Math Is Fun Forum

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Forum row

There’s a dispute on another forum (nothing to do with this one) but I thought I’d bring it up here to get some dispassionate and neutral points of view from people here.

Someone made this post:

There's someone you don't really like. They're young, arrogant, foolish... You find out some illegal things they've done that really wouldn't go down very well - nothing that's hurt other people though. Do you report it?

And someone posted this reply:

Cripes! You've found someone who's young, arrogant AND foolish. And they say lightening never strikes twice... let alone thrice...

Give them a break - and take a chill pill.

Get yerself a hobby or boyfriend or something... and do some work on your karma...

Now, what do you make of Poster2’s reply to Poster1? Do you think Poster2 is being rude, nasty, etc to Poster1?

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: Forum row

Tend your own garden

Hi Jane;

Poster2 wrote:

Cripes! You've found someone who's young, arrogant AND foolish. And they say lightening never strikes twice... let alone thrice...

Give them a break - and take a chill pill.

Slightly out of line with the chill pill statement.

Get yerself a hobby or boyfriend or something... and do some work on your karma...

Although Poster2 is giving sensible advice this last comment is a little mean for my tastes.

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

Ricky

Moderator

Registered: 2005-12-04

Posts: 3,791

Re: Forum row

The description of the person only serves as a distraction.  If who the person is matters for your judgment of what to do, then no matter what you do you have the wrong motives.

Even when not knowing who the person is at all, the question can still be an interesting one.

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"In the real world, this would be a problem.  But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist.  So we'll go ahead and do that now..."

MathsIsFun

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-21

Posts: 7,711

Re: Forum row

Poster2 is making a valid point (right or wrong, it is still a valid argument), but is extreme in the way they do it.

But that is, regrettably, very common on the internet these days.

I also find the "get a life" retort is just a way to add force to their point of view without any logic.

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"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Re: Forum row

Tend your own garden

Il faut cultiver notre jardin. From Candide.

Get yerself a hobby or boyfriend or something... and do some work on your karma...

Although Poster2 is giving sensible advice this last comment is a little mean for my tastes.

I also find the "get a life" retort is just a way to add force to their point of view without any logic.

That is just how I feel about it myself.

The description of the person only serves as a distraction.  If who the person is matters for your judgment of what to do, then no matter what you do you have the wrong motives.

Even when not knowing who the person is at all, the question can still be an interesting one.

Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean. If you want to know the names of the posters, I can tell you who they are. Poster1 is violetriga and Poster2 is Posital; the thread in question is this one: http://www.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=16391&start=0

I truly think Posital owes violetriga an apology.

Last edited by JaneFairfax (2009-08-11 23:53:06)

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: Forum row

Thanks Jane;

For straightening out the quote in my mind.

---

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

JaneFairfax

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 6,868

Re: Forum row

The row in the that thread has blown over. Now soup in that thread is complaining that a few of his posts in that thread have been removed. Apparently the posts were deleted because soup had called someone else a “m***er f***er” in them – in which case I don’t think soup should have any complaints about his posts being deleted.

Last edited by JaneFairfax (2009-08-09 09:42:00)

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: Forum row

Pretty mild as an argument goes. Soup got his post pulled for some street language, but all in all rational.

Last edited by bobbym (2009-07-20 06:59:43)

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

Ricky

Moderator

Registered: 2005-12-04

Posts: 3,791

Re: Forum row

Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean. If you want to know the names of the posters

No no, what I'm saying is that it doesn't matter who they are.  If your consideration on reporting them depends on who it is, then you are doing it for the wrong motives, whether you choose to do it or not.

In other words, if I found someone doing something illegal, it wouldn't matter (at least in theory...) if they were my best friend or worst enemy.  I would either always report it or never report it, based upon what action it is.  Not based upon the person.

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"In the real world, this would be a problem.  But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist.  So we'll go ahead and do that now..."