mrclay2000's VirtualTourist Home Page

Many of us use the Web in our daily lives. Much of my free time centers around the computer, usually writing travel accounts, modernizing or organizing files, or touching up images from a recent shoot. The Internet is never far away from these pursuits, but along with the wonders of the Web come its drawbacks.

A few years ago in a VT forum I shared some terminology that closer VT friends and I have used to describe our VT experience. Nothing degrading or insulting, but nonetheless within a few responses a woman from Indiana whom I've never met or emailed called me "a loser." On a modeling site another man began a forum thread on his dislike for today's tattoo craze in America, asking when it all was going to stop. All of this was given in polite language naming no one in particular, just the craze. The first responder said, "Okay you've told us, now why should anyone listen to you?" These two examples are among the millions daily relayed online from persons who would never dream of using such language or being so direct in person. It seems that so long as we can insulate ourselves behind little monitors, we can launch missiles at will without fear of retaliation.

On a modeling site I started a thread wherein I wrote heatedly against sun-splotchy "under tree" type photos, where the leaves cause a hard shadow, yet the sun still peers through leaving a patchwork of light and shadow on the person's face, often causing a squint. I added "the golden rule is not to allow shadows in unless they enhance the image." I also spoke of disliking "white sky" pictures -- i.e. photos where the sky is white rather than blue. The next 100 responses attacked me in principle and personally, but the responses clearly showed a poor command of English. "Rules were made to be broken" wrote so many -- yes, but break this rule? People confused my dislike for white sky stuff with my "golden rule" and several attached white sky pictures showing me how "I was wrong" for my preferences (what they confused as my "rule"). I was lambasted as the rule-giver, the lawmaker and the sermonizer, when I seriously think few would disagree with my precise language. I was also sharply criticized for taking boring pictures, for not knowing how to use my equipment, for tacky usage of photo editing, and all the rest, yet of course I named no photographer in particular for their sun-splotchy work. Not until very late in the forum did someone actually upload an example of such work, someone who actually comprehends English. . . .yet so many so perfectly (to their thinking) understand what constitutes good images and good photography.

On another photography forum with a separate string, I was told to "get a life" by someone who had 600+ forum entries. There are other websites I belong to that keep a count of forum entries (i.e. separate threads, NOT the count of replies on the same thread). There have been people telling me to get a life who have 10,000+ forum entries. Every now and again I click the 'browse forum' box and see the same person jumping in and out of every thread listed. . .what does 'get a life' mean to such people?

On yet another thread the first responder told me that no topic was more pointless than the one I brought up. The next responder and the next, and deep into the next many dozen, the response was the same -- how pointless my topic was. What may I ask is the point of so many jumping en masse on a bandwagon so pointless?