Are message boards better?
Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:56 pm
As the Internet becomes more complicated, I'm finding myself longing for vintage sites with a 1990s feel. Message boards appeal to me.
I'm noticing message boards (bulletin boards) don't seem to have the issues mainstream social media platforms have. In fact, as of late, I've seen very heated debates on message boards simply burn out and smolder to cold ash. One comes to mind as I'm typing this, and I imagine if it were on a mainstream platform, someone would want a person banned from the site. Yet, in the case I'm thinking of, I checked back today, and they're all talking again as if nothing were said.
It's got me thinking that the slow pace of message boards allows for more civil discussion. In fact, it has me thinking about Henry David Thoreau's argument that yelling across a pond makes one choose words wisely so as not to make their voice go hoarse.
I might be totally wrong in this, yet I've seen it time and time again. Someone on a message board post a topic for discussion, a debate cycles, and soon it ends until the next one cycles. It's as if there's an implied agreement among board users to allow each to have their own unique opinion.
I'm noticing message boards (bulletin boards) don't seem to have the issues mainstream social media platforms have. In fact, as of late, I've seen very heated debates on message boards simply burn out and smolder to cold ash. One comes to mind as I'm typing this, and I imagine if it were on a mainstream platform, someone would want a person banned from the site. Yet, in the case I'm thinking of, I checked back today, and they're all talking again as if nothing were said.
It's got me thinking that the slow pace of message boards allows for more civil discussion. In fact, it has me thinking about Henry David Thoreau's argument that yelling across a pond makes one choose words wisely so as not to make their voice go hoarse.
I might be totally wrong in this, yet I've seen it time and time again. Someone on a message board post a topic for discussion, a debate cycles, and soon it ends until the next one cycles. It's as if there's an implied agreement among board users to allow each to have their own unique opinion.