I have a problem

It never hurts to step aside once in a while and look at yourself, just to set your clock right. I noticed something today (after I needed to be pointed at it by someone else). How come whenever someone says something critical of TP, I always jump at their throat in its defense? Must be disturbing when looking at me from aside. After all, don't most people like to shit at things, rather than try to protect them from the shit? I mean that's much easier and much more fun, isn't it?

No, it's not for the fact that I've seen the moment of TP's very inception, and I've been around during all its stages of maturity, I breathed with it and I hurt whenever it was under attack. It's not even that I personally know one of the guys who run it and I'm ready to put my head in the fire for him - literally. It's not that most of my LJ friends (and I do mean the real ones, as in RL-friends), have invested most of their online time over there, and we've had great moments together, learning new things about each other and about the way others view the world. It's not even that.

I think I know what my problem is. I guess I've never understood snark forums and snark threads. That's my problem. My problem is that I look for the productive side of things, and I find it difficult to understand how come some people are willing to waste incredible amounts of their online time feeding on others' productivity just for the shits'n'giggles. But that's ironic, because I always say I like staying around For Teh Lulz, and yet I cringe whenever someone says something about what someone else said (anywhere).

The problem is in me, I think.

And the only solution is to step on my own neck and forcefully make myself to never, ever, pay any attention to all those again. I must realize that there are dozens of places on LJ alone, dedicated to that kind of thing, where hundreds of people spend large portions of their LJ time talking about what other people have said elsewhere, and then having a nice laugh together. I suppose that's how things are, and nothing can be done. I'm fairly sure I can never counter every single false statement On Teh Intrawebz, so it's better to give up and not try that, even subconsciously. For my own sake.

I know, many people just prefer to dismiss TP (or any other place, to that matter), without doing any more effort to understand how it works and what it's really like. I know this is not fair to all those contributors who've been doing great efforts to write amazing stuff and bring more reason to the discourse. But that's just how things are. Most people are too lazy.

Sorry, TP. I think you can "defend" yourself on your own. After all, it's the actions that speak louder than words. In the case of an online forum, this means the number of people who truly appreciate the place for what it is. Because what one of the guys I really admire recently wrote is damn true: "It's the PEOPLE in there who'll keep making the difference from the stinking shithole to a place where you like to occasionally come back and Talk Politics, and possibly learn some new things, and share your knowledge, your views and opinions in a constructive manner, amidst a relatively positive atmosphere and together with other interesting and exciting fellows. That can never be robbed."

Only people matter. Everything else is just bullshit.