Why are people so easily offended and defensive in online forums?

[4 Deuces]

Fear and survival tactic?   

Embarrassment?   

Arrogant?  Unable to be humble?   

Unaware of own self's bad habits?   

Just an @$$ hole?

What do you think?

[DannyG804]

Unfortunately,  in a few cases: ALL OF THE ABOVE 

[PLUNGER BOY]

Its easy to bully or be mean  on line  . You are a GHOST no one knows who you are . Saying something face to face has consequences . On line its just a no hold bar free for all . If you thin skinned or actually care you may be offended by what is posted . Some people are just Trolls waiting to get a rise out of some one for any reason .I got my ass reamed out on this forum because i typed in caps when i first posted here . All my billing is typed in caps SO i just never turned it off . Statfreak PM  me and told me what i did to offend the members here . Jim at blueridge was the first to help me . I didn't cry when i was pounced on . I just asked for some information and  was rewarded by the many others willing to help . its just in some people nature to be asses and jerks . Just brush them off like the unimportant people they are and move on . and as the famous line goes  Frankly Scarlet i don't give a dam .   P.B.

[SolidSilver]

As a member for years of many forums, multiple antique/collectible hobbies (fairly new to this one as you can see),
I've seen many such instances, and experienced a few myself.
In every case, the offender was a senior member, and the target was a fair newbie.

It always seemed the offender was on the forum not to help a community, but to continually show how brilliant/experienced/knowledgeable/high-ranked he was
in that community. Jumping on a newbie for a small item of ignorance is an easy and self-congratulating way to "score points" in their own little tiny mind.
These are also often the people who take over a thread with long  "Hey Joe, how's the wife & kids..?" interchanges, parading their senior status for all the newbies to gawk at.

I always think of it as Mental Masturbation.

Gee, how does one define a Newbie? Well, ignorance, to start: that's the reason he's joined the forum, hopefully to learn from experienced
people willing to teach. While newbies (including myself) ask a lot of questions, that's the whole point of the forum. And without a continual stream of incoming
newbies, a forum, and likely its hobby, will die out within a few years.

I am almost overwhelmed at the lack of such dips on this forum; have never before encountered such a helpful and fun crowd.
I'm proud to be a part of it, and gratified for a few opportunities so far to give back by helping others.

[CVslots]

Well, SolidSilver, that was, I guess, one way to interpret it!

While some us may be guilty of being the occasional "Senior Member" asses you describe in your post, here's where some of (or should I say, THEY, as I do not include my/our self in that sector, lol) just MAY be coming from. First, lets start with the the "New Owner/First Slot" posts. Ok, we know this first time poster does not know their ass from a slot machine right? Who does, after only looking at their first one? So, he tells us about his machine. While we suggest, he tells more, we suggest more, and he continues to tell....and tell even more...and tell even more....and tell on...he's looking at the candle, the handle, the game theme, the reel strips, the pretty blinking lights, and everything EXCEPT what we ask about and suggest actually looking at....Soooo, Secondly, deep breath, in, out, in, out.....what are we to do? We coddle, coax, try and reason and persuade, untill we get the info we ACTUALLY need (and have asked for, only to be ignored) to fix his machine.

Just a look inside of how our (and don't kid yourself, I'm not alone here) brains decipher some of these post(er)s posts/replies. If one is not willing to learn, what are we to do? In this day and age, some are simply wanting a OPL (One Point Lesson) plan to fix the machine, and unfortunately, slot macnines are are not a good candidate for such. Some things are not always as easy as we'd like.

[SolidSilver]

CVSlots, yup! Absolutely!

There is a limit to how long anyone can put up with an idiot that keeps asking the same question,
or fails to read the answer. It's amazing how many people actually graduate from school and are out there
making decisions that affect us all, but they still listen with their mouth open.

In such cases, the Nuclear Option just sometimes seems appropriate.

But these aren't the situations I referred to. I meant the poor newbies who get publicly nailed by someone
on the first post of a simple question.  I thought that was the sort of issue this thread referred to.

I have never seen it happen on this forum, and I am frankly awed by the patience
NLG senior forum members (yes, you especially!) show to intransigent mouth-listeners.

For an excellent example of what this forum, and its senior members like are NOT  like, try most any black powder
reloading/shooting forum. If you're a newbie, you will soon want to punch somebody's lights out.

CVSlots, thanks on behalf of a lot of us for all the great help you have given, and the patience you have shown.

And if I ever exhaust that patience with stupidly repetitive questions or failure to listen, blast me. I'll deserve it.

[stayouttadabunker]

It's not exactly the same as talking to a person one-on-one when being online.
Here...you have to type...lol
You're given a chance to watch what you say, although guys like me I think type without thinking...  

