Have we lost civility and respect on Audio forums?

@everyone I have had to catch myself.  People challenge your integrity. People speaking disrespectful to you. I come from an era where I was raised by grandparents and you just didn’t say certain things to a woman or a man.  The internet has made it easy to be thumb thugging out here.  Because you never see people in person. But I just think in Audio we got to be better.  I’m going to enjoy this passion of ours.  Not argue all day. 

It’s the Wild West with words I guess. 

No we have not lost civility and respect altogether. However certain people out there find that anonymity of the internet gives them free license to say whatever they want to. I find audio forums to still be generally civil with the occasion exception.

Emotional investment in one’s beliefs can bring out the worst in people. For instance I know, as much as it can be known that basic cables are audibly transparent although it is possible to make cables with high enough inductance, capacitance and/or resistance to turn a cable into a low pass filter. I know as much as something can be known that power cords make no actual difference unless the gauge is too low to power the component ad needed. I can say these things with zero vitriol but one can count on some very uncivil responses. And fingers will point my way in accusation of uncivil behavior. And it goes both ways. Emotional investment can do that to people. Simple statements of fact will seem like a personal offense. 

I think the inability to accept that one might be wrong is the bigger problem. My experience is that a lot of systems may not be good enough or properly matched well enough to hear differences.  If your equipment or set up isn’t transparent or have a low enough noise floor or isn’t properly matched up in a decent living environment you are not going to hear a difference. Some people will not accept that they don’t have experiences with equipment that can do those things. Then that person will apply all of their personal findings to people that do. Unfortunately one’s fact may not be another’s fact is the bigger problem. The inability to accept that one might be wrong can be highly detrimental in having discussions.  I’m willing to accept one might not hear a difference on their system but the arrogance to tell someone else that they can’t hear a difference in their system is special.  Then to consistently and repeatedly insist on them being wrong is where things cross a line. We have to be honest when discussing things without being disrespectful. The minute I hear someone say they can’t hear a difference. Personally I think that their system is not resolving enough or they are just hell bent on not accepting things make a difference.  Either way I just don’t trust their opinion and if they don’t trust mines I’m fine with it. I’m not going to respond 20 30 times. It’s called agree to disagree.  It’s called disagreeing without hating or dissing the person you disagree. If we are being honest. If you don’t hear differences your set up isn’t the kind I probably would prefer.   That’s not being mean that’s being honest without hating or being disrespectful