Acidic Posting

[NurseGuyBri]

I thoroughly enjoy allnurses.com for the most part, but I get a little defensive when so many people post acidic posts. So, what is an acidic post? One that burns you but offers no real addition to the subject at hand. I am an opinionated man. I am a loving, compassionate nurse. Yes, I went the long way and believe thoroughly in education and academics being very important to advancing the profession. No, I do not believe that any "level" of nurse is better than the other.

What burns me is when people post acidic replies to what starts as an educated, professional post and really detracts from the actual topic. As nurses, we are supposed to be able to vent, share our ideas, and improve each other by discussion, so please, when you disagree with something, be tactful about it. When you are rude, disrespectful, or downright nasty, you aren't helping anyone, least of all the profession. It is a discussion board, let us get heated about things, let us discuss them and talk about them, but let us not attack each other, please.

PLEASE disagree with me! PLEASE tell me what you think, how you think, why you think.

Most of all, please do it as a colleague, a friend, a nurse.

[klone, MSN, RN]

One person's acidic is another person's normal, albeit ironic or sarcastic, way of communicating. I've been accused of flaming people by merely disagreeing with them.

I don't come here to further the profession. I come here to share ideas. And sometimes to let off steam.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

And the written word on an internet forum carries sometimes a substantially different vibe than the same words in a conversation with vocal inflection and body language, KWIM?

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Would you prefer that posts be more basic, then?

Sorry, I can't resist a pun.

Back to your point, OP. Honestly, I empathize. I also tend to take things pretty seriously at first glance. I think I read the worst into the tone of what's posted, especially if I disagree with it.. However, I've noticed that if something rubs me the wrong way, taking some time to think it through and then respond (if responding is even a good option at all) usually helps to clear my head and focus my response. There's usually an initial urge to fire back defensively. I've learned to resist that urge and think it through, even give folks the benefit of the doubt. While it isn't my nature, it can make a huge difference.

Of course, there are admittedly times when I just respond in sarcasm as a reflex.

Nobody's perfect.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

When you are rude, disrespectful, or downright nasty, you aren't helping anyone, least of all the profession.

I totally agree. We can disagree with another person without copping a disagreeable attitude. Thank you for this much needed reminder to practice civility.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

"One person's acidic is another person's normal, albeit ironic or sarcastic, way of communicating. I've been accused of flaming people by merely disagreeing with them."

This, totally. You, as the reader, are responsible for taking each and every comment/response in the spirit with which it was conveyed.

Can't figure that out, you say? Then give each and every response the benefit of the doubt. All responses are valid and most are meant to further the discussion.

[Susie2310]

One person's idea of "educated and professional" differs from another person's. People have different life experience, education, values and beliefs. The variety of responses to any one post doesn't surprise me at all. I think that if anyone posts and just anticipates replies that he/she will find supportive, they are setting themself up for disappointment. I won't start a thread unless I am prepared to receive every kind of response, and when I decide to post on a thread I usually think hard about what I am going to say before I say it, keeping in mind I may receive responses that are hostile, negative, neutral, disagreeing (politely, neutrally, or rudely), questioning, and even agreement and support.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

One person's idea of "educated and professional" differs from another person's. People have different life experience, education, values and beliefs. The variety of responses to any one post doesn't surprise me at all. I think that if anyone posts and just anticipates replies that he/she will find supportive, they are setting themself up for disappointment. I won't start a thread unless I am prepared to receive every kind of response, and when I decide to post on a thread I usually think hard about what I am going to say before I say it, keeping in mind I may receive responses that are hostile, negative, neutral, disagreeing (politely, neutrally or rudely), questioning, and even agreement and support.

This...although there are posts that are sooo off the handle and toe the line into the TOS violation zone, or the vent or rant is projected onto posters after skimming or do a cliff note at posts, or even a clarification or enlightening of facts post is flamed for whatever the poster that decides to go nuclear on-it can be a wee bit much to some.I think that's what the OP is talking about; the OP was on a post and the response to his post was a bit nuclear, to say the least due to an emotional knee jerk reaction that the poster did apologize for; I think this post is right on time as a occaisional reminder.

[Susie2310]

This...although there are posts that are sooo off the handle and toe the line into the TOS violation zone, or the vent or rant is projected onto posters after skimming or do a cliff note at posts, or even a clarification or enlightening of facts post is flamed for whatever the poster that decides to go nuclear on-it can be a wee bit much to some.I think that's what the OP is talking about; the OP was on a post and the response to his post was a bit nuclear, to say the least due to an emotional knee jerk reaction that the poster did apologize for; I think this post is right on time as a occaisional reminder.

Yes, I think you made a good point.

[amygarside]

We just need to communicate well. We all have our queries, I guess.

[shermrn]

I am all for people being polite to each other trying to get along. I am also guilty of some emotionally charged posts that were not so polite, some of these I regret. A point I'd like to try to make is that people in general are becoming too sensitive and unable to take criticism or become offended over the slightest thing. I think it all started with the whole political correctness movement and has spiraled out of control. It seems politeness has taken over to the point where honesty suffers. We are forced to accept everything in this society and are admonished for saying what we think. True, one can try to be tactful, but some times one just has to call a spade a spade. I'd rather hear the truth about what someone thinks, offensive or not, than have them water it down and tip toe around my feelings. We live in a society that has become too soft. I 'm not advocating for fist fights and gun play, but come on people say what you think and what you feel regardless of whose feelings may be hurt. Id rather have someone come out and tell me they don't like me, rather than play games. It's good to know where you stand with people. I hope this all makes sense.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Years ago when I was a new member of allnurses, I used to get so annoyed with some nasty comments which were directed at my comments. I would have to walk away from the computer. I have been a moderator for 8 years so I rarely if ever get involved with the arguments, I just try to calm things down.