Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2018 15:12:52 GMT -5
What do you all want in a message board?
For me it's interesting and fun stuff that would elicit responses in return from lots of posters. In other words, make it active.
|
|
|
Post by debutante on Jul 2, 2018 2:43:16 GMT -5
Lily,
That's easier said than done. Our regular posters have a good idea (after all this time) what each other might be interested in. I wouldn't know how to attract new people with posts. It would be hit or miss.
As for myself, I like pretty much everything.
--Debutante
|
|
|
Post by faskew on Jul 2, 2018 8:33:29 GMT -5
It's a mix for me. I like discussing certain subjects, I like learning new things, I like having contact with other people any time I feel like turning on the computer.
I wish we had more folk here, but the competition for time is strong. Back when the board began, there were fewer time-sinks - mobile phones were only good for talking, there weren't as many TV networks producing new content, etc. Turning on a computer and typing long messages is considered odd behavior by the younglings. I have a couple of young friends and they only use text messages, Twitter, and Instagram. Talking to someone with a voice is just wrong somehow. Writing long posts is silly when you can just tweet a GIF. Message boards have mutated, but they're still basically a remnant of the computer Ice Ages. I suppose that as we old ones die off, message boards will disappear completely. Like party lines, rotary dial phones, asking a human operator to dial a long-distance number for you, names as part of phone numbers (Atlantic 5795), the modem buzz, getting AOL CDs in the mail and hundreds of other old-tech items. 8-<
|
|
|
Post by raybar on Jul 2, 2018 10:19:58 GMT -5
Same here, Fred.
It's distressing to me that so many of the younger people I know seem to have no interest in anything outside of pop culture and sports. Perhaps that's partially because most of them are directly or indirectly involved in the Hollywood entertainment industry, which makes pop culture their business and their primary topic of conversation.
|
|
|
Post by rmarks1 on Jul 2, 2018 21:31:34 GMT -5
It's better to have a few good friends than a large mob.
Here we can get into discussions in depth and have our ideas challenged. I read Dennett (whom I didn't like) and Searle (who I did) just to find out more about the Free Will vs. Determinism debate. I read dozens of books I never would have thought to even look at. FACTS gave me the incentive.
I can honestly say that I learned more since I've been on this board than I ever did in college. Not as difficult as it sounds. I've been here 21 years!
Is it old fashioned to want to discuss a subject in depth? Those one-liners on twitter don't transmit knowledge. They only convey a feeling, and usually a temporary feeling at that.
Bob
|
|
|
Post by faskew on Jul 3, 2018 8:16:26 GMT -5
Once upon a time, in ancient Greece, upper-class men met to discuss philosophy, politics and sports at the baths. (They also had sex, because women were just animals that talked and, although men were expected to marry and produce heirs, true love could only be found with other men. But that's another story. LOL)
In 1700's Europe, upper-class men met in coffee houses to discuss philosophy, politics and sports. (Non-marriage acceptable sex was with prostitutes, which is somewhat the norm today.) In the 1800's, there were clubs where upper-class men went to get away from their families and to discuss philosophy, politics and sports. These days it appears to be golf resorts and such. Sometimes there are even women present!
Society changes. Here and now seems to be ruled by the young rather than upper-class men. Maybe youth have always been shallow. Difficult to say. But the few younglings I know seem to be all flash and no substance. Even if they have serious thoughts or beliefs, they don't know where they came from. Gratification is instant, or close to it. Why bother to spend 30 minutes writing something when 30 seconds will do? They seem to have passed through our educational system without actually learning very much about anything and, like all youth, they assume that if they don't already know it, it's not worth knowing. Sigh.
