Willi & Sue wrote:
I cound not agree more. I used to enjoy this newsgroup, but have not
been able to for quite a while now. It is just not worth it anymore.
Big Dale
this place becomes more boring every day, for me.
yfitons
wayno
Donīt really know why I even bother reading or posting at all
anymore. Like
a number of other things it has become almost meaningless.
TL
MC
Each one of us looks to ROFF for his or her own reasons. ROFF is
simply a compilation of people's posts and the character of ROFF is
based on the character of those posts. If you don't like the
"character" of ROFF, there are a variety of things you can do. The
most obvious are not read it or post to it, complain about it,
contribute to it in a way that will alter the character in a way you
would like to see it move or contribute to the "character" you don't
like.
Not reading it will have no impact on its content (nor will JUST
reading it). Complaining about it, although it is somehow satisfying,
seems to have only minimal impact (and much of that impact might well
be the opposite of what you want to see). It seems to me that if you
want to see a ROFF that's interesting and rewarding to you, the only
way to do that is to post and to post in a manner that contributes to
the "character" you would like to see in ROFF. Flames foster flames,
hate fosters hate, good posts foster more good posts.
I'm not sure why it is (the reasons for this are interesting to me)
but it seems that it's much easier to write a flame or criticize or
name call or become "personal" or ......... than it is to write
"constructive" comments. For some reason (again kinda interesting
to me) these negative types of posts also tend to generate lots of
interest
and are self perpetuating. IMO, it's FAR more difficult to come up
with "positive" things of interest to others, and even more
difficult to come up with "positive" things that generate discussion.
Many of the posts I like to read are of a type that don't generate
much in the way of discussion. A good example of that was Conan's
post of his wife's photos. I really liked seeing them and they're the
type of post I'd like to see more of but they don't generate
discussion - what do you say after "nice photos"?
Although you can interact (or not) in ROFF in pretty much any manner
that you please, complaining about the state of ROFF without
contributing to it in what YOU see as a positive manner, seems pretty
futile to me. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you want
to see a ROFF that at least approaches your image of what ROFF should
be, you need make the effort to post something of "value".
Damn, you are one reflective SOB! ;-)
I think Frank's recent quote from another newsgroup sums up much of the
problem: people taking offense to what others post. Although some
intentionally offensive posts get my attention, I tend to see them as
more a reflection of the person making the remark than the intended
recipients. Sometimes responding in defense to these jabs only builds on
their intent. Certain key words are used by some here as a means to get
reaction, such as "liar", "cheat", "lazy", etc., but they only work if
the targets react. In recent history, I've come to the conclusion (more
of a "dawn over Marblehead" moment) that *none* of you require my input
or defense, as you are quite capable of providing your own. Quite a few
of the controversial posts on roff seem to draw a line in the sand where
people are likely to jump on one side or the other. I enjoy sharing from
and with individuals from both sides of that line. Written medium is by
far the poorest form of communication when it comes to heated
discussion. Those who know me in person know I'm as opinionated as the
next guy, but I choose not to propogate this (much) on roff out of
respect for the group. But that's just me and not something I'd expect
out of anyone else. Do what you will, read what you will, and react as
you will, but don't stop posting. This place has a unique flavor that
can't be found anywhere else.
--
TL,
Tim
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http://css.sbcma.com/timj