Ironic ? You talk about people not having meaningful content to contribute, I don't see you contributing much here with "discussion forum guy:" posts.
I suggest complainypants should do different things with their free time than annoy people about how they spot every detail that's amiss. There are special "critics" clubs for that, so they can collectively complain how bad something is.
...you might say that the people stating things about the episode that sucked were expressing their opinion about a show that they watch...making a contribution, whether it was appreciated or not by those who perceived it as mere complaining.
Those who came and contributed nothing about the show except to complain about complainers having an opinion on a show that they watch were trying to make a point that complaining was a waste of time(implying that they(the complainers against complaining) would like to see something more meaningful posted here).
It was never the established opinion of the folks who came here and started posting about the show that the posts in this thread should be more meaningful. Such persons were already engaged in an exchange which they seemingly felt was meaningful since they were expressing their thoughts on the show.
The 'complain about complainers' camp came straight out of the gate with stuff that had nothing to do with the show...they have expressed more opinions/ideas about the posters/posts here than about the show itself.
In psychology it is called projection...where you(the complainer) are able to identify complaining in others and not in yourself...you project your negative qualities on to others. Interestingly, none of the so-called complainers were actually complaining...nobody was throwing themselves a pity party about the world being dissatisfying for the mere fact that The Walking Dead is poorly written and executed. The complaining-ness was being projected upon them by veritable complainers who are having a pity party over how people don't always say stuff that they like.
Nobody saying things about the faults of the show was upset.
People complaining about complainers demonstrated upset-ness by derailing the topic, making it about their own happiness rather than about the show itself...and by consistently acting helpless to change things; making no real contributions to the discussion.
Even the attempts at justifying the stupid parts of the show were less about the show, and more an attempt to silence the opinions that were not appreciated by the 'complain about complainers' crowd.
...so, to the 'complain about complainers' group, if I respond to their silliness, I'm bad for not contributing to discussion about the show and derailing the topic. If I say something negative about the show, I'm bad for not contributing properly. If I don't stop watching the show, I'm bad for watching something that's not perfect. In the end, there's really no way for me to stop being annoying other than to concede to a point they have unsuccessfully tried to make about what this thread should consist of instead of what's in it. (still not sure, because they've failed time and again to give an example of the sort of posts that they'd rather see).
The proposed solutions by the 'complain about complainers' party:
1)don't expose yourself to something you don't like. (haha)
2)say negative things about something you perceive as negative. (you're idiots for jumping to nonsensical solutions based on these nonsensical reasons: ____) (d'oh)
3)accuse others of not contributing positively while refraining from contributing positively. (it's okay, you're annoyed...Annoyed people are so much smarter than emotionally balanced folks who don't question why they even come here after seeing a thread that's not totally positive).
...and because this post wasn't all about the show, it is another excuse for the 'complainers against complaining' crowd to get even more indignant.
Honestly, I find this thread more entertaining than the episode was. I'm happy whether the complainers against complaining carry on about this debate, or if they rise to the challenge of saying anything better with regard to the episode...
...this outlook may be due in part to the fact that I view the world as a wonderfully fascinating place...a place with both positive and negative things that can all be perceived with an open willingness because in themselves both the positive and the negative is pretty much always interesting in at least some way...whether we're analyzing a poorly written show, or analyzing the psychological mechanisms behind the behaviours of real people...
I'll leave you 'complainers against complaining' with this tidbit from Mother Teresa: "Anti-war is not the same as pro-peace".
To complain about complaining is futile...better to be the change you would like to see in the world...smile once in a while...
-Rob