Why are flight simmers so rude to each other?

[Wolflikespie 39]

I'm serious. I come here every day and hope to see friendly conversations amongst people who share a love for a hobby. Instead, what I find (every day, mind you) are arrogant individuals who have decided that they are better than everyone else and therefore decide to flaunt it in front of the crowd. What I'm trying to say is; I see WAY too many shmucks in this community.

 

This, obviously, does not extend to everyone. The vast majority of people are friendly and helping, but those bad apples are still a problem that needs to be addressed. We are an incredibly small community, so why try to destroy someone who wants to join in the hobby? By doing so, all you do is alienate the rest of us from the perspective of that user, who will go and tell his friends that this place is bad, and the domino effect commences.

 

Frankly, I'm disheartened by what I see. Being direct to someone is fine, but the line between no-nonsense and just being a plain (insert word that rhymes with "tick" here) to people is crossed too often. What causes me more sadness, probably the most of all, is that the majority of us are adults. Some well into their 30's and 40's. Have you not left middle school? Where's the maturity? How would you like it if I told you that you were an idiot because you had an issue with something?

 

Again, this does not apply to everyone, and to those of you who are the kindhearted guys who want to share the love of this hobby to others, thank you. The bad apples, either ship up or ship out. There is no room for guys who are mean to others.

 

Rant over. Yeah, it's direct, but it needed to be said. It really did. Comments welcome. Try not to call out individuals please.

And here's a coloful illustration of the domino effect:

[HiFlyer 9,332]

When I first came to the community, brand new and still in lurk mode, I noticed a peculiarity of the community: A type of individual I have thought of ever since as a "Forum Bull"

Forum Bulls are usually people who brag openly about how "Frank" they are (which usually translates to rude)

The are often very knowledgeable, but somewhere along the line lost touch with how it once to felt to be a noob (or at least not so knowledgeable) Note: knowledgeable and "always right" have nothing at all to do with one another, a point sometimes forgotten.

Forum Bulls are guardians of orthodoxy, and are often seen leaping to the fore to slap down anyone not following proper form (proper form being judged solely by the standards of the particular bull)

Forum Bulls chase away more noobs than floods, fires, or earthquakes combined, are unhealthy for forum atmosphere, can be bad for ones blood pressure and are probably fattening.

Many forums have one outstanding Forum Bull (they are solitary, and require a wide range free of competitors) who is tolerated apparently because they are knowledgeable and have been around longer than God. Accordingly, they often get away with things that others could not dream of. They are also often surrounded by small groups of Satellite Bulls, AKA "Mini-Bulls" that cheer them on." (they have smaller horns)

Most people learn to avoid them.

Strangely, they seem inexplicably numerous in Flight sim forums, which scientists surmise may be their natural habitat..

If you, or anyone in your family spot a Forum Bull, do not attempt to approach them, they are heavily armed with arch comments which are to be considered extremely dangerous. Call the appropriate authorities immediately such as the Police, Homeland security, or a Forum Moderator via the appropriate channels! :mellow:

Thank You. :rolleyes:

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

 

 

If you, or anyone in your family spot a Forum Bull, do not attempt to approach them, they are heavily armed with arch comments which are to be considered extremely dangerous. Call the appropriate authorities immediately such as the Police, Homeland security, or a Forum Moderator via the appropriate channels!

 

Bravo  :clapping:

[Q_flyer 766]

When I first came to the community, brand new and still in lurk mode, I noticed a peculiarity of the community: A type of individual I have thought of ever since as a "Forum Bull"

 

Forum Bulls are usually people who brag openly about how "Frank" they are (which usually translates to rude)

 

The are often very knowledgeable, but somewhere along the line lost touch with how it once to felt to be a noob (or at least not so knowledgeable) Note: knowledgeable and "always right" have nothing at all to do with one another, a point sometimes forgotten.

 

Forum Bulls are guardians of orthodoxy, and are often seen leaping to the fore to slap down anyone not following proper form (proper form being judged solely by the standards of the particular bull)

 

Forum Bulls chase away more noobs than floods, fires, or earthquakes combined, are unhealthy for forum atmosphere, can be bad for ones blood pressure and are probably fattening.

 

Many forums have one outstanding Forum Bull (they are solitary, and require a wide range free of competitors) who is tolerated apparently because they are knowledgeable and have been around longer than God. Accordingly, they often get away with things that others could not dream of. They are also often surrounded by small groups of Satellite Bulls, AKA "Mini-Bulls" that cheer them on." (they have smaller horns)

 

Most people learn to avoid them.

 

Strangely, they seem inexplicably numerous in Flight sim forums, which scientists surmise may be their natural habitat..

 

If you, or anyone in your family spot a Forum Bull, do not attempt to approach them, they are heavily armed with arch comments which are to be considered extremely dangerous. Call the appropriate authorities immediately such as the Police, Homeland security, or a Forum Moderator via the appropriate channels! :mellow:

 

Thank You. :rolleyes:

 

Excellently put, and SO true!

[Airbusman330 300]

The reason we have forum bulls is becuase you have the certain breed of noob that asks that one question that has been beaten to death in the previous 100 threads without bothering to do a basic search, sometimes they ask the same question over and over after blatently disregarding a sticky that addresses the issue in the first place. Yes sometimes forum bulls go over the top but IMHO they are a necessary evil to keep the dead horse from being beaten to a watery pulp.

