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The Ideal Forum

Duxwing

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Dear Forum,

Given that forums can sometimes disappoint us, I wonder: What would the ideal forum be like?

Things to consider:
Who would its members be?
How would it be organized?
What should its influence upon the world be?
Who should be admitted?

-Duxwing
 

nanook

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honestly, the word ideal makes no sense in the context of a message board, because communication is just a tool for life, not a design-box for it. the next best thing is therefore an everything-goes, everyone-is-welcome board, with so many sub-categories and sort- and filter- functions (also profile features, adding social networking, personal walls), that focus on a current interest is still possible. so far any forum i see is rather limited by design, reflecting the mental limits of it's owners, for instance philosophy boards are atheistic (rational-pluralistic-leveled) and academic, spiritual boards are anti-intellecutal, psychology boards are obsessed with conformist definitions of pathologies, etc ... none of these limitations are conductive for mental growth. i hang out at this place, because it's rather open - it's members not necessarily, but that's not an issue.
 

Cherry Cola

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My ideal forum would combine a reading comprehension test with an IQ one ensuring that nobody with an IQ below 120 gets to enter (no age limits tho). If I'm gonna make my ideal forum.. I cba to read through a bunch of stupid questions and I cba to google stuff for people who think that school and hard life has taught them all they need, and I completely cba to explain to people that the world doesn't get magically better when you inflict suffering upon those who inflict suffering and call it justice instead of retribution.

There would be no moderation and little organization.

I dont really want any particular type of members. A nice variance age and genderwise would be cool tho.

In general I guess I would like a forum where time can be spent discussing or socializing. Rather than having it like it often is where discussions derail or fail to be at all because half the people don't understand the subject.

For instance, say that there's been a wicked serial killer around, and now there's a thread about the man on your AVG forum. As you enter the thread you are eager for it to load, for this wicked slayer of innocents is a fascinating man. All the psychologists in the world are at a loss of what to make of him, and you've got some thoughts on what could have driven him yourself.

However, as you read the thread, you find that you have to sift through 3 pages of "OMFG WHY NO CAPITEL PUNISHMENT", "OMG TODAY CRIMINALS ROAM FREE AND DO WHAT THEY WANT", "THANKS OBAMA", "OMG IF HE DID DAT 2 MY DAUGHTER I WOULD KILL HIM I SWARE", "LOL HE DESERVE TO SUFFER FOREVER TORTURE" "OMG PAST WAS BETTER AT LEAST MURDERER KILL FOR REASON IN PAST"etc etc, before anything remotely resembling a discussion or meaningful social interaction begins to take place.

And it's the same in so many subjects... you have to sift through all the initial responses which tend to contain very little of reasoning and very much of hive mind and instinct.

I want a forum where this initial response doesn't exist.
 

Chad

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I would like an INTP forum were people who are knowing not INTP didn't post. Its not that I have anything against non-INTPs its just that I that I come on here to better understand my fellow INTPs opinion. How they are similar and how they are different than mine. However, it is very hard to tell enforce such a thing. Also not everyone that believes themselves to be a INTP is such. Therefore the best I can hope for is this type of forum the encourages INTPs over other types.
 

SpaceYeti

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The only thing I really care about is that people don't get banned except for being a spam-bot, or something. I hate forums where the mods ban someone just because they say things the mods don't like. Free speech allows people to say things you don't like. Get over yourself.
 

Chad

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The only thing I really care about is that people don't get banned except for being a spam-bot, or something. I hate forums where the mods ban someone just because they say things the mods don't like. Free speech allows people to say things you don't like. Get over yourself.

This too.
 

Brontosaurie

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The only thing I really care about is that people don't get banned except for being a spam-bot, or something. I hate forums where the mods ban someone just because they say things the mods don't like. Free speech allows people to say things you don't like. Get over yourself.

crucial
 

Architect

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The only thing I care about is having a posters gender and their type. These help when talking to people.
 

