Quote:
Originally Posted by Hog
...Also if you are experiencing an emotional reaction when responding to a post you have just read, leave your response un-sent for 5 minutes, then go back to it and re-read your response. In my personal experience, there has been many times where I simply erase my potential response.
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That is excellent and very useful advise. It's amazing how brave some people get when they can respond from 1,000 miles away without fear of getting a mud hole stomped in their ***. I have a perfect example. I was involved in a thread last year when then this JetJock fella I had never talked to or had any dealings with chimed in and to me pretty much laid me out cold. I can't remember what the topic was about now. That shows how important it was. Anyway, man I was hot. So I typed up this response that could've been measured on a Richter scale, saved it, put in on my desktop and walked away.
I'm glad I did.
In a later conversation with David Johnson I happened to bring up this prick Roy and David was like, "No, you just need to meet the guy. He didn't mean anything by it. He's a cool dude. You won't have any problems with him." So, BG 2013 rolls around and I'm taking Gordon's class and low and behold who do I run into but Mr. JetJock himself. We immediately hit it off and I'm proud to call him my friend today. How differently would that totally unnecessary response have played out on the boards? We'd still be going back and forth and it would've cost both of us the opportunity to gain a friendship.
Email, texts and forum responses can be very dangerous unless you're responding to someone you know on a personal level. All the recipient is getting is a one dimensional response. Only words. They can't see expressions or the little smile as your typing. You may be saying something funny that could be read as totally different. I know the people on this forum that I can give a bad time too; Roy being one of them. They know me and can picture me saying what I'm typing. Everyone else get's a different kind of response. And I'm a smart *** Texan at heart so that's not always the easiest thing for me to do!