What troubles me about our "tribe" (*An Opinion Post)

There's been some disagreement circulating amongst our little corner of the blogosphere regarding what I might term a general "intolerance".

It's been around for awhile, hell, for as long as there's been a hobby to criticize, there have been critics. I suppose it's our nature as humans; we just love to use our evolved brains like sledgehammers. But when the sources of cool, creative and wonderfully entertaining material, start taking up all their time arguing about minutiae and personal preference then I get a bit bummed out.

Who cares if I'm bummed out you say? Well, I'm a follower. I'm already "in", hook, line, and sinker. I read this stuff pretty religiously and have played the game(s) for over three decades, so for a person as passionate as me to get discouraged, it might be a sign that this stuff is headed in a self-destructive direction. Imagine a newbie stumbling upon this kind of thing?

I understand that the blog is a fantastic medium to "air it out" as it were. I get that...but maybe we ought to think about compartmentalizing this stuff a little more efficiently? If you want to wax philosophical and ruminate on days of yore then do so, but maybe under a "section" of your blog that is set aside for just this reason.

Now, some tools (blogging applications) don't allow this type of functionality. So how about labeling your posts appropriately? I'm going to start avoiding these long, strung out teeth gnashing sessions. There's enough vile shit going on in the real world for all of us, why add more tension and stress? This is, after all, a hobby. And weren't hobbies meant as an escape from those daily stresses we all experience from time to time?

Meh...One of the things that really bothers me is when people chime in with obvious derisive and destructive intent. If you're one of those folks who likes to make snide personal comments then do the world a favor; Write your virulent opinions down, hit "save" rather than "publish" and call it good. Or better yet, do it on your own turf and label it as such. Just warn the folks who read these things that they might possibly be stepping into a cesspool.

You know what really bothers me? The fact that people even take the time to deride others over their personal choices. I'm ALWAYS amazed and astounded at this type of behavior. It's like criticizing a type of music. You can certainly say that you don't prefer one type of music and it's understood. You don't need to get into some type of soap box diatribe about WHY you don't like it. It's going to be baseless.

Sure, you can state that in your personal opinion Rudolph Schenker has a way better voice than Rob Halford, and IMHO you'd be justified in doing so. But to say something as silly as Gregorian chants are dumb because they're "boring"...Is just plain ignorant. OK, fine, you don't like that style of music, but to try and pick it apart based on your personal tastes is just an exercise in futility. Don't waste your time on insulting people on their choices.

And PLEASE, don't waste ours.