Quote:
Originally posted by TankGirl
The basic problem for having in-depth discussions on this board is probably the fact that the majority of the members are using it as a chatroom instead of a message board. What we are seeing is typical chatroom dynamics: people are focusing mainly on other board members rather than any 'serious' subjects being discussed - especially if the subjects require some attention span or deeper reflection. Personal, emotional, nonsense and joke threads dominate over factual, technical and philosophical discussion and the general chit-chat atmosphere tends to spill over to all threads.
What we have here is a better (actually way better) version of Napster's Speak Out. That is a fine thing in itself and as many people enjoy having a chatroom like this it obviously fulfills an important social function. The question is, should we also have something similar to Napster's Software Forum (not referring to the current Slashdot Black Hole they have) - a place for more substantial, non-personal, broadly p2p-oriented discussion with all the philosophical ramifications that would inevitably arise. Having The Underground channeling the social day-to-day chatting might leave room for the other forum to be more of a message board for thought-out discussions for those who prefer that form of communication over personal chatting. And those who like a bit of both worlds could easily pay a visit to both rooms under the same roof.
I am not sure if there are yet enough of us for such a thing to fly but it should not be too hard to give it a try. We already have Test Forum, Napsterite News and Technical Archives - Gaz could simply set up one more forum for this purpose and we could see whether it would become active and interesting enough to be worth keeping. Just an idea - what do you think, fellow Napsterites?
- tg 
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i think a serious debate board would be a good idea.... not for just p2p but for any topic worthy of well thought out discussion... a board where the threads remain strict to the topic and impersonal would be a welcome addition to this forum.... IMO