04-30-2006, 05:53 PM
I wrote this because I felt the urge to do so.
Enjoy.
Forums are like politics.
How so, you may ponder?
There are the rebels, and those who are in power. Power indeed corrupts, and the rebels break away. There are those who think delving into it kills you, be it out of confusion towards what opinion to follow or sex predators.
Oh yeah, and impeachment? Sure! (Demotion for the moderators out there)
I write this essay to encourage people, otherwise know as you, to speculate upon the points I make, and make forums actually seem like simply a message board, and none else.
Three years have I sat in front of a computer screen, and for three years I have witnessed many things which I have simply gotten sick of.
The first point I would like to introduce to everyone is something I doubt will be eradicated in any time soon…
Forum Melodrama.
It seems the Emos are not the only ones to wreak havoc upon society.
If you have spent enough time at a forum, you can most likely comprehend what I am implying.
It can be narrowed down to the fact that people take things way too seriously for an online message board.
Okay, so your friend was banned. Big freaking deal. You don’t need to arrange a rebellion against the site and make hordes of throngs of people leave in order to make a secondary site which you are positive will be better than the other site.
I am certain your brand new revolutionary site will crash, and it will be a waste of your own energy.
You do not need to get all dramatic over a forum changing, and the mods screwing over.
This is not going to affect you in real life. Your grades will not drop, you will not lose your sexuality, your family is still intact.
Why do you persist henceforth, on telling everyone to leave the site, and then continuing on to insult everyone and everything in your online journal?
The forum is not your life. If it is, you seriously need to get therapy.
People take these matters out of proportion, becoming depressed over the matter at hand in real life. The site will probably disappear within 5 years, and I speculate as to how you will survive soon after that.
As a moderator and even ex-moderator of various sites concerning different things, I have come to the following conclusion:
Power is worthless online.
Seriously. Get a life.
To all of you power hungry members who wish to be moderators, I wish you luck in your pursuit of happiness, because being a moderator is a lot worse than you make it out to be.
I don’t personally care how brilliant someone is, 90% of moderators I have seen become as you would say “power hungry” and completely lose track of what their job is.
They assume they can be obnoxious, snide, and cynical, and proceed to climb the ladder of power, until the point they decide who stays in power and who does not.
This is why I believe most forums die at this point.
Corruption.
Most moderators who actually do their job are almost always demoded. I am an example of this ridicule. At the forum I once modded at, I saw and despised many of the others in power there, yet none of them were ever demoded. When it was my turn to be demoded, I knew it was a mistake, but I then knew it was not even worth being there any longer.
Another issue at hand are the suck-ups.
Yes, there are many of these, and I have decided they are most likely all Emo 12 year olds whom need to seek a life better than the Interweb.
I know not why they desire to be moderators with such a passion. There is absolutely nothing pleasurable about pressing “lock”.
Far too long have I seen people kissing up to power hungry adolescents. I hope the madness stops.
Now, away from the discussion of modship.
Let us move on to the matter of regular members and their daily plights.
Yes, cliques do form online. Pathetic, isn’t it?
It is even worse, because these people will never meet each other in real life.
Cliques aren’t really as apparent, though you can see who is favored most of the time. People often complain their posts are “ignored”. Well, I would be grateful you are not ignored in real life.
Your parents do not ignore you, you are given food and you have a bed to sleep in, stop complaining about your virtual popularity. It will not get you into college. Though I do not understand why people seem to gain pleasure from offending other people online. I’ve seen this happen to me, my friends, and others. Masochistic pleasure from virtually offending someone? Wow, and I thought fascists were pathetic.
Like grades, there is an ongoing desire amongst the forum whores-
Post count.
I once revered this thing, and wasted three years over it. I now see it is a mediocre and pointless thing.
I will say upfront; I have 17,000 posts at a site.
If you look at it from one point of view, you will worship that number. However, from any other rational point of view you will realize it is sick. Which it indeed is.
People seem to grow attached to a few digits which do absolutely nothing.
These can be taken away with a single click, and they will never be seen again.
How is this an accomplishment? I do believe the grades on your report card are far more relevant. For those who know me, I believe upon reading this they will call me hypocritical. I have however come down to hating post count, regardless if you believe me or not.
Forum love is also a thing that has never ceased to amuse me. You will never marry this person, and for all you know, your girl Marissa could be a 60 year old man. So I reprimand you for being so incautious of your actions.
I also would like to say, you do not know Green Day, you do not know Emma Watson from your online message board. I do not care how much they insist on so, so please look harder for the word gullible in the dictionary. I have a rather hard time deciding which one is more incompetent- the people tricking you, or yourself.
And alas, the Emo children.
Words of wisdom:
I do not care if your life sucks.
Your life is not a black abyss.
Your parents do not abuse you.
You need not wear glasses, so stop giving bad names to nerds.
Stop making out with the same gender, gays are not repulsive.
Call us back when you write real poetry.
No elaboration necessary.
In conclusion, I beg of you all; do not take things out of proportion, and go outside for once.
Have a great time posting, whether it be at any site, and remember it is just a bunch of pixels.
