Quote:
Originally Posted by Summerville
I wasn't planning to contribute to this string, as it had moved down the line.
But I'd like to mention that I do regret getting worked up over the banter and posts. My apologies to OldDartmouthMark for dragging you into this.
But I find contributing to this Forum exhausting as well, when some views tend to be more to an extreme and remain unwilling to consider alternate views.
I should mention that I do actually agree that Halifax is not ready to close down streets for cyclists or pedestrians as has happened in New York for example. We don't have a crowded subway where a trip to work could be a death sentence. Cycling in the city is pretty good right now considering that most cars remain in the driveway.
But the tone of this string from the beginning pushed me away from saying anything on point. I don't want to be the extremist on this Forum.
I will try to remain a reader at this point as I would rather keep my blood pressure lower.
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Hey, no need to apologize to me, but I appreciate your sentiment. I was legitimately part of the problem.
Your comments were a good heads-up that at least some of us need to think a bit more before we post. It's easy on a forum to just type whatever is in your head at the moment, right or wrong, but at least for me it's easy to forget sometimes that real people are on the other side reading what we post. So what we sometimes think is just some generic abstraction that we are throwing out there, it can have an actual effect on people reading it.
I know I can say that I have personally become a little upset or stressed out over some things that I've read or some exchanges that I've had. Often I didn't realize it at the time, but later on I found myself thinking about it and having some level of emotional response to the posts. During these times, I have often considered leaving the board entirely, or just pulling back and limiting my participation. I would ask myself: "I am just doing this for fun, but this is not fun. Why am I doing this?".
Time and time again I continue to come back and participate, mainly due to the fact that there are good people here who continue to post good and interesting information. And sometimes I feel the need to contribute something that I think others may find interesting. I do feel the connection to other members, and always try to remember that I'm talking to real people who I feel typically have good reasons to feel the way they do, even if it's different from me.
So, my focus will be to try to contribute to the conversation, which isn't necessarily agreeing to everything posted, but to respond respectfully and intelligently. I don't hold any illusions of being perfect, as I'm sure I will slip into being 'human' from time to time, but I feel if we all try a little harder we can elevate the level of conversation to being one where people enjoy coming here, without any of the attached stress (or at least minimize the stress... lol).
Honestly, none of this is worth affecting your feelings of health and well-being over. I hope we can all try to improve things here.