Are you too scared to post what you really think?

Yes, frequently.

Yes, I agree if that is the sutuation, but I was talking about posts that are not AIBU and the op was purely asking advice on something like technology or scams or something. One particular thread I remember was very unkind and a couple of people actually said so. But the damage was done and the op was understandably upset. There's just no need for unkindness or belittling whatever the type of thread.

I think there is a difference between being scared to cause offence and scared to be disagreed with.

There are threads where I wouldn't presume to comment as I have no experience or understanding of the content, and am aware that I might cause hurt if I blundered in, however helpful I thought I was being.

I'm not scared of people disagreeing with me though. Why would I be? The worst that can happen is that they are nasty to me online. I'll live.

I rarely post but not out of any type of fear. Sometimes it's because what I wanted to say has already been said by others.... and sometime I don't know what words to use to express rolling my eyes~~~ LOLOLOL
Since I'm at it, as rather a newbie to this chat, I don't always know what the initials some use mean... like DH etc. etc.

CornflowerBlue

Yes, I agree if that is the sutuation, but I was talking about posts that are not AIBU and the op was purely asking advice on something like technology or scams or something. One particular thread I remember was very unkind and a couple of people actually said so. But the damage was done and the op was understandably upset. There's just no need for unkindness or belittling whatever the type of thread.

I remember that thread, CornflowerBlue, if I'm thinking of the one you mean. It was strange, as the OP wasn't someone who I can imagine had offended lots of people, and the scam she was talking about was something that could have happened to most of us if we'd been caught unawares. (Some of) the responses were horrible, though. It was quite unnecessary.

Rocket ship, there is a section called getting started on GN, in that section is a list of the acronyms.
DH means dear husband, DS means dear son, etc.

Doodledog I'm not scared of people disagreeing with me though. Why would I be? The worst that can happen is that they are nasty to me online. I'll live.

If an on-line disagreement is the worst of my day? Fantastic day!

I completely agree! I disagree with Doodledog often, only to learn so much, read the 'other side' expressed oh so eloquently!

Galaxy

Rocket ship, there is a section called getting started on GN, in that section is a list of the acronyms.
DH means dear husband, DS means dear son, etc.

Also, you don't have to use those abbreviations yourself.

You can call them what you like.

I’m not afraid to post what I think, even if some here feel they have some control over how others post. It’s the same characters too. Like vipers, jumping at those who dare to speak outside of the general consensus. I simply pity them that they are ignorant as to how the internet works.

It's a difficult one.

I've sometimes been hesitant to enlarge on certain topics under discussion for fear I might be regarded as being discriminatory when in fact what I want to do is explore deeper into it - the whys and wherefores.

I don't like to use the term political correctness because it is pejorative (and worn out through over-use), but there does seem to be (to me anyway) an established order - not quite Orwell's "Newspeak" - but definitely a 'language' which sort of condemns one not to dare too much to challenge it. And both the Left and the Right have their own versions of this narrative.

I wish I could give an example, but - if I did - I'd be doing the very thing I'm wary of.

I'm not sure that "everyone takes offence at the slightest thing" though. On the other hand, I do think that sometimes people take offence when none is intended.

But no, not scared but certainly cautious.

MissAdventure

Galaxy

Rocket ship, there is a section called getting started on GN, in that section is a list of the acronyms.
DH means dear husband, DS means dear son, etc.

Also, you don't have to use those abbreviations yourself.

You can call them what you like.

I like Urmstongran's himself - referring to her husband. It always tickles me.

It reminds me of Arhur Daley's, 'er indoors'.

Dickens

MissAdventure

Galaxy

Rocket ship, there is a section called getting started on GN, in that section is a list of the acronyms.
DH means dear husband, DS means dear son, etc.

Also, you don't have to use those abbreviations yourself.

You can call them what you like.

I like Urmstongran's himself - referring to her husband. It always tickles me.

It reminds me of Arhur Daley's, 'er indoors'.

Years ago there was a poster on here called MiceElf and she referred to her husband as HymnsElf 😃

I haven't seen her posting for a long time, unfortunately.

It reminds me of Arhur Daley's, 'er indoors'.

I used to like She Who Must be Obeyed (Rumpole) 😃

I had some terrible experiences when I first started posting on forums, with people taking exception to what I wrote and ‘dog piling’ on me. If that happened, I’d stay off that forum for a few days, and find someone else was the target when I came back!

Callistemon21

^It reminds me of Arhur Daley's, 'er indoors'.^

I used to like She Who Must be Obeyed (Rumpole) 😃

Oh yes, I'd forgotten that!

I'd like to be her 😁

PamQS

I had some terrible experiences when I first started posting on forums, with people taking exception to what I wrote and ‘dog piling’ on me. If that happened, I’d stay off that forum for a few days, and find someone else was the target when I came back!

The thing with 'pile-ons' is that posters don't decide as a group to do it - but it feels like it when one after the other jump on you.

When one poster is composing their 'response' - it doesn't occur that others might be doing the same at the same time, so you end up with what seems like a 'pile-on'!

Sometimes people do pile on.
Nothing whatsoever with different opinions, politics, or anything of the sort.

"Some people" just pile on whilst others pretend they haven't noticed.

It's worse on here than on other forums I post on, as in most places it's considered very rude not to RTFT before posting. On here threads can lie dormant for ages then someone comes along and bumps them - not to say anything new, but to repeat exactly what's been said 100 times before.

Sometimes when someone is being piled on it's because they have said something indefensible, but at others it will feel like that because there is a run of posts all saying the same thing.

And in others, itsjust because people choose to pile on.

Dickens I remember a big pile on I experienced on a M & H thread when I said Meghan was history now! I was accused of threatening a living person, and on cue additional posters pitched in over several pages. Luckily, half a dozen more sensible posters came to my rescue, and fortunately they are the ones still on GN whereas the others disappeared! So thank you,
Oreo
Callistemon
25Avalon
MerylStreep
as I recall.
If something like this still comes to mind, after possibly 18 months, I can see why some posters are scared to open themselves up to bullying if they post something expressing any criticism.

Well, it was a ridiculous and a deliberate misinterpretation of what you said, Joseann!!

Er if I call DH what I sometimes call him in real life I would definitely be barred

I saw a post on village Facebook page late on Christmas Eve asking whether shops were open on Christmas Day for last minute food shopping. I put a comment yo the effect that we had had 365 notice since last Christmas that Christmas would be happening again and that shop workers are just as entitled to Christmas Day off as anyone else. The backlash was incredible, so much so that I came off the page, as the abuse I was getting for stating the obvious was unbelievable. I still say we have 365 days from the last Christmas to plan our shopping and that shop workers are entitled to a Christmas with their families.

Now, I am scared to post on the RF threads . I have no comprehension of why people get so angry about total strangers they are unlikely ever to meet.