--Eliana
Enjoy.
Forums are like politics.
How so, you may ponder?
There are the rebels, and those who are in power. Power indeed corrupts, and the rebels break away. There are those who think delving into it kills you, be it out of confusion towards what opinion to follow or sex predators.
Oh yeah, and impeachment? Sure! (Demotion for the moderators out there)
I write this essay to encourage people, otherwise know as you, to speculate upon the points I make, and make forums actually seem like simply a message board, and none else.
Three years have I sat in front of a computer screen, and for three years I have witnessed many things which I have simply gotten sick of.
The first point I would like to introduce to everyone is something I doubt will be eradicated in any time soon…
Forum Melodrama.
It seems the Emos are not the only ones to wreak havoc upon society.
If you have spent enough time at a forum, you can most likely comprehend what I am implying.
It can be narrowed down to the fact that people take things way too seriously for an online message board.
Okay, so your friend was banned. Big freaking deal. You don’t need to arrange a rebellion against the site and make hordes of throngs of people leave in order to make a secondary site which you are positive will be better than the other site.
I am certain your brand new revolutionary site will crash, and it will be a waste of your own energy.
You do not need to get all dramatic over a forum changing, and the mods screwing over.
This is not going to affect you in real life. Your grades will not drop, you will not lose your sexuality, your family is still intact.
Why do you persist henceforth, on telling everyone to leave the site, and then continuing on to insult everyone and everything in your online journal?
The forum is not your life. If it is, you seriously need to get therapy.
People take these matters out of proportion, becoming depressed over the matter at hand in real life. The site will probably disappear within 5 years, and I speculate as to how you will survive soon after that.
As a moderator and even ex-moderator of various sites concerning different things, I have come to the following conclusion:
Power is worthless online.
Seriously. Get a life.
To all of you power hungry members who wish to be moderators, I wish you luck in your pursuit of happiness, because being a moderator is a lot worse than you make it out to be.
I don’t personally care how brilliant someone is, 90% of moderators I have seen become as you would say “power hungry” and completely lose track of what their job is.
They assume they can be obnoxious, snide, and cynical, and proceed to climb the ladder of power, until the point they decide who stays in power and who does not.
This is why I believe most forums die at this point.
Corruption.
Most moderators who actually do their job are almost always demoded. I am an example of this ridicule. At the forum I once modded at, I saw and despised many of the others in power there, yet none of them were ever demoded. When it was my turn to be demoded, I knew it was a mistake, but I then knew it was not even worth being there any longer.
Another issue at hand are the suck-ups.
Yes, there are many of these, and I have decided they are most likely all Emo 12 year olds whom need to seek a life better than the Interweb.
I know not why they desire to be moderators with such a passion. There is absolutely nothing pleasurable about pressing “lock”.
Far too long have I seen people kissing up to power hungry adolescents. I hope the madness stops.
Now, away from the discussion of modship.
Let us move on to the matter of regular members and their daily plights.
Yes, cliques do form online. Pathetic, isn’t it?
It is even worse, because these people will never meet each other in real life.
Cliques aren’t really as apparent, though you can see who is favored most of the time. People often complain their posts are “ignored”. Well, I would be grateful you are not ignored in real life.
Your parents do not ignore you, you are given food and you have a bed to sleep in, stop complaining about your virtual popularity. It will not get you into college. Though I do not understand why people seem to gain pleasure from offending other people online. I’ve seen this happen to me, my friends, and others. Masochistic pleasure from virtually offending someone? Wow, and I thought fascists were pathetic.
Like grades, there is an ongoing desire amongst the forum whores-
Post count.
I once revered this thing, and wasted three years over it. I now see it is a mediocre and pointless thing.
I will say upfront; I have 17,000 posts at a site.
If you look at it from one point of view, you will worship that number. However, from any other rational point of view you will realize it is sick. Which it indeed is.
People seem to grow attached to a few digits which do absolutely nothing.
These can be taken away with a single click, and they will never be seen again.
How is this an accomplishment? I do believe the grades on your report card are far more relevant. For those who know me, I believe upon reading this they will call me hypocritical. I have however come down to hating post count, regardless if you believe me or not.
Forum love is also a thing that has never ceased to amuse me. You will never marry this person, and for all you know, your girl Marissa could be a 60 year old man. So I reprimand you for being so incautious of your actions.
I also would like to say, you do not know Green Day, you do not know Emma Watson from your online message board. I do not care how much they insist on so, so please look harder for the word gullible in the dictionary. I have a rather hard time deciding which one is more incompetent- the people tricking you, or yourself.
And alas, the Emo children.
Words of wisdom:
I do not care if your life sucks.
Your life is not a black abyss.
Your parents do not abuse you.
You need not wear glasses, so stop giving bad names to nerds.
Stop making out with the same gender, gays are not repulsive.
Call us back when you write real poetry.
No elaboration necessary.
In conclusion, I beg of you all; do not take things out of proportion, and go outside for once.
Have a great time posting, whether it be at any site, and remember it is just a bunch of pixels.
--Eliana