I just alerted on my first post ever

[AngryAmish]

I strongly feel that alerting on someone is BS. My psyche is not so fragile that I will curl into a ball if I hear something that I disagree with.

That said, I alerted on a spam post. It made me feel good.

[SacredCow]

1. I think I've only alerted on 2 posts....

And one of them was my own OP that had gone off the rails.

[AngryAmish]

3. THanks to this post, I'm on alert number 2

I kid.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Thanks a lot, jerk! Now my perfect record is ruined!

Just kiddin'. :toast:

[AngryAmish]

6. Now that I'm handing them out, you get one too!

Again, kidding!

[Dr. Strange]

4. Good job--I hate spammers.

Now, who wants a Mentos? It's the freshmaker!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. I'll pop in some mentos when I sign up for a free $50 Olive Garden gift card!

Where I will go and meet with the Deputy Minister of Commerce of Nigeria to discuss an important financial transaction, to which only I can be of assistance!

[Strong Atheist]

5. I have only alerted on one post ever, and it was my own OP. Got

it locked, too...

[eyepaddle]

8. I generally only alert on abusive posts.

The only example I recall well enough to mention here is from one of those "post your picture" threads that dominated the lounge for about two years. One of the DUers who posted was a fairly overweight lady and a reply to her picture was very sarcastic.

I just couldn't see that bullshit being at all useful so I alerted on the sarcastic poster. For the record I have zero recollection as to who the two DUers in question are anymore. I may have been a big fan of the wise ass, and found the woman to be awful (for all I know now) I just thought consigning that personally insulting post to the internet ash can was the best course for all.

And then there have been a few BLATANT trolls so I just gave a tip to the mods so that they could make their own call--rather than call them out on my own.

But I have never alerted because somebody took a hard shot at me. About the only time I've done anything controversial were two threads in GD (several months apart) one where I vented spleen about private colleges, and another which I started as a mental exercise envisioning a world without inheritance. I knew they were gonna get toasty and boy did they ever! One DUer effectively called me the dumbest human alive for "proposing" a 100% inheritance tax. Despite the fact that I wasn't proposing anything, I just wanted other people to help me make believe--sort of like writing fiction.

I think both threds hit triple digit responses but were never locked, and didn't have any posts deleted.

IOW the alert function hae a useful purpose, but that isn't to protect my (our) feelings.