Monkey faces... too creepy?

...

Yeah, I'm done here. I hope your philosophy works out well for you. :)

Why you being two faced? You should just say, enjoy the rest of your painful life because you know my philosophy doesn't work well with many people.

Dude, don't you have anything better to do? If I remember, correctly, you have a powerful gaming machine, a girlfriend, an XBOX360 and a PS3. + a shit load of games.

What would be the point? You seem to already know it anyway. Besides, I was being honest. I truly do hope it works out for you. Because, believe it or not, I don't wish you any ill will, and as I do with most people, I hope you find your life as rewarding and fulfilling as possible.

Well then you are a very kind person, considering you probably find me insanely abrasive and that my philosophy is the opposite of yours. I also do not wish you any ill will.

That's a good point, really.

Easy. You stop. Ignore the little red numbers, if that's really what you want. People will stop responding after a very short time if you don't give them anything to respond to.

Well, then, why don't you be who you are? If you don't want to change your behavior, why don't you just learn to deal with the backlash? Why are you running off and hiding yourself? To me, that's the very opposite of the confident individualism you so value.

You're withdrawing almost completely from a community because a few of your posts got downrepped. Because some red text appeared on them. You're the one being oversensitive...and this is coming from someone (me) who is chronically oversensitive.

Which is why you shouldn't play it in the first place. That's what this is all about, after all. Trying to make other people feel sorry for you. Trying to put all the "blame" on your invisible aggressors. You know that and I know that. You're trying to make yourself into the victim. Really, the best thing to do is to examine yourself and ask whether there's anything you can do to remedy the situation. If there isn't, then you either decide to put up with the "bullying" (and really... a few posts being downrepped is far from bullying) or you quietly leave without making a scene. What you're doing right now is drama, pure and simple, and when it comes down to it, drama is not good for anything. It's not a mature way to relate to people, even if it is a highly tempting one.

Also, do not operate under the assumption that I'm arguing to "win." I'm not. And don't think that I'm implying that I would behave any better in a similar situation. This isn't me talking down to you and trying to prove that I'm oh-so-much smarter and more mature. This is me trying to help you. I'm trying to explain how you can solve your problem without leaving. If you don't want that help, then I'm perfectly fine not giving it. So consider this my final word on the subject, and I hope that you come to your senses soon and continue to be part of the GOG community.

If people really were out to get you, this topic would have been buried long ago.

Getting that upset over something so insignificant as a few downrepped posts seems like a waste of energy to me.

I'm not withdrawing almost completely from a community because a few of my posts got downrepped. People have been down reping a lot of my posts since I first came to GOG general discussion and since it takes 5 people down reping a post to make a post show "low rated", I'm guessing there is at least 15 to 20 active members here who hate who I am and everything I type. You've seen the show King Of Queens, right? I just don't see the point in being the Arthur Spooner of GOG general discussion. I think that everyone who is being bullied by the down rep button for not conforming to others is a victim.
I agree but after seeing so many of my posts down reped since I got here, it seems I'm not welcome here. And this place is special to me so that is why I made a big deal about not sharing my thoughts here anymore. I also don't have a life, right now.

Here's an important lesson in life- you have no control over how other people choose to respond to you. What you do have control over is what you give other people to respond to. If you don't have any problem with the way people are responding to your current behavior then feel free to continue it. If you do have a problem with the way people are responding (which certainly seems to be the case) then the only way to change this is to change your own behavior. Basically your options are to continue with your current behavior and be unhappy with the results, or take a good look at yourself and try to engage in a bit of self-improvement. I'd personally recommend the latter option, but that's just me.

Shh! It's a secret! ;)

Actually, I don't. I think you are probably a just a guy who has gotten fed up with the situation. I used to work phones for a Congressman; believe me when I tell you I have heard a lot worse. :)

It isn't really. I do see your point, and under certain circumstance I even agree with it. There are times when one must be blunt to get people's attention. There are some people that see politeness as a sign of weakness, so a person must stand up for them self. In other circumstances, a form of 'tough love' might be required to get through to a friend or loved one.

My only point was that most of the time being abrasive and/or impolite is a hindrance. Especially when one is expressing a minority viewpoint among strangers. The thrust of the argument doesn't need to be changed at all, just the way it is presented. It is just the conclusion I have come to in my years working for a politician and working in sales. YMMV, of course.

FWIW, langurmonkey, I don't have an issue with you, your viewpoints, or your beliefs. I'm not even sure why people were downrepping you (I haven't checked the thread in question). For me personally, I tend to only downrep spammers. If someone posts something I disagree with, I usually move on if I don't think they're actually open to discussion. The only thing I can think of as a reason to possibly downrep someone other than spam is the way they deliver their viewpoints.

What I mean is, I don't get offended with the message, but if it's presented in an insulting manner that's obviously just meant to offend and insult people, then I'm tempted. But even then, I don't bother.

Well, duh, why do you think I spend so much time being a dick? I'm not a conformist so therefore I have to be a dick at times.
Probably reputation, if he goes to the lengths that GR did, eventually those folks will forget about it. TBH, apart from those two topics early on, I haven't really seen much that deserved this kind of treatment.

It may be easy for you to just change your behaviour because you don't believe in what I believe in. That we should all be ourselves no matter the responses we get. Like staying loyal to a King, even if it means, you will end up stabbed 1000 times by an enemy army attacking your king's castle. I just think it would be nice if the down rep bullying stopped. Just like it would be nice if I had a better gaming PC.