL for my pre-doctoral internship which finished six weeks ago, ending my only professional contacts. So, I was looking for some sort of intelligent discussions so I started reading/contributing to a few online BBS after being totally disgusted by what passed for "discussion" on the news forums of AOL and the Chicago Tribune.

    As I said with the PhD(c) thread, I have pulled back from pretty much all participation unless/until I am personally attacked, but, lo and behold, who knew that having your character assassinated -- and your questions ignored -- made you a self-appointed martyr?

    Personally, given the likes of people like Rush Limbaugh asserting that Michael J. Fox is "exaggerating" his Parkinson's symptoms to rally sympathy for Democratic candidates or Donald Rumsfeld telling critics to "back off" when asking about that status of the Iraq War, I don't know why I expected any higher level of respect and intelligence in this forum.
     

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