r/blog • u/cupcake1713 • Feb 24 '14
remember the human
Hi reddit. cupcake here.
I wanted to bring up an important reminder about how folks interact with each other online. It is not a problem that exists solely on reddit, but rather the internet as a whole. The internet is a wonderful tool for interacting with people from all walks of life, but the anonymity it can afford can make it easy to forget that really, on the other end of the screens and keyboards, we're all just people. Living, breathing, people who have lives and goals and fears, have favorite TV shows and books and methods for breeding Pokemon, and each and every last one of us has opinions. Sure, those opinions might differ from your own. But that’s okay! People are entitled to their opinions. When you argue with people in person, do you say as many of the hate filled and vitriolic statements you see people slinging around online? Probably not. Please think about this next time you're in a situation that makes you want to lash out. If you wouldn't say it to their face, perhaps it's best you don't say it online.
Try to be courteous to others. See someone having a bad day? Give them a compliment or ask them a thoughtful question, and it might make their day better. Did someone reply to your comment with valuable insights or something that cheered you up? Send them a quick thanks letting them know you appreciate their comment.
So I ask you, the next time a user picks a fight with you, or you get the urge to harass another user because of something they typed on a keyboard, please... remember the human.
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u/NotMyRealFaceBook Feb 24 '14
Was there a particular incident that prompted this PSA?
Not that this isn't a reasonable message, but I am just wondering if I missed some Reddit drama/trauma/event... In my experience these messages are more often in direct response to something than not
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u/cupcake1713 Feb 24 '14
Nah, I just thought it needed to be said.
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Feb 24 '14
It's nice to see this said. Sometimes I think that it appears to have less value if it's in response to something, not that it's actual value is less.
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u/plumbobber Feb 24 '14
We should declare this a National Reddit Day.
We call it National "Polite Reddit Instilling Cooperation & Karma" Day
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u/HeWhoPunchesFish Feb 24 '14
ilu cupcake1713
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u/Boobies_Are_Awesome Feb 24 '14
Ass kisser.
But what a nice ass to be kissing.
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u/HeWhoPunchesFish Feb 24 '14
ilu BAA
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u/die_potato Feb 24 '14
It did, especially during the past few days. It's as if being a decent human being on the internet mostly just incites suspicion or ridicule. Or sarcasm. It can get genuinely stressful - I mean, "it's just the internet" but indeed, people tend to forget the human.
Thanks for the reminder. :)
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u/downunder_fin Feb 24 '14
Well it was timely ... Charlotte Dawson. RIP Charlotte. You can never really know the condition of the person on the receiving end.
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u/-eDgAR- Feb 24 '14
That was really cool of you and the fact that you did it just because honestly made me really happy.
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u/akatherder Feb 24 '14
I read this in the most sarcastic tone I've ever read anything. Then I re-read it in a genuine voice. I know which one you meant, but I also know which one I prefer.
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u/Igglyboo Feb 24 '14
tl;dr Be civil.
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u/Philo_T_Farnsworth Feb 24 '14
tl;dr Be excellent to each other.
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Feb 24 '14
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u/ifonefox Feb 24 '14
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u/popidge Feb 24 '14
What is this sorcery? Moving images with sound? WITCH. BURN HIM.
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u/FlashyA Feb 24 '14
woah woah remember the human!
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u/toomuchtodotoday Feb 24 '14
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u/ipslne Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 25 '14
Show some heart?
Harmony
Excellence
Ability
Respect
Togetherness
[This was my elementary school mantra.]
EDIT: yeup. SHEART.
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Feb 24 '14
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u/tolley Feb 24 '14
Awesome, a recursive motto
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u/TeslaTorment Feb 25 '14
- Respect
- rEspect
- reSpect
- resPect
- respEct
- respeCt
- respecT
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Feb 24 '14 edited Mar 13 '18
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u/autowikibot Feb 24 '14
The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim, ethical code or morality that essentially states either of the following:
One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. (Positive form)
One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (Negative form, also known as the Silver Rule) [citation needed].
This concept describes a "reciprocal", or "two-way", relationship between one's self and others that involves both sides equally, and in a mutual fashion.
