Admittedly, I’m a complete online addict. I surf the Internet extensively. I have for over 10 years now. I’ve seen quite a few forums, discussion groups and online communities. I can get a sense of what an online community is like quickly. I have always come across a load of crap within every online community I’ve encountered so far. Hardly science this; just like in any sort of community you will come across a great diversity of people of different walks of life colliding with each other.
I came to a new theory concerning the online debris. Even though there is a clear sense of gangs bashing individuals, especially on forums, the individual seems to hold more power within the group than he would in real life. It’s one word against another without anyone wanting to pipe down, give up, give in or reflect. It’s a cunt fest for everyone involved.
We seem to forget even more that whatever anyone think is true or fact is often only an idea formed in one’s head. Especially when you venture into discussions about the quality of music, films, comedy, etc. Who decided what was gold anyway? Today I read in my comedy newsletter Terry Jones thought most of the Monty Python sketches weren’t funny. There you got it; 1 master bringing something down that’s regarded as a body of masterful work.
My problem is that a lot of the discussions held about what’s good or bad in any art is really a non-discussion. Those are discussions without end, because there will always be a group of people disagreeing. The discussion becomes even more pointless when obviously non-specified as “high” quality subjects are discussed. I was reading about “the Trip” with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on CaB this afternoon. A lot of people absolutely loved it while others were completely confused by all the praise.
People are confused about CaB members being critical and not too fuzzed about Morris’ later works (after “the Day Today”). I’ve seen it happening before, for what timelines are worth in this case. Something similar happened on the John Mayer forum. I think it has much to do with how high the bar has been set during their earlier work. I must admit I’m guilty there. It’s just that you came to expect a certain level of quality and when they don’t reach it you’re disappointed beyond proportion. I’m aware that’s maybe not entirely fair, with natural development and all.
Another observation made is that CaB members are “elitist pricks”. So far I’ve not reached that predict; most seem just very convinced about their opinions (like pretty much anyone else online or in real life). Someone analyzed that’s because a group of users have been fans since the early days and therefore feel superior over new fans. Also that I haven’t seen yet, but I can believe that. RKOP springs to mind. Various discussions on various Doctor Who forums spring to mind too.
No comments:
Post a Comment