Forum intelligence (or lack thereof...)

[DJFyrewolf36]

Posting this in here because it IS kind of mean to other people ...

I have to say that you guys on here are the most intelligent group of people I have had the pleasure of interacting with online. I have been posting on a couple of other forums because I enjoy debate and intellectual conversation but for the most part all I've into are flame wars and utterly useless and random posts. *sigh*

For example, I was browsing a mobile forum (optimized for cell phone internet) and they had a Star Trek group. I joined being a huge Star Trek fan and all lol and I found out that the only posts were of people mindlessly going off on the Kirk vs Picard debate and posting that they want to captain the Enterprise weeee! Sigh, I replied with a lengthy post on both topics but I really don't think I'll get a reply. It irks me when I bother taking the time to come up with thoughtful post just to get ignored by a two maybe three word reply.

I guess I'm feeling a bit grumpy this morning...it must be the weather.


/rant

[RICHARD]

I found out that the only posts were of people mindlessly going off on the Kirk vs Picard debate and posting that they want to captain the Enterprise weeee!


/rant

LOL, What about 7 of 9 and the Uhura debate?

I do find PT endlessly amusing because we are here for our pets and we can go off on tangents with other discussions/threads.

I have tried to look at other sites to see what people say and they are mostly rude, idiotic jackholes that have no grace or social skills.


I think that is the good thing about the web - for THAT kind of people, they can be ridiculously rude and stupid- anonymously. IT's pretty hard to find smart people on the internet and you tend to stay true to those forums/sites.

I think I have joined two other sites (just to post on a TV show or two) and the others I have browsed are really just depots for people who have no idea as to what being civil entails.

[Marigold2]

We went to a Star Trek convention once and I kissed a Klingon.

[Freedom]

People who want to captain the Enterprise buy a Prius and join PriusChat.com

[Catlady711]

Uhura definately! lol

Don't matter if it's Kirk, Picard, or Janeway (I like all of them in their own special way) I just cannot stand DS9 or the new Enterpise (even if one of my favorite actors is the star-Scott Bakula). Not that I'm a Trekkie or anything......ROFL.

I LOVE PT because it's the ONLY forum I belong to that not only allows but has separate areas for off topic discussion. All of the other forums I belong to ONLY allow on topic conversation. They pretty much rag on anyone attempting anything remotely off topic, assuming isn't not automatically deleted in the first place.

It's not that a forum shouldn't be foremost about one specific interest, but inevitably when you get to be friends with others topics will drift, or in some cases similar topics can apply (ie; pets and photography, cameras and computers etc). I think it's restricting to not allow or at least have a separate place for off topic convos. JMHO

Thanks Mayor for such a wonderful site that allows off topic convos!

[RICHARD]

I saw a Borg (female, I know they are one, but this one was a hive queen)once and thought it would be neat to kiss her among the stars.
She declined and told me she'd kiss me on Uranus.

I left quickly.

[Karen]

Thanks Mayor for such a wonderful site that allows off topic convos!

You're welcome.

To the original point, I do find that some people think the anonymity of the Internet means they can throw courtesy out the window. But we're all people, anonymous or not - and we do like to chat about non-pet things sometimes! Friends are friends no matter if we've ever met them in person or not!

[Twisterdog]

Star Trek TNG was the ONLY thing I watched on TV for years, literally. I turned the set on for exactly one hour per day. I Worf.

PT is nice because it's ... nice. Generally, no one is swearing or being cruel to newbies, kids or the less mentally astute. That's always a plus.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I have to agree that this board has some pretty special people on it. I've often marveled at the intelligence, experience, creativity, resourcefullness, and , common sense this community possesses. It's time that somebody said it. Thanks!!

Karen: You always have great ideas. You are a super duper moderator.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Thanks guys for restoring my faith in humanity, and giving me a good laugh too!

Thank you Karen for an excellent point. I like to discover new opinions and ways of looking at things, even if I don't personally agree. A healthy debate is good, name calling and flaming is bad. It's hard sometimes, but I try to act as if the people on the other end are PEOPLE and I hope that people would have the courtesy to treat me the same way (although most of the time that isn't the case lol)

On one forum, the spam and flaming got so bad that the mods decided to just purge the database of all posts, useful or not. I thought some modding and deleting of offensive threads could have been a better alternative than an all out wipe because now after the wipe the garbage is yet again piling up.

Although I do notice people being a lot more civil now, maybe they got the message?

[smokey the elder]

I agree; sometimes the debate threads in particular can get heated, because folks have strong opinions on many topics. If people lay off the personal attacks (there's a fancy Latin term: "ad hominem" that I like) it goes pretty well! (Although I do think some folks like to get one another's goat at times; because of the one-dimensionality of the written word it's tough to tell if they're serious or teasing.)

[Laura's Babies]

I agree. This is the best place on the web! I too, have found that on other forums people are so rude and try to pick apart someone elses thought/ideas/opinions. One forum, there is a lady thats seems to look for my posts and criticize what I say, even though on the most part, she admits I am RIGHT... but, it keeps the conversation going, therefore making my point even stronger.. I will tell her "I see we agree again so what is your point?".

Here, most people respect other peoples opinion, even when they don't agree. The thing I love the best here is how helpful people are when you have a problem or a question and nobody laughs at you. There are no bullies here!