How to make the forums a better place (very long)

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

Before reading, I ask you don't comment unless you read the entire post. Since this is mostly about the people who are ruining this forum I also ask if you to keep comments on topic and away from offending me, or other members who have chimed in on this conversation.

 

I am attending college and in my Psych II class we were given an assignment. The assignment was to overlook a concentrated but yet largely diverse group and observe how and if the group got along or not. After finishing my assignment I decided to see if I could find another group to observe and see what makes them "tick". For my 'group' I decided to look at the members of this forum.

 

After about a week of observation I have come to the realization that the only reason this game gets a bad rap, and these forums are riddled with useless and downright idiotic posts is because you people encourage it! This is not a 'bitch and moan' thread about the problems this game has faced or the ignorance of some of the members. This is to show you how to stop this from continuing.

 

From the many things I've learned in life, and the few things I've learned in Psychology, the more intelligent and intellectual a person is, the more unheard they go. They are also more then often belittled by the less intelligent due to the unintelligents own stupidity. My point to this is, The people who are ruining the forums and GTA Online are usually the idiots who have no intelligence (I know, duh), but those who fight and bicker with them are not more of a solution than the actual perpetrator. We all need to introduce a more 'relaxed' attitude on these forums.

 

My solution to this; Just ignore the situation and keep your opinion out of the discussion. What many people fail to realize is that when they comment on a ridiculous post and antagonize the original poster, they are just egging them on further, to create even more ridiculous posts. And it doesn't end there, when others see the attention that those people are getting they want to earn the same attention, so they create even more unimportant posts that just anger the community.

 

The way I related this to psychology is an demonstration we watched in class. The simple, temper tantrum in the super market. If you have a child that asked for a certain type of candy and you refused to get it for them, the child's instinct is to throw a temper tantrum in hopes of creating a scene and having the parent cave in and give the child what they want (this is why most of the youth these days are spoiled little sh*ts). The simple solution to this problem is to ignore them and continue on with whatever the parent is doing, after a few moments the child will realize the parent will not cave and they will stop the tantrum. This can obviously be related to the forum members and their pathetic attempt at attention.

 

This simple solution will most likely fix the problem we are having today with the forums and essentially make this a more mature/ less idiotic place.

 

If you did not read this entirely please refrain from commenting because you are most likely the problem I am writing about. Congratulations if you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to hear my opinion.

 

Edit: me being in a Psychology class has nothing to do with me advising the forums, but my assignment reminded me of this place and I did observe a majority of threads in the first 3 pages. You don't have to be intelligent to know not to "feed the trolls" but the fact is that most of you still do! I am guilty myself on some occasions but I tend to stop once the thread goes off-topic and becomes more offensive then funny. Just a few things to think about.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Friendly Lava Lamp

[Seneschal]

Can someone tell me what the OP is saying I don't get it sounds like a Bible extract...

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

Can someone tell me what the OP is saying I don't get it sounds like a Bible extract...

Well it appears you cant read correct English. Nor do I imagine you read the very first sentence, marked in red to attract members like you from posting..

[JWeazel]

For those who were too lazy to read the post, OP is saying: "Ignore the stupid people."

Edited April 9, 2014 by JayWeazel

[bipolarzebra]

OP what year are you in university? Is this an intro to psych class?

[Sir Michael]

OP, I hate to be *THAT GUY* right now, but this is in the wrong section. A thread like this belongs in General Chat in the Off-Topic section.

TL;DR: The forums are littered with trolls. Ignore them and they'll hopefully disappear.

Edited April 9, 2014 by SirMichaelRocks23

[Biohazard Abyss]

 

 

You were basically asking for it

[I3AZZAI2]

Welcome to the world of the troll OP.

[SkymnäsWolf]

I agree with you OP; I have commit crimes against the forums myself by fighting and defending my arguments.

Some people just come here to troll or have arguments which are based on nothing. I want to defend my arguments with more arguments so I can show what I think; based on facts and logic.

 

To the other members: don't bash the OP, he is right and you all know it.

[xRoyalFlush]

Four things I've learned from this thread.

1.Need to ignore stupid questions. I must resist the urge to give stupid answers to stupid questions.

2.Psychology is more "badass" than when I took it in college.

3. OP really likes the words intelligent and intellectual.

4. OP really, really, really,..loves commas.

Edited April 9, 2014 by xRoyalFlush

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

OP what year are you in university? Is this an intro to psych class?