I look forward to the rule of the robot overlords. 8->
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2018 11:41:10 GMT -5
Okay, so FACTS will remain a private exclusive little club. Certainly don't want to chance inferior little minds penetrating the wall of superiority. Just wondering how the last surviving member will cope all alone. Oh, wait. He can start a blog instead.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2018 12:16:14 GMT -5
Okay, so FACTS will remain a private exclusive little club. Certainly don't want to chance inferior little minds penetrating the wall of superiority. Just wondering how the last surviving member will cope all alone. Oh, wait. He can start a blog instead. How would you go about attracting new members, Lily?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2018 12:25:53 GMT -5
Okay, so FACTS will remain a private exclusive little club. Certainly don't want to chance inferior little minds penetrating the wall of superiority. Just wondering how the last surviving member will cope all alone. Oh, wait. He can start a blog instead. How would you go about attracting new members, Lily? Interesting you ask that question, because that's what I was going to ask, which is how would anyone who might be looking to find a message board even start to find FACTS when they don't even know it exists?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2018 12:33:06 GMT -5
By the way, your "sparring" partner doesn't want FACTS found which was my main point.
|
|
|
Post by debutante on Jul 3, 2018 13:55:00 GMT -5
Lily,
The only way you could increase Facts membership would be go do what Pierre used to do. He'd invite people from other message boards he frequented.
I read several different message boards, but don't post on them -- so at present, I couldn't really be of much help.
But being invited from another board is how I arrived at Facts and I think quite a few others did too.
--Debutante
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2018 14:21:40 GMT -5
Lily, Yes, that is one way. How has that worked lately? How is another way that folks find message boards that might be of interest to them? They plug in certain terms and phrases into Google with the words " message boards" or " Discussion Forms" and similar. But try finding FACTS that way. Good luck.
|
|
|
Post by faskew on Jul 4, 2018 8:07:16 GMT -5
I tried recommending it to some friends, but no nibbles. I don't surf message boards, so I have no idea what goes on on them.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2018 13:50:14 GMT -5
I tried recommending it to some friends, but no nibbles. I don't surf message boards, so I have no idea what goes on on them. What went on with them is that they probably read the board. I mean, seriously, Fred, if you just came and read the FACTS forum today, would you be interested? What would you be thinking?
|
|
joan
Member
Posts: 1,407
|
Post by joan on Jul 4, 2018 17:06:42 GMT -5
Pot calling the kettle black much? You must notice *I* barely post. Ask yourself why, or why not, if that suits you better.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2018 18:20:59 GMT -5
Pot calling the kettle black much? You must notice *I* barely post. Ask yourself why, or why not, if that suits you better. I have long given up asking you (or myself) why you don't post much. As far as myself not posting much, if that if your implication, you would know why if you've been reading my posts. And that's not sarcasm. That's the truth of the matter.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2018 6:05:08 GMT -5
How would you go about attracting new members, Lily? Interesting you ask that question, because that's what I was going to ask, which is how would anyone who might be looking to find a message board even start to find FACTS when they don't even know it exists? I honestly don't know. I've been thinking of that myself and haven't been able to come up with an answer.
The other messageboards I know about are all common interest/hobbyist type boards so they tend to attract people with very specific interests, and they aren't exactly flush with new members either.
|
|
|
Post by faskew on Jul 5, 2018 8:49:39 GMT -5
Lily - this board has been a part of my life for so long, I can't imagine a time when it wasnn't around. So I'd probably join in, at least on some of the subjects, even if I were a newbie. Not sure.
The original group split off from The Skeptic Magazine's discussion group, so everyone in the group was someone who either read The Skeptic or otherwise had a reason to visit it's discussion group. Only later, after we split off and formed our own board, did the subjects branch out into personal and politics.
But, like I mentioned, there weren't so many other options in those way-back days. It's like TV - once upon a time there were only 3 networks, and they shut down each night after the 10PM news (Central Time). If you didn't like what was on, you read a book. Now there are hundreds of stations running 24/7, and on-demand options, YouTube, etc. You can watch TV all day, every day, and always find something you like. Why bother to mess around with discussion groups? Not nearly as much fun as TV or video games. And now you can watch movies and TV shows on your cell phone. Or play video games on your phone. Wow.
There are many reasons for the decline of such groups, and changing technology is one.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2018 15:48:04 GMT -5
Here's a suggestion. Since 95% of FACTS involves politics, why not change the name of FACTS to reflect that. There is no doubt that arguing about politics is very popular among the message board crowd. Even on boards that don't allow politics, and members know that, they still complain about not be able to have a politics discussion.
On the other hand, very few message board people want to discuss critical thinking. You all must know that already. As far as "skepticism" as part of the message board title, most people are going to stay away from people that they believe are just know-it-alls. Think about it. How well is the title of FACTS attracting people? Or maybe just sneak the word "politics" into the title somehow.
|
|