Hey everyone, I’ve got to get something off my chest about this thread as its a great example of what not to do. I read through the whole damn thing, and honestly, it was exhausting. It was obvious by like the third post that no one was going to convince anyone else, yet it ballooned into a 100-post slugfest. Why does it take so long to just agree to disagree and move on? I’m not here to attack anyone… I’m really not… but I think we need to talk about this, because it’s bigger than just one person or one thread.
What I’m seeing on this forum, especially in the last few years, is that the following three things happen in most threads where people have very different views, and they want to go a different direction than is bog standard.
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The Argument Went Nowhere Fast
Three posts in, it was clear: no one was budging. But instead of calling it a day, the debate dragged on, piling up dozens of repetitive posts. It didn’t make anyone’s point stronger… it just made the thread a chore to sift through. If we can see early on that we’re not going to agree, why not just say, “Cool, we see it differentll, And here are some suggestions to help you achieve what you want to do." Wasting energy on a stalemate doesn’t help anyone. If you can’t see that that’s exactly what occurred in this thread, then you need to reread it and see just how exhausting it is to read from someone who wasn’t involved in it and just stumbled upon it. -
The Original Question Got Buried
Let’s go back to the top of that thread. The OP asked: “Hey, I found these HDD SKUs… are these products likely to stick around a bit?” That’s it. It was a straightforward question about availability, not a cry for help choosing between HDDs and SSDs. To me, it reads like someone saying, “I want to keep buying these HDDs… will they be around?” Nowhere did they say, “Please convince me to switch to SSDs.” Yet somehow, that’s where the thread went, and the actual question got drowned out in the noise. We owe it to each other to stick to what’s being asked instead of hijacking posts with our own agendas. -
This Shit Drives People Away
You ever wonder why participation around here is so low? Stuff like this is why. It’s continuously talked about by long-term members and by people who sometimes sit in the lounge and by people on the discord and so on and so forth that this is what happens when they ask a simple question on this forum. When someone asks a simple question and gets hit with a wall of arguing… especially about something they didn’t even ask… it’s intimidating as hell For new people, and it’s certainly just so annoying to the point where the older people are apathetic and don’t really participate as much. Who wants to post when they’re worried their thread will turn into a battleground? New folks might see that and think, “Nah, I’ll figure it out somewhere else.” And honestly, can you blame them? We’re pushing people out by turning discussions into pissing contests over who’s right. And you can dismiss this as, well, this is the internet, you should be used to that. And I say sure, I am used to it. But just because the internet is shittier, doesn’t mean we need to make it shittier in our place we hang out and call home… That just doesn’t make sense. That’s shitting where you eat.
I’m not defending the OP or taking sides on HDDs versus SSDs… I don’t give a damn about that. My point is, if someone’s set on using HDDs and believes in them, who the hell cares? Let them do their thing. Our job isn’t to force our opinions down their throat; it’s to help them find what they need. If they’re asking about dual actuator HDDs, give them options, not a lecture. Answer the question that’s there, not the one you wish they’d asked. I’m not saying dont participate as much as you want to your hearts content either. Or that you can’t bring up a better suggestion, but it is pretty abundantly clear after a couple posts and replies that, hey, that’s not the direction someone wants to go, then reevaluate your response and help them. That’s what we’re here to do on this forum.