[mickey100]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Does that mean the pollyanna types are wrong and don't have a right to voice their opinion?

No, of course not.. Of course they have the right to express their opinion. That is the point! We all have the right to express our opinions. Its just as I said - I personally don't believe that any place in the universe is as perfect as some people would have potential buyers believe, and after awhile, I have tired of reading their posts. That is my personal preference.

As CaptJohn said "Another aspect not mentioned so far is that there are readers who either read too fast and jump to early conclusions or simply pick out the words of a post and latch onto them without reading the whole thing. Then they attack the parts offensive to them without getting the grasp of the whole. Off go the fireworks unnecessarily. "

[Topspinmo]

I usually don't go on the attack unless someone brings out the snid or spelling remarks which sometimes rubs me the wrong way depending on the how I'm feeling that day.. we all have opinions and most of us don't agree on which is why we post. Anytime someone don't agree in can go over the politeness and that's when it can get out of control. WE ALL do it so don't think you all are up on cloud nine. Didn't take but about three posts here when I joined this wonderful fourm. We are all trolls that's why we are hear but some of use stay in the Closet till the nerve buttom it hit. There are plenty of grammer errors in this post for the I can spell or write better than you crowd so lets see if they can resist even in post about posting hatefullness.

I also agree people that don't reveal their names hit the abuse buttom more often.

[CFrance]

I thought one of the fun parts of being on a forum was having a screen name and avatar. Trust me, you would much rather see a picture of my dog than one of me, who doesn't photograph all that well. And for what purpose would you want to have my name, Cyndy Witzke, other than to find me at Crispers or the Toojay's liver & onion dinner? What exactly would you do with my name? When I PM people, I use my name.

This is actually only the third forum I've ever been on. The first is a travel forum, the second was an expat forum, and now this one. The other two used screen names and avatars.

So here I am, but I doubt I'll ever find a decent enough picture of myself to put up here, so I offer my dog, who's a heckuva lot cuter.

I enjoy the diversity here, but not the nasties. Also, I think some days we're all just in a bad mood. Like last night.

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by CFrance

I thought one of the fun parts of being on a forum was having a screen name and avatar. Trust me, you would much rather see a picture of my dog than one of me, who doesn't photograph all that well. And for what purpose would you want to have my name, Cyndy Witzke, other than to find me at Crispers or the Toojay's liver & onion dinner? What exactly would you do with my name? When I PM people, I use my name.

This is actually only the third forum I've ever been on. The first is a travel forum, the second was an expat forum, and now this one. The other two used screen names and avatars.

So here I am, but I doubt I'll ever find a decent enough picture of myself to put up here, so I offer my dog, who's a heckuva lot cuter.

I enjoy the diversity here, but not the nasties. Also, I think some days we're all just in a bad mood. Like last night.

I think a lot of people on here know who I am & where I can be found. LOL

[Mack184]

Originally Posted by Bonny

I think a lot of people on here know who I am & where I can be found. LOL

Although in this day & age that's not necessarily a good thing. To some extent, anonimity on the internet is a GOOD thing. There are far too many people who if they know your name, can find out all the rest they need to know and the results can be bad.

The down side is you have the trolls who are looking to make trouble who operate with a loud mouth and an ill will with no consequences for their actions.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Mack184

Although in this day & age that's not necessarily a good thing. To some extent, anonimity on the internet is a GOOD thing. There are far too many people who if they know your name, can find out all the rest they need to know and the results can be bad.

The down side is you have the trolls who are looking to make trouble who operate with a loud mouth and an ill will with no consequences for their actions.

Which is why I went on Google some years back and was able to remove certain personal information that some people don't even realize is on there about themselves. Not that all of it got removed, and I'm sure some smart hacker could get my ss#. But it's just crazy what people can find.

I guess I prefer the anonymity and will put up with/learn to ignore the trolls or people complaining that my name isn't up there.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by Mack184

...anonimity on the internet is a GOOD thing...

Yep, nobody should feel obligated to divulge their personal details if they don't wish to. My avatar is a real picture of me though. Yes...I am a fish. :^)

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

Yep, nobody should feel obligated to divulge their personal details if they don't wish to. My avatar is a real picture of me though. Yes...I am a fish. :^)

I have seen other pictures of polar bears with fish but yours is the nicest.

You don't look too..um...growly.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Mack184

To some extent, anonimity on the internet is a GOOD thing. There are far too many people who if they know your name, can find out all the rest they need to know and the results can be bad.

The previous Admins of TOTV advised me when I joined in 2007 that members should NOT use real names or divulge the Village in which they live, for security reasons. Especially when members talk about leaving their property vacant for the summer months. Or that they sleep with all their windows open.

[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

The previous Admins of TOTV advised me when I joined in 2007 that members should NOT use real names or divulge the Village in which they live, for security reasons. Especially when members talk about leaving their property vacant for the summer months. Or that they sleep with all their windows open.

Those admins were absolutely right! I know for a fact and from personal experience that there's at least a few members of this forum that will even go to great lengths to find out your personal identity so they can conduct unwarranted personal nasty attacks in an effort to hurt, anger or intimidate those of us who are not in lockstep with their mindset. That's the bad news! However, there is some good news.

