Should Yasmeen come back?
weber and pigsteak,
Good points, both of you. I spend far less time online nowadays than I used to, since I discovered the widespread human predilection towards obscenity and abuse in online forums. To cite one example, this very forum was invented (or at least publicized) only after another RRG forum became so overrun by trolls and assholes that Wes (or was it someone else?) decided to start a new one. This isn't unique to RRG forums, and I believe that it has to do with a human response to anonymous communications. Accountability does have benefits.
There's a lot of people like me in cyberspace: people who lurk semi-regularly, post rarely, and abandon any discussion at the first sign of flame. And there's other people, thick-skinned types who seem immune to flame, who enjoy the forum in spite of the crap. And then there are the newbies who don't know any better, who participate a lot, get into arguments, and recoil in pain and anger after getting seriously flamed for the first time. (Sometimes these folks morph into people like me.) And finally, there are the dorks who thrive on flame and who lower the quality for everybody else. This is both the pro and the con of online forums: anybody can post anything.
Is it worth participating? Is the banter and beta worth putting up with the noise and stench? Some say yes, others say no. I won't blame Yas if she stays out - these places aren't for everybody.
Good points, both of you. I spend far less time online nowadays than I used to, since I discovered the widespread human predilection towards obscenity and abuse in online forums. To cite one example, this very forum was invented (or at least publicized) only after another RRG forum became so overrun by trolls and assholes that Wes (or was it someone else?) decided to start a new one. This isn't unique to RRG forums, and I believe that it has to do with a human response to anonymous communications. Accountability does have benefits.
There's a lot of people like me in cyberspace: people who lurk semi-regularly, post rarely, and abandon any discussion at the first sign of flame. And there's other people, thick-skinned types who seem immune to flame, who enjoy the forum in spite of the crap. And then there are the newbies who don't know any better, who participate a lot, get into arguments, and recoil in pain and anger after getting seriously flamed for the first time. (Sometimes these folks morph into people like me.) And finally, there are the dorks who thrive on flame and who lower the quality for everybody else. This is both the pro and the con of online forums: anybody can post anything.
Is it worth participating? Is the banter and beta worth putting up with the noise and stench? Some say yes, others say no. I won't blame Yas if she stays out - these places aren't for everybody.
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andy_lemon
- Posts: 1566
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2002 2:22 am
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andy_lemon
- Posts: 1566
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2002 2:22 am
Joel I couldn't agree more. I have morphed.Joel wrote:I spend far less time online nowadays than I used to, since I discovered the widespread human predilection towards obscenity and abuse in online forums.
There's a lot of people like me in cyberspace: people who lurk semi-regularly, post rarely, and abandon any discussion at the first sign of flame. I won't blame Yas if she stays out - these places aren't for everybody.
I voted yes but only because I do think Yas has so much to offer this community. But she should do what she wants and needs to do. Yas, just avoid the "you suck" forum all together and things get much better.