A damn shame but there is more to life

Just exited a forum I participated in for quite a while. I will not put up the URL because that is completely unimportant. Also : If this blog entry sounds too pathetic it isn't meant to be. It's not like the End Of The World Is Nigh or anything!

That forum had/has become a standard 'leading question/standard abusive reply'-forum in which there was no room for the realization that people change and that therefore the tone of the discussions should basically change too over time. In this case the same people got/get picked out of the memberlist and are then treated like the local online village idiot. In the case of said forum this was even amplified because most members also know each other in real life.

Also, and I must say that you see this on many forums: after a while they(fora) just stop working because of what I would call 'post- and information-saturation'. Or to put in into simpler words : everybody has heard everyone else's opinion about everything so the members start to repeat themselves. And on top of that there is the obvious bias and hypocrisy that creeps into the discussions : I am perfect by definition and by the same 'standards' your are basically flawed. If I would study Sociology or Psychology, I would choose the dynamics of online forums as my subject. Even without any knowledge of said disciplines it is quite fascinating to see how such a forum behaves and evolves.

Anyway : It was fun while it lasted and it's a shame that it ended in a disappointment. Strange how such intelligent people just cannot give each other the virtual space to be. How the internet somehow encourages people to be more abusive towards each other. Is it because the web is seen as more amorphous and anonymous? I don't think that is the case anymore but what do I know? All I know is that I value a certain minimum level of politeness and some sense of social standards everywhere: one can always get into a fierce discussion but when it degrades into character assassination and swearing I draw my personal line in the sand.


Oh well: I'll use my weblog more often then. I can say almost anything here without undue interference. Mwahaa!!

I'll have a beer over all of this tonight and then get on with my online life.

(Note to self : must not forget to unregister tonight.)