Dead Space

[GPnative]

I'll have to confess up front, I'm not on FB, I don't tweet and I'm afraid I don't even know all the rest of the new meeting/discussion places that I'm not a part of. I imagine they're all kind of like the comments section on the news pages, lots of noise but nothing ever gets anywhere.

This place seems to be more like the counter at the neighborhood tavern. Except for the smoke, drinks, pinball and pool, the bad sound system, broken TV and the drunks. Well, usually the drunks. Come to think of it it's not really much like the tavern. It's more like the cafe in a small town that all the locals drop into at some point in their day.

I don't think we solve anything here either, in these discussions. But, we get to know what other people think about things. Some of us might let that influence our own thought a little. Not enough to change our opinion usually but, influence us over time just a bit. Don't worry I don't expect anyone to agree with that.

What I'm doing a rather poor job of saying is, I don't really care about all the people who are not flocking to this forum. I come here for the people that do show up. If others drop in, fine. If they stay a while, better. If they decide to stay away, I don't care. I'm not getting sappy. You aren't my family, you're just folks I know.

In the end, this is just our little corner of the dinner. When folks die or move away or just stop showing up, it's over.

Well said!

[chuck white]

Just print some of these and leave around for smart phones to scan.

I don't have a smart phone. What does it say?

http://www.roguevalleyforum.com/forum/index.php

[cletus1]

I'll have to confess up front, I'm not on FB, I don't tweet and I'm afraid I don't even know all the rest of the new meeting/discussion places that I'm not a part of. I imagine they're all kind of like the comments section on the news pages, lots of noise but nothing ever gets anywhere.

This place seems to be more like the counter at the neighborhood tavern. Except for the smoke, drinks, pinball and pool, the bad sound system, broken TV and the drunks. Well, usually the drunks. Come to think of it it's not really much like the tavern. It's more like the cafe in a small town that all the locals drop into at some point in their day.

I don't think we solve anything here either, in these discussions. But, we get to know what other people think about things. Some of us might let that influence our own thought a little. Not enough to change our opinion usually but, influence us over time just a bit. Don't worry I don't expect anyone to agree with that.

What I'm doing a rather poor job of saying is, I don't really care about all the people who are not flocking to this forum. I come here for the people that do show up. If others drop in, fine. If they stay a while, better. If they decide to stay away, I don't care. I'm not getting sappy. You aren't my family, you're just folks I know.

In the end, this is just our little corner of the dinner. When folks die or move away or just stop showing up, it's over.

Well said!

I agree. Sometimes when I come here and see that no one is posting, I feel I should post something. Occasionally I do post something, but that can backfire and I end up making some rather boring posts. So, when you got nothing to say, don't force it. Slow is better than boring. 

I still like to check in most days. I don't have a FB, Twitter or any other social media account and I don't want one.

[Wonky3]

I'll have to confess up front, I'm not on FB, I don't tweet and I'm afraid I don't even know all the rest of the new meeting/discussion places that I'm not a part of. I imagine they're all kind of like the comments section on the news pages, lots of noise but nothing ever gets anywhere.

This place seems to be more like the counter at the neighborhood tavern. Except for the smoke, drinks, pinball and pool, the bad sound system, broken TV and the drunks. Well, usually the drunks. Come to think of it it's not really much like the tavern. It's more like the cafe in a small town that all the locals drop into at some point in their day.

I don't think we solve anything here either, in these discussions. But, we get to know what other people think about things. Some of us might let that influence our own thought a little. Not enough to change our opinion usually but, influence us over time just a bit. Don't worry I don't expect anyone to agree with that.

What I'm doing a rather poor job of saying is, I don't really care about all the people who are not flocking to this forum. I come here for the people that do show up. If others drop in, fine. If they stay a while, better. If they decide to stay away, I don't care. I'm not getting sappy. You aren't my family, you're just folks I know.