GodOfOrder

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with maybe one token idiot just for fun
 

eagor

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*enter token idiot*

HI GUYS!!!

Honestly the only problem i have is when people refuse to understand the meaning of what you right, and instead just skim it to find something to be angry about. I don't really find much of that here which is why i have chosen to reside here.
 

Coolydudey

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Any forum in which intelligent, serious discussion can mix with witty banter and plain old fun. I don't know how you'd go about achieving this, but this forum isn't far (it has been, in my opinion, lacking a bit of the first recently).
 

Minuend

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The only thing I really care about is that people don't get banned except for being a spam-bot, or something. I hate forums where the mods ban someone just because they say things the mods don't like. Free speech allows people to say things you don't like. Get over yourself.


The problem is that it's not only "free speech" (controversial opinions and the like) that would emerge, it would be pointless trolling and increased level of redundancy.


My ideal forum would combine a reading comprehension test with an IQ one ensuring that nobody with an IQ below 120 gets to enter (no age limits tho). If I'm gonna make my ideal forum.. I cba to read through a bunch of stupid questions and I cba to google stuff for people who think that school and hard life has taught them all they need, and I completely cba to explain to people that the world doesn't get magically better when you inflict suffering upon those who inflict suffering and call it justice instead of retribution.

I'll ask this first to avoid any confusion: Why an IQ minimum?

I would like an INTP forum were people who are knowing not INTP didn't post. Its not that I have anything against non-INTPs its just that I that I come on here to better understand my fellow INTPs opinion. How they are similar and how they are different than mine. However, it is very hard to tell enforce such a thing. Also not everyone that believes themselves to be a INTP is such. Therefore the best I can hope for is this type of forum the encourages INTPs over other types.

On intpcentral the member's types are assigned in their profiles. Of course some give a false one, or have the wrong one, but it would probably give you a better pointer.

The only thing I care about is having a posters gender and their type. These help when talking to people.

How?

I see mostly biases rising from knowing those. Especially when you see all the threads about what type people dislike, can't stand, would get rid of etc.
 

redbaron

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The only thing I care about is having a posters gender and their type. These help when talking to people.

Ugh. Like people don't already pigeon-hole and generalize to ridiculous extents already. Wouldn't you judge based on the merits of what they post, irrespective of gender or type?

Just seems counter-productive to me to do anything but.

Cherry Cola said:
ensuring that nobody with an IQ below 120 gets to enter

Why exactly?
 

Hadoblado

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If we're talking idealism, it would be wonderful if all the posters knew their type, and knew how to type. This isn't a rant, I don't have anything against those people who don't/can't (I'm one of them), but this requirement alone would probably reduce junk posts by like 80% or so.

This of course assumes that there is one correct way to type...
 

defghi

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The Internet is the ideal forum.
 

Minuend

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The only thing I care about is having a posters gender and their type. These help when talking to people.

If we're talking idealism, it would be wonderful if all the posters knew their type, and knew how to type. This isn't a rant, I don't have anything against those people who don't/can't (I'm one of them), but this requirement alone would probably reduce junk posts by like 80% or so.

This of course assumes that there is one correct way to type...


The problem lies in stereotypes and the biases that follows from knowing type, gender, race, age or even nationality. Even those who don't tend to think in stereotypes will have subconscious images of the poster. Sometimes these biases don't matter, but often they seem to influence to what degree people will acknowledge or be willing to listen to a person.

If I were to reveal that I was a female ESFJ, a lot of you would immediately have some idea of who I am and how I think.

When discovering they are a said type, some will spring to their traits and throw their identity into them. If they have met resistance, then this discovery is an escape from that criticism.

I will use an example I get hints of often on this forum. This is pure speculation, but there seems to be a pattern.

Individuals having a tendency to think strictly, what they consider, "logical". I find the concept of logic very general. Anything can be logical, but often this logic becomes inaccurate and doesn't dive into what the consequences are. For instance, I could be logical in saying that an omnipresent god would be everywhere. But that would only be a shallow statement and little else. Saying something is logical doesn't even mean that it is true. We can't know that there is an omnipresent god.

