TrailBlazer
06-21-2008, 05:25 PM
I'm thinking of this as the "Fresh Thread Issue".
I'm "replying" here in a vague way to something that strikes me as odd whenever I see it in the e-world. It just occured, and rather than engage into enivitable migraine-fest of brick-wall head-hammering that messagboard wars are, I thought I'd just let it go and ask a generalized question in a non-confrontational format.
Elsewhere in The Raven, a riled-up poster called out the thread O.P. (NOT me, FYI) for initiating a new thread on a subject that, apparently, has been oft-discussed. Fair enough.
BUT
Who cares? Why is that an issue for you? Seen it elsewhere, then don't participate. Move on. Bypass the thread. No effort. What's it to you?
Is this bit of "internet ettiquette" born out of a real-world concern about bandwidth consumption (I'm no computer expert. I'll sock myself in the gotchas and save you the effort. Good?), or is this just a rotten pile of nonsense that gives people who live for conflict an excuse to grouse?
I fear the latter.
I think there's an argument to be made that messageboards are as much about chatting and making connections as they are about sharing opinions & information on a topic. It's social, let's be honest.
So demanding people search for old threads on a topic sours the experience of taking up a discussion anew. With new people taking hopefully fresh perspectives.
Whom is harmed by a new group of people having their OWN discussion on a topic that has been previously discussed by our beloved forefathers of a bygone era? Bury the past, I say!
And lighten up. No?
I'm "replying" here in a vague way to something that strikes me as odd whenever I see it in the e-world. It just occured, and rather than engage into enivitable migraine-fest of brick-wall head-hammering that messagboard wars are, I thought I'd just let it go and ask a generalized question in a non-confrontational format.
Elsewhere in The Raven, a riled-up poster called out the thread O.P. (NOT me, FYI) for initiating a new thread on a subject that, apparently, has been oft-discussed. Fair enough.
BUT
Who cares? Why is that an issue for you? Seen it elsewhere, then don't participate. Move on. Bypass the thread. No effort. What's it to you?
Is this bit of "internet ettiquette" born out of a real-world concern about bandwidth consumption (I'm no computer expert. I'll sock myself in the gotchas and save you the effort. Good?), or is this just a rotten pile of nonsense that gives people who live for conflict an excuse to grouse?
I fear the latter.
I think there's an argument to be made that messageboards are as much about chatting and making connections as they are about sharing opinions & information on a topic. It's social, let's be honest.
So demanding people search for old threads on a topic sours the experience of taking up a discussion anew. With new people taking hopefully fresh perspectives.
Whom is harmed by a new group of people having their OWN discussion on a topic that has been previously discussed by our beloved forefathers of a bygone era? Bury the past, I say!
And lighten up. No?