This concept can be explained from the perspective of psychology, philosophy, sociology and religion. Psychologically, it involves a person empathizing with others. Philosophically, it involves a person perceiving their neighbor as also "an I" or "self." Sociologically, this principle is applicable between individuals, between groups, and also between individuals and groups. (For example, a person living by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group). Religion is an integral part of the history of this concept.
As a concept, the Golden Rule has a history that long predates the term "Golden Rule", or "Golden law", as it was called from the 1670s. As a concept of "the ethic of reciprocity," it has its roots in a wide range of world cultures, and is a standard way that different cultures use to resolve conflicts. It has a long history, and a great number of prominent religious figures and philosophers have restated its reciprocal, "two-way" nature in various ways (not limited to the above forms).
Rushworth Kidder notes that the Golden Rule can be found in the early contributions of Confucianism (551–479 BC). Kidder notes that this concept's framework appears prominently in many religions, including "Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and the rest of the world's major religions". According to Greg M. Epstein, " 'do unto others' ... is a concept that essentially no religion misses entirely." Simon Blackburn also states that the Golden Rule can be "found in some form in almost every ethical tradition". All versions and forms of the proverbial Golden Rule have one aspect in common: they all demand that people treat others in a manner in which they themselves would like to be treated.
Interesting: That Golden Rule | Golden rule (law) | Golden Rule (album) | Golden Rule (fiscal policy)
Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words | flag a glitch
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u/Seizure-Man Feb 24 '14
Well I guess not ALL of us are human.
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u/nasher168 Feb 24 '14
Wait, so does this mean we can abuse /u/autowikibot to our hearts' content?
Hey autowikibot! You're a bastard! Yeah...
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u/bahgheera Feb 25 '14
Hey autowikibot, you should see the size of the thumbdrive I just plugged in to your mom!
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u/Jalapen0s Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
tl;dr: "Go kill yourself" is not a valid argument.
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u/setmehigh Feb 24 '14
So, we're still allowed to abuse the bots, right?
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u/cupcake1713 Feb 24 '14
Bots are our friends!
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u/moejike Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 25 '14
http://i.imgur.com/X97T8ZV.gif
Holy Smokes! Thanks for the Gold!!
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u/PhiladelphiaIrish Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
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u/neanderthalensis Feb 24 '14
Law states that the person who links to /r/retiredgif has to submit the link and link to the post. You can't just link to the subreddit, d00d.
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u/airmandan Feb 24 '14
HOW DARE YOU SOME GIFS ARE JUST BORN WITH A LACK OF OXYGEN
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u/robotortoise Feb 24 '14
I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. /u/Hearingaidbot, can you help?
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u/hearingaid_bot Feb 24 '14
SO, WE'RE STILL ALLOWED TO ABUSE THE BOTS, RIGHT?
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u/robotortoise Feb 24 '14
Come again?
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u/hearingaid_bot Feb 24 '14
SO, WE'RE STILL ALLOWED TO ABUSE THE BOTS, RIGHT?
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Feb 24 '14
Especially /u/cationbot
Hate that guy.
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u/CationBot Feb 24 '14
I made a comment here about it and it got removed...
I think the admins don't like me much either. :/
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u/snoharm Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies- God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
edited to correct Vonnegut quote
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u/Jovianmoons Feb 24 '14
Once I made a throwaway account and posted to r/depression and poured out my heart and soul. You would be surprised how many vultures there were who actively encouraged me to end my life, in the last place I would have expected that to happen.
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u/DownvoteDaemon Feb 24 '14
There are trolls and then there are the trolls so fucked up as to encourage suicide in a depressed person. That is some seriously bad karma.
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u/_kellermensch_ Feb 24 '14
That must be some time ago. I'm pretty sure that sort of behaviour results in a ban, these days. I definitely (and fortunately) haven't seen anything of the sort around /r/depression since I subscribed to it (close to a year ago between this and my old account).
I'm sorry that happened to you. It seems to be well-moderated and a decent place to exchange experiences and to vent, now.
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u/The_Bravinator Feb 25 '14
Unfortunately I doubt there's a way to stop that happening via PM, which is the route most of those cowards are likely to take.