I'm Currently a Freshman but halfway through my Sophomore amount of credits. This is the continuing of Psych I, I had no interest in psych before last semester but fell in love with the science. Its amazing how you can predict patterns in humans and even animals to know what they are going to do. Its kinda like reading their mind. BTW my major is Fire Science, I wanna be a fire fighter

 

 

 

You were basically asking for it

Actually I wasn't, notice the first sentence marked in read lettering, also the (very long) in title to discourage people like yourself from posting unnecessary links.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Friendly Lava Lamp

[AlexSniperBullet]

[Biohazard Abyss]

also the (very long) in title to discourage people like yourself from posting unnecessary links.

 

 

Nope, you putting "(very long)" in the title is basically asking for it. Didn't even read that sentence in red (:

[GTA-Freak-Vi]

You must be new to forums then, if anything, GTA Forums is much less hostile than the other ones and its much better. Thing is, most people like threads that are worth their time/entertaining. For example, try making a new thread that has a lot of very intelligent info then try to make a silly one with little to no effort and see what happens. Thats why you'll always notice that troll topics gain the most attention cause people like seen stuff like that(including me) as they're worth it for a few laughs

 

 

You'll rarely see me contributing in informative threads since im "not intelligent" but I always support them by agreeing and whatnot , btw this is a great thread for being discussed in the off-topic section

[bigc_kbc]

It doesn't take a psychology class to figure that out, anyone with the least bit of common sense already knew this.

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

I agree with you OP; I have commit crimes against the forums myself by fighting and defending my arguments.

Some people just come here to troll or have arguments which are based on nothing. I want to defend my arguments with more arguments so I can show what I think; based on facts and logic.

 

To the other members: don't bash the OP, he is right and you all know it.

Thank you for a mature and very intelligent response. I expect most of the people that post the unwanted/ off topic responses to this topic to be scaled more towards the uneducated.

 

Four things I've learned from this thread.

1.Need to ignore stupid questions. I must resist the urge to give stupid answers to stupid questions.

2.Psychology is more "badass" than when I took it in college.

3. OP really likes the words intelligent and intellectual.

4. OP really, really, really,..loves commas.

Concerning #4, I'm on my phone ATM so its hard seeing which is which after the text became like 40 lines big hahah.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Friendly Lava Lamp

[SFBryan18]

It's the internet. Nothing will change. Doesn't matter if I ignore them, someone will take the bait. I enjoy calling stupid people on their bullsh*t. It helps prevent dumb stereo types from growing out of control.

 

Most immature kids will grow with time and repress how stupid they act. How many of us look back and say "Damn, I was so stupid. Why could I not see it?" The answer is simple. Defense mechanisms in your brain do not want you to feel inferior, because the truth is... No one is perfect.

 

Grow up kids. Life as an adult is much more fun when you get your sh*t together. And learn from your mistakes. That is very important. The dumbest adults are the ones who chose to ignore their flaws in the past. The quest to better ourselves starts with admitting what we need to fix.

Edited April 9, 2014 by SFBryan18

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

You must be new to forums then, if anything, GTA Forums is much less hostile than the other ones and its much better. Thing is, most people like threads that are worth their time/entertaining. For example, try making a new thread that has a lot of very intelligent info then try to make a silly one with little to no effort and see what happens. Thats why you'll always notice that troll topics gain the most attention cause people like seen stuff like that(including me) as they're worth it for a few laughs

 

 

You'll rarely see me contributing in informative threads since im "not intelligent" but I always support them by agreeing and whatnot , btw this is a great thread for being discussed in the off-topic section

My original account I created was made back in February 2013, so I understand this place could be much much worse. My point was to try and inform the members who only post in 'troll' topics to be discouraged in posting in them because they most likely kill off brain cells.

 

I have noticed you do add to a informative conversation in many topics before this, even the more trolly topics. My main point is those who essentially feed the trolls. Solves nothings, creates more and more of it to the point i have to type this out. And considering the off-topic forum, essentially no one who needs to read this would have read it. My only point to that statement.

[MikeyBelic]

 

Can someone tell me what the OP is saying I don't get it sounds like a Bible extract...

Well it appears you cant read correct English. Nor do I imagine you read the very first sentence, marked in red to attract members like you from posting..

 

OP don't lecture someone on English when you can't say 'I've' correctly lol.

 

On another note, don't waste your time, the only way you could change things is if GTAForums was a state and you were the head of it, ignore the idiots because wasting your time making posts isn't going to do anything for anyone.