A lot of older members that know their stuff don't come around as much as they used to I'm afraid.  
I think I know why but I can't prove it -  I'll leave it to Matlock.  
Personally, I got busy with life and kinda went away for awhile.
I come back every now and then to see what kinda stuff is happening, but we DO get a LOT of the same questions over and over.

It seems like before, people REALLY wanted to LEARN how a slot works
and we dug around trying to find out a lot about these machines.
I've torn down machine components on my workbench just to see what makes 'em tick.
But it seems nowadays, people just want a "quick-instant-fix" and are impatient.
I could be wrong...maybe it's just a generation gap or something...  

I've found what works best for me now. 
When trying to help someone, post a suggestion that might work. 
Then check back the next day. 

[CVslots]

SolidSilver,

While I thank you for the kind words, I wasn't expecting that at all. In the case of the mpnewbies who cannot read or answer questions, there are many times I just have to bow out and let Bunker or Jim/MidWest take over, as I am here watching, about to pull my hair out...even Darrell has to tell me "Just stop helping him. If they won't listen, what's the point?"  But somehow, somewhere, deep down inside still feel obligated to help the poster if I initially started conversing with him.  

With the new guys that come on like bulls in a china shop,some (if not most) of the responses are warranted. Who would walk into a room full of strangers, and announce, "I bought a slot machine and I need help, so tell me what to do to fix it!"? No one would answer you, they would all just stare at you. Now if you walk in and politely say "Hi, Im new here, and I bought a slot machine and heres what it doing, blah, blah, blah. Does anyone have any ideas where I should start?", we will jump on him like a pack of dogs! Arrogance is one thing we do NOT like here, along with BS. We know what machines are worth, how to fix them, and when we smell a rat...some rats are just better at hiding their scents than others and it takes us a few posts before we are on to them!  

[CVslots]

When I was a newbie on S+ machines (when I started getting into machines, that was what I cut my teeth on), I would pick a topic and read EVERY post I could find on it. I know I'm a nerd! But by doing so, it helped me learn so much more than ever I ever expected. If I read a post and didnt know what was being talked about, you guessed it, there was another topic to research. It also helped me to learn the lay of the land here, and what the "brains" really needed to know in order to help posters.

Mr. Bunker was my idol (he has a way of explaining stuff that could make a monkey understand. I, being the monkey, learned a great deal from reading his old posts). I was just plain scared of asking or saying anything stupid to Jim/MidWest  (not due to his demeanor, due to his in depth knowledge I felt like an idiot). And then there's Buzz whos always willing to help. But Buzz and I never stay on a subject long enough to get anything fixed, we tend to BS more than anything. I was too scared to talk to anyone of the other members!

This generation (hopefully its just a wave) of newbies (well, 8 or 9 out of 10 anyway) we see now do not want to waste any of their precious time reading or learning anything. Just fix it and go on. I honestly think the same exact problem could occur a week later and they wouldn't remember how to fix it, and would be back on posting again. We hook the occasional one and happily add them to the pack, but many are just one way tickets. Too bad we couldnt see some real stats on them, as I bet nearly all of them would share a similiar profile (as far as age, education, etc.). It's not so much a generation thing as it is the "sense of entitlement" society that has developed.

[DannyG804]

Ok I have a question: is the handle to an s2000 on the right side or left side of the machine?

Hopefully Buzz or Bunker can help. Thanks a million!    

[Buzz]

Ok I have a question: is the handle to an s2000 on the right side or left side of the machine?

Hopefully Buzz or Bunker can help. Thanks a million!    

Depends on which idiot you ask !!!!

If you put a machine on the stand upside down, will the candle be on the bottom ??  Nope it's still on the top but the top is on the bottom !! But if the top is on the bottom is the top still the top. Bottom line is who gives a shit if you get your Winning Streak fix or not !!!! ( actually I do so he will shut the F**k up. ) I really don't mean that, if I knew anything about a dotmation I would help him, and I have (4) of the damn things.

[uniman]

Ok I have a question: is the handle to an s2000 on the right side or left side of the machine?

Hopefully Buzz or Bunker can help. Thanks a million!    

On this old S+ listed on Craigslist, definately on the LEFT side. Yep, LEFT side. 

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/vgm/4258420340.html

[Buzz]

Jim  I'd say there is a better than even chance that machine is a S and not a S+. ( but it's still a video machine.)

[jay]

I would suggest he took this picture with a mirror.

[StatFreak]

Ok I have a question: is the handle to an s2000 on the right side or left side of the machine?

Hopefully Buzz or Bunker can help. Thanks a million!    

On this old S+ listed on Craigslist, definately on the LEFT side. Yep, LEFT side. 

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/vgm/4258420340.html

I would suggest he took this picture with a mirror.

Or maybe his camera's dyslexic? 
Lens in backwards? 

Thanks for the laugh, Jim. That's TOO funny, particularly because he chose that one picture as hie main photo and all the others are okay.