The Ignore Button Revisited

• What makes cyberspace interesting? by John Suler, 6/26/97
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    • The all important ignore button by kreative_minds, 10/6/98
      
      

To ignore or not to ignore, an age old question? LOL I am personally ambivalent on this issue. On one hand, if an abusive one is just so obnoxious and moronic that any reasonable discourse or bashing cannot possibly bring the offensive one to settle down, then I engage the "idiot ignore function". Conversely; as ignoble as this may sound; at times I will engage the doofus head-on in what I prefer to call a Directive-Confrontive Therapuetic Alliance (which sounds so much more professional then merely "bashing"). There are two reasons for confronting the abusive individual....#1: sometimes it can just be plain fun, afterall, cyber is largely steeped in sensationalism that can be reduced to basically 3 components: (1)chatting, (2) cybersex/romance, (3) cyber fighting. #2: I have not ever known a problem to be solved by ignoring it. Often times, when engaging some "mimrod", he/she will either acquiesece and apologize and become an integrated member of the room, or, leave so thoroughly devasted that maybe he/she will think a little bit longer before shooting off their mouth so derisively.

Most often, ignore is easiest, but by God (hanging head here), sometimes it is just plain fun to stomp the jerk! (shrugs)

:-) Mystic

• to ignore or not by John, 10/31/98