Shocked and appalled

Voxman

I've been on forums and Facebook groups for donkeys years and we've all seen examples  where some folk can get a bit emosh and heated from time to time.

But I had an experience a day or two back that just left me shocked and appalled on a Facebook Group. I'm not saying which one but the behaviour evidenced and language used were unreal. The guy who runs it was seeing himself as some kind of tone god who is completely intolerant of others perspectives, with accusations of them having $20000 gear with $2 ears, and other people don't know shit. He was aggressive, abusive, condescending, completely obnoxious and was behaving like a 5 year old in a playground and calling me a scaredy cat and running away when I said I was leaving the group. The guy had a chip on his shoulder the size of the empire state building and was going on about how he was sharing his wisdom for free, yet calling names, insults etc. I promise you I'm not exaggerating but the guy just seemed to have a god complex and was the tone messiah and you were a piece of shit unless you agreed and fawned to everything he said. 

It was just surreal and in all my years I've never seen or been subject to anything like it. I'm struggling to even convey how nasty this was because I just cant get my head around it. The guy has his own website, sells stuff, has YouTube etc so seems to be pretty well known. 

Since leaving the group the messages have gone from my FB messages, and in hindsight I should have saved these, just as evidence. Needless to say I didn't go down to his level until my last leaving message telling him to f..g grow up! Even that's not typical of me. 

Obviously there are more important things to worry about and I'm a pretty level headed guy so I'm not losing sleep over it. But I just felt that I had to post my experience. What in goodness name goes through these people's minds to think they can treat people with this type of behaviour? It was just extraordinary.

scrumhalf

There are no entry criteria for using the internet, which is both beneficial and detrimental. However, as a means of highlighting idiocy and basic bad manners it has few equals. 

fastonebaz

I find people who strive for antagonism and conflict online are often compensating for something in real life. 

RandallFlagg

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Voxman

RandallFlagg said:

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Well, all the others are lovely so this was an exception to say the very least. 

Strangefan

RandallFlagg said:

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Says a person currently using social media? 

Jimbro66

It would be good to have a link to his You Tube channel so we can all tell him his tone sucks

Forget about him. You come across as a really decent guy in your posts here @Voxman so I guess it's a shock when someone else is a complete A-hole.

Voxman

Jimbro66 said:

It would be good to have a link to his You Tube channel so we can all tell him his tone sucks

Forget about him. You come across as a really decent guy in your posts here @Voxman so I guess it's a shock when someone else is a complete A-hole.

Thank you kindly sir 

RandallFlagg

Strangefan said:

RandallFlagg said:

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Says a person currently using social media? 

You won't find me very active anywhere else, this place is my sole indulgence and I can take this or leave it.

guitars4you

RandallFlagg said:

Strangefan said:

RandallFlagg said:

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Says a person currently using social media? 

You won't find me very active anywhere else, this place is my sole indulgence and I can take this or leave it.

ditto - FB is my only 'social media' 

Jimbro66

guitars4you said:

ditto - FB is my only 'social media' 

Is that FB for Facebook or FB for Fretboard? I'm so confused I'm going to have to lie down

soma1975

We live in a society that has monetised and commoditised both controversy and antagonism. Don't be surprised that this trickles down to the general public.  

Leave those pricks to wallow their tiny pool. 

Funkfingers

Jimbro66 said:

I guess it's a shock when someone else is a complete A-hole.

Not in the slightest. 

The Internet is chockablock with opinions. These are narcissistic times. Some people like/need to have their egos stroked. Hence, self-aggrandising social media venues.

The obnoxious character described in the opening post reminds me of the Vogon ship captain in The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. He expects to be told how good you think his poem was. 

It is a strange combination - the desire for unquestioned domination and the constant need for affirmation. Not the personality type to be left in charge of the big, red button that starts WW3.

RandallFlagg said:

my sole indulgence

Stew?

SPECTRUM001

I don’t do any social media and gave up on Forums years ago - aside from this one.

I just can’t get my head round the aggression and point scoring that takes place. 

I regularly browse other sites if I am researching, and will often stumble across sniping arguments within a matter of minutes (which I guess would mean there is a lot of it present). Lordy !

Sorry you got the brunt of someone else’s tantrum - but dare I say it can happen at the drop of a hat.

I did recently have a chuckle at a thread on Relics. An OP was asking for advice on methods, logistics etc, and another poster said they didn’t like Relics and it was all a load of nonsense (words to that affect). There then ensued a mildly heated argument about why post on someone else’s advice thread if you don’t like Relics in the first place !!! Which is fairly appropriate - but what made me laugh was just how quickly it got there....so easy !

At this point, I guess am I supposed to say:

’quit mithering and play yer bleedin’ guitar’ !!!

sweepy

Jimbro66 said:

It would be good to have a link to his You Tube channel so we can all tell him his tone sucks

Forget about him. You come across as a really decent guy in your posts here @Voxman so I guess it's a shock when someone else is a complete A-hole.

Or my favourite : "can you please tune your guitar the next time you make a demo"

midlifecrisis

idiots and ego-maniacs have always existed, its just now they have an easy platform . There are plenty of good people and places, some maybe even on this site, dont let the bstards grind you down

guitars4you

Jimbro66 said:

guitars4you said:

ditto - FB is my only 'social media' 

Is that FB for Facebook or FB for Fretboard? I'm so confused I'm going to have to lie down

valid question - Fretboard - Can't stand the thought of Facebook - Many like it but not me

Slash'N'burn

Strangefan said:

RandallFlagg said:

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Says a person currently using social media? 

I wouldn’t say forums are social media. They’ve been around a lot longer than Facebook and the like, they are usually anonymous so there’s a big difference. They’re not inhabited  by every man and his dog, generally just people that have real interests, maybe I’m lucky but I have not had any bad experiences on various forums in 20 odd years. 

mbe

Behaviour like that reeks of recreational powder.

Sassafras

I'll be the one to say they've got mental health issues and we should all feel sorry for them being total arseholes

hotpickups

RandallFlagg said:

There's one way to avoid online experiences like these. Don't join Facebook or any other "social" media.

Easy.

Absolutely. I've dumped Facebook and very limited Social media usage now. Not worth the waste of energy trying to comprehend these arseholes / idiots out there. Life's too short imo to get hung up with such stuff. I used to but cared too much for my mental health so dumped what hurt me. Next is my partner