I see this kind of thinking quite a lot. It's just not as visible when decorated with scientific terms and it revolves around topics more grounded.

Individuals having a tendency for this thinking have, obviously, met some resistance from the environment. Their thinking can seem cold and harsh to people. And those are the aspects people often react to. They react, perhaps, with disgust or sarcasm. So the logical thinker will apply emotional bias to the disgusted instead of evaluating own logic, even when the emotional outbursts had a point or two.

So what happens when the logical thinker discovers the INTP? He revels. Finally someone who understands he's right! And in worst case scenario, his thinking becomes more extreme. Everything is seen through a strict logical lens that doesn't consider the human and, ewwww, emotional factor.

The INTP doesn't have to look critically at their own thinking anymore

After all, all the geniuses are INTPs, that means they must be too. All rational, logical and accurate thinking are born from NTs. They have monopoly on it. NFs are idealistic thinkers tending to value humans and give arguments weight if they are merciful. Don't even get started on the SFs, they can't have any valid point, like ever. They can't be intelligent, rational thinkers.

The logical thinker will consider arguments born from the same perspective more relevant and more accurate than others. Just knowing that someone else is an INTP is enough to value that person's opinion more. After all, he is not a criticising, non-understanding sheep of the masses ESFJ.

And that's just the INTP. That's part of what I see a forum's tendency to be if types were known. It's not always open and in your face, but it's there.

:phear:
 

Coolydudey

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Several have asked why you might want to enforce an IQ limit...
The truth is that IQ measures the ability to identify patterns and to think critically, among other things. Therefore, if you want to encourage critical thinking, logical clarity and ingenuity in thought, one way of doing so (even if it is not complete) is to enforce an IQ limit.

As a note, it is something I would do as well if there were enough people who wanted to join the forum.
 

Architect

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Ugh. Like people don't already pigeon-hole and generalize to ridiculous extents already. Wouldn't you judge based on the merits of what they post, irrespective of gender or type?

Just seems counter-productive to me to do anything but.

The problem lies in stereotypes and the biases that follows from knowing type, gender, race, age or even nationality.

I agree, that's why I at least want an accurate stereotype.

Stereotyping is inevitable; it's the nature of thought and interaction. Having avatars gives people stereotypes as do how you phrase things. I have an avatar and name of a crabby old intellectual. I write like one too, whereas in real life I'm quite different. So what? I enjoy playing a role on the board. I could have as well put a picture of a lingam up and talk like Bruce Willis. That's another part of my personality too. Trying to hide all this doesn't accomplish anything.

Besides these things can't be hidden, trying to do so just wastes time. I remember reading a Sci Fi book by Ursula Le Guin. I didn't know about her and didn't know she was female, most sci fi authors are male. About half way through the book I realized the author must be a female. The main character was male, and no way would a man write him in the way she did.

Professional, experienced and famous author couldn't make a 100% believable male character. The only one who really pulled this off was Shakespeare. So forcing us all into androgynous androids isn't likely to work or accomplish anything useful in my opinion.
 

Hadoblado

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I think that this forum, despite having things that people complain about quite frequently, is about as good as it gets. Any change that I care to mention would be strongly contended.

I challenge you:
Suggest an improvement to the forum that receives a near unanimous approval rating.
 

SpaceYeti

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Okay. Anyone can easily ignore the things they don't want to pay attention to, so if you see a thread or reply you don't like, ignore it. There's no need to remove it, or whatever. If people are posting, they obviously think it's worth posting in. You think the mods have a better idea of what a person wants to spend their time replying to than the person who's doing the replying?
 

Coolydudey

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I think that this forum, despite having things that people complain about quite frequently, is about as good as it gets. Any change that I care to mention would be strongly contended.

I challenge you:
Suggest an improvement to the forum that receives a near unanimous approval rating.

