How Valuable are Internet Forums?
- Thread starter 661-Pete
- Start date
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Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Well, like anything, the value depends on how you use them.
To me: priceless.
To me: priceless.
cisamcgu
Legendary Member
- Location
- Merseyside-ish
Fun occasionally but not the "be all and end all" - get cross with all the bickering that appears on them, but find them a great resource at times
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
I generally find them woefully inadequate conglomerations of cliques and in jokes, the only saving grace is that every so often someone turns up...who is that masked man I hear you all cry.....who knows how things should be and trys to get the internet idiots behaving as he knows they should.
Put another way, they're worthless without you Pete
threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
I've been spared that and I guess it'll never happen now that MacB just trades in bikes but doesn't ride them anymore.
Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
I find forums an easier way to socialise and do the 'normal' social interaction stuff that people do.
I can talk to anyone I wish, say my bit without feeling like I am interupting, consider the conversation and my reply before I make it, not have to listen to the other conversations going on at the same time.
In real life I tend to only socialise with one, or at most two people, at a time other wise I get confused.
I have never felt able to interact as much or as well until forums, as we have now, came along.
The first 'forum' I joined was a part of my first dial up internet package. It included simple animated avatars that you had to create and then move around a 'hotel' as you joined in conversations that appeared in speech bubbles. It was too much like real life interaction but in the form of an early computer game.
I still can't use chat rooms as they move far too fast.
I can talk to anyone I wish, say my bit without feeling like I am interupting, consider the conversation and my reply before I make it, not have to listen to the other conversations going on at the same time.
In real life I tend to only socialise with one, or at most two people, at a time other wise I get confused.
I have never felt able to interact as much or as well until forums, as we have now, came along.
The first 'forum' I joined was a part of my first dial up internet package. It included simple animated avatars that you had to create and then move around a 'hotel' as you joined in conversations that appeared in speech bubbles. It was too much like real life interaction but in the form of an early computer game.
I still can't use chat rooms as they move far too fast.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
you are too kind gentlemen, I'm working on the riding bit 3BM, at least the bike no longer screams and hides, at my weight, when I head through the garage door
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
Very good, unless of course you include the owners weight in that, as Shaun is such a fat git that means he's also an incredibly wealthy git as well!!!
So if it weighs the same as a duck ...
Cletus Van Damme
Previously known as Cheesney Hawks
- Location
- Out in the sticks...
I think that they are great if used correctly. I have found them superb for advice on how to fix things, this has saved me a lot of money in the past. I also find ones such as this one great for advice on gear, cycle repairs as I am pretty new to cycling. I must be getting old as when I first started using the net ages ago it was mainly looking at porn. Now I hardly ever bother, it's usually buying things or hobby related forums.
I like them. Primarily access to information and experience. The latter more than the former.
I'm not a particularly sociable person (so, f*** off, stop asking me to be your 'friend', you know who you are
) so I don't tend to involve myself too much in the pleasantries but I do recognise the value of forums equally as a 'bit of fun'.
The only thing I am sceptical of is their value for is the serious/political topic. Ime, there seems a reluctance by people to moderate, or word carefully, their opinions as they might when face-to-face. There seems to be a desire to stick to the guns, prove at all costs that they are right. I think with words on a forum being so open to interpretation (missing important tone and context as they do) they are easily misunderstood. I do think such debates invariably can end up as exchanges of fire rather than a desire to mediate. Plus, you don't know the background nor intentions of fellow debaters. That's not to say a useful debate can't happen, because it can, but that it's not the norm.
I'm not a particularly sociable person (so, f*** off, stop asking me to be your 'friend', you know who you are
) so I don't tend to involve myself too much in the pleasantries but I do recognise the value of forums equally as a 'bit of fun'. The only thing I am sceptical of is their value for is the serious/political topic. Ime, there seems a reluctance by people to moderate, or word carefully, their opinions as they might when face-to-face. There seems to be a desire to stick to the guns, prove at all costs that they are right. I think with words on a forum being so open to interpretation (missing important tone and context as they do) they are easily misunderstood. I do think such debates invariably can end up as exchanges of fire rather than a desire to mediate. Plus, you don't know the background nor intentions of fellow debaters. That's not to say a useful debate can't happen, because it can, but that it's not the norm.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Agree in particular with the previous two comments.
They work better for very exchange of factual information but, as with email, they miss out the non-verbal bits of communication, hence risk of misunderstanding is high
For bike maintenance they are extremely good. Five years ago I could just about work out how to raise or lower my saddle but didn't know how to adjust my brakes properly. Now I would be confident to tackle pretty much any maintenance task on a bike.
They work better for very exchange of factual information but, as with email, they miss out the non-verbal bits of communication, hence risk of misunderstanding is high
For bike maintenance they are extremely good. Five years ago I could just about work out how to raise or lower my saddle but didn't know how to adjust my brakes properly. Now I would be confident to tackle pretty much any maintenance task on a bike.
