To answer Manu's question which is also shared by many, i'll try to give my interpretation of what constitutes negative and non-constructive posting.
I think it's not about the message, but the poster's attitude and the way it's delivered.
There are dozens of people pointing out inaccuracies and faults with the sim and they are not branded "whiners" or doom and gloom merchants, ever wondered why?
It's simple, they stick to a reporting style and not engage in personal attacks and speculation.
This also applies to the other camp, the so called "fanboys".
You see i'm using quote marks because i don't really accept that division. There are no "whiners" or "fanboys", there are only people who are realistic and people who detach themselves from reality on purpose (they are not stupid, they are just disappointed and aggressive to contrary opinions, so their defensive mechanisms kick into gear).
In fact, i think that both "whiners" and "fanboys" are part of this same group. Some are disappointed with the developers and the sim and the rest are disappointed with how the first group is supposedly killing their favorite game, but both groups use the same ineffective methods (half-baked, aggressive arguments and personal vitriol) to push otherwise relevant points.
This doesn't only aggravate the bystanders, it also detracts from their points because it's clear they are too lazy to come up with a coherent argument and prefer repeating one liners ad nauseum or getting into slagging matches among themselves. My question is, how does such a person expect to convince the rest of us if he can't take the time to formulate his opinion in a coherent manner that's at least appealing to read? I mean, if they won't take the time to support their own viewpoint how am i as a 3rd party expected to consider it worthy of attention?
Take the time to proof-read your posts before clicking submit (the preview button is there for a reason), try to edit out some stuff that might be getting personal, emotional or speculative and stick to giving us your experience of it all without snide remarks.
I guarantee you the amount of people who are willing to discuss things with you will rise, even though not all of them will agree. I find it much easier to respect an opinion (no matter if i agree or disagree with it) if it's at least worded in a manner that doesn't give me the mental image of a person frothing at the mouth behind a keyboard, not to mention it's easier to avoid getting dragged into similar behaviours myself