I agree.

As for a suggestion: More aggressive removal of obviously spammy posts, which is rare, but happens.
 

Cherry Cola

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Why exactly?

For the same reason I want a reading comprehension test, to make sure that the people on the boards all get whats being written and can follow on abstract reasoning.

It's a matter of efficiency, and for that I want a forum where there's a gap of knownledge and intelligence between some users.

Edit: god fucking damnit, being part colorblind I find it damn hard to make out those six letters almost every time : (
 

Hadoblado

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I like to think that anyone that comes here with poor communication skills, or a poor understanding of the world, will leave having learned something. It may only be that they have limitations in these areas, but that is a valuable lesson in itself.


Also:
images
 

Brontosaurie

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Several have asked why you might want to enforce an IQ limit...
The truth is that IQ measures the ability to identify patterns and to think critically, among other things. Therefore, if you want to encourage critical thinking, logical clarity and ingenuity in thought, one way of doing so (even if it is not complete) is to enforce an IQ limit.

As a note, it is something I would do as well if there were enough people who wanted to join the forum.

IQ doesn't tell you much about a persons ability to stfu though, which was the issue.
 

Cavallier

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Okay. Anyone can easily ignore the things they don't want to pay attention to, so if you see a thread or reply you don't like, ignore it. There's no need to remove it, or whatever. If people are posting, they obviously think it's worth posting in. You think the mods have a better idea of what a person wants to spend their time replying to than the person who's doing the replying?

They can't ignore it though. I get a weekly bombardment of complaints and potential flame war flair ups that show most people are incapable of ignoring what they don't like. The ones who can stick around are the ones who can and the ones who can't or like to bully those who can't (Too much*) don't.

Along those same lines I'd like a forum that allowed for equal voice in it's members as apposed to a few loudmouthed members who stomp around forcing silence or abortive attempts at communication in others. This forum isn't so bad that way.

*Everybody likes a little sport from time to time. :twisteddevil:
 

Cavallier

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IQ doesn't tell you much about a persons ability to stfu though, which was the issue.

And you say this shortly after saying you want a forum where people are not banned. Make up your mind. Admit you just want to muzzle people you don't like.
 

Brontosaurie

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And you say this shortly after saying you want a forum where people are not banned. Make up your mind. Admit you just want to muzzle people you don't like.

i've made up my mind. no admittance tests and minimal moderation. where is the contradiction?

you think i want a place abundant with dumb people who are easily defeated?
 

Minuend

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I agree, that's why I at least want an accurate stereotype.

Stereotyping is inevitable; it's the nature of thought and interaction. Having avatars gives people stereotypes as do how you phrase things. I have an avatar and name of a crabby old intellectual. I write like one too, whereas in real life I'm quite different. So what? I enjoy playing a role on the board. I could have as well put a picture of a lingam up and talk like Bruce Willis. That's another part of my personality too. Trying to hide all this doesn't accomplish anything.

Especially on this forum, where you have a bunch of outcasts and deviants (or what used to be, anyways), making assumptions based on factors I mentioned is of the least accurate stereotypes.

Of course you're fine with "stereotypes" if you are not being belittled or assumed ignorant because of it. If you in fact are comfortable and maybe even thrive in the role you have.

It's not about hiding, it is about gaining and giving the same amount of initial respect to everyone.

As a curious side note, have you often experienced being treated differently (negatively) because of some shallow trait as your appearance, gender, age or so?

Besides these things can't be hidden, trying to do so just wastes time. I remember reading a Sci Fi book by Ursula Le Guin. I didn't know about her and didn't know she was female, most sci fi authors are male. About half way through the book I realized the author must be a female. The main character was male, and no way would a man write him in the way she did.

Professional, experienced and famous author couldn't make a 100% believable male character. The only one who really pulled this off was Shakespeare. So forcing us all into androgynous androids isn't likely to work or accomplish anything useful in my opinion.

