State of the Forum

I've been posting on this forum since April 2003, and I think it sports perhaps the queerest of atmospheres of all the fora I have spent time on in my life. In this address, I intend to raise attention towards several of these issues - potential causes of each scenario and a frank and open discussion regarding possible remedies for these situations. Your comments are appreciated, but they will not be read.
Firstly, this forum is perhaps the most neurotic about correct usage of spelling and grammar I've seen. I'm sure at least one (or more accurately twenty) members will find it incredibly ironic and certainly a victory for whichever of the two cliques they've unofficialy joined to dissect line by line this post, emboldening any incorrect syntax or spelling errors. This brings me to my first problem. Interestingly, the two cliques are actually just relatives of each other - to be in the second, you will invariably be in the first, parent clique. That is for later, however. I personally do not herald the replacement of English by 'txt speak' on any level, however there is a desperate effort to illustrate superiority here by spelling flame:normal posts ratio.
I want this to stop.
Not only does it cause 1 in 2 threads to disintegrate completely into a flame war about typing technique usually before the conclusion of the first page, but it forges unforgettable grudges, with cliques growing in strength but not mass.
I think now this clique situation has received enough subtle attention to warrant it's individial analysis. You know what I'm talking about - reference to names of users will be a futile exercise in discriminating against a small few - but the clique is most definitely in force, attacking outsiders like some medicated toothpaste. It has spawned (on a seperate forum...that's sorta the same, but not really, but kinda has all the same members, except a few, and I've been banned from it for about two years) some ridiculous organisation by which membership is by self-appointment only, and whilst of course I could appreciate the ceaseless hilarity of the organisation in question, it stands only as a marker of 'I am associated with this group. I see myself as being at least ten times better than you. Piss off mere mortal.'
I want this to stop. This gang culture has completely put off anyone from joining, right?
No - this forum is filled with dicks. That's not to say everyone is a dick, but a lot of them are. I'm not saying a lot of YOU are, since I doubt any of the dicks managed to read this far. They are the cretinous padding without which this forum could not function. They are firewood for the evil clan - asking to be eaten alive for daring to use poor spelling and punctuation and so on.

Well, I was soo prepared to finish writing this lengthy piece, but I'm just so completely disenfranchised with this forum lately, I feel physically sick merely discussing the topic. I have 'left' six forums 'publically' today, because I'm afraid of what I will say and do, that will endanger myself and offend those around me. I am not what I once was - I'm disturbed, stuck in a loop of helpless help, frustrated frankly with anyone of inferior intelluct (of which I fully acknowledge I am not filled with, but there are so many plebs) and reduced to desperate melodramatic calls. I have bored many of you with this tirade of rants, and so I shall be concluding my responses here for quite some time - months, years, whatever. I recognise such posts are frowned upon - had I the stamina to finish my rant, which had been descending into random babble from the first sentence, I would have had the chance to clearly explain my frustration with the living state - that will not be necessary, as it is of no interest to no-one
here.
This forum is sound, but there is grave discontent brimming within. I do hope it is dealt with before it boils over. It would be terrible for this to fall to the similiar kind of near-deaths as many other popular forums, bowing to the pressure have.
Farewell, enemies and neutral partners in communication. This site has opened me up to no friends - no allies in some desperate revenge clique - it's opened me up to one-sided debates, petty pedants and god awful mocks. Most of you cannot design for shít, and really need to reconsider the path of your lives, as I am being forced to do yet again. I often evaluate myself - where I am, where I want to be - and cannot handle that gap.
Every step away from my current life takes me closer to death, and closer to my goal.
Eventually they converge in a dramatic climax. Or - an embarassing decent into poverty and an early death.
Career is a word, but not an option.

I'm only the first to respond because I'm probably the first to have read this and since you've already said you won't read the replies and this thread will probably get locked anyway, I don't quite know why I'm bothering to, but to sum up my thoughts I'd have to say I agree with you mostly.

