Canon,
We feel your pain. I have not posted on this board for so long that my former username-interested, is no longer. I had to register again, as Iconoclast. Many of us who participate on this board have gone quite a few rounds with Tie, Dannyboy included.
Nothing ever seems to change, Tie is extremely passive aggressive and he uses the unique nuances of a message board to proliferate his passive aggressive nature. The old, "I know you are but what am I" on a much grander scale. He is loath to dissect a real issue, especially when you disagree with him. It becomes personal and it becomes vicious.
Here is the interesting thing about message boards. In order to participate you need to be able to express your ideas in a concise manner. Punctuation, spelling, syntax, these are all important, but they are a distant second to the ability to discuss issues, handle criticism and develop sound arguments. Everybody has different abilities and a unique thought processes. Some mull over decisions before coming to a conclusion, some are very decisive and can render a decision very quickly.
The same applies to each of our unique skills in this forum. There are some who post and although we disagree vehemently with what they write, we wholly admire the manner in which they write it. We are impressed with their clarity of thought, the orderly way in which they develop that argument, and the grace and decorum in which they deliver their message. Often, we are interested in posts like that- because they help us to learn to use these forums better, and to build our own "message board game"
For some, I believe that they would very much like to participate in a more professional manner, but they simply lack the tools. Instead of communicating in a style that is simpler, forthright and honest, they feel a great deal of insecurity and feel the need to attack people.
Tieguy is right out of central casting for this phenomenon. I think that he is tremendously insecure about what he has posted, and once someone disagrees with him, he attacks. Tie can become especially vicious if your rebuttal to him is clean, well developed and written with style and grace-Most of your posts Canon, fall squarely into this category, hence his frequent attacks.
Personally, I have had my a** handed to me on message boards, and it stings. I have been in forums where it took me months to have the courage to post something, and when I did, I was ripped to shreds. Not personally mind you, but the argument, structure and the style in which I presented those arguments. It can be humbling, there is no question about that. It can also be a great learning experience to adopt the style, content and structure of those who are much more proficient than you.
Or, as crazy as this sounds, just be yourself. Once people are inured to your style, and this happens very quickly, you will find that you are respected for your message, experiences and insight. Most people who successfully contribute to message forums do so in this manner. After all, Hemingway got along pretty good using simple language and dinky words. You just have to be confident that what you have posted will stand up on its own, most of the time it does.
It is frustrating to deal with Tieguy, but use that frustration to continue to develop your own game.
They say that the only true failures in life are lessons not learned the first time. Tie has thousands and thousands of posts over the years, and sadly, they are all the same.
Do the math.