That's missing my point.

Though, I disagree people can't make accurate characters of the different sex. Wouldn't any character that does not resemble the author be bad if not for insight into another person's mind?

Okay. Anyone can easily ignore the things they don't want to pay attention to, so if you see a thread or reply you don't like, ignore it. There's no need to remove it, or whatever. If people are posting, they obviously think it's worth posting in. You think the mods have a better idea of what a person wants to spend their time replying to than the person who's doing the replying?

With free posting this would be a completely different forum. If trolls and simple- minded thinkers could roam free, the more intellectual and abstract- minded would leave. Introducing 4chan 2.

It doesn't really matter if the mods have a better idea than the poster or not as they are still in charge. Since they have been selected, they are apparently in synch with what the desired attitude and purpose with this forum should be- for better or worse.

Though, we are only seeing those who do post. Those who refrain from doing so because of low quality posts remain invisible.
 

Cherry Cola

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Wow your prediction of what would happen to these boards with free posting is so off base that its hilarious.

My bet is that nothing much would happen seeing as the user base and level of activity isn't that high and a lot of posters are N types who genuinely want to discuss..
 

Jennywocky

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Besides these things can't be hidden, trying to do so just wastes time. I remember reading a Sci Fi book by Ursula Le Guin. I didn't know about her and didn't know she was female, most sci fi authors are male. About half way through the book I realized the author must be a female. The main character was male, and no way would a man write him in the way she did.

Professional, experienced and famous author couldn't make a 100% believable male character.

That's kind of a broad brush to be using, especially with an author like LeGuin.

I've read other books of hers, and both her male and female characters seem very believable to me. But I would agree that she's one of the few "classic" authors who seemed to get women right, it's probably one of the traits I value most in her work.

Which is funny, because she's not a stereotypical women, she's INTJ and has some masculine traits and was long a competing force in a field of writing traditionally dominated by men.

I disagree people can't make accurate characters of the different sex. Wouldn't any character that does not resemble the author be bad if not for insight into another person's mind?

I disagree as well. Without much effort, I can think of men who have written believable female characters (like Guy Gavriel Kay and Neil Gaiman), etc.

As a curious side note, have you often experienced being treated differently (negatively) because of some shallow trait as your appearance, gender, age or so?

*shrug*

I think choosing to use a feminine name and avatar definitely has an impact on some forums, it determines how others respond, and sometimes I feel like my thoughts are brushed aside a bit or not quite taken as seriously when they fly against the grain or challenge status quo.

In lieu of taking a masculine persona on forums, I basically choose to play into the more whimsical aspects of myself and "step around it" as best as I can, exploring the limits of that approach.
 

Minuend

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Wow your prediction of what would happen to these boards with free posting is so off base that its hilarious.

My bet is that nothing much would happen seeing as the user base and level of activity isn't that high and a lot of posters are N types who genuinely want to discuss..

If you mean 4chan, that was something of a hyperbole to hopefully encourage mental visualization of possible alternative consequences (possible including this place degenerate as people gradually leave, not literally turning into 4chan. For the record, I don't have anything against 4chan- it has its own value in entertainment. But I like to have some places that focus on debate).

The statement before that- well I have gotten to know quite a few members here, and some do post less frequent or not at all because they consider it fruitless. These are very intelligent people who used to contribute greatly in the past.

Things have changed and will continue to change.
 

Fukyo

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I agree.

As for a suggestion: More aggressive removal of obviously spammy posts, which is rare, but happens.

Just to clarify, you're referring to spambot posts or inane posts by actual people?

I thought we were already pretty aggressive in its removal, considering that at time we get literally dozens of spambots registering and posting, and only a very small amount ends up visible to regular members.



Okay, now on topic:

I think an enjoyable community is primarily made by the people that inhabit it. This naturally depends on any given person's interests and tastes. For me, an ideal forum would be made of witty, intelligent, open minded, knowledgeable people who have a lot of interests, aren't afraid of discussing different or taboo topics, who have interesting experiences to share, and are at least somewhat mature. People who can discuss seriously, but have a sense of humor and can get silly too.
 

