Couldn't We Be More Friendly?

[Marigold Devin]

Just now, Sid Nagy said:

I think that It might be the global plague attacks that's starting to take its toll with people. We want our old lives back without masks, vaccinations and restrictions.
And if you are in America, the sharp political division lines through every aspect of the society are starting to take their toll on that side of the pond as well IMHO.

I know you are right.

I know how the plague has affected me and my family, friends, neighbours, neighbourhood, etc. 

It's very wearing, wearisome (is that even a word?). But I hope, I really hope, that I've got my own level of snarkiness down to an absolute minimum. I have had to sit on my hands rather hard at times, and started actually putting people on ignore on these forums halfway through last year when I had never done so in all the previous years. 

Too many people post before they think, or their mental health issues have risen with this vile virus. And most (if not all) are injured in some way by what has been going on this past couple of years, on top of the layers of crap that life sometimes hands out when there isn't a virus running loose. 

Our restrictions were lifted more than ever today (UK). No one seems to be partying. Everywhere is quiet. Three of us still wore masks in our local shop this evening. Habit more than anything, and just in case it does some good. 

To come in here though and see some of the snarking, it's unnecessary, and it's generally the same old culprits who pre-covid were a little bit that way inclined anyway, they just seem to have got a whole lot worse.

 

[Marigold Devin]

1 minute ago, CaithLynnSayes said:

Exactly, i got my booster shot the other day and while i was driving up there i was thinking to myself "right, this is it, i'm done with jabs in my arm now and that mask can go pretty soon now as well"

Toby Jepson from the rock band Wayward sons said on Sunday on his radio show that a lot of bands had had to cancel or postpone shows, but "come hell or high water we will be performing this March". 

Enough is enough.

But...

[CaithLynnSayes]

I think everybody is done with the pandemic and i don't want to get political, but... no, i won't say it...

 

 

 

PS: Sid, that's 2 times now you've dragged this thread off topic. We're going to have to talk about this bud. This can't go on like this  

[Sid Nagy]

3 minutes ago, Marigold Devin said:

To come in here though and see some of the snarking, it's unnecessary, and it's generally the same old culprits who pre-covid were a little bit that way inclined anyway, they just seem to have got a whole lot worse.

I've learned over the years that satire and irony are the most difficult to use on forums. The longer I post here and on VVO, the more I try to reduce those two, although they are pretty much part of my every day me in RL. These little devils in my head are not always under control. Only yesterday one slipped in a post of mine on VVO.
Not everyone understood the undertone, so some are a bit upset with me now. Win some, lose some.

I have a gap of many years with posting on the SL forums. I left back then because of the venomous atmosphere at times over here. I'm back since about a year now and the atmosphere really improved a lot since then IMHO.

[NardweBones]

I agree, I am not only on the receiving end but sadly I am sure Also on the sending end. *Hug*

Let us all  just give each other a hug day 

I feel friendly-ness and honesty can be mixed up to thinking someone may be unfriendly but it trying to be honest, so there is that. I tend to find a mix of friends and people id like to be friends with and there are the few that I block either because I am the issue or they are.

[Sid Nagy]

7 minutes ago, CaithLynnSayes said:

PS: Sid, that's 2 times now you've dragged this thread off topic. We're going to have to talk about this bud. This can't go on like this  

Sorry mam, ik zal me gaan inhouden. Echt wel.

[CaithLynnSayes]

Just now, Sid Nagy said:

Sorry mam, ik zal me gaan inhouden. Echt wel.

Grapje he  

[Rat Luv]

28 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

We want our old lives back without masks

Not me! The mask's brilliant for keeping my nose warm when I go out 😷

[Teagan Tobias]

 

I’m not giving up my mask, it helps block out dust and pollen and as such helps my allergies.

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

Second Life, including these forums, reflect RL -- and folks in RL have gotten a lot more rude over the last 5 years of so.

[CaithLynnSayes]

Just now, Teagan Tobias said:

 

I’m not giving up my mask, it helps block out dust and pollen and as such helps my allergies.

 

Satire, i hope....

[Teagan Tobias]

1 minute ago, CaithLynnSayes said:

Satire, i hope....

No, it does help.

 

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

4 hours ago, Suga Bunny said:

Day after day I continue to SEE that kindness is becoming rare as a diamond......😥

I've seen people bend over backwards to help people who aren't native English speakers. They'll go to online translators themselves to try and figure out what people are saying.  I've seen them excuse/ignore rude comments in the beginning knowing that there are cultural differences and not every thought translates correctly. 

I don't usually see people instantly attacking new-to-the-forums people.  After reading several posts from a person and having a pattern of rude behavior become obvious, it doesn't matter what your native language is.  There is definite push back.  You can only get away with making excuses for your behavior for so long before it becomes obvious to most others that your actions are purposeful.

 

1 hour ago, Sid Nagy said:

"Oh hi there baby, I've got huge payment info on file. The best payment info there is"*
Like this then?

Maybe you meant to post this in one of the many "I need a sugar daddy" threads. 😄

[Echelon Alcott]

4 hours ago, Suga Bunny said:

Day after day I continue to SEE that kindness is becoming rare as a diamond......😥

I have the impression that you've experienced much unkindness, in SL, RL, or both, and I'm sorry to hear that. No one deserves to be treated unkindly. I do hope that you'll meet friendly souls in your life adventures, with whom you'll develop positive friendships/relationships.

