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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 18 of 18. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SLS on April 25, 2009, at 6:06:35
I genuinely don't understand why someone would want to be blocked. I am not judgmental, just confused.
It saddens me to see people leave Psycho-Babble of their own accord, regardless of their method of exit.
- Scott
Posted by Bobby on April 25, 2009, at 11:33:05
In reply to Why would someone want to be blocked?, posted by SLS on April 25, 2009, at 6:06:35
they used to play for the NFL and long for the glory days. I've given up trying to get into other people's heads------you'll wind up here! At least it's nice to see folks like yourself still engaged here---as long as there's dialogue---there's hope.
Posted by Phillipa on April 25, 2009, at 13:08:29
In reply to Maybe.. » SLS, posted by Bobby on April 25, 2009, at 11:33:05
What would we do without Scott and a bunch of others. Love Phillipa. Some have e-mailed they get depressed on babble, some too influenced by others stories so like second year resident syndrome they get the same symptoms, some find other sites. Now that is just what some write to me. And some get better and don't feel the need for the internet. Love Phillipa
Posted by SLS on April 26, 2009, at 8:07:04
In reply to Why would someone want to be blocked?, posted by SLS on April 25, 2009, at 6:06:35
No one?
I have seen this happen many times.
I would like to understand why someone would want to have themselves blocked from posting.
- Scott
Posted by raisinb on April 26, 2009, at 11:31:04
In reply to Why would someone want to be blocked?, posted by SLS on April 25, 2009, at 6:06:35
I kind of get it. I have done similar things in the past in close relationships where I felt powerless and frustrated (I would escalate fights, subconsciously wanting the person to break up with me). I don't know, I'm sure every person has his/her own reasons. Sometimes you have to say what you have to say, no matter what the consequences.
Posted by myco on April 26, 2009, at 11:36:51
In reply to Who here wants to have themselves blocked?, posted by SLS on April 26, 2009, at 8:07:04
It's not that they want themselves blocked SLS...it's that they want to create controversy and feed the debate. Look at verne for instance...this guy will cause crap everywhere, knowing he can away with it - hell even taunting and say haha i'm screwing with you people - then turn around and hide behind the fact he drinks. Then he will taunt more with "block me" "someone block me forever"...what does this result in? sympathy from others who stick up for him and hug and help him....refiring this stupid debate on who should be blocked and who shouldnt and how to get blocked and what it takes....hes demonstrating, in his mind, what line you need to cross to get blocked by "not crossing it" as he says...staying just above the line of civility and taunting.
People dont want the block they just want the controversy and support it creates....look at some of these people who argue that certain people should be brought back from being blocked....those blocked people are reading this and feeling better than someone is standin up for them. ya know
its all foolishness
> No one?
>
> I have seen this happen many times.
>
> I would like to understand why someone would want to have themselves blocked from posting.
>
>
> - Scott
Posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 13:41:11
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked? » SLS, posted by myco on April 26, 2009, at 11:36:51
.
I'm not the first to draw an analogy between a person saying 'I refuse to step up to give the black man his seat' or 'I refuse to stop smoking mj despite the laws of my land' and 'I refuse to paraphrase things such that Bob will find them acceptable'. In other words, sometimes people intentionally post against the law here because they want to bring it to peoples attention that there is such a law and that there are certain sanctions for it (e.g., a poster might intentionally say 'f*rt' without an asterisk in order to bring it to the communities attention that (sometimes) that results in a block for one year). It might inspire the community to protest either the law, the arbitrary inforcement / lack of enforcement for it, and / or the extent of the punishment for it.
Socrates accepted the consequences of his actions (corrupting the young, apparently) by accepting his punishment. He drank hemlock. While some think that acts of civil disobedience require one to accept the punishment others think that he would have been justified in fleeing from the state to escape the punishment. Similarly some think that it is acceptable to flee to escape the draft when one believes the war to be unjust.
I've talking about this before at length on numerous occasions. Basically I wasn't going to respond to this thread because my thought is that if someone really wants to know why it is that people intentionally post to get blocked then the poster can take a look through the archives at what people have to say about that.
> People dont want the block they just want the controversy and support it createsI suppose that is one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it would be to consider the huge variety of reasons that a number of people have provided including reasons provided in threads that are still active (not archived) on this forum already
Posted by SLS on April 26, 2009, at 14:04:10
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked?, posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 13:41:11
I appreciate your taking the time to respond. Right now, I am devoid of the mental energy to sift through the archives, so your post saved me quite a bit of time and effort. As you said, I imagine there are many different reasons why someone would knowingly provoke Dr. Bob into blocking them from posting. I guess what it comes down to is what matters most to the person posting in such a way. I think I understand the type of frustration that the rules of posting here can cause. For me, it was the frustration that I couldn't reward certain people with a tongue-lashing I thought they deserved. :-) I cannot fully appreciate the pain and hurt that some people have experienced here due to the enforcement of posting policies. I have never experienced them for myself. I will try to be more sensitive to these things in the future.
- Scott
Posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 15:09:50
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked? » alexandra_k, posted by SLS on April 26, 2009, at 14:04:10
Hey. Yeah, I hear you that the archives (and even the present threads) can be daunting and it can be hard to extract the information that one wants. I guess thats how come the same questions keep coming up on the meds board too.
I think this question is particularly hard for people to answer, though. Posters that do want to get blocked probably are blocked hence can't answer. Sometimes people say a little about why they are doing what they are doing before / while they are doing it, though. Or sometimes they say something about it after their block is up, or sometimes other posters report what the poster said to them in off board communication.