Pick any forum website on the internet and of course it will have members with a wide range in levels of literacy, from the pedantic to the stupid; it just seems that this one takes each to the extreme somewhat. If people stuck to the topic without having to pick at other people's words it would flow much smoother. I'm not saying there isn't a place for pointing out other people's mistakes, or commenting on the downright stupid (i.e. txt spk) but if people made less of a fuss of it, perhaps people who just come here to wind others up by doing just that (and I believe there are) wouldn't bother so much. I'm not saying I've never made a crap post in my life - everyone's guilty of that, but some do it more than others (I'm vaguely touching on your idea of a clique here).

I believe the majority of members come here to talk about television, make posts that make sense, and don't make a fuss over much else, but these posters largely go ignored because of the the few that do kick up a fuss over petty things because they've nothing better to do with their time. I'm surprised I even took the time to read your post and make a comment on it, because normally I probably wouldn't bother since I make a couple of mostly relevent posts here a day of stuff that I find interesting. I use forums less and less these days than I used to.

Maybe what this forum needs is something like the pedants thread that appeared on Digital Spy months ago. People posted their petty little comments on people's crap posts in there away from the thread it was in, and it was all done in good humour. Whether it's still there or not I don't know because I don't read the General Discussion part of DS anymore, like I don't bother reading Metropol anymore or even look in the Mocks forum (I can't even agree on your opinion that "most of [us] can't design for ****" because I haven't seen any in months, though last time I did look there were a few hidden talents - though you did say "most").

Well I'm afraid that's simply not good enough. My dear you're not the queen, you can't just mention cliques like they're *mysterious forces* at work, give us names -- what's the worst that will happen?

I notice individuals here who have particularly discernible personalities and I don't notice the mass of chimps who seem to have nothing between their ears. I daresay like attracts like.

It's all the same as in real life really.

Mind you seeing as there's loads less to talk about tv-wise now, most of the time it's down to parodying the extreme aspects of it all just to pass the time. As if any of it matters.

You're scared of what might happen to you? I think you really need to be seeing someone if you think a backwater messageboard filled with neurotic gays is a threat to your existance.

And you might as well name names because otherwise people will think you've just posted this to try and sound more important and cleverer than these cliques you think exist whereas infact you're a silly misguided child who doesn't know what he is talking about.

Shouldn't that be "fora"?

I always appreciate your grammatical and lexical exactitude, Nick, but 'forums' in the dominant, correct plural of 'forum'. However, 'fora' is also an acceptable variation.

Oh don't be so melodramatic. This place always will be on a downhill slope for as long as obnoxious, over analytical boys such as yourself are around with nothing else on their 'to-do list'.

If you removed some of that ridiculous excessive makeup from around you're eyes you might be able to open them to the wider world and realise there are more important things in life.

do you want us to beg you to stay? would you like to approve all our posts before they appear? or are you just after a little attention?

to be honest, i do not recognise your username, so i don’t think ill be putting on my black armband if you leave. your post was incredibly long and boring. it had *school boy with dictionary open in front of him* written all over it.

your suggestion that we all deviate from topics too much is absurd. tv forum is not an academic or work place forum. its topics are of general interest, and as in the real world (that big thing behind your bedroom curtains) people start talking about one thing, and end up chatting about all sorts along the way.

the fact tv forum has so many characters, makes it worth reading. i gave up on DS a long time ago.

it never astonishes to amaze me how people can get so wound up over a forum.

there are people here, who, for whatever reason have aquired power and can seemingly get away with a lot more than others, there is obvious favourtism and leniency. but, then, isn't that what the big wide world is like?

Here, here. Some people should just lighten up. Barney boo is obviously one of these guys with a chip of their shoulder - a grudge against the world. Obviously has no girlfriend.

Because having a partner is the be-all and end-all of the world isn't it!

Some posts are very very long

This one isn't.

Ta ta