One thing that I've come realize is that the many people I come across in cyberspace have poor social skills in real life, and that lack of social skills is brought here online. A lot of people are simply not aware that the words they type may be rude or in bad taste. Some people may have grown up in a household in which sarcastic, brash, or farcical banter is acceptable. For some people, it's all they know. All things considered, it makes sense that there's a bit of a social/emotional disconnect when conducting in terms of rudeness. It's the assortment of various ages of maturity, cultural backgrounds, religions, genders, and everything else that needs to be factored into the equation that makes things complicated. What may be considered funny or lighthearted to some may be insulting to others.
There's also the issue of being in a place for so long that you start 'getting too comfortable'. You figuratively start kicking off your shoes, plopping your butt on the couch, and helping yourself to whatever's in the fridge. You get so used to your internet environment that it feels as though everyone's your friend, and as such, you start to 'loosen up a bit'. You start to assume that--since they're your friends--they'll understand or forgive you if you swear, say something overtly offensive, or do something obscene, because you assume that they know you mean no harm in doing so. I can't even begin to tell you how many times this has happened to me..when I've typed something I personally found silly and harmless, only to be reported or have one of my posts be deleted while I looked on in confusion, thinking "Me and members A and B have been friends for ages; they had to have known I'd never say anything to deliberately hurt their feelings."
But what can you do..? I am so reserved and introverted in the real world that I don't have much in the way of social experience to go on when conducting myself in cyberspace. All I have are these little 'social buzzwords' and 'no-nos' that I was taught growing up: things such as not making fun of people for their shortcomings or using universally offensive words--things that, to me, seem like common sense. Something new I've learned is not to assume that
everyone understands my fancy, rhetorical, sometimes-outlandish wording, and some might take it as too serious, pedantic,
and/or even rude. Besides that, I feel it's best not to put too much emphasis on worrying about who's feelings I hurt or how I look or 'sound' (figuratively) to others online anymore. Just so long as I have common courtesy, follow the rules, and use the
Rogerian approach in debating, all is right with the world.
To anyone reading this: Just try to keep in mind that just as there are rude people on the internet, there are also people who don't mean any harm and are just misunderstood.
You can say that 