A day in the life of an Arguposter.

One has to wonder why some people take the time to comment on various online forums, articles or social media websites in a negative and/or hostile manner.

I am of the opinion that there are several types of posters on these various web outlets.   There are those who are enthusiastic and find the positive in a story, item or thread and want to praise the author. There are those who simply want to share their knowledge and/or correct a misconception posted by a previous commenter.  There are those who find fault in everyone who posts and really just post to “hear themselves type.” 

Then there are the adults who behave like children online.  These people fall into several subcategories but for the sake of brevity I will stick to one that particularly troubles me. There are the folks who have strong beliefs, such as politics or religion and make every thread on which they post about their issue and/or position.  They attack anyone who disagrees, no matter how reasonable the other person may be.  And assume that they must “win” their self-imposed argument and have the last word.   I shall call these the Arguposters.

When any opinion or news piece is posted online these days, many outlets include a “comments” section. Many are organized in much the way one can comment much like on a friend’s Facebook status.  

When Arguposters begin their assault, they tend to assume that either the author or anyone else who comments is going to argue so they are loaded for bear from the start.  Typically, Arguposters tend to have a one track mind, though sometimes they can have a dual track but these tend to converge into one.  What disturbs me most about Arguposters is that in addition to alienating many reasonable and articulate adults, they 

tend to create a pack mentality and all horn in on one commenter who may have an opposing view.  This discourages and turns off many people who may have another view from letting their voices be heard.  It further tends to create an illusion that the only commenters in that arena are the Arguposters because they the only commenters left.

Arguposters are of all ages, races, creeds, colors and intelligence level.  Which is ironic because in recent experience I have found that there are some who see themselves as not racist, yet all the comments they post invariably read otherwise. 

Arguposters can be quite intractable, though to be fair I have found some to be in agreement with me sporadically.  Though I sometimes think this is to lull me into a false sense of community.

Arguposters tend to post at the same time of day each day that they do so, almost as if the arguing must be scheduled. 

Arguposters can be hasty and mistype and misspell or use incorrect grammar which may or may not reflect their intelligence level.

Arguposters tend toward personal attack when met with a reasonable response and/or correction about a posted misconception.  These attacks, when met by a reasonable response tend to be ignored only to later have said Arguposters re-attack the same person, usually less creatively as the first attempt.

Arguposters rarely if ever use either their real name or their whole name, unless of course it is on Facebook and they are your “friend” or the friend of one of your friends.

Why do I tell you about Arguposters? 

Because they are everywhere.  They are your friends who vehemently disagree with you on a subject, i.e. Homosexuals Marrying or Gays in the Military or Politics in the extreme and use your page, despite the fact that as friends you agree to disagree, to spew their opinion all over your page.  They are your neighbors who go on the local paper website and spew all of their frustrations about whatever is happening in town in the comment section of any given story. They are members of your community who in the cloak of anonymity also spew all of the hatred, racism and irrational beliefs about any given subject all in the spirit of their warped sense of community. 

Arguposters are really just scared.  They are afraid of change, whether it has occurred or will occur.  They are afraid they may be wrong.  They are afraid that their insecurities and/or lack of knowledge or even their lack of self-worth will be exposed. 

In this era of online discussions where the village we live in exists in person and online it seems there is too much room for the Arguposter. 

How, can you avoid being an Arguposter?     

1. If you have a issue that you feel passionate about and you want people to learn about your issue, remain steadfast in your beliefs and only post your comments when the story you are commenting on is absolutely related to your issue. 
2. Be reasonable.
3.  Avoid unnecessary arguments
4. Do not engage with Arguposters.
5. Remain calm.
6. Avoid eye contact.
7. Keep to the topic at hand. 
8. Make sure that when you do comment it is not the same subject or the same actual comment every time.
9. Do not engage in personal attacks ever.
10. Avoid any snarky remarks even when the urge to do so is stronger than the urge to eat an entire box of Thin Mints!!

In an era when much of our interaction with our village is online, trying to regain some civil discourse seems to me the way we should be moving.  I fear however it is not.  The more we hide behind the anonymity of the internet the more the hostile discourse of Arguposters will thrive.

It is my wish, like the Attending Physician used to say on St. Elsewhere, that we “be caring out there.”