It's the word offended I object to. I'm not offended by anyone who posts here. I do however get irritated with people sometimes, and I can be very straightforward about that. The reason I took a short break from the forum was on a matter of principle: having the dislike option meant that people could form political cadres: something that already goes on in the climate controversy. Don't engage the arguments, but call people deniers: pure ad hominem, the last resort of the inarticulate. Right from the start I made the decision not to click the dislike option for anyone, not even the most rabid sceptic, and made that known. But people, knowing that, carried on doing it with intention of trying to needle me. Well, they did needle me, but not for the reason they supposed. I wasn't irritated by their dislikes per se, but by the level to which discussion had descended.
If the dislike option had reappeared, I might well not have returned to the forum. The thought of people using the dislike button as a political weapon, by no means only against me, just lowered the tone of the whole thing and took away a large part of the enjoyment. People can call me black and blue and I won't be offended: they may well get as good as they give. But people playing silly games by clicking a button in lieu of speaking their minds is extremely irritating. I mean, you've just slung a brickbat at me and I haven't been offended, have I? Nor have I set you on ignore. You've spoken your mind, and that's okay; and as a matter of fact you've not even irritated me.
Offended, as I understand the word, is what my grannie would have been if someone had showed their backside to her: it would have challenged her dignity. Irritated, on the other hand, is what happens when someone rings my doorbell and then runs away. It's not a question of my dignity, but of their childishness.
You're right. Irritated is a much better word to describe it. I guess I thought offensive was a little more offensive, and I wanted to test the waters a bit. I actually felt anxious about coming back here and reading your reply. I'm not sure why. Guess I didn't feel the need for a severe undressing. But to my relief...
I don't like it when people misuse the like option (or don't use it at all). I actually don't know how it can be misused, but it can be overused. Like sometimes I feel good about myself after receiving a like from, say, Sciborg. But then I think, well he likes everything so it doesn't mean much. Then I go back to feeling miserable about myself. Sometimes I think the likes I receive are really just pity-likes.. So it's a no win situation for me, which is why I sometimes think the no-likers show wisdom in their hands-off style. I need to be more of a taoist and let nature take its natural course.