Duxwing

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That's kind of a broad brush to be using, especially with an author like LeGuin.

I've read other books of hers, and both her male and female characters seem very believable to me. But I would agree that she's one of the few "classic" authors who seemed to get women right, it's probably one of the traits I value most in her work.

Which is funny, because she's not a stereotypical women, she's INTJ and has some masculine traits and was long a competing force in a field of writing traditionally dominated by men.



I disagree as well. Without much effort, I can think of men who have written believable female characters (like Guy Gavriel Kay and Neil Gaiman), etc.



*shrug*

I think choosing to use a feminine name and avatar definitely has an impact on some forums, it determines how others respond, and sometimes I feel like my thoughts are brushed aside a bit or not quite taken as seriously when they fly against the grain or challenge status quo.

In lieu of taking a masculine persona on forums, I basically choose to play into the more whimsical aspects of myself and "step around it" as best as I can, exploring the limits of that approach.

Perhaps real life conversation so habituates us to knowing the age, race, gender, and type of those to whom we speak that simply not knowing-- even if the absence of knowledge is inconsequential-- is somewhat like walking around topless on a hot day after having worn shirts all your life. You feel fine, but something's... missing.

Of course, the question of whether this desire justifies revealing such attributes is entirely a different matter.

-Duxwing
 

SpaceYeti

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If you mean 4chan, that was something of a hyperbole to hopefully encourage mental visualization of possible alternative consequences (possible including this place degenerate as people gradually leave, not literally turning into 4chan. For the record, I don't have anything against 4chan- it has its own value in entertainment. But I like to have some places that focus on debate).

The statement before that- well I have gotten to know quite a few members here, and some do post less frequent or not at all because they consider it fruitless. These are very intelligent people who used to contribute greatly in the past.

Things have changed and will continue to change.
I was unaware that the purpose of this forum was to debate. I presumed the forum had a larger scope since, you know, there's not even a sub-forum dedicated to debate. I'm not saying debate shouldn't happen or cannot happen, just that it's not the point.

Besides, I only really take parts in debate where the other guy is, insofar as my knowledge allows me to judge, fairly obviously wrong. You know, Creationists, certain conspiracy theories, the idea that time could have been happening infinitely in the past, etc. Really, what else is there, or has there ever been, on this forum that was ever anything else? When I first joined it was Da Blob and a bunch of people talking about how depressed they are and how they don't know anything for 100% realz, therefore coming to conclusions is pointless.

Frankly, I think the forum has taken a step forward from that, though I'm still upset that Da Blob got banned simply because he's a moron. Sophistic moron or not, he still made posts people replied to.

So, yeah, I don't like listening to pseudo-intellectual emo kids, and consider what we have now to be better. That's at least part of my point, though. I can easily ignore those emo kids and focus on the posts I do like, and those emo kids can have fun talking about how depressed they are and how meaningless everything is. Everybody wins.
 

QuickTwist

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@Moderators and administrators, my ideal forum has no trolls in it. Is that too much to ask?
 
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Dear Forum,

Given that forums can sometimes disappoint us, I wonder: What would the ideal forum be like?
Pretty much exactly like this one but equipped with optional live video/voice chat in threads to make interaction more seamless and temporal cognitive clusterfucks like myself more effective. It's easier to just say something instead of typing it up in notepad for 20 minutes only to discard the whole mess and make a sandwich instead. (I want unlimited bandwidth to go along with my pony, million dollars, and.... oh, shiny!)
I challenge you:
Suggest an improvement to the forum that receives a near unanimous approval rating.
My submission lies above.
 

