"Tonic for the Socially Irresponsible"

Why is that, mbg?

Because I couldn't delete the post after I made it.

BTW, in cases where you really want to delete the first post, you could always edit the post and remove the text. Or use the "Report" button and I'll delete it.

"Logic vs. Emotion"

Do you mean rename "intensely Serious:Chit Chat" forum.

I kind of like "heavy sh@t"
or maybe "pompous poop" oops that should probably be in silly and syrupy.

Maybe it would be better to stick to its current name

I find the debates in this forum a little less cut throat and usually more civil than some of the flame wars in Silly. Although it sometimes gets hot in the kitchen. But we are all adults and can handle it. Right?

As my cousin would say (i have a lot of cousins), people live in their own sphere of existence, we go to school with, socialize with, live in neighbourhoods of and work in offices of people who are mostly similar to ourselves, similar socio-economic status and i would bet that for most people, the bowl shows a larger 'sphere of existence' than most of us interact with in the 'real world'. And i think sometimes this can be a jarring blow to our perceived notions of the world and of how 'most people' are.

Now granted the bowl is not as broad a spectrum as the population in general, we're not a statistical sample space or anything, there's probably still a preponderence of middle class yuppies and relatively young people, but we have a fairly broad age group and variety of cultural/academic/economic backgrounds. it's easy to sit on a high horse and look down on people but if you're thinking to yourself with disdain about those freaks on the internet remember, you are also one of those freaks on the internet. It's like people who watch jerry springer and as they're watching it say man i can't believe the people who watch this show. it's you, you are watching the show, people like you... Anyway, that's my deep thought for the day.

Originally posted by alligator As my cousin would say (i have a lot of cousins), people live in their own sphere of existence, we go to school with, socialize with, live in neighbourhoods of and work in offices of people who are mostly similar to ourselves, similar socio-economic status and i would bet that for most people, the bowl shows a larger 'sphere of existence' than most of us interact with in the 'real world'. And i think sometimes this can be a jarring blow to our perceived notions of the world and of how 'most people' are. Now granted the bowl is not as broad a spectrum as the population in general, we're not a statistical sample space or anything, there's probably still a preponderence of middle class yuppies and relatively young people, but we have a fairly broad age group and variety of cultural/academic/economic backgrounds. it's easy to sit on a high horse and look down on people but if you're thinking to yourself with disdain about those freaks on the internet remember, you are also one of those freaks on the internet. It's like people who watch jerry springer and as they're watching it say man i can't believe the people who watch this show. it's you, you are watching the show, people like you... Anyway, that's my deep thought for the day.

You're scaring me, alligator.

Originally posted by alligator it's easy to sit on a high horse and look down on people but if you're thinking to yourself with disdain about those freaks on the internet remember, you are also one of those freaks on the internet. It's like people who watch jerry springer and as they're watching it say man i can't believe the people who watch this show. it's you, you are watching the show, people like you... Anyway, that's my deep thought for the day.

What a wonderful deep thought!

Originally posted by Abilityzone I find the debates in this forum a little less cut throat and usually more civil than some of the flame wars in Silly. Although it sometimes gets hot in the kitchen. But we are all adults and can handle it. Right?

That's an interesting observation.

Though in recent weeks the Silly's have been spilling over into Seriousland. It has brought the level of debating down from reasoned argument (and/or, dare I say, sarcastic satire), to making the same point over and over, just adding more caps, bolding, and name calling with each repetition. So who is really Serious and who is really Silly?

Perhaps we need a firewall between the two forums...

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Originally posted by Common Cents That's an interesting observation. Though in recent weeks the Silly's have been spilling over into Seriousland. It has brought the level of debating down from reasoned argument (and/or, dare I say, sarcastic satire), to making the same point over and over, just adding more caps, bolding, and name calling with each repetition. So who is really Serious and who is really Silly?

You forgot the back-patting "Me toos". "Me toos" have always been part of Rule #3: "Use your Common Sense (& Post with substance)". But last week I expanded on it to make it clearer. I think I'll make it Rule #4...

http://goldfishlegs.net/bowl/misc.p...=faq&page=4

I hope that helps Costa. Some threads have got to the point where any reasonable or intelligent post is completely ignored, so as to resume the back and forth "that's just my opinion and there is nothing wrong with it" banter.

The way I see it, the entire POINT of the serious forum is to disagree. The idea is to DEBATE topics and point out things that others may not have considered. Too many people are getting their feathers ruffled when others disagree with them rather than putting together an intelligent response.

Originally posted by sockboy The way I see it, the entire POINT of the serious forum is to disagree. The idea is to DEBATE topics and point out things that others may not have considered.

That's something I've really enjoyed. Often times, I find that there is a perfectly logical point of view that I hadn't even thought to consider. It gets me seriously thinking about an issue - sometimes that means I firm up my stance, and sometimes I get a little more unsure.

But I know that in everyday life, not every conversation is very heavy, dealing with serious socio-political issues. In fact, many of the people I deal with aren't even aware of a lot of issues, let alone willing to discuss them. And I'm not putting them down, that's completely fine - there's a lot of issues that I am completely ignorant of. I'm just saying that this forum gives me a chance to debate issues with people where otherwise I might not have gotten the chance, and even makes me aware of things I did not know before.