blame space
Banned
If I can go into board theory for a minute..
I, the person who started this thread, thought this might be worth some discussion.
When you hold so high a standard for what is worthy of discussion (i.e. "thread-worthy"), you create what I'm going to call megathreadism: the systematic deterioration of discussion about any specific topic ("Official Threads"). Megathreads aren't inherently bad (e.g. the multiple "-GAF" subcultures that frequent certain megathreads), but more often than not it seems to promote a slow decay of discussion when the thread is about too specific a subject.
For example: why are people comparing Ye and Jay-Z to 2pac and Biggy in the Watch the Throne thread? Comparisons can be eye-opening if they're well structured and thought through, but if someone made a separate thread titled "Jay-Z/Kanye West vs. 2Pac/The Notorious B.I.G." (|OT|?) they would be laughed at and ridiculed.
And rightfully so. It's a pointlessly vague, obtuse byproduct of top-ten list wars that won't result in any meaningful discussion. But there we are, in a megathread, doing it. Why? Why is it better to have one huge thread (where any discussion, no matter how vapid or only slightly related, is the norm) instead of stopping the emphasis on thread-worth? Why are certain megathreads locked (e.g. the multiple attempts at Depressing News threads in the past few months) while others are able to thrive?
It's probably the sheer size of the forum, compounded by the fact that the industry this board is centered around has always bred irrational binary thought-patterns.. but I just really hate the kind of conversation the internet breeds sometimes.
What is a thread? A for/against poll? An opportunity to be entertaining, to be the first to make someone laugh? A chance to "[/end]" the thread, hereby closing the case on an entire subject for the rest of time? When you're a part of a big community, you gain many great things. The larger the community, the greater the chance that someone will make a really good thread or good post that allows you grow as a person; to understand yourself and someone else a little bit better. But the larger the community, the harder it is to be recognized. This creates two archetypes: the gimmick and the thoughtless.
You guys have heard of Reddit, right? of course you've heard of Reddit.. it's Reddit. It's huge. It averages more than 400,000,000 page views every day. Do you ever read the comments on reddit? It's fucking awful. The thoughtless either make a pun or a reference to something else to get "upvotes" or "karma" or however the hell it works.. truly just a circle jerk of unoriginality. The gimmicks are literal gimmicks.. a descriptive username and a post that references it. there's some guy who posts in a (supposedly) comically uneducated, stereotypical slave dialect and has a name like "UneducatedNigger" or something like that. I am not making this up. This is what people do to foster some sense of community: fit themselves into a box. I don't want that for this place.
This might seem like an attempt to moderate this board even though I'm not a moderator, but that is not my intention. I can't tell you what you should or shouldn't post, that's what the rules are for, I just want to talk about the board. The mods have a hard job.. they make and uphold the rules around here and it is undoubtedly a great board because of it.
This also might seem like an attempt to undermine moderation or administration on this board, but that is also not my intention. For every confusing thread lock by a moderator there are at least ten examples of threads where conversation is stunted by "..why is this threadworthy?" comments by regular-ass Members. That's being a dick. Don't be a dick, no one likes it when people are dicks.
tl;dr
I see people putting new threads on a pedestal, which is a shame because lighthearted and Unimportant conversation can be fun, and sometimes turn into a more "worthy" discussion or sense of community.
--/-/-- (shouts out to toxicadam)
does any of this ring true with anyone?
am i "losing my edge"?
do u ever want to make a thread but choose not to because you're afraid it won't be seen as "worthy"?
have you ever been told that "there's a thread for that already" when u don't think it really fit with the vibes of the megathread?
have you ever been offended that a thread wasn't important enough for you?
is a thread about a horrible crime or accident worth more than a thread about a positive news story?
do you think this thread is stealth-moderation?
do you value Timedog as a board treasure, or do u think his threads are bad?
I, the person who started this thread, thought this might be worth some discussion.
When you hold so high a standard for what is worthy of discussion (i.e. "thread-worthy"), you create what I'm going to call megathreadism: the systematic deterioration of discussion about any specific topic ("Official Threads"). Megathreads aren't inherently bad (e.g. the multiple "-GAF" subcultures that frequent certain megathreads), but more often than not it seems to promote a slow decay of discussion when the thread is about too specific a subject.
For example: why are people comparing Ye and Jay-Z to 2pac and Biggy in the Watch the Throne thread? Comparisons can be eye-opening if they're well structured and thought through, but if someone made a separate thread titled "Jay-Z/Kanye West vs. 2Pac/The Notorious B.I.G." (|OT|?) they would be laughed at and ridiculed.
And rightfully so. It's a pointlessly vague, obtuse byproduct of top-ten list wars that won't result in any meaningful discussion. But there we are, in a megathread, doing it. Why? Why is it better to have one huge thread (where any discussion, no matter how vapid or only slightly related, is the norm) instead of stopping the emphasis on thread-worth? Why are certain megathreads locked (e.g. the multiple attempts at Depressing News threads in the past few months) while others are able to thrive?
It's probably the sheer size of the forum, compounded by the fact that the industry this board is centered around has always bred irrational binary thought-patterns.. but I just really hate the kind of conversation the internet breeds sometimes.
What is a thread? A for/against poll? An opportunity to be entertaining, to be the first to make someone laugh? A chance to "[/end]" the thread, hereby closing the case on an entire subject for the rest of time? When you're a part of a big community, you gain many great things. The larger the community, the greater the chance that someone will make a really good thread or good post that allows you grow as a person; to understand yourself and someone else a little bit better. But the larger the community, the harder it is to be recognized. This creates two archetypes: the gimmick and the thoughtless.
You guys have heard of Reddit, right? of course you've heard of Reddit.. it's Reddit. It's huge. It averages more than 400,000,000 page views every day. Do you ever read the comments on reddit? It's fucking awful. The thoughtless either make a pun or a reference to something else to get "upvotes" or "karma" or however the hell it works.. truly just a circle jerk of unoriginality. The gimmicks are literal gimmicks.. a descriptive username and a post that references it. there's some guy who posts in a (supposedly) comically uneducated, stereotypical slave dialect and has a name like "UneducatedNigger" or something like that. I am not making this up. This is what people do to foster some sense of community: fit themselves into a box. I don't want that for this place.
This might seem like an attempt to moderate this board even though I'm not a moderator, but that is not my intention. I can't tell you what you should or shouldn't post, that's what the rules are for, I just want to talk about the board. The mods have a hard job.. they make and uphold the rules around here and it is undoubtedly a great board because of it.
This also might seem like an attempt to undermine moderation or administration on this board, but that is also not my intention. For every confusing thread lock by a moderator there are at least ten examples of threads where conversation is stunted by "..why is this threadworthy?" comments by regular-ass Members. That's being a dick. Don't be a dick, no one likes it when people are dicks.
tl;dr
I see people putting new threads on a pedestal, which is a shame because lighthearted and Unimportant conversation can be fun, and sometimes turn into a more "worthy" discussion or sense of community.
--/-/-- (shouts out to toxicadam)
does any of this ring true with anyone?
am i "losing my edge"?
do u ever want to make a thread but choose not to because you're afraid it won't be seen as "worthy"?
have you ever been told that "there's a thread for that already" when u don't think it really fit with the vibes of the megathread?
have you ever been offended that a thread wasn't important enough for you?
is a thread about a horrible crime or accident worth more than a thread about a positive news story?
do you think this thread is stealth-moderation?
do you value Timedog as a board treasure, or do u think his threads are bad?
