Post
by Malachi » Wed Feb 26, 2003 10:18 pm
I check this board so much because it's a never ending source of giggles for me.
I think I've mentioned before that I work with children, and as such I think that I've gained a significant amount of insight into the way and the reasons why they do what they do.
With that said, I'll write something we discussed at a seminar I attended recently. (Yes, this is on topic, bear with me.) When children are disruptive or trying to cause problems, they do it for one very simple reason. That reason, is to fulfill a need. Whether it's physical (hunger, etc.), emotional (they just need attention), physiological (disabilty related), or cultural (this one is deep...), they act out to fulfill a need. This opens the floodgates for a whole entire argument, but in most cases it's emotional. The word "need" is open for debate, they *think* they need it.
Anyway, back to my topic, they act out because they know they'll get attention. The trick to getting them to behave is two fold: one, to remove the desired (on their part) stimulus from the punishment/response, and two, to introduce an alternative that is both positive and that fulfills the desired need.
So, now I shall draw a parallel that will look like a flame.
Remember back in school, there was that one kid who would always tell whatever gossip he heard, or he's just randomly throw his pencil across the room, or intentionally misspell all the words on his spelling test, or just randomly throw temper tantrums when something didn't go the way he wanted? Pretty much, they might have just as well been screaming "LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME!!!".
This is what lifewolf is doing, lol, it's a textbook example, haha. It makes me laugh.
The difference now is that he's not in grade or middle school, and so therefore I don't care the take the time from my day to deal with his social misadjustment, nor do I think the rest of us care to watch him pull on the clips of his over-hauls as he looks from face to face for some sort of recognition of the dirty words and mess he's causing on our message board.
Lifewolf, this is my message to you: You said that was your last post. I don't necessarily want you to leave, but I want you to understand that not one single person on this board cares if you make threats about gracing us with your presence. If I were to say "I hate the world, sod off, MQ can go to hell", no one would write a log sobbing post asking me to stay, and I think I've been a largely useful member around here. Get it? Either shaddup and play nice like the rest of us, or leave like you've threatened to.
You are not going to raise the ire of Tux or L12 or anyone else as much as you think you are. You were not threatened with banning because you pissed Tux off so bad--he, like the rest of us has more important things to do that soil his undies over some inflammatory post on his message board. You were threatened because no one wants to waste CPU cycles and brain rhythms listening to you rant on about something. Mostly, we want you to shut up, and banning is the most effecient means of making you.
Now, with that said, I'd like to personally invite you to stay around and contribute to the community and be friendly and helpful. If you can't, or if you can't fathom that we're really not going to be heartbroken if you do decide to split, then hasta luego! I'm sorry you're leaving under bad terms, but such is the way some people decide to live their lives.
So, again, actually *make* your last post and move on with your life, or drop it and consider yourself a bigger person because you were able to move on with your life and MQ before you made any more of a complete ass out of yourself.
Lastly, just remember that you're not making anyone mad. We're laughing *at* you, not with you, and we don't really care what vendettas you carry against whom. That's your business, for you. If you want to gossip, go to the hair dresser and leave our boards alone.
Thanks for your time, sorry for the rambling post. I hope what I have said represents the community as well as I think it does.
~malachi
P.S. I just finished a day of research for my thesis titled "Perceptions of social conditions preceeding and following German Reunification, 1989-2000". That might be part of the reason I'm not too patient tonight, but then again, I'm rarely patient for drama queens.
~Oh danny boy, the pipes the pipes are calling.~