Those are legitimate concerns.
The question, though, is whether you should let another poster's issues or limitations control your posting behaviors. That, IMO, makes it a somewhat different question.
One can ask two very distinct questions.
One, what responsibility if any do people who enjoy the repartee have to moderate their posting when they come across posters who can't handle it at their level?
Two, what responsibility if any do people who can't handle the repartee have to avoid the environment where they might get hurt?
It's an issue that permeates many areas of society. If I join a poker game at a casino, and one player is noticeably weaker than the other players, do I have an obligation to play around him and not take advantage, or do I have the right to figure if he wants to be in the game he's fair game and play my hardest? And if he does lose all his money, and more than he could afford to lose, whose fault is it?
If I join a pick-up basketball game and find that I'm outclassed, do I have an obligation to leave the game to avoid getting hurt, or do the other players have an obligation to temper their games to my level? And if I do get hurt, whose fault is it?
These issues don't have easy answers.
And there are many people who resent that the questions are even asked. |
