The World According to Jet - II · 4:59am Apr 30th, 2014
Let's talk about the internet for a moment, shall we?
When you're on the internet, you've got time. That's the beauty of it. You can sit, you can consider, you can think about what you're going to do before you do it. It's magnificent.
So why the fuck do so many people like to pretend that they can speak too quickly on the internet!?
I see it constantly. Revisionist history blogging or commenting, where you go back and delete your comment after the fact because you've embarrassed yourself. If you didn't stand by that statement in the first place, why did you make it?
You aren't on a deadline. You're not standing in front of a person, moving your mouth like an idiot while they glare at you waiting for your response. If it takes you ten minutes, fifteen minutes, an hour, to reply... Who gives a damn? You've got the time.
I rarely make a statement on the internet that I'm not willing to stand behind. If I ever do, it's because I made a thinking error, or because I learned something new that changed my opinion... And then, if I edit my comment, I leave my old statement in place. I said that stupid thing. I deserve to take lumps for it. I usually do a strikethrough and then put my new comment under it. That way people know that I've revised my statement, but they can read the old one.
So yeah. It's the internet. Stop. Shut the fuck up. Think about what you're going to do before you do it. Then stand by it.
If you screw it up? Deal with it. Take your lumps. Look like an idiot. Don't hide from it. It is what it is.
Like I said last time, I might be an asshole... But I'm not that asshole.
This.
So much this.
~Skeeter The Lurker
... You're trying to destroy the universe with good advice, aren't you?
2063153 I figure the worst that can happen is everyone ignores me and nothing changes.
2063150 Thought you'd appreciate that.
Uh, that is, it totally doesn't make me want to stab anybody. Let there be no more talk of stabbings.
2063194 *eyes the deleted comment*
I'm pretty disappoint there, son.
Eat a dick!4.bp.blogspot.com/-5vMdNj-CBKg/UC3bNqAv9oI/AAAAAAAAD9M/JSddyyZb-Qg/s1600/a_puzzled_twilight_sparkle_by_sketchinetch-d5bhna0.png
I have only ever deleted a comment I made twice. (To my memory anymore.) In both cases, it was the result a joke that ended up being more off-color than I had meant, and I deleted it in an attempt at being respectful. (In the case of the second, off-color might be a bit harsh, and Mr. Numbers actually told me to leave it, because he thought it was funny. Unfortunately I had already blasted it.) In general though, I don't delete comments, and if I want to make a change, I just add it to the comment, prefacing the new bits with [EDIT:]. Thing is, I tend to process anything I say/type the same way. I don't know if it's a personal psychological quirk or if it's common, but I always treat any conversation as if I was actually talking in person. At most, for forum comments and such, I will try to proofread.
This is also why I tend to "wall of text" everything.
I like you. Somewhat.
2068112 ... ?
Oh my god. You speak the words that live in my heart. If you said something, stand by it. The only time I ever edit anything I put on the internet is if it's to fix a typo or grammar fuck up. It's all about integrity man. Integrity!
The trouble with this, though, is that you can wait around too long: forgetting what you were going to say or even to respond, or the other person/people loosing track of the thread of thought or moving on to do other things. (Don't get me wrong, I love that ability to drop in on an old conversation with new stuff, just it's a two-edged sword.)
I agree with what you mean, though. Let your fuckups stand, note that you know you fucked up and what you learned if you feel you must, and move on. Nobody's perfect.