Everyone Please Be Clear About What You Are Saying…

[TBigLug]

I don’t mean to overstep my bounds as I am just a member here like everyone else, but something has come to my attention.

We all need to remember that when you communicate in an open, text based forum such as this, sometimes it’s easy for people to misunderstand what you are trying to say. When we speak with someone face-to-face subtle cues such as facial expression, tone of voice and body posture help us communicate what we are trying to say clearly. Online we are limited to only our words.

Lately it seems that there have been alot of heated debates that take a horrible turn for the worse because of slight mis-interpretation of what was trying to be said. One omitted comma can change the emphasis on an entire sentence and make it come off completely opposite of what was intended. I am just as guilty as anyone else, there are times when I feel that heat build inside me thinking, “Did that SOB just incinuate that… (enter whatever insulting assumption I thought they made here), how dare they, blah, blah, blah.” Alot of times when I find myself boiling up I have to remember to take a step back and try to give the poster the benefit of the doubt or ask for clarification before I get on the muscle.

I think maybe “cabin fever” is starting early this year as we all make the transition from all outdoor all the time nice weather to stuck indoors after getting done with chores in the freezing cold. I know it shortens my fuse the more time I have to spend inside.

We all just need to stay calm, relax a little and enjoy this site Carl works so hard to provide us with.

Thanks for looking everyone, have a merry Christmas and try and keep it between the ropes! 😎

[OldKat]

Good points, and worth remembering. You are right, in a situation where we are READING what some says rather than LISTENING to them in person, over the phone, etc you can’t pick up on those voice inflections, nuances in speach pattern etc to discern what the intent was.

Fortunately, on this site there are very few people that go out of their way to be obnoxious about their point of view. Some of the most considerate people I have ever had the pleasure of reading post regularly on this site, and I mean that sincerely.

[CharlyBonifaz]

same problem as with the animals?
once in a while I find myself understanding what they were telling me all along only after they had given in to my insistence, and I ran into a problem afterwards that would not have evolved in the first place, had I listened to them more closely….
communication is hard work on both ends 😮

[Author]

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