[godziller]

I don't mind when people argue over stupid (seemingly?) sh*t here...it's funny because we all play the game together so we're united in san andreas eventually.

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

 

 

Can someone tell me what the OP is saying I don't get it sounds like a Bible extract...

Well it appears you cant read correct English. Nor do I imagine you read the very first sentence, marked in red to attract members like you from posting..

 

OP don't lecture someone on English when you can't say 'I've' correctly lol.

 

On another note, don't waste your time, the only way you could change things is if GTAForums was a state and you were the head of it, ignore the idiots because wasting your time making posts isn't going to do anything for anyone.

 

I'd like to point out I typed this whole thing on a tiny iPhone that doesn't auto correct, My apologizes if my grammatical errors offend you. And I'd like to disagree with your last statement. I have no idea if this will affect anyone who reads it, But I know if they read it they will unconscionably remember it the next time they see a thread that obviously will be closed within minutes, even if one person is affected by this then my goal was met.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Friendly Lava Lamp

[AlexSniperBullet]

 

 

 

Can someone tell me what the OP is saying I don't get it sounds like a Bible extract...

Well it appears you cant read correct English. Nor do I imagine you read the very first sentence, marked in red to attract members like you from posting..

 

OP don't lecture someone on English when you can't say 'I've' correctly lol.

 

On another note, don't waste your time, the only way you could change things is if GTAForums was a state and you were the head of it, ignore the idiots because wasting your time making posts isn't going to do anything for anyone.

 

I'd like to point out I typed this whole thing on a tiny iPhone that doesn't auto correct, My apologizes if my grammatical errors offend you. And I'd like to disagree with your last statement. I have no idea if this will affect anyone who reads it, But I know if they read it they will unconscionably remember it the next time they see a thread that obviously will be closed within minutes, even if one person is affected by this then my goal was met.

 

i had a similar issue when people were complaining about me posting too much threads. talked to toke about it and i wasn't doing anything wrong :\. just ignore'em.

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

 

 

 

 

Can someone tell me what the OP is saying I don't get it sounds like a Bible extract...

Well it appears you cant read correct English. Nor do I imagine you read the very first sentence, marked in red to attract members like you from posting..

 

OP don't lecture someone on English when you can't say 'I've' correctly lol.

 

On another note, don't waste your time, the only way you could change things is if GTAForums was a state and you were the head of it, ignore the idiots because wasting your time making posts isn't going to do anything for anyone.

 

I'd like to point out I typed this whole thing on a tiny iPhone that doesn't auto correct, My apologizes if my grammatical errors offend you. And I'd like to disagree with your last statement. I have no idea if this will affect anyone who reads it, But I know if they read it they will unconscionably remember it the next time they see a thread that obviously will be closed within minutes, even if one person is affected by this then my goal was met.

 

i had a similar issue when people were complaining about me posting too much threads. talked to toke about it and i wasn't doing anything wrong :\. just ignore'em.

 

I read that thread they were giving you trouble in. If I were in the situation you were in, I would have commented on the insightful comments that actually had depth. But the majority, if not all, were just ignoramus rude comments. So you weren't at fault there.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Friendly Lava Lamp

[Misanthrope Z]

OP seems like a smart man

 

OP, can you help me, i have a bad habit of kicking dogs

 

when i can't find any dogs i resort to punching children

 

i think it's an emotional issue, can you tell me please

[austintrain]

interesting OP.

 

i'd like to argue a couple of points, though...

 

whilst i mostly agree with your diagnosis and acknowledge that your prescription is sound, i feel as though you have overlooked an important factor in your study. many people are here simply to pass time between gaming sessions, rather than engage in intellectual debate and have discovered that it can be a great deal of fun to bait the morons.

 

i like the screaming child analogy and find it very fitting. however, i have a three year old son who specialises in temper tantrums and i can tell you that it takes more than a few moments (more like an hour) before he calms down. i live in hope.

 

i also take issue with your suggestion that it would be beneficial to us all to avoid "useless", "idiotic" and "unimportant" posts. i have personally made many of these and firmly believe that by far the most entertaining posters on these forums are the irreverent, funny ones.

 

and finally, i wish you had actually handed in an assignment based on this forum, taken a photo of your professors face as you did so and posted the picture here...

[Vehicles]

It's impossible to stop trolls actually.If the person does not troll,another person will do it,it's a never ending cycle.

