Sign of the times we live in?

[Arkless Electronics]

That I find quite concerning. While I'm all for moderating rude, uncivilized behaviour and controlling the ad hominem patterns, banning someone for politely providing counter arguments is where we enter the slippery slope. The next thing on the horizon is totalitarianism where the biggest original sin is pointing out that the Emperor hasn't got any clothes on.

And we all know how that thing ends...

Believe me I nearly wore out the emperors new clothes analogy! No doubt a mod will be along shortly to point out that in the heat of the argument I did, in their opinion, become rude etc, and there is some truth to this... try staying calm when people with no knowledge of a technical subject in which you yourself have over 40 years professional experience start saying that what they believe they heard over rules all your professional experience, every text book on the subject of electronic engineering and even the actual laws of physics! Oh yes we've been there.... I believe the argument goes something like this: Fred says he put a magic fuse in his amp and it made a real improvement to the sound. I point out that it is literally impossible and therefore he must have imagined it due to placebo effect or expectation bias. Fred says he's certain he heard it. I repeat that it is impossible and would contravene the laws of physics and therefore the only explanation is placebo effect etc. Fred repeats that he heard it. I say even more forcefully that it is impossible. Mod comes along and accuses me of being out of order for calling Fred either "a liar or someone easily fooled/taken in" and says that if Fred says he heard it then he heard it.... even if it breaks the laws of physics(!!) and I get told to shut up or I'll be banned for a week.... Result? Fred's opinion that he heard the impossible is very much allowed to win, even against the laws of physics, rather than have Fred take any possible offence from being told by a professional in the subject that he is wrong....

All this is before you even joined the site Alex so I have to hope that I'm not in the "naughty boys seat" for merely explaining in such detail what went on and why I'll never be happy about the situation..... So these days I see the impossible claimed on a nearly daily basis and I just let them get on with it.... To return to the original post, it is considered preferable on this very site that the impossible be offered as the truth than that any perceived offence may be caused by challenging this...

[walpurgis]

40 yards from my front door!! Cars blocking the footway and piles of dumped crap, courtesy of nearby residents. Lovely.

[Arkless Electronics]

Seems to be the same most places these days Jez... one thing i found years ago is apart from rush hour ( no one would want to travel on the tube at that time), most people on the tube around central London are tourists. Prices , yes central expensive, go out a wee bit can be very cheap. Rudeness, unfortunately most places have rude people North and South UK, same with concern for others. A short while back in Taunton Somerset, there was a tramp/wino semi conscious bleeding head lying half on pavement half on road, with people not helping him , but filming him on their phones. I asked if an ambulance was called no said a thing, but when i lent down to help him, the vibe and insults i had was outrageous.
Years ago an American friend said to me how dirty London was , rubbish all over. I pointed out there were no bins, due to IRA bombs etc, but still no excuse to litter.

It may well be a capital city thing... I've experienced a much diluted version of it in Manchester and Birmingham but nowhere near as bad as London and in Newcastle it's completely different.

[struth]

possible truth.

[magiccarpetride]

Seems to be the same most places these days Jez... one thing i found years ago is apart from rush hour ( no one would want to travel on the tube at that time), most people on the tube around central London are tourists. Prices , yes central expensive, go out a wee bit can be very cheap. Rudeness, unfortunately most places have rude people North and South UK, same with concern for others. A short while back in Taunton Somerset, there was a tramp/wino semi conscious bleeding head lying half on pavement half on road, with people not helping him , but filming him on their phones. I asked if an ambulance was called no said a thing, but when i lent down to help him, the vibe and insults i had was outrageous.
Years ago an American friend said to me how dirty London was , rubbish all over. I pointed out there were no bins, due to IRA bombs etc, but still no excuse to litter.

You want to experience filth and homelessness and lack of concern for fellow citizens, come to Vancouver. London felt squeaky clean to me after I landed directly from Vancouver. London has probably 10 times more inhabitants than Vancouver, yet it has at least hundred times less homeless and junkies lying unconscious on the sidewalks and shitting and pissing all over the city.

I did not see any disrepair while buzzing around London. In Vancouver, once something stops working (for example, an escalator in a busy subway station), it remains in disrepair for months on end.

Huge difference, at least to me.