[Q_flyer 766]

The reason we have forum bulls is becuase you have the certain breed of noob that asks that one question that has been beaten to death in the previous 100 threads without bothering to do a basic search, sometimes they ask the same question over and over after blatently disregarding a sticky that addresses the issue in the first place. Yes sometimes forum bulls go over the top but IMHO they are a necessary evil to keep the dead horse from being beaten to a watery pulp.

 

I agree that the laziness to do a search by some (it is not just noobs!) is frustrating...... but that in itself is not an excuse or a reason for a Forum Bull to snort, take 10 paces back, and make the aggressive charge towards the noob you mention. 

 

It is perfectly possible to say "Have you tried searching the forums for that answer?" without having to be sarcastic or aggressive or rude.

[Oracle427 45]

Whenever I encounter these folks I always think about this site http://www.flamewarriorsguide.com/

 

Unfortunately, this type of attitude and the tolerance of it has turned me away from many a forum.

 

It is most definitely not unique this community. In fact, and this is just my opinion, but I'm going to say that this community has a lot of thin skinned folks who pay right into the game of these "bulls". Maybe it's just that I'm originally from NYC.

 

A forum that collectively overreacts by aggressively attacking forum who quenoobs that has already been abte stipic iabatedthat I leave. I just don't see a reason to associate with a group like that.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Yes well you are always going to have noobs, and you are always going to have people that don't search.....That will never change.

 

Perhaps when you find you are in excess of +5000 or +10000 posts and these menial things are what bother you then maybe you should find something else to do with your time. If these are the sort of things that you have problems with in your life then I wish I had your lives.....Doesn't seem like you have any real problems.

 

I can think of a million other things in the world to worry about.

[Jim Robinson 122]

This thread actually serves no more purpose than the one that inspired it. The very assumption that it's all about the newb being picked on by the old timers implies that the old timers don't have feelings too. You "victims" should give some consideration to what it might feel like to hang around a place like this for 10 yrs or so dispensing hard-won advice based on experience and doing so cheerfully and in good faith only to have it thrown back in your face time and time again. Rarely is the given advice even acknowledged and in most cases you never hear back whether the advice solved the problem, even more rarely is any gratitude expressed.

 

It ain't all about you...

[dkgrechus 0]

I Have been lurking on Avsim since the days of Compuserve and have posted little if at all. I agree with you 100%. I feel genuinely sorry for the newbe that just needs simple advice, but you can't blame them for not wanting to ever come back. If he isn't being accused of being a troll he's being told how many post he has contributed, and, if not in a high enough number, basically is being told to hit the road. There are some members that are genuinely Great people here and really enjoy helping people. But......... It really is no wonder the Hobby, Sport, Genre is starting to die out. I believe I will get accused and made fun of for this but,,,,,,, I'm Just Sayin. 

 

             Danny G.

[Need-To-Know 34]

They are also often surrounded by small groups of Satellite Bulls, AKA "Mini-Bulls" that cheer them on." (they have smaller horns)

Too funny! Sad, but funny because it is so true!

 

In the South(opposed to NYers)we can make the same points but you may never know that we might be pulling "ya'lls" chain because we do it so politely.

 

I just always wonder what is the motivation for the highbrow attitude - if something bothers them why do they return over and over or comment at all. IMO - Just answer the questions (or point them in the right direction) even if asked many times or just do not comment. Seems pretty simple.

 

I personally decided a few months ago to just become more of a "lurker" and avoid commenting.(mostly)

 

Glad it is not just me that is "thin skinned".

[Wolflikespie 39]

This thread actually serves no more purpose than the one that inspired it. The very assumption that it's all about the newb being picked on by the old timers implies that the old timers don't have feelings too. You "victims" should give some consideration to what it might feel like to hang around a place like this for 10 yrs or so dispensing hard-won advice based on experience and doing so cheerfully and in good faith only to have it thrown back in your face time and time again. Rarely is the given advice even acknowledged and in most cases you never hear back whether the advice solved the problem, even more rarely is any gratitude expressed.

 

It ain't all about you...

 

My argument wasn't focused on the "us vs. them" platform. We are a community as a whole, and as I said, there are enough bad apples to warrant discussion. The "forum bull" is not just limited to old timers, I know that the younger guys can be just as mean, if not more so, than the older guys.

 

As for giving out advice, it's always appreciated by someone. If it doesn't happen to be the guy you were specifically giving the advice to, so be it. I can guarantee you that someone out there has the same problem, will look for advice, see your post, and thank you. Just because they don't quote you in a post and explicitly thank you doesn't mean they're disrespecting you. Granted, the guys who quote over and over again and can never quite get the gist of what the adviser is giving tend to get old. However, my point was that even if they're being a bit long-winded, it doesn't mean that they are doing it on purpose. It's similar to dropping a bunch of coins in the street and they fall out of your hand again when someone else tries to help pick them up (or run away with them, depending on what kind of town you live in). It's not being done on purpose, but it just happens.

[Oracle427 45]

Some of the replies.... Where is that forehead slap smiley hiding? :Doh: :lol:

[RichLP 32]

My Grandfather had a saying...

 

"Throw a rock at a pack of hound dogs, and the one that gets hit hollers"

 

:wink:

[RWFeldman 159]

 

 

The reason we have forum bulls is becuase you have the certain breed of noob that asks that one question that has been beaten to death in the previous 100 threads without bothering to do a basic search

 

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