In the end, this is just our little corner of the dinner. When folks die or move away or just stop showing up, it's over.

"or just stop showing up..."

You nailed it. Look at our member list and wonder why so many are listed and so few interact.

[bbqboy]

What's to wonder about?
Seems pretty simple.

[tvguy]

I'll have to confess up front, I'm not on FB, I don't tweet and I'm afraid I don't even know all the rest of the new meeting/discussion places that I'm not a part of. I imagine they're all kind of like the comments section on the news pages, lots of noise but nothing ever gets anywhere.

This place seems to be more like the counter at the neighborhood tavern. Except for the smoke, drinks, pinball and pool, the bad sound system, broken TV and the drunks. Well, usually the drunks. Come to think of it it's not really much like the tavern. It's more like the cafe in a small town that all the locals drop into at some point in their day.

I don't think we solve anything here either, in these discussions. But, we get to know what other people think about things. Some of us might let that influence our own thought a little. Not enough to change our opinion usually but, influence us over time just a bit. Don't worry I don't expect anyone to agree with that.

What I'm doing a rather poor job of saying is, I don't really care about all the people who are not flocking to this forum. I come here for the people that do show up. If others drop in, fine. If they stay a while, better. If they decide to stay away, I don't care. I'm not getting sappy. You aren't my family, you're just folks I know.

In the end, this is just our little corner of the dinner. When folks die or move away or just stop showing up, it's over.

"or just stop showing up..."

You nailed it. Look at our member list and wonder why so many are listed and so few interact.

Funny how you insist it the "or just stop showing up...   matters more than the some move are some are dead part.
 



Have YOU looked at the member list? First of all look at how many "members" are there are who never even posted.

 I looked at the first page members under the letter A. 15 out of 22 members never posted more than 4 times. Several never posted at all.
Some only became a member to reply about something they saw on the internet. 


And how many are YOUR old accounts LOL. Obviously the number of members is misleading.

[GPnative]

I don't really do much wondering about this place, I peruse, I post when I feel like it. Matter of fact I kind of enjoy the fact it is a small group, if the place garnered 20,000 comments a day, I wouldn't be here.

[Juniper]

When MTF went down a lot of people went in different directions. Some said quite plainly that they were done and wouldn't bother with any follow up forums. Some went to World. Some went to different places. Some came here. But without the newspaper to be the base and with the dawning popularity of FB it just wasn't the same. I have lots of FB friends who I know from the Forum. That's where I met them. They no longer use their forum names and to be frank, many of them I can't remember who they were, only that they were someone from the forum. I think some people left because of vitriolic discussion for certain. But I remember the best days of the forum being those 20 page discussions on a topic that raged with different posters from different points of view. That's what made it interesting for me. And in those days, even the nastiest posters peppered their post with useful or funny or interesting information. The argument that bad posting etiquette is the root cause has been disproved I think. Witness Wars on FB . It's the busiest site around and very vitriolic. I'll miss the day of the internet forum, but I've accepted it's inevitable demise.

[Juniper]

This space is dying. Fewer people contribute to our forum than ever, and there is little reason to think that if may come back to it's previous "glory". 

I'm wonderering why. And, wondering if the few of us remaining would like to post at least three reasons we suspect the forum membership drying up. 

I'll start. 

• The loss of continuity in posted Topics..."jumping the tracks" to divert attention away from the Topic being discussed. 
  

• Vitriolic, vulgar, and personal attacks.
  

• Extreme polarization in expressing political/social views. 
  

I think one reason you don't really "get it" is that you aren't on Facebook.  If you were,  you would see that all of the above happen all the time. It doesn't stop FB; it continues chugging along with all the above characteristics.  I'm not saying saying you should be on FB.  In fact I think FB is kind of a dumbing down of the internet discussion forum. But it is what it is and it's taken over and these kind of forums are a dying breed. Like a print newspaper. Or a landline.  Out of date and fast becoming archaic.

