I do not wish to see anyone leave...

toptenmaterial · January 22, 2011

I know there are some who are getting fed up with the level of confrontation sometimes displayed here. As a coder, I would like to see as many other coders as possible find AA a useful resource for ideas and information, regardless of their background and preferences. As a user, I'd like to see friendly and lively conversation regarding our "antiques".

However, if we take this hobby stuff completely seriously and personally then we'll end up driving off the people with the most to contribute and we'll be left with a tiny, contentious clique.

My most liberating day in this hobby was when I decided that no one who cares about retro technology should be my enemy.

We can all debate and we all have our own ideas and preconceptions and that is a good thing. Also it is great that people have gone to great lengths to preserve history and sort out facts from fiction but people shouldn't be spoken down to just because they thought Zap! was a good read - as an example.

The infamous joystick thread is another example of something going too far. I do enjoy AA and the 8-bit forum and I'm grateful to everyone who has helped me here. So, I'm sure me and Bryan have probably disagreed on a fair few things up to now but I do agree with this topic.

It's a fine line. I have, in fact, learned a great deal on these boards through critisism, and through having my facts checked. that's why we can respond to others here. there is nothing wrong with a public rebuttle or rebuke if it is done in a dignified mannor. Before posting here, the only Atari related book that I had read was "Zap!" and I initially cited it in my arguements. My postings were properly criticized, the facts were checked, but no one called me an idiot. How else can you learn about this stuff, other than talking to others, drawing your own conclusions, and of course, facing counter-arguements? the name-calling, trolling and stuff is usually in the absence of a decent rebuttle. i do like to argue with old timers here (though I usually get crushed!). That's ok though!! As long as we can communicate respectfully, we may continue to grow as a community. By the way, I do believe that this is one of the largest cultural databases anywhere and just an awesome site.

Edited January 22, 2011 by toptenmaterial