The Cautious Jester

Have you ever said some really stupid shit that you later regret because you think you've made yourself look foolish? I'm pretty sure everyone has.

If you feel like you haven't, go wild in the comments below. Creativity will be rewarded?

_{image courtesy - beglib}

I've dished out my own fair share of dumb nonsense in the past and present, and it'll happen again in the future, maybe even by the time I've finished this post.

The trick is to limit the number of times you come across as foolish or to be wise enough to get ahead of it or to react in a way to defuse the forthcoming ridicule. We can't all have a personal assistant who proof the contents of our interactions, we have to be conscious of what we share to some degree.

There is no tutorial or wikihow page for this (brb)... alright, surprise surprise, maybe there is a wikihow page, but for the most part, it's going to come down to experience. This experience could be gained personally or through observation of another interaction.

Lessons are to be learned from the reflection of our own idiocy, don't try too hard. ~Lameio _AD:1234

OK, enough of the preachy self-help bollocks.

_{I started to write this a few days ago but today I've stumbled onto an interesting post by an account called @proofoflame which has pushed me further towards finishing this off.}

My own personal efforts to prevent myself from dipping the pen in the stupid ink here on the blockchain are fairly straightforward.

I try not to respond to people later in the day.

On the rare chance that I do, it'll usually be an attempt at a humorous response or a brief comment to say that I've seen something. Minimal effort.

I'm fairly conscious of what I publish for the world to see and I prefer to interact when I'm on the ball. Foolishness often occurs when energy is low (years of working in the construction industry have further confirmed this for me).

In terms of transparency here on the blockchain, we can't be any more naked unless we're sitting with our knobs out (or lady bits, I'm not excluding the women of the block) writing our content.

Let's open up a dialogue for "when is the level of transparency too much".

I was speaking with @penderis the other day about a recent situation here on POB and he raised a good point about how there could be elements of control and alienation when it comes to sharing information for everyone to see. He mentioned the words "POB" and "jungle justice" in the same sentence, which I think is apt.

Jungle justice or mob justice is a form of public extrajudicial killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, most notably Nigeria and Cameroon, where an alleged criminal is humiliated, beaten or summarily executed by a crowd or vigilantes.
_{Pulled from Wikipedia}

Yes, it is important to realise that we're all very open to criticism, scrutiny, and possibly offense while interacting and sharing ourselves here on the blockchain, but there is a line that's crossable and we should be aware of that when pointing out someone's behavior. This could lead to hostility and toxicity; especially if it involves the backing of multiple accounts in the way of a "social mob".

I'm not one to shy away from "exposing" behaviors that I personally find troubling, but even by doing this, I may be exposing myself as an instigator or as someone trying to rally people towards my point of view.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want people to view it how I do and that is about as self-centered as it gets.

The only response to myself here is that I never intend for my actions to be personal attacks on anyone, I just try to say it how I see it and I am always open to being proven wrong. I also try my best to reflect on my actions and seek out the point of view of others who may see it differently.

If I call someone out, it's more often than not because I have the success of the platform on my mind. I'm heavily invested here and seeing this place grow in a healthy manner is what I'd like to see happen. I just need to be cautious about how others absorb such information.

Alright, defending myself from myself over with. That was some pretty liberal shit, I know.

_{I'd also like to point out the content produced by these authors over the past couple of days which have really helped with my own reflection and the understanding of how I want to be portrayed here in the community.}

_{Sleepwalkers: Are you one of them? by @wiseagent}
_{The art of appearance is a mistake - Be yourself and live intensely " by @anacristinasilva}
_{Comment on '500 PoB 🧠 Powered Up To Glory!' by @finguru}

This is all food for thought and I think it's something we'll tackle constantly here in the Proof Of Brain community. I just hope that we can refrain from the highly toxic elements of this and we can all hold ourselves accountable for what we share.

Don't be afraid to voice your opinion, just be prepared to swallow your pride if you wind up being a massive cunt.