UKH

I see so much hate and anger in the world. Right versus left, unbalanced people going on shooting rampages in places of worship, entertainment and education, stabbings, people berating others, sick people posting vile videos(NZ mosque shooting) on social media. And so it goes on. Even on these pages there are those who resort to despicable diatribes against others. And why? Just because we all(rightly) are entitled to different views be it religion, politics or Brexit. What we should not be doing is translating those differences into acts or words of violence.

Whatever ones views are on such matters why can we not accept that others are entitled to opposing views as long as they do not breed violence and anger.

By far the worst forum I'm a member off, none of the others are anywhere near the level of nastiness this place can be sometimes.

There's a bit of rough and tumble on here sometimes but I think real nastiness is very rare. Most of the toxic characters have either been banned or drifted off elsewhere.

What other forums do you use?

I am bound to agree. The sad thing is that this forum is supposed to be about activities which should surely foster friendship, indulging as we do in pastimes in which we are supposed to have common interest, be they walking, climbing, canoeing or a host of other healthy type activities.

Yes, we can have opposite views but that is no excuse for what appears on these pages at times.

I have see what could be construed as a lot worse than rough and tumble. The so called debate about leaving the EU being an example

Maybe because extremist minorities throughout modern history had views that are angry and violent. Law, policing, intelligence and civil society protects the majority from this small minority who could otherwise cause mayhem.

One major modern problem is a bizzarre attitude amongst some that its OK to say or show anything on social media, with the obvious posibilities of exploitation by these dangerous extremists. Regulation of social media is way behind that of broadcasters or newspapers. We urgently need to make Aps more liable for obvious echo chamber extremist content linked to legally proscibed groups.

There's  a certain irony with what you've written above and therefore indulging yourself in a post that moans about all the ills of the world and how nasty people are on UKC. Personally I think most people on UKC are pretty reasonable and are not hate filled on these forums and the levels of helpful contribution can be extraordinary at times. 

You can’t get out much then

imdb had to close their forums entirely because of the extent of the toxicity on them

even the beeb’s have your say sections are more robust than this place when it comes to Brexit.

real nastiness (or probable foreign government backed social media trolling) like ‘John Yates’ doesn’t last long before its moderated. 

I think this place gets it pretty much right (except on one notable area)

And like I said the main toxic character behind that has now been banned. He was also pretty effectively policed by other forum users who for the most part engaged civilly and didn't stoop to his level.

I've used forums that are much 'nicer' than UKC but that tends to be because they just don't allow political posts and delete anything remotely controversial. In part I come on here to challenge and be challenged and I think that's really healthy.

Was John Yates really so rude? Despite being a lefty remainer, I think lefties and remainers are usually ruder in political discussions on this site. Right wing brexiters are every bit as intransigent and deaf to other ideas though. 

There is a distinction between a semi-closed forum like UKC and open forums like IMDb, you tube, newspaper comments etc. Let alon 4chan reddit etc. 

UKC is head and shoulders ahead of these barely restricted sites. I think the quality of debate and politeness is usually acceptable. But it is probably far more unpleasant than the ruddington over 60s knitting club forum. 

Re ‘John Yates’- the veneer of civility came off towards the end. 

No doubt that remainers outnumber Brexiters here, both can be pointed in their comments at times but overall as far as this sort of discussion goes on social media it’s remarkably civil most of the time...

Was he the guy who used to write for Yorkshire Post and had done one article for UKC? I must have been off climbing when all the excitement happened! He was brusque and very sure of his opinions, which was very different too many of the opinions expressed here, but obviously something happened that I'm completely unaware of! 

Posters come and go though, you'll get someone who gets really stuck in two arguments for a period of time and then just disappears. I realised the other day that this autumn it will be 20 years since I first found UKC! So I've seen that cycle lots as I guess you have as well.

While it is easy to lose hope with the world at times like this, it's important to remember the old adage "if it bleeds it leads". Positive news stories just don't sell, so you only hear about the horror, and a few hate-filled bigots can appear to dominate a pleasant forum. There are many things to be hopeful and positive about. I suggest you read Steven Pinker's "The better angels of our nature" to boost your optimism of where the human race is going. The evidence does seem to show that hate is declining.

I agree. I think UKC is very well balanced. I've been ripped into a few times, sometimes without justification, but mostly because I'd posted something dumb, which will get you shot down pretty quick round here - but I think that's a good thing. 

Back when I rode motorbikes I used to go on various bike forums. Even the best of them were dumber and nastier than UKC. On one forum I reckoned that any thread with over 20 replies would have a sexist, racist or homophobic comment in there. It was incessant.

I think things can get a bit silly on here, but actually there are some lovely people and they have been known to pull together when needed.  I'm not the only one who has posted on here at a low point in life and been cared for by people I've never met.  Those I have met in person from here have generally been great.  

Me also!

Nobody is perfect and much nuance is lost without face to face communication. I get wrapped up in emotion sometimes and rightly shot down for it. It's a useful and necessary way of shaping your argument and how you phrase it.

Ultimately we're all climbers on here and I've always maintained that you could probably pick any active UKC participant and have a great day at the crag with them....and an enjoyable few pints after.