Those that I know of who engage in this kind of blunt and direct negative behavior haven't been around much and haven't even posted for at least the last four months, unless they're using a second member account. That doesn't mean though that there haven't been some insensitive, mean spirited and hurtful things stated recently, but in those cases I believe that they were not personal and possibly not intentionally made, even though they did hurt me deeply in ways nobody else knows... nobody!

[OnTrack]

Originally Posted by mickey100

I agree as well. You might as well have labeled this thread "What motivates some posters to post comments that I don't agree with?" Many of the people who are labeled as negative are those who don't have the pollyanna view of The Villages or the developer. Its been said many times but bears repeating, that The Villages is a wonderful place to live but is not perfect. It seems that whenever someone questions anything about The Villages that they wish were different, the change in the parades policy for example, or the IRS issue, they are branded negative and viewed by some as almost anti-American.

Just because someone has their eyes open and can see both sides of an issue, and happens to disagree with you doesn't make that person a troll. It is entirely possible that some people like to present both sides of an issue for the benefit of those newbies or people considering the Villages, so they get a balanced point of view. The IRS issue is one example. Its only fair for people considering buying to be aware of it. They are most likely not going to hear about it from their sales rep. I consider posters offering that type of balanced information as doing a public service.

The Villages is a great place to live but the only way to improve upon something good is to make corrections to make it even better. That isn't a bad thing. We should always be striving to make things better, and that entails change.

As a new member here at TOTV and just having found this thread, I was about to respond.

Your excellent post, now makes my detailed response unnecessary.

As with many bulletin boards, there is usually a small group who tries to dominate and ram their agenda down other people's throats.

Some are very adept at doing it, mostly with a sugary smile and disingenuous flattery.

I say to them, back off and accept those who are offering their own opinion.....and/or constructive criticism.

.

[mickey100]

Thank you! I've been bashed so much lately for the smallest of things by the same group of people, its nice to hear from the other side. I've had some nice pm's from people with similar thoughts as well. Enjoy your day.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by OnTrack

As a new member here at TOTV and just having found this thread, I was about to respond.

Your excellent post, now makes my detailed response unnecessary.

As with many bulletin boards, there is usually a small group who tries to dominate and ram their agenda down other people's throats.

Some are very adept at doing it, mostly with a sugary smile and disingenuous flattery.

I say to them, back off and accept those who are offering their own opinion.....and/or constructive criticism.

.

Good post.

In other words, be accepting of all people who are their authentic selves.

None of us are teenagers in high school anymore.......very weird to see adults behaving or posting like teenagers when it's 55+ community .

Normally that age group has hopefully achieved some worldly mature views and shed the "mask" of phoniness....which they might have had to use when young..........those who have lived and existed in various regions of our country know diversity and also know that everyone is entitled to their own "authentic" opinion..........it's what makes the world go round. If we were all alike, it would be quite boring.

Sometimes posters are just "adding" to another's "ideas" and "opinions" by sharing what they know or have experienced from first hand life in general.......it's their reality but it might not be someone elses reality.
However, it doesn't mean that it is wrong or bad.

[Bucco]

Originally Posted by skyguy79

Those admins were absolutely right! I know for a fact and from personal experience that there's at least a few members of this forum that will even go to great lengths to find out your personal identity so they can conduct unwarranted personal nasty attacks in an effort to hurt, anger or intimidate those of us who are not in lockstep with their mindset. That's the bad news! However, there is some good news.

Those that I know of who engage in this kind of blunt and direct negative behavior haven't been around much and haven't even posted for at least the last four months, unless they're using a second member account. That doesn't mean though that there haven't been some insensitive, mean spirited and hurtful things stated recently, but in those cases I believe that they were not personal and possibly not intentionally made, even though they did hurt me deeply in ways nobody else knows... nobody!

THIS is downright scary !!!

Did you report the invasion of personal space ? I may be overreacting but folks who a "go to great lengths to find out your personal identity so they can conduct unwarranted personal nasty attacks in an effort to hurt, anger or intimidate those of us who are not in lockstep with their mindset." should be thrown out of any group in which they are a member and I am not sure of the legality of this action also.

[buggyone]

Since the Political Forum has been taken down, I believe that the posts are generally more friendly - with some exceptions, of course.

The Political Forum posters had a tendency to get personal and in-your-face quite often. However, I did manage to meet some of the the Political posters on a one-to-one basis and they are very nice guys even though we are on totally opposite ends of the political fence. I extended invites to meet some others but got rebuffed as is their right to meet whomever they want. I certainly would not want anyone to try and find out my identity if I did not want it known. I have gone to Crispers a few times and met some of the Political and other posters (including Gracie). Great to always meet new people.

It is hard to believe there are curmudjons (look that one up in your Funk & Wagnell's) on these forums who actually would want to find out personal idendities in order to bully or hurt others. I know there are some but very few and far between. I suppose they are just generally unhappy people with nothing else to do in life except to look for things to gripe about.