Solving other peoples problems/percieved problems

[Hamish]

I am struck by the fact that certian posts recieve a huge number of emotive ans. than other. This is especially in the case of personal difficuties or religious discussion. Anyone want to comment?

[lilyfrog]

I think when you are asking for an opinion rather than a straight factual answer you will tend to get many emotive answers, especially from those of us who never seem to know the answers to any factual questions. The you always get some one who dissagrees in a rather impolite manner, and that just gets people all fired up, perfect fodder for an over sesitive debate

[lilyfrog]

My question would be, do the people who postthese questions on relationships or religeon really think they will find the answers they are looking for on AB!

[jno]

relationship questions don't get that many answers. Religious and Harry Potter ones do, though they're often the same answer over and over.

[andy hughes]

It's a simple fact about human nature that it's often easier to talk to a complete stranger about a problem - someone who has no preconceived opinions about you, and no axe to grind - than it is to your friends or family. It is on this simple premise that The Samaritans was founded.

With the advent of sites like this, you can run a prob lem past a wide selection of people and hopefully get a well-thought-out answer - possibly from someone's personal experience, but at the very least, you get to set your ideas down which can help you to sort out your thoughts.

I will always chuck my 10p in - I'm that kind of person - and I was a Samaritan for three years as well!

[Hamish]

I was wondering if there was perhaps an element of transferance - ie solving other peoples problems in lui of solving our own....?

[jno]

oh definitely - I imagine if I posted my own problems here, andy hughes would kill himself in despair that any fellow human could be so unfortunate.

[spk]

Dont be mean to andy hughes I think hes lovely

[mimififi]

I think the simple answer is that people are interested in people.  whether out of nosiness or a genuine desire to help.

Also, you notice that on these particular subjects, the "usual suspects" turn up, to quote one "usual suspect".  In this way, even our virtual selves begin to forge almost relationships with the i.d's that we debate with on a regular basis.  I'm sure that even on this world wide database, the human pyshe has managed to forge cliques into which they will post.

For example, the people with the same kind of interests will be attracted by similar questions, thus when they read the post and see that someone that they have debated with before on a previous post has posted, they will view this almost as an invitation, their posts will become braver and the debate will become more heated and more personal with some people supporting others and vice versa, the debate then ceases to be annonymous and becomes personal.

This happens on similar questions because the people who are of a vocal nature post and so it becomes self perpetuating situation.

Such is the wonderousness and strength of the human pysche that we form coaltions even in a virtual setting.  This is made easier of course by the fact that our i'd are all individual; we don't think, oh Peter, I wonder if that is the peter I spoke to the other day.  If the ID is peter then it will be the same as there will be no duplicate id.  TYpically also our id's are often very memorable words too.

[Hamish]

I hadent considered the perviously percived personality issue, interesting point. Personally I rarely look at who is posting.

[mimififi]

well, it's evident even in the post before my one. I'm assuming that SPK and Andy Hughes have never actually met other than in this forum (of course, they may well know each other irl aswell) and yet spk posts "I think he's lovely!" which is a really nice thing to say but is evidence of a colation that has been forged purely through what we give of ourselves in our writing.

[mimififi]

and incidentally, I've 'met' Andy Hughes on numerous posts, and I think he's lovely too!