[SFBryan18]

OP seems like a smart man

 

OP, can you help me, i have a bad habit of kicking dogs

 

when i can't find any dogs i resort to punching children

 

i think it's an emotional issue, can you tell me please

Medication. Consult your local psychiatrist.

Edited April 9, 2014 by SFBryan18

[Misanthrope Z]

 

OP seems like a smart man

 

OP, can you help me, i have a bad habit of kicking dogs

 

when i can't find any dogs i resort to punching children

 

i think it's an emotional issue, can you tell me please

Medication. Consult your local psychiatrist.

 

tried that, it didn't work out well

 

he stopped seeing me eversince i kicked his dog and punched his son

[xRoyalFlush]

My original account I created was made back in February 2013, so I understand this place could be much much worse. My point was to try and inform the members who only post in 'troll' topics to be discouraged in posting in them because they most likely kill off brain cells.

 

 

 

I have noticed you do add to a informative conversation in many topics before this, even the more trolly topics. My main point is those who essentially feed the trolls. Solves nothings, creates more and more of it to the point i have to type this out. And considering the off-topic forum, essentially no one who needs to read this would have read it. My only point to that statement.

 

 

 

 

Actually, that's not entirely true about the brain cells part. We are sitting here reading and keeping our brains productive by doing so. Troll posts are just people that deliberately say something to strike at someone's nerves (and potentially start a flame war). Sometimes they can be funny. If they are dumb, i only read three words of it, realize that it is retarded, and move on with my brain cells intact. This forum isn't like watching Napoleon Dynamite. It can be entertaining. You should say in your research, that you have compared the trolls to Jimmy from GTA V. Hehe

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2014 by xRoyalFlush

[Friendly Lava Lamp]

interesting OP.

 

i'd like to argue a couple of points, though...

 

whilst i mostly agree with your diagnosis and acknowledge that your prescription is sound, i feel as though you have overlooked an important factor in your study. many people are here simply to pass time between gaming sessions, rather than engage in intellectual debate and have discovered that it can be a great deal of fun to bait the morons.

 

i like the screaming child analogy and find it very fitting. however, i have a three year old son who specialises in temper tantrums and i can tell you that it takes more than a few moments (more like an hour) before he calms down. i live in hope.

 

i also take issue with your suggestion that it would be beneficial to us all to avoid "useless", "idiotic" and "unimportant" posts. i have personally made many of these and firmly believe that by far the most entertaining posters on these forums are the irreverent, funny ones.

 

and finally, i wish you had actually handed in an assignment based on this forum, taken a photo of your professors face as you did so and posted the picture here...

Ahh a fellow mature adult. Let us begin..

 

I do admit, I did pass over the most important point of this forum that is the reason we are all here, the entertainment aspect. Now in light of the dozens of threads that are nothing more than complaining about the other unimportant topics and, my solution was to those people alone. Now anyone who reads this may feel the need to do the exact opposite of what I said, but it was mostly directed to those who were trying to solve the problem with pure stupidity.

 

The screaming child analogy is not to far off from my own personal experience. I am 19 years old so I remember a great deal of my 6 - 10 age years where most of out personalities are created. When I was younger I asked for the Lucky Charms cereal knowing it was tasty because it was unhealthy as all hell, I presented my mother with the box and had it put right back in front of me. I did have a temper tantrum and argued with her for a moment, after she realized what I was doing she continued walking down the isle and left me there causing a scene and embarrassing myself. I being old enough at the time to realize it was embarrassing picked myself up and followed along without questioning my mother again. This is just basic childhood development. If i wasn't old enough to realize that I was embarrassing myself, my being left behind would be more than enough to get me out of the tantrum and following her again. The only other solution to this would be spanked (which I was), that usually fixes the issue within 3 or 4 different occasion. I don't condone child abuse, I do believe in disciplining your children though. I thank my father greatly for doing it and making it the person I am today.

 

Next, I do agree it is fun to be in the heat of a good troll topic, but when there are several just like it, it becomes repetitive and boring. If there were say 3 or 4 good long ones a day it wouldn't be an issue, but when there are 7 or 8 and hour, it's time something happens.

 

And I don't think I would have gotten as good of a grade in turning this in, mostly due to my responses lacking actually intelligence for the most part. But comments such as yourselves and the others I've commented on would most likely prove my point and achieve a decent score. But who knows, my teacher missed the first 3 days GTA Online was released and he was openly admitting he was at home with his wife playing.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Friendly Lava Lamp