QuickTwist

Spiritual "Woo"
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No.
 

nanook

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yeah, i second the desire for more video action. i'm rather tired of imagining that i am talking to avatars (in reality i am ignored by avatars). i'd rather imagine talking to moving images (in reality being ignored by them). although i still shy away from real time interaction (apparently i like being ignored).

i hate "debate" - mornic left brained shit. nothing* novel is gained when mere words react to others words. as if i need a forum to be reminded of my imprisonment in language.

the ideal forum has an online shop for the distribution of smartdrugs, entheogens and regenerative drugs.


*don't take a rant too literal, thanx
 

Hadoblado

think again losers
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Pretty much exactly like this one but equipped with optional live video/voice chat in threads to make interaction more seamless and temporal cognitive clusterfucks like myself more effective. It's easier to just say something instead of typing it up in notepad for 20 minutes only to discard the whole mess and make a sandwich instead. (I want unlimited bandwidth to go along with my pony, million dollars, and.... oh, shiny!)

My submission lies above.

I have actually pondered this a little. I think that while this is a good idea, there would still be disadvantages. For one, a lot of people here lack the skill to conduct themselves in an attention grabbing fashion. I am able to read and comprehend text at least 5-6 times as fast as most people can clearly communicate it. I don't want to be forced to slow down my information trawl in order to accommodate a subjective preference for a different format. If we had someway of transcribing a text version from the videos then I see very little downside, but I doubt this is the case?

Anywho, while it's not entirely as integrated as you describe, we still have the ability to upload a video, though this feature is almost entirely reserved for video threads. I am all for having more videos on the forum, though I don't want them to exist at the expense of written communication.
 

scorpiomover

The little professor
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Dear Forum,

Given that forums can sometimes disappoint us, I wonder: What would the ideal forum be like?

Things to consider:
Who would its members be?
Whatever your notion of an ideal society would be. For me, an ideal forum would be those who are polite, respectful to all, well-travelled, speak multiple languages, highly well-read, who always try to see things from the other person's viewpoint, who will perservere in their understanding until they get to clear answers, no matter how long it takes, who admit when they are wrong, and are full of humility. These are the characteristics that tend to be of those whose views I disagree with highly, but still managed to impress me that they knew what they were talking about.

I was going to put in intelligence. But on this thread, SpaceYeti wrote that super-intelligent people can do the same as anyone else, only they understand it quicker. On a forum, speed is not really that much of an issue, as you can always come back to a thread later. So intelligence is not important here.

How would it be organized?
In your ideal, whatever your ideal society would look like. In mine? Combination of flat-pack and hierarchical.

What should its influence upon the world be?
In your ideal, whatever your ideal society would look like. In mine? To educate its members, and those who are sufficiently educated, can then educate everyone else.

Who should be admitted?
In your ideal, whatever your ideal society would look like. In mine? Whoever fits the bill, or wants to. The most important criteria, though, has to be that he values knowledge and truth more than intelligence, and is willing to be seen as a fool, if that means he will get more answers. All humans appear as fools sometimes, and especially when we are learning something that others have known for so long, that they take it for granted.
 
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The ideal forum is a wasteland of sky, earth and planet. Do you know what the relations between the tree are?

There are no relations.

You are alone. You are within a greater depth of perception than you can imagine. You are the inner essence of a being that cannot be explained, articulated or described. You are....
 

BigApplePi

Banned
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My ideal forum*.
Who would its members be?
Restricted to moderators and trolls only.

How would it be organized?
It would have various threads centering around the theme of moderators and trolls:

1. Moderators versus trolls: who is better?
2. The moderator/troll world view.
3. How regular people can learn to be a moderator or troll.
4. How regular people can be banned from this forum without offending them.
5. INTP trolls and moderators and their ilk.
6. Discussion of how a moderator can flame another moderator, trolls view.
7. Discussion of how to tolerate or ban trolls, moderators view.
8. An all moderator or all troll forum is/is not a good idea.

These are only suggestions. Feel free to ignore or create your own.

What should its influence upon the world be?
That would be the point ... to find out.

Who should be admitted?
That could be figured out from the above.
*:D
 
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