Sometimes life treats us with wonderful little surprises. One day recently I was at a shop, testing poses on a product I was considering purchasing, and this lady initiated a conversation with me. It was a delight to unexpectedly meet such a nice person, and have the opportunity to carry a thoughtful and interesting conversation; we ended up becoming good friends. I wish that would happen more often. We always joke how surprising it was for our friendship to flourish from both of us simply going out shopping. But what I learned is that someone has to take the first step. If she had not initiated the conversation, we would continuing being total strangers to each other. 

I'd like to wish you all the best in your SL and RL, with much kindness.

[kali Wylder]

Some of us are being just as friendly as we can be.  Sometimes that's not very friendly, especially to one who doesn't know us well.  I am in agreement with @Sid Nagy, it's a lot better here now than it was 11-12 years ago. It was so bad back then that I left completely for a long time.  It is certainly worse since Covid came to town, but still not as bad as in those days.

I'm an old fart now and I've learned a few things about human relations. 

1) A perfectly scathing rejoinder is seldom worth the damage it does to everyone exposed to it.

2) Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Try not to be mean when you say it.

3) Always keep in mind that the people you are writing with in a forum all have real lives and you don't know what theirs is like at the moment.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

Sneaks into the thread...hides behind the bar...waits for the perfect moment to...run around throwing hugs all over the place!!!!

There's one for you! 🤗

And one for you!🤗

And one for you and you and you and you and you...! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗...!

Gigglesnorts and runs back out to await the inevitable "Couldn't Aya be LESS friendly?" thread. 😂

 

Oh and @Suga Bunny, don't worry. Kind and friendly souls still exist. A lot of people are just a bit tired and blah these days, so maybe they're a bit more quiet and reserved than usual. Even I've had trouble staying as open and bubbly as I normally am.

...

She says in the middle of tackle hugging random people on the internetz.

[Rolig Loon]

I've been in SL for 15 years but I avoided most of the forums until about 2015 because the atmosphere was so toxic. It's improved dramatically since then. We still have a few trolls and there's a bit of insensitive snarkiness from time to time, but I enjoy being part of the crowd now. It probably helps that I don't let things get under my skin as much as I did years ago either. Life's too short to spend time getting annoyed by people who are always cranky or boorish. 

As others have said, cultural differences can account for some misunderstandings here. I'm particularly aware that many people on my side of the pond can have cultural blinders ( remembering LBJ's apocryphal remark about wishing that SE Asians would just behave more like "good Americans" ). Whether people are from the USA or other parts of the world, though, I think we do our own cultures a disservice if we use them as an excuse for being thoughtless. We can probably think of recent threads in which a poster has said, "If I sound impolite, it's probably because English is not my native language" -- and then has gone on to make comments that would be rude in any language. One nice thing about trading typed posts is that we have time to think twice before hitting the Send button -- time to wonder whether anyone reading is likely to see something you really didn't mean to say.

[Bree Giffen]

1 hour ago, Teagan Tobias said:

No, it does help.

I actually had n95 masks from before the pandemic because I would get hay fever whenever I started going outside in the spring.  It also helps with smoke particulates from wildfires.

[Madelaine McMasters]

5 hours ago, Maitimo said:

@Madelaine McMasters regularly sets people on fire, but that's just her way of being friendly.

...pours ice water on everybody and waits for @Ayashe Ninetails to slip during one of her tackle hugs.

Edited January 28, 2022 by Madelaine McMasters

[davidventer]

6 hours ago, Suga Bunny said:

I mean Some people unconsciously do impolite things on a daily and don't realize it at all

This. I do this. The thing is, I realize I’m doing this but I still struggle to not do it because, being on the Autism Spectrum, it’s difficult to behave in a neurotypical and socially acceptable manner at all times, and it becomes rather exhausting to even try. Many things I say or do often come off as rude, entitled, elitist, or just disingenuous when in actual fact that’s not my intention at all. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by davidventer

[Ayashe Ninetails]

18 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

...pours ice water on everybody and waits for @Ayashe Ninetails to slip during one of her tackle hugs.

😂 How I think I'd handle that

 

How I actually handle that

[Kalegthepsionicist]

noob area many friendly person there, i got many gadget there

 

noob rules

cool person always found at noob area

Edited January 28, 2022 by Kalegthepsionicist

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

6 hours ago, Marigold Devin said:

Off all the Dutch I have come across, you are the least "spikey"

Limburgers like Sid (green) are generally much more gentle, both in pronouncing the -g- and in attitude, than, say, Hollanders (red), like some vague acquaintances of mine. 

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Arduenn Schwartzman
Forgot to color the isle of Texel red too.

[Robotshaz]

i agree. world would be a much better place if some people would think before speaking. 

[Maryanne Solo]

4 minutes ago, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

Limburgers (green) are generally much more gentle, both in pronouncing the -g- and in attitude, than, say, Hollanders (red). 

Oh that's ok really,
We can always pass de Dutchies on de left hand side. 😉

Edited January 28, 2022 by Maryanne Solo
laffin gif :))