Have you not heard anything that people have been saying? The point isn't to conform. Nobody is telling you to conform. Nobody is telling you that you have to pretend to believe things you don't believe, or pretend to be something you aren't. The point is to not present any unnecessary reason for others to hate you or to be offended by what you say. The point is to figure out how you can relate to the rest of humanity without needlessly stepping on everyone's toes. You can't punch a hornet's nest and expect to escape the stings. If you are rude or abrasive, or develop a history of posting thoughtless and offensive things, people are going to fight back. Either you accept that and deal with it (hi, Roman5!), or you tailor your behavior to be less abrasive. Expecting to be able to say and act however you want without any repercussions is frankly ridiculous.

Ok, fine... per your own request, here's what I think, rudely and abrasively: I think you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, suck it up, and fix your side of the problem instead of whining about being bullied. None of this "I'm going to take my ball and go home" crap. You say you were in the military? Act like it. Stop acting like a drama queen, stop trying to paint yourself as a martyr. Yes, it sucks to feel like a community is ganging up on you. I'd feel the exact same way were I in your shoes. And I would hope that someone else would tell me what I'm telling you right now. I'm not saying this because I get any joy out of lecturing you, or anyone. It's advice that I think is for your own good. You can decide for yourself whether or not I'm full of shit. Maybe I am. It wouldn't be the first time, and it won't be the last.

No, no, no. You are doing it wrong! You can't admit you might be wrong! You have to say it like you mean it, like there is no possible way you can be wrong. If anyone disagrees with you, they must be ignorant and/or stupid. That is the correct way to argue you point. Yeesh. Dude. Seriously. l2argue.

/sarcasm

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Edit:
Put another way, as others have said, there are ways to make an argument without sounding abrasive. Jefequeso did so without even thinking about it while trying to be blunt.

It's probably a good thing I never tried debate team :P

"Judges, here is my opinion... although I may in fact be wrong."

I was on the debate team in highschool. One day I ended up making a girl cry during practice, and so the teacher jumped all over me. I told the teacher something along the lines of "Fuck you, I'm going home" (it was about 11:00am, but I just left and went home). Yeah, that was the last day I was on the debate team. ;)

Yeah, I was sort of an arrogant jerk in highschool. ;)

Amusingly enough, the dean actually took my side of it (that teacher and I had a history of contention).

Wow, is this thread still going? I just stopped by to say hello! Hello, hello!

"Fuck you, I'm going home" is an awesome way to end a debate.

Hello!

What are you doing here?? Get back to finishing your Miasmata review!!

<_<

>_>

erm... I mean... hello to you too!

I did like the part - to which I shall apply some poetic license - about continuing to enter the giveaways:

"Y'all hate me and I'm no longer going to participate in this community of hateful haters... but if one of you haters wants to give me a game for free, I'm still in for that."

Agh! Caught slacking! *Runs away*

I tend to be "nice" in general, but of course there are times that I like to gripe too. This is probably most evident when I am out driving around and have to put up with other morons on the road. :-) But even if I yell "Go, you fucking moron!" it doesn't mean I hate that person.

But, forums can be weird. It is apparent that some seem to down-rep you for no reason, though I would argue you're not the only one. You seem generally well-spoken to me, and off the top of my head I can't recall you being intentionally antagonistic or idiotic.

My advice: talk when you feel like talking. If some people are moronic towards you, it is better to simply ignore them. Don't allow them to ruin your day because of what they do. Don't give them that power. Be, as you say, yourself, and you will attract like-minded people and hopefully make the rest realize they have nothing to gain by playing games.

How can I stop sharing my thoughts with the forum if you guys keep responding to me and telling me I'm wrong like I'm some kind of twit with mental problems? How can I just stand around and see people talk shit about me. Some of you guys are thinking that I should conform and I don't want to. It can't be more simple than that. Sometimes you have to step on everyone's toes in order to be who you are. I am feeling sorry for myself because I'm only being myself. Get it? I'm not broken. I'm not faulty yet a bunch of people treat me like I'm a rapist or a pedophile or something like that. Am I too abrasive? OR are people just too fucking sensitive? And what is with all this you are a "drama queen" shit. I never said, I'm leaving GOG general discussion and never coming back. And the GOG community was my #1 hangout spot so not sharing my thoughts here anymore is a big deal to me. In fact, there are hundreds of users here, a lot more "drama queen" than me. I think we are all guilty of being a drama queen, once in awhile. Can you honestly tell me, you have never acted like a drama queen once in your life? Anyone accusing anyone of being a drama queen is an asshole in my book. I respect Roman5 if people give him a lot of shit for who he is and still he chooses not to conform. He may be this or that but it takes strength and courage not to cave in to an angry mob. And strength and courage, I respect.
What if who you are is a "dick" in the eyes of some people. Then that is who you are. If I'm a dick, then I'm a dick. So be it. I don't a give a fuck what Andre Gide was talking about. His words made me realize something. And no need to attack his character in order to attack the quote. Does it really matter what kind of person he was?

This is the main part of your argument that most people are taking issue with. There will always be those folks that with get offended at the drop of a hat, but those folks are in the minority. A person can easily make a point without offending all, or even most, people.

And this is the second part of your argument many people take issue with. Nobody, not even you, is perfect. Allowing for the possibility that you might be wrong can actually go a long way to offending people less. There is a lot to be said for meeting people half way.

It is a little bit of both. As is usually the case with two sides of a story, the truth is somewhere in the middle. This doesn't mean a person must stop trying to improve, however.

from what I've heard rep is meaningless anyway....anything over I think the highest I've seen matter is 40 (or possibly 60 can't quite remember) doesn't seem to do anything except possibly decide who sends first in a trade
you've got 70 so you're good
(although if it was me worrying about losing rep points....it seems making a thread about downrep will only attract downrep but then again I'm not really part of here so) not gonna lie and not being mean. as an outsider not knowing monkey or involved in this at all this was my reaction. can't see it helping anyway. its like how it didn't help that assassin's creed guy....Just ignore it and go on. It sounds like it was a single thread thing that probably won't continue unless it gets blown up
Besides the "what is rep" post seemed to say your rep couldn't go up or down by more than 5 points in a day from comments?

Well people who cant accept that I accept who I am in this world can go fuck themselves. I have never claimed to be the perfect being. I have never claimed I am better than everyone else. I am only me. You don't like me, fine. But down reping all my posts because you don't like me makes you a little internet bullying bitch who wouldn't dare try to bully me in real life.