Nasty People Abound On Some Forums

[Ron]

I have only posted a few times on The Sand Trap, only because I have been a long time member of another very large Golf forum.  I also post on a Handgun forum because I have a Pistol Carry Permit.  Those two have been the only forums that I have ever participated in.  I initially thought and assumed that the commentary, posts, and threads on the Handgun forum would be a bit rough around the edges, so to speak, and was virtually certain that the discourse on the Golf forum would be courteous and amicable, as that has always been for me, the type of people that I have met on the Golf course.  There was no concern for me however as I knew that my background would enable me to deal with almost anything that I would encounter on a forum.  I am a product of a good family upbringing, a college graduate, a combat tour veteran from  the Viet Nam era, a successful and now retired businessman, and I have excelled in 3 sports since I was a youth;  Baseball, Tennis, and Golf.  FWIW, Golf is now my "Passion."  I am of course now, a Senior, and as relates to golf, all I am going to say is that I am a very good golfer.  I'll leave it at that.  The other thing I want to say, is that as I have gotten older, my demeanor has softened greatly and I am not interested in arguments and conflict anymore, rather I enjoy pleasant exchanges with people on various topics and subjects.  I am usually, very polite.

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong as to the type of people that I have encountered on these two forums.  The fellows on the Handgun forum are extremely polite, courteous, helpful, knowledgeable, and I guess understandably, of a Conservative nature, as am I.  Conversely, a great percentage (Not all, but many) of the individuals posting on the Golf forum are:  Rude, Confrontational, Opinionated, Radical, and many obviously suffer from low self esteem.  Hiding behind the invisibility of the Internet will do that to some people.  I also noticed (Much to my surprise) that the sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and grammar found on the Golf forum was horrendous, while on the Handgun forum it was actually quite good.

Accordingly, I thought I'd "Camp Out" for a while on The Sand Trap, and read threads and posts, in order to see what else is available. The other Golf forum has Moderators, but there is no common direction as to what they do.  The Handgun forum (which I will tell you is far larger than the Golf forum) almost never has to have a Moderator admonish anyone.  Both forums have an international following.

Not being too familiar with The Sand Trap forum, I hope I created this thread in the correct place. I don't want to be perceived as a "Trouble Maker" and interfere with golf posts. If anyone should care to offer a comment on this, I would enjoy hearing your views.  Thank you.

[Mr. Desmond]

As a vet of 14 yrs on golf forums, Yes to your post.

Reasons? I don't know if one can point to any primary reason for uncivil discussion or poor grammar.

I have found TST to have polite discussion, heated once in a while, but very civil and intelligent in comparison to others.

Welcome.

[newtogolf]

Welcome to the site @Ron I think you'll find TST to be a pretty cool site.  In addition to the moderators, we have Forum Leaders who help to keep things civil (most of the time). Overall I think you'll find it's a easier place to hang out in compared to the other Golf Forum you mentioned.

[Ernest Jones]

Welcome @Ron . We can get a little heated here but it generally stays civil and those that can't behave as adults don't last too long so I think you'll enjoy our company.

[Shorty]

If anyone should care to offer a comment on this, I would enjoy hearing your views.  Thank you.

You obviously feel more comfortable on a handgun forum.

I think that for you to make accusations about people having low self esteem is a little odd. Maybe they're just grumpy or cranky or irritable.

There are diverse opinions here, but I generally find it a very civil place.

I'm not sure why you would worry about people being opinionated on a forum. That's the point, isn't it?

What is the problem with people being radical?

You also seem to be applying positive attributes to mindsets such as "conservatism".  Why is that better than the opposite (whatever you ay deem that to be)?

Yes, the grammar of a lot of posters is embarrassingly dreadful - and I make the mistake of not allowing it to slip by too often - but I'd rather an illiterate golfer than an articulate person who believes that carrying a handgun in a public place is a reasonable thing to do.

[SavvySwede]

Accordingly, I thought I'd "Camp Out" for a while on The Sand Trap, and read threads and posts, in order to see what else is available. The other Golf forum has Moderators, but there is no common direction as to what they do.  The Handgun forum (which I will tell you is far larger than the Golf forum) almost never has to have a Moderator admonish anyone.  Both forums have an international following.

It took you 10 years to figure out The Sand Trap was the best golf site out there? Welcome aboard!

[joekelly]

Far too easy to get carried away by the trolls of the world seeking confirmation of their righteousness. Want idiots talking to you?  Go to Yahoo, or the Wall St J.  I would be very surprised to find many alternative views on the handgun forum.  It's too much like a religious forum to seek or accept other points of view.  And i can tell you that some forums will delete comments which do not meet the mods approval and will delete these without mention so no one knows, thus homogenizing the forum to appear nice and clean.  I have no idea, and likely OP does not either, if such policy is practiced on various gun  forums.

Here on TST some comments are cleaned up, some are deleted, some posters are  warned, and sometimes it's all done in secret. But on the TST, usually the golf, not the personalities reign supreme, and hardly ever, the 'supremos'.  And poor english spelling and grammar seem to go along with smartphones.  Phones get smarter, the operators less so.