[magiccarpetride]

Believe me I nearly wore out the emperors new clothes analogy! No doubt a mod will be along shortly to point out that in the heat of the argument I did, in their opinion, become rude etc, and there is some truth to this... try staying calm when people with no knowledge of a technical subject in which you yourself have over 40 years professional experience start saying that what they believe they heard over rules all your professional experience, every text book on the subject of electronic engineering and even the actual laws of physics! Oh yes we've been there.... I believe the argument goes something like this: Fred says he put a magic fuse in his amp and it made a real improvement to the sound. I point out that it is literally impossible and therefore he must have imagined it due to placebo effect or expectation bias. Fred says he's certain he heard it. I repeat that it is impossible and would contravene the laws of physics and therefore the only explanation is placebo effect etc. Fred repeats that he heard it. I say even more forcefully that it is impossible. Mod comes along and accuses me of being out of order for calling Fred either "a liar or someone easily fooled/taken in" and says that if Fred says he heard it then he heard it.... even if it breaks the laws of physics(!!) and I get told to shut up or I'll be banned for a week.... Result? Fred's opinion that he heard the impossible is very much allowed to win, even against the laws of physics, rather than have Fred take any possible offence from being told by a professional in the subject that he is wrong....

All this is before you even joined the site Alex so I have to hope that I'm not in the "naughty boys seat" for merely explaining in such detail what went on and why I'll never be happy about the situation..... So these days I see the impossible claimed on a nearly daily basis and I just let them get on with it.... To return to the original post, it is considered preferable on this very site that the impossible be offered as the truth than that any perceived offence may be caused by challenging this...

Moral of the story: let people be

[Firebottle]

.... Result? Fred's opinion that he heard the impossible is very much allowed to win, even against the laws of physics, ...

The problem as I see it with scenarios like this, with items that the general listening public can change themselves like fuses, interconnects or mains leads, is that a physical contact is always involved.

Who can say what change in contact resistance or cleaning effect is encountered just through the change of said item?

[Marco]

On this very forum I have been forced to agree not to tell the truth about mains cables and "hi fi fuses" etc ie I'm not to join threads on the subject and pour cold water on the idea that they can even possibly have any effect....

Erm, Jez, that's not quite true. You're perfectly free to "tell the truth" about mains cables and fuses, and outline the facts as you see them, for others to *consider*. What you're not allowed to do (as indeed no-one is) is to dismiss someone else's 'truth' as bollocks, simply because it doesn't fit with yours.

There is a difference!

On AoS, it's all about showing tolerance and respect for other people's opinions and experiences, even if they're contrary to what you consider as 'correct' - and if you can't do that and become frustrated and angry, then you simply ignore the person expressing the 'offending' opinions, in order not to become embroiled in a pointless circular argument. It's that simple.

What you don't do is browbeat them into believing what you believe, no matter how right you think you are. That's what you were doing before and have been asked to stop, which is why you were also asked not to contribute to certain subjective discussions, as you weren't able to control yourself from sometimes being downright rude.

Quite simply, you say what you have to say, but *ultimately* let people believe what they want to believe.

For us to allow otherwise, as you know full well, simply causes all sorts of aggro, because again as you also know, you'll *never* change someone's ingrained opinions on a forum, and it's not you who has to manage the fallouts and all the pish caused by these sorts of arguments!

Marco.

[Marco]

Alex, glad you enjoyed London - thought you would!

Like most of the world's leading cities, it's a great place to visit for a tourist, but not such a great place to live, unless you're loaded, or can handle the crowds and stress of the type of lifestyle that exists...

Marco.

[magiccarpetride]

Alex, glad you enjoyed London - thought you would!

Like most of the world's leading cities, it's a great place to visit for a tourist, but not such a great place to live, unless you're loaded, or can handle the crowds and stress of the type of lifestyle that exists...

Marco.

Yes, it's like with any other environment, Marco. It's not only what the place offers to you, it's also what you expect from the place. For example, Americans visiting Paris expect free refills, and leave disenchanted upon learning that such commodity is unheard of in France. Meanwhile, they often fail to appreciate other marvellous commodities that the city offers.

I feel London is the same -- certain people bring certain expectations when visiting/living there, and then get disenchanted when the expectations are not met.

There is another factor at play -- the well documented ingrained animosity between the big city and the countryside. Big cities attract all attention, and young people from the countryside gravitate toward biggest cities in their country. They go there to gain education, and then stay for the career choices. That leaves countryside towns and villages gutted. No wonder there is a huge resentment toward big cities. The same pattern exists in other countries and other continents (the same situation exists here in Canada too).

Add to that the lavish attention the establishment is bestowing toward migrants and refugees, and the cauldron of dissent and unrest gets sealed. It's a big problem everywhere now that we became a global village.

[/end-of-rant]