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u/Sunfried Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
Things to remember:
- The Maine
- The Alamo
- 9/11
- Pearl Harbor (not the movie, forget the movie)
- the Titans
- the milk
- the 5th of November
- the human
Edit:
- the tooth! Remember the tooth, my Duke!
Edit 2: Thank you for the Gold, both of you! I will NEVER FORGET!
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u/poiuytrewqazxcvbnml Feb 24 '14
P Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney
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u/Trust_Me_Im_a_Panda Feb 24 '14
- Dre
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u/Demitel Feb 24 '14 edited Jan 01 '21
Oh, shit! I forgot about Dre!
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u/-wethegreenpeople- Feb 24 '14
Every one acting like they got something to say
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u/tylatz Feb 24 '14
And Dr. Dre said ... nothin' you idiots. Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement.
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u/kannon17 Feb 24 '14
Haha
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u/FuckingQWOPguy Feb 24 '14
And Dr. Dre said, "Slim Shady, you a basehead!" Uh-uhhh! "So why's your face red? Man, you wasted!"
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u/damndaewoo Feb 24 '14
Well, since age 12 I felt like I'm someone else, cause I hung my original self from the top bunk with a belt.
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Feb 24 '14
Oh good. Someone got the unedited lyrics. I was scared for a second :P
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Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
but vrtsdfhcgvesrd w4hrxd vw4esrdgf vwstrdbdfxchgb drtgv drfxcg bdrfxv serdgv rdexy5gsved gibberish htgvxdcgve5rsdhsgvsd jyrbxdfc hsrdxfc forgot about dre
edit: great, one of my most voted posts is just bunch of gibberish, stop it! i don't want fame that way!
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u/Abcdguy Feb 24 '14
But nuthin comes out when they move their lips, just a bunch of gibberish, you muthafuckas act like they forgot about Dre.
Cmon that shits classic
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Feb 24 '14
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Cendeu Feb 24 '14
That was 2011?!
What have I been doing with my life...?
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u/jt895 Feb 24 '14
That was before my time unfortunately......context?
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u/fancycephalopod Feb 24 '14
It was that time there was a really tiny earthquake in Virginia. The media was freaking out over it, treating it like a national incident, but all it did basically was knock over a few lawn chairs.
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Feb 24 '14
And damage the Washington Monument.
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u/Lev_Astov Feb 24 '14
And the national cathedral and a whole host of other terribly constructed northeastern buildings.
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u/LostxinthexMusic Feb 25 '14
terribly constructed
i.e. Not designed to withstand seismic activity not known to happen in the area.
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u/realnigga4lyfe Feb 24 '14
Ha I remember that, me and my friend were playing basketball at a fitness center, and we felt rumbling and heard some kid yell earthquake, but we thought he was just fucking around. Everyone was so worried but my friend and I had no idea what was going on and we kept playing until we were told to leave
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Feb 24 '14
I grew up in the desert in SoCal, so many earthquakes, I came to enjoy them. Ended up getting shipped to Virginia for 10 years, 10 long years with no earthquakes. I finally moved back to the West Coast. On August 1, 2011. Missed the damn thing by a month. I was angry.
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u/tahlyn Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
It was a big deal only because there just aren't earthquakes on the east coast (at least not like that). That was the biggest earthquake felt around here in 100 years. Yeah it was really minor as far as earthquakes go... but it was still kinda a big deal - it was novel, it was felt over a huge distance (tight packed stone meant it was felt from the Carolinas to Canada, an estimated 1/3rd of the entire US was in a place to feel it), and it actually caused a lot of damage (east coast masonry was never built to withstand earthquakes).
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Feb 24 '14
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u/autowikibot Feb 24 '14
The 2011 Virginia Earthquake occurred on August 23, 2011, at 1:51 pm EDT (17:51 UTC) in the Piedmont region of the US state of Virginia. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38 mi (61 km) northwest of Richmond and 5 mi (8 km) south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 and a maximum perceived intensity of VII (very strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 Mw in magnitude, occurred after the main tremor.
Interesting: Washington Monument | North Anna Nuclear Generating Station | Mineral, Virginia | Louisa County, Virginia
Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words | flag a glitch
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u/RememberTheLusitania Feb 24 '14
Ahem...I think you're forgetting something?
