Scribe
Legend
I have been using forums since they were BBSes, so I don't really put ENWorld in the same category as other social media.
Me neither, but its not worth the loss of joy to debate it with others.
I have been using forums since they were BBSes, so I don't really put ENWorld in the same category as other social media.
Certainly for me, the smaller scale and sense of community fostered here is a meaningful distinction. If I made a witty point on Twitter (back when I used it), my hope was to generate a lot of likes and reactions. Here, I'm hoping to provoke engagement from the coterie of posters I'm become familiar with through years of interactions.The most meaningful differences are only in scale. First, the place is small enough that we can at least make a significant attempt at human moderation. Second, when human moderation isn't applied, the place is small enough for your user name to be recognized, over time, such that some amount of social consequences can apply to bad behavior.
Agreed, but I still think of forums as fundamentally different than FB or Twitter or Discord or even reddit -- primarily because we can have long meaningful conversations that we can go back to days, weeks or even months and years later. None of those other venues offer that kind of continuity of discussion.So, I'd be careful there. There's going to be a tendency to classify the things you/we like in a more positive light than things you/we don't.
EN World is, fundamentally, still social media. Pretty much every ugly or unfortunate dynamic seen on those other venues is observable here.
The most meaningful differences are only in scale. First, the place is small enough that we can at least make a significant attempt at human moderation. Second, when human moderation isn't applied, the place is small enough for your user name to be recognized, over time, such that some amount of social consequences can apply to bad behavior.
Agreed, but I still think of forums as fundamentally different than FB or Twitter or Discord or even reddit -- primarily because we can have long meaningful conversations that we can go back to days, weeks or even months and years later. None of those other venues offer that kind of continuity of discussion.
The big difference between a forum like ENWorld and a site like Facebook or Reddit is, well, you guys. There's also a somewhat higher threshold before joining the discussion – in order to be part of a discussion here, I had to find the site and make an account. And if I act like a bleep, y'all can throw me out. By comparison, Facebook continually throws things in front of me that their Algorithm thinks I'm interested in and hopes I will engage with (and by "hopes I will engage with" I mean "has calculated has a pretty good chance of making me angry enough to post a comment").Sure, discussions can go on for long periods, but most don't. So I can't see this as terribly "fundamental" in terms of whether it counts as "social media".
I don't personally think it's as simple as that.And that is the larger point: you can choose to find joy in things. I tried to explain this to my son who was perpetually frustrated (except on Avatar). Whether you are walking through Galaxy's Edge or watching Star Trek or playing D&D, you can choose to release the cynicism and negativity and embrace the craft and illusion and find real joy in these fantasies and these worlds.
MST3K not doing it for you?And look, I get it, for some people tearing apart some media or game IS the way they find joy in it. Good for them. But to me focusing on the flaws is the opposite of finding joy.
Agreed, but I still think of forums as fundamentally different than FB or Twitter or Discord or even reddit -- primarily because we can have long meaningful conversations that we can go back to days, weeks or even months and years later. None of those other venues offer that kind of continuity of discussion.