We can all get burned out writing, creating, researching, and analyzing (and formatting, don't forget formatting LOL)

Sometimes there are other reasons we don't want to write; the idea is incomplete, the argument isn't fully supported, we don't have the energy to defend or comment on the post once it has been published.

That's OK, We all need a break now and then. Get some fun in the sun or zoom in the room, and a good night or two of sleep, and you'll be ready to start clicking away again.

On the other hand, there are times you really should not post!

If you are feeling argumentative, angry, or petulant, take half an hour and try to restore some balance in yourself.

Steemit is by and large a civil community. I have said this before and I will say this again; the profit motive maintains a great deal of courtesy. You might insult someone over politics or music who then will not reward you for other posts.

Now sometimes you will write under emotional circumstances; I find that my best writing is done in a cold rage; however, not all the writing I do in a cold rage is all that good. People write when they are depressed or sad, seeking guidance and comfort. There is nothing at all wrong with that, and I'm glad to be part of a community that does off some great support!

But are you looking for a fight?

Some people do; I did for a long time, reveling in making people look like idiots on Facebook or political forums...every time a stupid unbased piece of Approved Narrative or Two Minute Hate was posted, I was there with sourced facts or an observation about breaks in logic...

...and guess what? I never changed a single mind. I don't think insulting people is conducive to convincing them on a point anyway, but we should recognize that most people rarely change their minds to begin with.

So at best, I was pleasing myself with this activity.

Not all this kind of posting is trolling. Trolling would be intentionally trying to get a reaction for whatever reason:

Usually this reason, but sometimes just amusing themselves

Like I noted for myself, sometimes trolls know they aren't having any affect on the real world, but get a kick out of creating reactions.

I can't convince him? Eff it, I'll piss him off

So here on Steemit...

Because emotion is a sudden thing, it's not that hard to drop off a comment that you really shouldn't. Commenting on someone else's post in a hostile tone is what I call shitting on their page. I have been known to do that here (thank g!d that tendency has dropped over time as I have seen the uselessness of it).

BUT...we can edit our replies when we calm down. Trolling is unproductive in the long run, hasty/angry remarks are counter productive as well. We can apologize if we feel we have gone too far. I have seen several instances in which Steemers got slammed by the community for certain actions, but were able to recover their reputations simply by owning up to what they did and apologizing for it.

Does that mean we should never contradict or argue on someone else's page? Absolutely not. We should just be careful of the tone we use when we do so. Recently some posted a Che Geuvera pic on a blog that hit my feed. Instead of some pompous comment about Don't you know how many people that communist killed?, I simply added a link that documented those murders. There would be no point in adding any other comment.

One of the reasons for Steemit is for argument and discourse, but we should do it in a manner that supports and respects each other.