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Anti-Atarians Suck! |
One of my favorite things to do (besides playing my
Atari games) is checking out the Internet web boards such as Jaguar Interactive
II. It's
a great place where people trade games, reveal
game secrets & tips, and generally keep other Jaguar fans informed.
Sometimes non-dedicated Atari people join in and debate the pros and cons of owning an Atari system. Often, they are objective owners of several systems who offer unique perspectives on the Atari scene. These people are entitled to their opinions and I welcome it as a way to keep us all objective.
While I enjoy debating serious people, I absolutely can't stand some who live to antagonize Atarians. They post such intelligent messages like "Atari SUX!" or "Nintendo RULZ!" hoping we'll lash out and start a flame war. And more often than not, they get exactly what they're looking for. As an example, let me tell you of the moron who tried to impersonate my friend, Wes Powell on Toad Computers' JagTalk. He made a valiant effort to try to convince us that he (as Wes) was giving up on the Jaguar. Well too many of us know for a fact that Wes is a total Jaguar nut, and would never do such a thing.
Besides this heinous act, the person had nothing better to contribute to the conversation than "I HATE ATARI" and "BUY A REAL GAME SYSTEM." As one would expect, people flamed him, but it didn't do much good.
In another similar instance, someone tried to impersonate Brett Daly on his Jaguar chat page. (We think it may have been this same person.) After calling him names for a few posts, we completely ignored him. This got him quite angry and tried to flood the page with the same message. It didn't do him any good, and he left shortly thereafter.
What motivates people to do such things? Don't they have anything better to do than antagonize us Atarians? Why can't they play their games and leave us alone? Don't they have a life?
It obvious these people are desperate for attention and will try to get it any way possible. If you had a little brother or sister who was (or is) constant pest, you know what I mean. They are happy with any type of attention, even if it is negative. They just want someone to talk to, but they don't know how to get it.
What's the best way to deal with these people? Well, you could always send them an e-mail bomb. But most often, these people don't have the courage to give their e-mail address at all. So, the only other best thing you can do is totally ignore them. Even acknowledging their existence would be asking for trouble. Once they get you hooked, they are virtually impossible to get rid of. Simply telling them to "Get lost!" does absolutely nothing. You're just wasting your time.
I know how hard it is to ignore those messages. I want to smack those idiots verbally myself. But you have to remember: These people are not stating a valid opinions. They're only trying to stir things up. Don't give them the satisfaction.
What can you do if someone answers them and opens Pandora's Box? It might be worthwhile to send that person a private e-mail asking them to not give the antagonizer what he wants. Politely ask them to "shut up" and the bad guy might go away.
However, there are times when it's gotten so bad there's not much you can do. Except fight fire with fire. Find out what their weakness is, and exploit it. If they love Nintendo, bash Nintendo mercilessly. Use some of their exact quotes back on them. If they impersonate you, impersonate them back. Be as immature towards them as they are to you.
It's a shame there are a few twits on the 'net who
don't take pleasure in playing games. They'd rather pester
the people who do! But if you can hold your tongue, these
morons will lose interest and move on to less intelligent
chat areas.