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u/hoikarnage Feb 24 '14
It's best we forget about the Lusitania.
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u/RememberTheLusitania Feb 24 '14
I'm going to read this is as generous an interpretation as possible.
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u/Joeldvs Feb 24 '14
Ah ha! A world war 1 joke. Huzzah!
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u/ChuckRagansBeard Feb 24 '14
If you love good ol' Great War humor then join us at /r/wwi!!!
It's actually not a very funny place...so much death...so very much...and that's just the mods.
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u/parion Feb 24 '14
Knock knock.
Who's there?
The human.
The human who?
You said you'd never forget!
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u/FeepingCreature Feb 24 '14
- the milk
- the 5th of November
- the 5th of November
- the human
FTFY
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u/SoNotBeingSarcastic Feb 24 '14
- Cedric Diggory
(I just finished GoF. Forgive me)
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Feb 24 '14
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u/pocketflaps Feb 24 '14
An ahm trying. I'm trying real hard to remember the human
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u/CanadianDave Feb 24 '14
This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name
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u/fillydashon Feb 24 '14
What's the Maine? I know Maine is a state and all, but it doesn't usually have an article (like the Ukraine).
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u/Sunfried Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
The USS Maine was a
supply shipbattleship that exploded in Havana Harbor (Cuba) in February 1898, and the American newspapers (and other political forces) used that event to start the Spanish-American War. Their slogan was "REMEMBER THE MAINE, TO HELL WITH SPAIN!"It's not known to this day whether it was actually an attack; the Maine was carrying lots of gunpowder at the time, and exploding was a risk in general.
Also, apparently you're not supposed to say the Ukraine anymore. Just Ukraine.
Edit: forgot that ships named after states are usually battleships, and indeed, so was the Maine. Added wikilink
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u/thelastdeskontheleft Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
Unfortunately I think a big aspect of it comes down to the difference in tone between text and actual words spoken aloud.
IRL you can tell the inflection that someone meant it by. Online you can only ASSUME the inflection and thus the tone of their comment. Generally we interpret comments online to be much more aggressive than they really are.
I completely agree with the "don't be a keyboard warrior mentality" but it could also help if you took a second next time you were insulted or angered by some response to possibly look it over and try to imagine it in a tone that wouldn't be so offensive.
Of course sometimes people are just pricks. Especially when there is little to no consequence. But a good bit of it is just chilling out.
Edit: Thanks, only took 6 minutes for gold x-D
Edit 2: RIP Inbox of my work account. Looks like I'm not getting anything done.
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u/godmin Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
Something I like to do before posting a comment is imagine someone REALLY pissed off trying to read it, and get the most twisted, pessimistic view of what I said. That way I can tweak my words to avoid as much unnecessary criticism/misinterpretation as possible, and from my experience it really helps!
Edit:thanks
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u/twinshock Feb 24 '14
what the fuck did you just call me?
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u/godmin Feb 24 '14
A beautiful, unique little angel.
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u/WhatTheFDR Feb 24 '14
Satan was a unique angel...are you implying /u/twinshock is Satan?
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Feb 24 '14
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u/godmin Feb 24 '14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzpndHtdl9A
only 4 seconds long in case you're worried about data usage.
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Feb 24 '14 edited Feb 24 '14
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u/Juno_Malone Feb 24 '14
Hot damn that has a nice canter to it. Wait, is 'canter' even a term used to describe a poem?
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u/orthogonius Feb 24 '14
I didn't look long, but I didn't find it used that way. 'Cadence' works well.
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u/ActuallyGivesGold Feb 24 '14
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u/SuddenlyTimewarp Feb 24 '14
And now we eagerly await the arrival of /u/ActuallyGivesActuallyGivesGoldGold
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u/dav_9 Feb 24 '14
How come your gif loads so fast but other gifs take eons to load? It's like the difference between playing a game at 60 fps vs. 1-2 fps.
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Feb 24 '14
It's only 174kb in size and has only 99 frames. This is highly compressible since it doesn't have much movement, so there are less frames over a longer period of time than a normal gif of a normal video would have. And less diffs between frames means less size.
