My Personal Guidelines to the Internet

So, a few things of note:


1. If it's posted on someone's wall, it doesn't mean it's true. Do some fact checking and research before sharing or reposting someone's chain letter. Remember, just because it says, "if u don shar dis n 5 minuts, ur neighborz dog will xplode" doesn't mean your neighbor's dog explode because of that (there are many other reasons this could happen, though)

2. People have different opinions about things. I know it sounds crazy, but we don't have a hive mind. Weird, huh? People actually have differing opinions about how the world works and not everyone is going to agree with you. It might be a hard concept to wrap your head around, but you can do it. Just remember the phrase, "agree to disagree."

3. Argue the point, not the person. Sure, if someone starts screaming at you online (it can be done) your knee jerk reaction is to spout off a string of obscenities at them, but you're better than this. Be polite and be courteous. Insulting the person who disagrees with you doesn't help your argument. If anything, it helps their's. It makes your side look unthinking and unreasonable, unable to find a way to debate what they are saying. Lashing out will only cause more trouble.

4. They might not be serious, they could be trolling. The internet is filled with trolls. All they want is to get a raise out of you, make you mad (bro). It's how they entertain themselves. Don't let what they say get to you and don't take it too seriously or personally. You must let their words flow over you, like water. Otherwise, you will go insane (just saying).

5. Science is a thing. I'm surprised at the number of Luddites I've seen online. Seriously, you guys need to have your internal hypocrisy and irony meters checked if you're going to complain about technology WHILE ON THE INTERNET! (see, I told you there was a way to scream online).


Anyway, I hope this clears some stuff up. Thank you for your time.