> For me, it was the frustration that I couldn't reward certain people with a tongue-lashing I thought they deserved.
I think that is a reason that others have expressed, too. I guess... I feel that there is a benefit to some laws. I do (personally) see the value in being civil to others and in their being social sanctions for incivility. Precisely what constitutes incivility and precisely what the sanctions should be is a matter of great controversy, however...
Posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 15:12:21
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked?, posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 15:09:50
I think the (perhaps opposing perhaps not) aims of self protection and self destructiveness have come up, too. I know I once asked to be blocked because I didn't feel able to prevent myself posting and I had stuff I needed to get done IRL!! I put that down to self protection. I think other times the line between self destructiveness and self protection can be a little blurry as when one perceives others attacking and feels that retaliating and not being able to post anymore is the best that one can do with respect to caring for oneself.
Posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 15:24:06
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked?, posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 15:12:21
Or self punishment. If one just feels that one is a despicable person (original sin or something like that). Maybe in that situation it is an act of self protection too in the sense that one 'asks for' something that one believes to be inevitable anyway because it is easier to face something unpleasant head on when one is expecting it than it is to face it unexpected (studies have shown that animals and people both prefer shocks to be signaled than random). Need a signal that is a signal, though, rather than one that disintegrates into mere noise.
There have been studies on 'honor' cultures and the perception of what is socially appropriate when one has been slighted (or when one perceives oneself to be slighted). In some societies retaliation is expected otherwise the thought is that one has shown weakness and is more likely to be 'picked on' again. The system here is decidedly not an 'honor' culture. There is thought to be no excuse for retaliation. Just because one perceives that one has been slighted or just because one has been slighted is thought to be no excuse to go on to slight others. I see how some could take issue with that, even though I personally do not have issue with it.
I do have sympathy for the opposing line to the 'honor' culture. The thought is that the perception of slight is more frequent than actual slight and also that a 't*t for tat' system can result in the situation escalating and eventually it is impossible to sort out who started it but there is an ongoing war. I guess the system here is sort of pacifist in a sense... Or trying to be... I have sympathy for that... But implementation... Gets tricky...
Posted by Sigismund on April 26, 2009, at 18:35:48
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked? » SLS, posted by myco on April 26, 2009, at 11:36:51
Well, it may be all foolishness, but people are complicated.
I dimly remember perhaps posts on the politics board that Alex may be referring to. In those days people got blocked for saying what 9 people out of 10 knew to be true. So they all left, which is a real pity.
Posted by raisinb on April 28, 2009, at 23:36:56
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked?, posted by Sigismund on April 26, 2009, at 18:35:48
From what I can understand (not having been involved in such conflict in the past), the civility rules focus on distinguishing helpful and direct feedback from personal attacks. The line is thin, and I think the deputies try to protect it as best as possible while considering each case in its depth.
However, then people who have been blocked feel not accepted and hurt and rejected--in a community where people bring their most personal stuff, this is not a small issue.
Such feelings might (and I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds) lead eventually to frustration and a feeling that the authority governing this site is inconsistent and authoritarian.
So, in that position, it's understandable that people would feel hurt and defensive and want to be heard in that environment--whatever the consequences
I don't think I'm alone in saying that babble is really important to me. Sometimes I don't know how I'd get through a hard time without it.
I am just guessing, but I think that posters who want to express themselves--and then get blocked--are expressing that caring, too. You don't get mad about something unless you care. It's just that sometimes showing you care takes the form of pain and frustration about the way things are run. Like Vietnam protesters who got tear gassed because they cared about America and whether it did the right thing.
Posted by Dr. Bob on May 6, 2009, at 1:12:08
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked? » SLS, posted by myco on April 26, 2009, at 11:36:51
> this guy will cause crap everywhere, knowing he can away with it
Please don't post anything that could lead others to feel accused or put down.
But please don't take this personally, either, this doesn't mean I don't like you or think you're a bad person, and I'm sorry if this hurts you.
More information about posting policies and tips on alternative ways to express oneself are in the FAQ:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#civil
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#enforceFollow-ups regarding these issues, as well as replies to the above post, should of course themselves be civil.
Thanks,
Bob
Posted by Dr. Bob on May 6, 2009, at 1:13:20
In reply to Re: Who here wants to have themselves blocked?, posted by alexandra_k on April 26, 2009, at 15:24:06
> I guess the system here is sort of pacifist in a sense... Or trying to be...
Yes.
> But implementation... Gets tricky...
Also yes!
Bob
Posted by Cass on May 20, 2009, at 19:09:43
In reply to Why would someone want to be blocked?, posted by SLS on April 25, 2009, at 6:06:35
Maybe they have a love/hate relationship to this site and they are addicted to it. They might love to post but hate the rules, kind of like sex addicts who love to fool around but don't like any commitment. Maybe they're so addicted that they really want to get caught and get the situation under control because they can't do it themselves.
By the way, I don't know what I'm talking about. I think my imagination is working overtime.
Posted by Kath on May 21, 2009, at 20:54:59
In reply to Re: Why would someone want to be blocked?, posted by Cass on May 20, 2009, at 19:09:43
Hey Cass, nice to see ya. Pl drop in at Social if you feel like it!
xoxo Kath
Posted by Cass on May 23, 2009, at 9:42:14
In reply to Re: Why would someone want to be blocked? » Cass, posted by Kath on May 21, 2009, at 20:54:59
This is the end of the thread.
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