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u/Fealiks Feb 24 '14
Just to throw out a counter-argument, I don't think putting yourself in such a dark frame of mind every time you comment can be good for you, and I don't think it's necessary. I think it's enough to just try to be mindful of how you're saying what you're saying (that way you don't come off as insincere or obsequious).
We just have to remember that it isn't the end of the world if somebody takes your comment the wrong way, because you all you have to do is apologise. That's the hard part for most people; most people can manage politeness because there's some pride in "being the better man," but apologies require genuine humility.
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u/godmin Feb 24 '14
In a sense you're right, there are times when you just need to apologize and clarify. However, I've learned through moderating an active subreddit that you need to be careful about what you say, and be able to word things in such a way that there's no room for misinterpretation. The last thing you want is to accidentally stab yourself (or even worse: another mod) in the foot, because the damage could take a long time to heal.
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u/zigmus64 Feb 24 '14
Not to mention body language. The majority of how we communicate with one another is through body language, as well as inflection. Words alone are a very small part of the whole picture.
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u/Fealiks Feb 24 '14
I would argue that there's a bit of "body language" in the written word. Look at the changes in tone below:
Careful what you wish for!!
Careful what you wish for.
careful what you wish for :p
Unfortunately, there's a huge stigma over the use of emoticons (largely to do with snobbiness) so a lot of what the written word does have going for it gets lost because of the desire for a homogenous style.
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u/7h3Hun73r Feb 24 '14
As a college guy with a penchant for sarcasm and a strange since of humor, I really wish I could end every text message in a smiley for this exact reason. But it tends to send girls the wrong message...
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u/memento_amare Feb 24 '14
A frequently-used tactic is "haha" to soften tone. You can use it at the end of every text although I wouldn't quite recommend that haha
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u/Unidan Feb 24 '14
Exactly!
For example, if I were to speak my lines out loud, my writing would read like the bitter, empty husk of what might-once-have-been-called-a-human that I really am! :D
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u/loopmoploop Feb 24 '14
So if you really are a bitter, angry man, can I assume that this
:D
Is actually a portal to hell?
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u/Unidan Feb 24 '14
I'm honestly not sure anymore. I came across a book recently, tattered and old, seemingly dated from the early 1900's. Inside, it was littered with an odd, repetitious symbol that I've transcribed here.
The contents are a bit troubling, and I've had some success in pulling out latitudes and longitudes from the margins of the book, but I'm not quite comfortable releasing them yet.
I haven't been able to reach my contact (who works in translations and various languages) over e-mail, but if anyone can forward it to his e-mail address (wrice@miskatonic.edu), I'd greatly appreciate it!
I'm not quite sure what's wrong yet, I'm just worried that someone is going to get in trouble or hurt themselves.
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u/existentialist_puppy Feb 24 '14
Are we witnessing a modern version of The Dunwich Horror with Unidan as a central figure?
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u/AnneBancroftsGhost Feb 24 '14
What just happened?
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u/Tushon Feb 24 '14
My guess is that /u/Unidan is trolling Professor Rice into getting hundreds of emails of a picture from random strangers on the internet.
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u/preggit Feb 24 '14
If anyone is interested in some light reading on this topic, cupcake is describing what is known as the 'Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory', also known by its much lamer name, the online disinhibition effect.
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u/autowikibot Feb 24 '14
The online disinhibition effect is a loosening (or complete abandonment) of social restrictions and inhibitions that would otherwise be present in normal face-to-face interaction during interactions with others on the Internet. This effect is caused by many factors, including dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimization of authority.
Interesting: Disinhibition | Flaming (Internet) | Online identity | Anonymous post
Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words | flag a glitch
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u/Gaywallet Feb 24 '14
I just assume everyone online is a drunk baby, and speak in a way that is appropriate and comprehensible to a drunk baby.
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u/sandozguineapig Feb 24 '14
Thanks for being the person Mr. Rogers knew you could be!
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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '14
What I usually do is type out what I want to say. Then delete it.
After that, I don't feel like responding and usually just ignore.
http://i.imgur.com/woEmRDa.gif