What is wrong with the world

[highlydubious]

Evil is lurking in the world. It's everywhere. It's in the nice uncle with the trench coat in the park that hands out candies to little children, it's in the big purple dinosaur whose record broke in 1967 and with the four Teletubbies who had no record to begin with

Comments

[avgboojie]

I totally disagree with you.
In my experience, forums bring fruitful discussion and ACTION which wouldn't have been achieved otherwise. I honestly believe that a lot of the incredible SF&F fan activity which goes on nowadays would never have reached the critical mass which has allowed it to happen without forums. I've seen the dynamics in the then-IOL-now-Ort forum, and I don't think there can be a mistake there.
For instance, Aspamia would never have happened without forums. Quite a few of the cons would never have happened without forums. A lot is born from the synergy of many different people discovering they have some mutual purpose.
That forums have their down sides? Sure they have. But those down sides are unavoidable, and I tend to believe that they're also inherently necessary. You can't really have a community (virtual or real life!) without the community idiot, you can't really have a community without the community fights. You just can't. And people do need to vent sometimes.

[highlydubious]

I am not saying forums are not a good place to meet, or to exchange ideas, I am saying, however, that it is one of the most ineffective way to conduct an arguements or meaningful discussion.

I have a thought about how to improve it technologically, but I will not specify it right now.

I know that there are the community's idiots and arguements etc, but it does bother me that someone feels like he can say whatever he wants without the slightest clue to what it means and expect a full and detailed response in a medium that can't support a fruitful discussion (not to mention the fact that people in forums allow themselves a lot more than they do when they talk face-to-face)

At the time I was chairman of Starbase, whenever someone wanted to bring an issue, I gave my phone number or suggested that he or she will talk to me during the next convention. It is more effective and more pleasant.