[tvguy]

When MTF went down a lot of people went in different directions. Some said quite plainly that they were done and wouldn't bother with any follow up forums.  Some went to World.  Some went to different places. Some came here.  But without the newspaper to be the base and with the dawning popularity of FB it just wasn't the same.  I have lots of FB friends who I know from the Forum. That's where I met them. They no longer use their forum names and to be frank, many of them I can't remember who they were, only that they were someone from the forum.  I think some people left because of vitriolic discussion for certain. But I remember the best days of the forum being those 20 page discussions on a topic that raged with different posters from different points of view. That's what made it interesting for me.  And in those days, even the nastiest posters peppered their post with useful or funny or interesting information. The argument that bad posting etiquette is the root cause has been disproved I think.  Witness  Wars on FB . It's the busiest site around and very vitriolic.  I'll miss the day of the internet forum, but I've accepted it's inevitable demise.

Purty much Zactly what you said.

[Willie Krash]

Well heck Debate politics and Political Forums .com are going stronger than ever. By the time I finish typing there will be more posts than you'll see here all day I'd bet.
Me I do facebook. It is easier to use and a tad more civil. There are a few mud holes for those that enjoy that sort of thing.
As to FB I only know two here by name.

[tvguy]

Well heck Debate politics and Political Forums .com are going stronger than ever. By the time I finish typing there will be more posts than you'll see here all day I'd bet.
Me I do facebook. It is easier to use and a tad more civil. There are a few mud holes for those that enjoy that sort of thing.
As to FB I only know two here by name.

Which one's are you referring to? Other than the mud holes LOL.

[Wonky3]

This space is dying. Fewer people contribute to our forum than ever, and there is little reason to think that if may come back to it's previous "glory". 

I'm wonderering why. And, wondering if the few of us remaining would like to post at least three reasons we suspect the forum membership drying up. 

I'll start. 

• The loss of continuity in posted Topics..."jumping the tracks" to divert attention away from the Topic being discussed. 
  

• Vitriolic, vulgar, and personal attacks.
  

• Extreme polarization in expressing political/social views. 
  

I think one reason you don't really "get it" is that you aren't on Facebook.  If you were,  you would see that all of the above happen all the time. It doesn't stop FB; it continues chugging along with all the above characteristics.  I'm not saying saying you should be on FB.  In fact I think FB is kind of a dumbing down of the internet discussion forum. But it is what it is and it's taken over and these kind of forums are a dying breed. Like a print newspaper. Or a landline.  Out of date and fast becoming archaic.

Okay. Would you please point me to a discussion you find interesting on FB. I admit I have not spent much time there but all I see are exchanges that seem like "chat".

[Hugo]

This space is dying. Fewer people contribute to our forum than ever, and there is little reason to think that if may come back to it's previous "glory". 

I'm wonderering why. And, wondering if the few of us remaining would like to post at least three reasons we suspect the forum membership drying up. 

I'll start. 

• The loss of continuity in posted Topics..."jumping the tracks" to divert attention away from the Topic being discussed. 
  

• Vitriolic, vulgar, and personal attacks.
  

• Extreme polarization in expressing political/social views. 
  

I think one reason you don't really "get it" is that you aren't on Facebook.  If you were,  you would see that all of the above happen all the time. It doesn't stop FB; it continues chugging along with all the above characteristics.  I'm not saying saying you should be on FB.  In fact I think FB is kind of a dumbing down of the internet discussion forum. But it is what it is and it's taken over and these kind of forums are a dying breed. Like a print newspaper. Or a landline.  Out of date and fast becoming archaic.

Okay. Would you please point me to a discussion you find interesting on FB. I admit I have not spent much time there but all I see are exchanges that seem like "chat".

I understand your reluctance to join FB.  In order to have any meaningful conversations, you have to have "friends".  So again, knowing you, I get it.

[Juniper]

Christina Alford has started a Gold Hill Politics page.

