Keyboard Warrior

[MatsuShinshii]

Just thought to throw this one out your way for this discussion.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Keyboard%20Warrior

That definition never ever once crossed my mind! A Keyboard Warrior, by your provided link, would be stopped very quickly here at KF!! Having said that, Is this type of Keyboard Warrior on MA forums nowadays on a normal basis??

I've had the misfortune of falling victim to a KW as described, years ago on another forum.

He made my life hell; this is no exaggeration to say so.

An unsuspecting person just doesn't know how sick and crazy, some people are on the internet.

This site "Karateforums.com" however is regaining my trust for forums and is the only one I belong to.

Apart from a Wing Chun site I signed up to and right away when had finished with giving them my details, there was an attempted hack on my e-mail address.

Alan,

You can not control the occasional angry person trying to discredit others, other than to report them and have them removed. It's hard to ignore when someone blatantly attacks you, your art or what you believe in. I fell into the trap a while back with a particular member (will not mention name but haven't seen them post since) and forgot the most important part of being a MA'ist which is humility and to be the bigger person. I actually turned around and attacked what I perceived as ignorance and turned out being a worse offender. It's tough to do. I think of myself as fairly level headed and not quick to fight but sometimes you meet that one person that pushes all the right buttons. From experience it's better to report the incident to the moderators than to get into a war of words because you always come out looking worse when you go personal.

The nice thing is, when you do cross the line or forget proper etiquette, there are others here to get you back on tracked. Believe me I know. (thanks moderators! What you do is appreciated!)

There is nothing wrong with differing points of view and lively debate because it helps us see other perspectives and learn and grow, but when it gets personal that's where the line needs to be drawn. I think KF does a really good job of maintaining a civil atmosphere.

[MatsuShinshii]

To me a keyboard warrior is someone who will say something online, via text message etc that they wouldn't say in person. It can be someone acting tough, or opinionated or just obnoxious.

YouTube is full of keyboard warriors. Hate the place.

I guess that's one way to describe it but I would call them cowards. Hiding behind a user name and the internet to call out others or to bad mouth others, knowing that you are in no danger other than via words on a screen is pure cowardice.

[Alan Armstrong]

Mostly due to my bad experience with a keyboard warrior, is the reason why I don't show which styles that I have experience in, as they will use every bit of information about you to drag you down.

A keyboard warrior will befriend you, so as to lower your guard, then when the time is right for them to strike with lies, innuendos, pulling in and using other people in to their warped scheme of causing pain to others.

The keyboard Warrior is looking for attention at the expense of hurting anyone, including themselves, a killjoy personality, creating conflict and havoc for as many people as possible, due to their hatred for everyone, including themselves.

A keyboard Warrior is a very miserable person who finds some satisfaction in making others feel as bad as, or worse than they feel.

The best weapon against Keyboard Warriors, is to ignore them %100; as the silence will cause them to self destruct, in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

As the Keyboard Warrior feeds on negative reactions of others, they are a type of emotional vampire, that cannot get enough emotional reactions to satisfy them, such as sympathy or punishment, it doesn't matter, as they are attention addicts.

As martial artist I believe we have a fair fighting chance physically but are we just as prepared emotionally or physiologically against Keyboard Warrior attacks?

[MatsuShinshii]

Mostly due to my bad experience with a keyboard warrior, is the reason why I don't show which styles that I have experience in, as they will use every bit of information about you to drag you down.

A keyboard warrior will befriend you, so as to lower your guard, then when the time is right for them to strike with lies, innuendos, pulling in and using other people in to their warped scheme of causing pain to others.

The keyboard Warrior is looking for attention at the expense of hurting anyone, including themselves, a killjoy personality, creating conflict and havoc for as many people as possible, due to their hatred for everyone, including themselves.

A keyboard Warrior is a very miserable person who finds some satisfaction in making others feel as bad as, or worse than they feel.

The best weapon against Keyboard Warriors, is to ignore them %100; as the silence will cause them to self destruct, in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

As the Keyboard Warrior feeds on negative reactions of others, they are a type of emotional vampire, that cannot get enough emotional reactions to satisfy them, such as sympathy or punishment, it doesn't matter, as they are attention addicts.

As martial artist I believe we have a fair fighting chance physically but are we just as prepared emotionally or physiologically against Keyboard Warrior attacks?

Alan,

I understand you're view points. I guess I would talk to you as a martial artist and say that if you have years of experience (I know you have experience in Chinese arts as you have refered to them) in the arts that you have studied, then others here will pick up on that no matter how someone would portray you.

Essentially you are allowing someone else to defeat you before you begin. This in terms of martial arts doesn't make sense. If someone here attacks you for personal reasons, believe me, the moderators will remove their posts. As I have already said, shamefully I allowed one person to get the better of me and I lashed out in frustration. However I had the power to shut them up all along by not playing the game and getting into an argument in the first place. I was goaded in by my belief that they did not understand and I attempted to enlighten them by explaining. In the end they didn't care and had their own agenda. I could have ended it there as soon as I realized this and just not posted again or contacted the moderator.

