I've had my share of all those on-line connections. I've made some of my best friends in chat rooms, seriously! I met lots of those dear folks face to face. It's been worth the price of my computers to meet such wonderful people.
And yet, there's the down side. Somebody figures somebody else is posting too much and tells them about it. They gather their troops, and next thing you know, your name is mud. Or sometimes, they simply don't like the way you type.
Nowadays I'm numb. Except when some drama happens; then I just have to laugh, because they can't hurt me any more.
Right now there's quite a soap opera going on at one of my favorite message boards, Country Living. Some lady thinks she ought to post any original (or non-original) thought she has on a public forum, and people are getting tired of it. She's hogging the forum, and everybody's telling her what she's doing wrong.
Meanwhile, I don't post to that board more than twice a week many times, and somebody made a smart-aleck comment about me. Sometimes you just can't win.
I didn't respond. That's one thing I learned in the old AOL chat days. Never respond. That's what they want, you know. They want a public fight.
I like blogs better. It's my space, I say what I want. Don't read it if you don't like it.
But I do love soap operas. So I keep reading message boards.
I used to hang out on several boards once upon a time and yeah.... sometimes the flame wars break out. The obvious thing to do is ignore them, but it's like a train wreck... You know it's going to be horrible, but you just can't not look LOL!
ReplyDeletelol, I agree w/ astaryth! it is like a train wreck, its bad but cant help looking....
ReplyDeletealways someone who has to be a pain in the ass on those message boards.
I belong to a few crimeboards and the mindless/inane chit chat that some posters post about, drives me crazy. lately Ive stayed away from them.
Gosh, Donna, who could you POSSIBLY be talking about?
ReplyDeleteBwaaaaaaaa hahahahahahahahahahaha!
I surf by and peek in the winder occasionally, but generally keep my yap shut.
I don't follow many of these interactive things--listservs, forums, newsgroups--anymore, for the reasons you stated. It's a shame--if a group is too small, it dies away, but as soon as it gets bigger and more active, these unattractive behaviors commence.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. I live in West Virginia now, but I grew up near Creston. Just the other day, I called over my resident West Virginian, to get him to look at your flood pictures. "Now that's what REAL mud looks like," I told him.
It can get very soap opery on those borads
ReplyDelete