Please be honest you lot?

i completely agree with your observation. and unfortunately, their really isn't one perfect explanation for egregious behavior.

some people are harsh & abrassive just to get a reaction/rise. others because they are so closed minded to differing views, that they are unable to recognize or acknowledge a well thought out opinion.

i am a very vocal person & i don't expect everyone to agree with everything i say. ((hence the thumbs down i often receive on hot button topics))

but sometimes i think people give thumbs down or say negative things out of spite. so i wouldn't take it personally. some people just want to ruffle your feathers!! i suppose it defines who they are. so just take it in stride :D

I think some people are just immature, uneducated and ignorant BUT they know how to use a keyboard. (most of them can't spell though, and they tend to overuse the symbol keys).

Also, it's anonymous. And if they are insecure and downtrodden in real life, they can be vindictive and nasty on the net without any threat of retaliation.

But I'm also in agreement with the person who said some of the answers are too long. This is not supposed to be a medium for amateur medical journals or political articles.

I think they are frequently nasty for a lot of different reasons. I have noticed the same thing you have observed too.

Some of them are just frustrated when people do not agree with them and take out their pain that way. I suspect that some others feel that they may be seeing personal gain in being rude and abusive towards others. It reflects an attitude that is widespread in their daily lives in the institutions in which they function. They seem to think that they cannot get anything for themselves without taking it out of other people, even if it is stealing the dignity, self-esteem and peace of mind of others.

The people who are nasty here are probably so nasty in their real life that no one will associate with them. So they come to the internet and impose thier ugliness. Ignore these people, if you show them attention they will just keep on being nasty.

But look at the good side of it, if they are plugging away on a keyboard they are not out mugging little old ladies or selling drugs.

Some people just love being horrible in an anonymous setting like this.

It gives them a feeling of power.

Pathetic really, the poor loves.

More to be pitied than censured as B Wooster would say

I get folks like that on the phone in customer services a lot. There's no helping them that don't want helping!!!

Because it is annonomous, people feel like they can say whatever they want without anyone judging them. Some of these people would not normally say boo to a mouse. And some people are just mean and feel bad about themselves and try to make others feel bad about themselves as well.

I do tend to get frustrated with people who ask really stupid questions- like 'how does he feel about me?' or 'what was he thinking?' Or go into a long drawn-out story and never really ask a question, but I try to skip these questions instead of being rude or hateful.

There are some pretty nasty people on Yahoo, I am so amazed how many there really are. It takes all the fun out of Yahoo when you are afraid to speak up because if some one doesn't like what you have to say they get your account suspended.

I remember years ago when Yahoo use to be a nice place to come and share thoughts about the news. All it is now is the Yahoo of nasty people, people who spread lies just to see how many stars and points they can get.

Agreeing with Not Fair ,some people are born like that .They don't have the power at home or work so they come to yahoo to be bully and nasty

You are so right.

You can say what you mean without being mean when you say it.

I hate these longggggg answers, just like to the point, I get bored with the reading of them and very seldom give them the ten points.

Good Luck

I know!!!!

I think people stay on too long at a time and they get snarky and tired and stop seeing people as people and see them as entertainment.

Another problem I think is that you get the same two points for being mean or being nice. I think there should be something where we could take a point away from someone for being mean.