You should not feel as though you need to hide what you have studied. On the contrary, if you earned the knowledge you have, you should openly share it with others. After all that is what we are all here for, to learn. No matter how many years any of us have or what grade we have achieved we will never know everything and will always have something to learn. We never stop learning thus the phase, always have a beginners mind.

If you look at other members arts you will find a pretty large assortment of arts. As a martial artist, ranked or not, instructor or not, you should be proud of what you have achieved. It matters little what some random person that you don't know says about you or your art. You should read each post with the intent of learning or taking something away from it but in the end nothing that anyone says dictates that you take it at face value or take it as the gospel. That is solely up to you.

I'm sure there are plenty that say I'm a traditional crack pot but that's ok. At night when I lay my head on my pillow, I know who I am and I sleep soundly whether they agree or not.

I am not the totality of what one person thinks of me, especially someone that I don't even know. If you're comfortable with who you are and what you have studied why would you give a strange the power of dictating whether you share your journey, experiences and knowledge with those that are eager to learn? Never give someone that power. You're opinion of yourself and what you have personally achieved is the only one that counts. The trophies and awards are for others. Your self worth and pride comes from what you know and what you have overcome and accomplished. Like knowledge no one can take that from you.

There will always be bullies. My father taught me that a bully is a scared little person hiding behind their size. I have found this to be true. The difference here on line is you can not confront them personally so they can keep hitting and you can never defeat them as long as they can continue to type. However their power comes from you conversing with them. Ignore them and you sweep the legs, as so many here like to say.

Again just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[bushido_man96]

I tend to think of a keyboard warrior as someone who tends to talk a lot about either opinions or about themselves in various online formats, and does so in a way that they would usually say things to or about people in such a way that they wouldn't do to them personally. Many can avoid having necessarily good points for their arguments. They tend to be just loud about it, and don't worry about or feel concerned with any repercussion about what they might say or claim.

[singularity6]

Mostly due to my bad experience with a keyboard warrior, is the reason why I don't show which styles that I have experience in, as they will use every bit of information about you to drag you down.

A keyboard warrior will befriend you, so as to lower your guard, then when the time is right for them to strike with lies, innuendos, pulling in and using other people in to their warped scheme of causing pain to others.

The keyboard Warrior is looking for attention at the expense of hurting anyone, including themselves, a killjoy personality, creating conflict and havoc for as many people as possible, due to their hatred for everyone, including themselves.

A keyboard Warrior is a very miserable person who finds some satisfaction in making others feel as bad as, or worse than they feel.

The best weapon against Keyboard Warriors, is to ignore them %100; as the silence will cause them to self destruct, in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

As the Keyboard Warrior feeds on negative reactions of others, they are a type of emotional vampire, that cannot get enough emotional reactions to satisfy them, such as sympathy or punishment, it doesn't matter, as they are attention addicts.

As martial artist I believe we have a fair fighting chance physically but are we just as prepared emotionally or physiologically against Keyboard Warrior attacks?

Follow the golden rule (Treat others as you wish to be treated,) and you'll be fine. I find myself wanting to spout off from time to time when I see ignorant comments online. If I pause, take a deep breath and ask "what will I really accomplish?", I find myself not typing as much.

[Alan Armstrong]

Thanks for all your advice, hopefully I haven't turned the topic around to talk about me.

But having saying that, I have found it to be a little therapeutic by sharing my misfortune with a Keyboard Warrior, with all of you; as I hadn't talked about it to anyone before, and never knew what it was called, till this thread raised the issue and awareness of it.

As being here on KF I'm not selling or promoting anything, neither fighting for or against any causes, not in competitions with anyone and not trying to raise my personal status; as I don't have a chip on my shoulder or an axe to grind with anyone.

I do however like sharing and receiving opinions on an international level on all aspects of martial arts, no matter the style, system or doctrine.

Phew!!! That was all a bit heavyweight, hope to lighten up the conversations in the next rounds

[sensei8]

Keyboard warriors!! Their effectiveness can be quickly thwarted by not providing them any response. At first, I'm sure that they'd be quite persistent in their volleys of input, but if they receive the cold shoulder, they'll fade away.

Give them the floor, well, a beast is in the making.

[Trailer_Ape]

Typically that term is used across the board for people who talk tough over the internet. People that are disrespectful and inflammatory through text.

Example:

Daniel son says "I dont want any trouble, it's just the internet."

Johnny says "too bad punk, I'll send you home on a body bag."

A "keyboard warrior"!

Your very first sentence is exactly what it means, to me - someone who is real tough..... behind a computer screen.

A good rule to go by - if you wouldn't say to someone's face, don't type it, the internet ain't that anonymous and the world ain't all that big.