Quote Originally Posted by Juri_Licious View Post
You can only change yourself.
While I agree with this, I would still like to add to it. Its true only person can choose to change themselves. But that doesn't mean the people around them, what they do, what they say, doesn't effect that change.

I thought about this on my 30 min drive I just had. I agree people shouldn't pass out false information. I agree they should be corrected if they do not know any better. But what I do not agree with is forcing it on them. Belittling a person is not going to to force them to change they're mind. It only serves to vent your own frustration for not being able to change they're point of view. If you really don't agree with what a person says, then challenge them to prove it.. politely. If they are passing out false information that they deem true (no matter what facts you place in front of them), and refuse to believe you, the most you can accomplish to make certain that misinformation doesn't continue to spread (b/c it will no matter how upset you get with them), then just make sure you make a note of it on they're thread. Example: I don't believe this thread to be entirely accurate or true, this is what I believe, here are the facts to prove it. --- B/c really in the end the person who is reading the thread and the comments is gonna be the one to decide which to believe, and no matter how much you complain or how much you scream that is gonna do nothing to change that fact. In the end all you can do is state your opinion/ the facts on this forum, it is up the the reader to decide to follow them or not.

Also from an earlier posting and I agree with her/him. In my opinion people will respond positively if you keep your post polite than getting riled up and belittling and insulting them, all you do is fuel the flames. So just respond politely, argue as politely as possible and if they still refuse to listen then challenge them. If they believe this gear is better, then challenge to try your gear set up. If they still refuse to believe... oh well you tried, any further arguments and insults is pointless, just leave it alone. And if someone happens to read the posting I guarantee you if they read your posts and see u being polite on the subject and the other person becoming hostile, they are more likely to agree with you. On the other hand if your the person being insulting and getting worked up, they dismiss what you have to say and believe what the user has posted. Again this comes down to the simple fact, that you cannot force your opinion (even back by facts) onto people, you can only put out there and let them decide what to believe. So don't get worked up, just move on.

On the note of bashing. Bashing is intentionally insulting or being cruel to another player. You can't help it at times. You will slip up, everyone does. But if you do happen to slip and unintentionally bash someone and they become offended, then apologize to them. Its not going to make you the lesser person because you apologized. Its better to apologize than to fuel a fire you unintentionally set. If you set it intentionally then there is the problem. And I'm sure players will notice and eventually the moderators will too. I'm also certain that if u set it intentionally you probably are going to back it up with "I don't care", if thats the case, then just ignore my posts and move on.

Also, this thread wasn't started to give reasons to break the rules. This was started to make people aware of ways to avoid bashing another player and possibly solve an issue. The rule cannot be discussed, it is a permanent feature of this forum. You either choose to follow it, or don't (in which case you will eventually face the consequences).

I'm not saying I am perfect either. Not saying I am not quilty of slipping up and bashing a player. I am just saying we should strive to avoid this. A perfect example is me and GlobalVariable last night. I was tired, he responded to one of my posts and I took offense over nothing and walked a thin line of bashing him when I replied. After sleeping it off I realized what I had done and apologized to him and reinterated myself to try and explain my reasoning. In the end I also challenged him and others to improve on an idea. Because honestly I felt if they were going to disagree b/c they didn't like one feature of an idea, they should think of a better way to improve on the feature. Don't just disagree with an idea b/c you don't like one part of the suggestion, add to the suggestion. Because all you are saying is "I agree with the idea, but b/c I don't like this part i'm gonna disagree on the entire thing". Improve on it. That was my challenge.

Thats it for me now. I'm off topic. The Topic is "Stop Bashing Players" the idea behind it, is not ways to get away with it (as it seems to me thats what people are trying to argue is a reason to bash players, there is no reason, never). Its ways to avoid it, and if you find u have bashed a player to at least learn to apologize for it.