OP, r u involved with the management or ownership of the gun forum u mention?  If not, how do u know the size of the 'community', either there or here?

Want golf? Here is good.  Want guns? Go elsewhere.

[SeenRed]

I will agree that some forums appear to be more civil than others.  I am new to this forum...only a few days, but my first impression is that most folks here are friendly, helpful and positive.

This is my first and only golf forum, so I have no previous experience to use as a reference.  For several years, however, I have belonged to some forums dedicated to smoking/BBQing meat.  One of these forums is widely viewed as extremely friendly, helpful, and always respectful.  Another is much less so...a big percentage of threads on that forum tend to degrade into shouting matches and name calling that eventually get those threads locked down by a moderator...In fact, in this forum there are moderators who are often the antagonists who incite the negativity.  I swear sometimes they remind me of a bunch of children.  I don't have a problem with people debating and disagreeing with one another.  As has been mentioned, that is one of the functions of online forums...but why must these debates become disrespectful?

Just the opinions of one "old fart".

Red

[Vinsk]

Well there was a time when phrases such as "sticks and stones..." meant something and it took more than tempers and name calling to trigger fear and censorship. Unfortunately a new era of thinned skinned whistle blowers has overtaken not only the living world but online media as well. Sure it was always unwise to go off on a tantrum in public or at work and yell at your neighbors or coworkers. Internet communication was briefly a nice venue to vent some controversial ideals, sentiments without losing your job or social status. It was all just written and nobody was directly threatened. Sadly, people have become obsessed with policing what once was just freedom of speech. Many of these types are not actually offended at all. It's that they have read something and know it qualifies to be considered offensive. A man calls another man's behavior as "whining like a little girl"... And he loses his job. Nevermind I've heard this exact phrase used over and over on the Disney Channel but no mention of its offense to girls. Because there is none. I'm overweight, losing hair, and could certainly be a bettter golfer. Do I care if someone calls me a fat ass, or a hack? Of course not. I'll defend my arguments and state when I think someone's opinion is flawed, their stats are wrong...etc. Who cares? Does such trivial debates really mean anything in the end? Does disagreeing need to be such a monumental event? Of course not. Say something mean and you are locked out from the discussion. Not ignored, that's asking too much of the reader. We have to protect everyone. Turn the channel? Turn the dial? Turn the page? Go on with yourself in confidence and agree to disagree. Laugh at the insults and carry on. No. Not anymore. Don't worry about having to perform such primitive acts of character. You'll just be shut down from the conversation altogether. My two cents. And that is all it is. Nothing more. Nothing less.

[JazzFatCat]

For spelling my impression is that younger people (under 25 years old) have the worst grammar and spelling. My guess is that they are so used to texting that spelling takes a back seat to abbreviations and whatever is quickest to type that gets the basic point across. They are probably more likely to be accessing a forum from a phone too. Trying to read and respond to a forum from a phone sounds like torture to me.

[scorpion12]

Welcome Ron. You'll find that there is good and bad in every forum you go to . It's all perspective. One person's good post is another person's offensive post.

There's good info here for golf. You'll see that.

There's less discussion on concealed carry permits and carrying on golf courses and in public, and you've seen that as well. And that's as it should be. It's a golf related forum. If you're looking for advice on drivers, loft angle, lie angle, swing analysis, which ball is better, and whether your irons fit you or not (and more) then this is the place. If you've got a firearm question, you'll have to hit a different forum for that...

[RussUK]

Welcome @Ron, I have onl y been a member here since earlier this year but have always found it a civil place to hang out and discuss our sport. Yes, you are going to have people who disagree and those who are very adamant in their views but thats the whole point of a site that encourage's open discussion.

For those posters who do push the boundries a little to far tend to get "called out" by the other members.

enjoy the forum, have a laugh and chat with us all, but one bit of advice for a gun owner..the "what did you shoot today" thread still relates to golf!

[CarlSpackler]

It's easy to confuse debate with nastiness. Often people read emotions into what someone else writes that simply isn't there. I see people making assumptions about others intentions or motives that are often way off the mark. I large percentage of communication is lost by only reading what someone types. You aren't seeing their body language or facial expressions. Because of this, one person thinks another has thrown them under the bus and fires back, etc. On the other hand, there are times when people are all to eager to pounce on someone who has a different opinion. In general, I believe that most people here are supportive of each other and want to help.

In terms of the differences between a golf forum and handgun forum, I will say that shooting a gun is relatively easy. Hitting a golf ball is very hard and there are many schools of thought which opens the door to debate. There is also a lot of people out there wanting to sell you their secret formula or product that is THE key to hitting it like a tour pro. This stuff needs to be revealed for what it is... crap. I hate to mention the Minimalist Golf Swing (intentionally not linking the thread), but that is a prime example.

It's too easy to dehumanize someone on the internet. Similarly, when driving a car, if someone cuts us off, we assume they did it intentionally and become enraged. I try not to read between the lines. If I am not sure what someone intended, I will ask for clarification instead of jumping to a conclusion. If someone disagrees with me, that's OK. It's not like they called my mother a bad name.

[Ron]

Thank you all for your feedback.