[Juniper]

This space is dying. Fewer people contribute to our forum than ever, and there is little reason to think that if may come back to it's previous "glory". 

I'm wonderering why. And, wondering if the few of us remaining would like to post at least three reasons we suspect the forum membership drying up. 

I'll start. 

• The loss of continuity in posted Topics..."jumping the tracks" to divert attention away from the Topic being discussed. 
  

• Vitriolic, vulgar, and personal attacks.
  

• Extreme polarization in expressing political/social views. 
  

I think one reason you don't really "get it" is that you aren't on Facebook.  If you were,  you would see that all of the above happen all the time. It doesn't stop FB; it continues chugging along with all the above characteristics.  I'm not saying saying you should be on FB.  In fact I think FB is kind of a dumbing down of the internet discussion forum. But it is what it is and it's taken over and these kind of forums are a dying breed. Like a print newspaper. Or a landline.  Out of date and fast becoming archaic.

Okay. Would you please point me to a discussion you find interesting on FB. I admit I have not spent much time there but all I see are exchanges that seem like "chat".

Few and far between. There is a Site called WARS that used to be a Scanner page offshoot and talked about many things. Nowadays it's just about hating Muslims,  They Are Coming To Get Our Guns!, not wanting the Bathroom Law, They Are Coming To Get Our Guns! Gorillas, Trump! Go Trump! and They Are Coming To Get Our Guns!, Obama hate and, oh, They Are Coming To Get Our Guns!

Basically you need friends and a site that interests you. I like the West Medford Page. Vitriol and trolling is not allowed there, but it's just neighborhood chat.  Other than that, it's whatever group you've joined or whatever your friends link. It is, as I said, internet forum dumbed down. Dumbed way down. But it is what it is.  But you can search in the FB search bar for things you are interested in and see if there are groups  you would like to join. Maybe someone else here knows a good group to join.

[Juniper]

Well heck Debate politics and Political Forums .com are going stronger than ever. By the time I finish typing there will be more posts than you'll see here all day I'd bet.
Me I do facebook. It is easier to use and a tad more civil. There are a few mud holes for those that enjoy that sort of thing.
As to FB I only know two here by name.

I belong to one or two other message boards, some for years, but I have always preferred the local aspect; that I am talking to people in my region.  Somehow the impersonal nature of the big national sites isn't inviting to me.

[Cuzz]

Christina Alford has started a Gold Hill Politics page.  

I wonder if they'll have much to say?  

[Juniper]

Christina Alford has started a Gold Hill Politics page.  

I wonder if they'll have much to say?  

Christina has loads to say. Most but not all the posts are hers.

[tvguy]

This space is dying. Fewer people contribute to our forum than ever, and there is little reason to think that if may come back to it's previous "glory". 

I'm wonderering why. And, wondering if the few of us remaining would like to post at least three reasons we suspect the forum membership drying up. 

I'll start. 

• The loss of continuity in posted Topics..."jumping the tracks" to divert attention away from the Topic being discussed. 
  

• Vitriolic, vulgar, and personal attacks.
  

• Extreme polarization in expressing political/social views. 
  

I think one reason you don't really "get it" is that you aren't on Facebook.  If you were,  you would see that all of the above happen all the time. It doesn't stop FB; it continues chugging along with all the above characteristics.  I'm not saying saying you should be on FB.  In fact I think FB is kind of a dumbing down of the internet discussion forum. But it is what it is and it's taken over and these kind of forums are a dying breed. Like a print newspaper. Or a landline.  Out of date and fast becoming archaic.

Okay. Would you please point me to a discussion you find interesting on FB. I admit I have not spent much time there but all I see are exchanges that seem like "chat".

I understand your reluctance to join FB.  In order to have any meaningful conversations, you have to have "friends".  So again, knowing you, I get it.

You don't have to have friends on any particular Facebook site any more than you had to be friends with anyone here.