Forums: A look at The Big Picture

[Nevermore]

It is said that 'you can't have a good story without conflict'. But constant fighting isn't what Tim Berners Lee and the boffins at CERN had in mind when they launched the World Wide Web. It was created to give people a means to communicate across physical and virtual borders.

These days though, the web's full of ads, porn and in the case of forums, people crapping on each other's opinions, choices or beliefs.

Over the many years I've had access to the web, I have read (and occasionally participated in) countless forum discussions. As time passed, a definite pattern has emerged. If a thread contains anything that can be seen as contentious, things will always play out the same way.

has one point of view and has an opposing point of view. It becomes a sort of holy war to the protagonists to prove the other party wrong/stupid/incompetent. Once they get started, there's no stopping them.

No matter what the topic may be, much to-ing and fro-ing ensues, sometimes over many pages. In the end, hasn't changed 's mind, and hasn't changed 's mind. They both leave the conversation thinking the other is an idiot ...or worse.

I have seen tons of people belittling each other over just about anything - Politics/Government, Religion, Software/OS choice, Game console A versus Game console B, etc etc etc. You name it, someone out there has slagged off someone else about it.

Reading through the diatribes of people you'll never meet may be funny or entertaining at first, but after a while they just get repetitive and tedious... and in the end, utterly futile. In the grand scheme of things, all those angry words count for nothing but animosity aimed at complete strangers.

Global communication doesn't seem to be the boon everyone was hoping for back when the web was launched. What it has done though, is show us humans our true colours. Sadly, they don't make a pretty picture.

On the other hand, with all the conflict going on, the web must be a really terrific story.

I doubt it'll have a happy ending though. I wonder what Sir Tim thinks of us now...

[Barbarossa]

No no no, you're completely wrong

[j2k4]

I am well and thoroughly chastised, and shall fight no more.



























I will, however, continue in my endeavor to relieve others of the awful burden of ignorance.

[Snee]

It is said that 'you can't have a good story without conflict'. But constant fighting isn't what Tim Berners Lee and the boffins at CERN had in mind when they launched the World Wide Web. It was created to give people a means to communicate across physical and virtual borders.

These days though, the web's full of ads, porn and in the case of forums, people crapping on each other's opinions, choices or beliefs.

Over the many years I've had access to the web, I have read (and occasionally participated in) countless forum discussions. As time passed, a definite pattern has emerged. If a thread contains anything that can be seen as contentious, things will always play out the same way.

has one point of view and has an opposing point of view. It becomes a sort of holy war to the protagonists to prove the other party wrong/stupid/incompetent. Once they get started, there's no stopping them.

No matter what the topic may be, much to-ing and fro-ing ensues, sometimes over many pages. In the end, hasn't changed 's mind, and hasn't changed 's mind. They both leave the conversation thinking the other is an idiot ...or worse.

I have seen tons of people belittling each other over just about anything - Politics/Government, Religion, Software/OS choice, Game console A versus Game console B, etc etc etc. You name it, someone out there has slagged off someone else about it.

Reading through the diatribes of people you'll never meet may be funny or entertaining at first, but after a while they just get repetitive and tedious... and in the end, utterly futile. In the grand scheme of things, all those angry words count for nothing but animosity aimed at complete strangers.

Global communication doesn't seem to be the boon everyone was hoping for back when the web was launched. What it has done though, is show us humans our true colours. Sadly, they don't make a pretty picture.

On the other hand, with all the conflict going on, the web must be a really terrific story.

I doubt it'll have a happy ending though. I wonder what Sir Tim thinks of us now...

Good one, girlpants.

Did you write it all by yourself.

[Barbarossa]

On a serious note, I've been here a while, and I've seen a fair few arguments, and been involved in my fair share too.

Obviously I've been 100% correct every time, but it's nice to see the other point of view every once in a while.

Also, lively discourse is educational, and I can say I've learned alot from reading the posts here.


I'm sure Tim berners Lee looks favourably on a free-thinking message-board style world wide web, where sites are a collaberation of minds and imaginations, rather than a corporate wasteland of profiteering and exploitation, and restriction of informations.

Go internets

[j2k4]

On a serious note, I've been here a while, and I've seen a fair few arguments, and been involved in my fair share too.

Obviously I've been 100% correct every time, but it's nice to see the other point of view every once in a while.

Also, lively discourse is educational, and I can say I've learned alot from reading the posts here.


I'm sure Tim berners Lee looks favourably on a free-thinking message-board style world wide web, where sites are a collaberation of minds and imaginations, rather than a corporate wasteland of profiteering and exploitation, and restriction of informations.

Go internets

Easy for us to say, trend-setters that we are.

On a less-interesting note, Al Gore has contacted my people with a tentative offer to purchase my identity here.

I told him to piss right off, which fact should be a huge relief for all of you.

[Nevermore]

j2k4: Good luck fella. Hope you don't collapse under the weight of all the ignorance you've taken upon yourself to relieve others of.

Snee: Yes, and leave my girlypants out of this. Anyway, it's laundry day.

Barbarossa: Free thinking seems to be a rarity these days. For example, read any comments thread on digg, Reddit or Fark where Republicans and Democrats are "talking". The only things being exchanged is insults. Doesn't just apply to political discussions either. In my experience, the importance of any issue is directly proportionate to the width of the division between the opponents.

j2k4 X2: Please don't mention politicians of any stripe in here, it never ends well. I can almost hear the minds slamming shut already.