reading recent posts on a group forum that i'm a part of reminded me of the "good old days" of bulletin back in college...how i yearn for the dollar prompt.
(it was basically a way to see other people's comments on certain topics by typing esoteric commands into a black screen.)
now mind you, i'm not much of a poster. i definitely tended to lurk around discussions and read the volleys going back and forth, but there was some sort of "netiquette" that people followed. There were definitely the "flamers", people who would pick a fight just to get a rise out of other readers. without fail, someone would get SO offended at a post that a huge argument would errupt between 5, 6, 7 people/groups about sex/classes/tenure/politics you name it. at first it was disconcerting to read all of these vehement arguments that were basically out there for everyone to see.
but then i realized...it was just a way for people to blow off some steam. it's the nature of the medium. you can get all riled up about some person's point of view b/c you can't actually see them/hear them. but stepping back and realizing that this happens - made me read everything with a grain of salt. i'd see the people who had posted the most outrageous things the next day, around campus, in the dining hall, but i didn't judge them on the things they had written. or at least i tried.
i know that i've written posts in haste and anger that i later regretted writing or wish i had said better, but it was out there for everyone to read. this is still a form of communication that i'm still learning how to articulate myself through (as with other things too.) hopefully this blog (and my other blog) will help me do that. ;-)
