this is here for anyone who is maybe interested in the motivation behind setting up a forum like this.
i think the consolidation of online activity into a handful of sites was a mistake. collapsing every small community onto the same gigasites has grown those communities but also made them more fractious and vulnerable to disruption.
and the big players have all made moves to take away any kind of autonomy:
it's clear that if you put yourself at the mercy of some huge corporation, they will just stomp all over you any time they want.
a lot of people are moving to Discord. i don't dislike Discord, but once you get past a handful of members things get very fast-paced in a hurry and it becomes almost impossible to keep up unless you're online 24/7. plus, just because Discord has taken a light touch toward moderation up to now doesn't mean they always will.
old-fashioned forums have a nostalgic appeal, obviously. i can't deny that. but they also have the benefit of being slower-paced, and the way topics are separated makes it so much easier to follow discussions. this format also encourages thoughtful posts since there's no incentive to slam in a quick one-liner before the next person does. forums can be cesspools, of course. i've inhabited my share of those. but by being small and focusing on slow growth, i'm hoping i can maintain a laid back and friendly atmosphere here.
i intend to moderate very lightly around here. preferably, not at all! but a lot of it just comes down to who is here in the first place.
if you read this: hey, thanks! i hope my thoughts were worth your time.
i think the consolidation of online activity into a handful of sites was a mistake. collapsing every small community onto the same gigasites has grown those communities but also made them more fractious and vulnerable to disruption.
and the big players have all made moves to take away any kind of autonomy:
- reddit has replaced moderators of subreddits for things like shutting down their subs in protest
- Facebook regulates the contents of groups even when those groups are moderated already (you can also take over Facebook groups if they've been "abandoned")
- twitter is heavily censored
- TikTok has apparently become even more heavily censored since Trump "saved" it
it's clear that if you put yourself at the mercy of some huge corporation, they will just stomp all over you any time they want.
a lot of people are moving to Discord. i don't dislike Discord, but once you get past a handful of members things get very fast-paced in a hurry and it becomes almost impossible to keep up unless you're online 24/7. plus, just because Discord has taken a light touch toward moderation up to now doesn't mean they always will.
old-fashioned forums have a nostalgic appeal, obviously. i can't deny that. but they also have the benefit of being slower-paced, and the way topics are separated makes it so much easier to follow discussions. this format also encourages thoughtful posts since there's no incentive to slam in a quick one-liner before the next person does. forums can be cesspools, of course. i've inhabited my share of those. but by being small and focusing on slow growth, i'm hoping i can maintain a laid back and friendly atmosphere here.
i intend to moderate very lightly around here. preferably, not at all! but a lot of it just comes down to who is here in the first place.
if you read this: hey, thanks! i hope my thoughts were worth your time.
the horrors persist, but so do we
(aka large mozz)
(aka large mozz)
