Most people on this forum probably know their way around the internet. They have probably seen comment threads and forums from the net's seamier locales. So they would know that it gets a lot lot worse than this forum.
I totally understand where the OP is coming from. I hate the idea of some 18 year old coming on this forum and seeing himself getting unfairly bagged out by some ignorant insensitive nonce. But unfortunately that is what life is like if you are a celebrity. And these kids are celebrities. I know they are told on Day 1 at the club to NOT LOOK AT FORUMS. And they are told why that is the case. It's really not up to some rando supporter to watch what they say on the off-chance some kid will flagrantly disregard the advice they are given and be hurt by it.
I don't want to appear insensitive about footballer's mental health. Some of these players really are just kids. And it is no surprise that they can't avoid temptation to take a peek at what people are saying about them. But I can't emphasise enough that it is exactly the same for every kid on reality TV, or any pop star or anyone else in the public eye. And of course all these kids cop plenty of crap on Twitter and instagram anyway. It just goes with the territory, and is a sad fact of life. Nothing we do on this forum will change that reality. By the way, I think you might be surprised about how much more critical some of the players themselves are about their own performances than we are. (Of course other players are deluded and super arrogant though.)
Anyway - what I'm saying is that this is like any other part of the internet. I think the secret to being a decent human being on the internet is to remember that you are talking to an actual person and about actual people. And as long as you do that, I don't think there's any need for self-censorship. Some people will of course fail to do that - that's the internet. And that's when other people on the internet can pull them into line with criticism. I feel like that happens plenty on this board already.
Finally, because it seems no post in this thread can exist without discussing MD - I find him to be pretty good-humoured. And while he loses his nana sometimes, and does enjoy having the last word when talking about himself (like we all seem to enjoy when talking about him!) I think he is also capable of great self-awareness and good cheer. He's just a classic knockabout misanthropic blokey type. No problems there - the grandstands are filled with them. Let's face it, if he really was all that mean-spirited he would have been perma-banned long ago cause he loves to push his luck. If he's the worst problem we have on this forum we are wayyyy better off than most of the net.
I totally understand where the OP is coming from. I hate the idea of some 18 year old coming on this forum and seeing himself getting unfairly bagged out by some ignorant insensitive nonce. But unfortunately that is what life is like if you are a celebrity. And these kids are celebrities. I know they are told on Day 1 at the club to NOT LOOK AT FORUMS. And they are told why that is the case. It's really not up to some rando supporter to watch what they say on the off-chance some kid will flagrantly disregard the advice they are given and be hurt by it.
I don't want to appear insensitive about footballer's mental health. Some of these players really are just kids. And it is no surprise that they can't avoid temptation to take a peek at what people are saying about them. But I can't emphasise enough that it is exactly the same for every kid on reality TV, or any pop star or anyone else in the public eye. And of course all these kids cop plenty of crap on Twitter and instagram anyway. It just goes with the territory, and is a sad fact of life. Nothing we do on this forum will change that reality. By the way, I think you might be surprised about how much more critical some of the players themselves are about their own performances than we are. (Of course other players are deluded and super arrogant though.)
Anyway - what I'm saying is that this is like any other part of the internet. I think the secret to being a decent human being on the internet is to remember that you are talking to an actual person and about actual people. And as long as you do that, I don't think there's any need for self-censorship. Some people will of course fail to do that - that's the internet. And that's when other people on the internet can pull them into line with criticism. I feel like that happens plenty on this board already.
Finally, because it seems no post in this thread can exist without discussing MD - I find him to be pretty good-humoured. And while he loses his nana sometimes, and does enjoy having the last word when talking about himself (like we all seem to enjoy when talking about him!) I think he is also capable of great self-awareness and good cheer. He's just a classic knockabout misanthropic blokey type. No problems there - the grandstands are filled with them. Let's face it, if he really was all that mean-spirited he would have been perma-banned long ago cause he loves to push his luck. If he's the worst problem we have on this forum we are wayyyy better off than most of the net.
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