Originally posted by: dreddfunk
Originally posted by: apoppin
so was this post "general information" ? ... meant for all of us or
specifically directed at me, dreddfunk ?
i find that most posters don't actually read what i write .. not beyond the first couple of words that irritates them or catches their attention ... if they would use a little common sense in reading the post in 'context' a lot of misunderstandings would be avoided. It would also help to read the entire post before angrily hitting the reply button.
As you very wisely said:
Both speaker and listener have an obligation to work at communicating with one another; the burden isn't solely placed on either.
apoppin - it was a 'direct response' to you, but I get a bit of a negative feeling concerning the way you use "specifically directed." I certainly didn't mean this as a personal attack, merely to directly engage you in a conversation. Moreover, I didn't want you to feel that I was singling out your style for criticism. As with all things public, however, I also understand that others may choose to read what I have written.
I agree with you appoppin that reading things "in context" can help to avoid misunderstandings, but then just think how differently two people may construe the 'context' of any given thread. There's a lot of overlap in the way we create the context of a thread of course, but an appeal to 'context' is inevitably an appeal to one's own unspoken understanding of a given situation. These unspoken understandings have rough overlap, but a lot of arguments here get very specific (one might say petty) and seem to constantly explore the edges of these 'unspoken understandings'.
Speaking to a more general audience, in my mind, the sad thing is that many threads on this forum play out as contests of verbal skill, in which points seem to be gained for intellectually 'pwning' the opposition. Because of this, at any given time it is rare that a listener is actually trying to *understand* the speaker. Rather the listener is looking for logical and syntactical flaws in the speaker's words, which can then be twisted in order to 'win' the argument. Conversely, it is rare at any given time for a speaker to actually be attempting to form a cogent line of reasoning, apart from tearing down another poster's reasoning in an ad hoc fashion.
Bluntly put, too many threads are about creating 'arguments' for posters to 'win' or 'lose', and not enough threads are genuinely about discussing the video industry and its products. A good example is the recent thread discussing the lack of a UVD in the HD2900XT. If it were made with the intent to actually discuss the ramifications of its exclusion for the consumer, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, it's actually made in order to start an argument--an argument that, by virtue of the topic selected, will be easier for certain people to 'win'.
We all hate to be 'wrong', but we'd hate it a lot less if those who were 'right' would stop dancing around, rubbing noses in the dirt and act like they've been there before--no more than that: act like the point was helping a fellow human being to understand something, not to make him/her feel badly that she didn't know.
Communication, in this forum, should be about providing assistance, not establishing dominance.