The discussion board I joined was the Lebron versus Kobe discussion board. My friend was actually in it and they have been doing this for sometime now. I feel that networks such as these are a waste of time. I mean having a group around the United States and talking about things you guys have in common or dislike. I feel those are things you can talk to your friends about or family.
Being in this discussion board was actually interesting because they are some many people arguing about who is better Lebron or Kobe and each night you have people talking about the statistics they had the night before or why one is better than the other. I can see how this would be a good thing because gathering people around to communicate about the subjects they enjoy is another way showing how communication through internet has excelled. People now can make groups and send out emails asking to join their group and give out information about what their group is and what they believe in. So you can actually get a sense of what this person is actually like and if you fit into that style. A problem I have with this the freedom to make any type of group possible, people have made hate group networks, sexual groups, and others things. So there is a bad side to this but on the plus side most people get find others around the United States just like them and they communicate.
In my discussion I actually saw some heated arguments. I was actually in one because I am a big Kobe fan, so I was talking about why Kobe was better and one person actually replied F*** Kobe. I definitely did not think that was needed at all. In this discussion board you see the two groups form. For example, a person will give stats of Lebron’s basketball game that night and then like three messages in row you will see people agreeing saying that he is better or his stats are crazy. After that people would respond saying why Kobe is better and three people would be talking about why he is better. I have notice that the arguments really get interesting. I notice one argument one person was talking about the others family.
Now although this network brings people together to communicate it does not mean you know everything about this person. That is why really I never join these things because I feel there are a bunch a creeps and people who could be lying about who they are and what they do. I feel that these networks are also set up like an a dating service to because people will be attracted to those they have common interests with but if the person says he is somebody he is not that is a little bit scary. Basically I think these networks are not a very good place for people to go. That is why now you can put blockers on certain websites or have your computer monitored because you want to be safe from cyber crime.
February 18, 2009 at 3:11 am
Interesting how a common interest like “the Lebron versus Kobe discussion board” doesn’t always provide enough communication value for someone to engage it.
I liked your honesty about how these groups house many “creeps” who use them solely for unhealthy interests. It is an interesting aspect of these virtual communities. I recall an info-mercial directed towards parents. The goal was increased awareness for virtual predators of children. There was a pre-teen girl and a young man. The perspectives from the man and the girl were presented in the 30 second clip and it was blatantly clear that disconnect existed and was enabled by the nature of CMC. What is to be said about these communities then? I guess you could take the stand “dont engage it” or “block it” but does that work? It seems that the internet, driven by commerce, is determined to be a part of our lives. It will be interesting to see how the balance between healthy CMC and harmful CMC is created as the internet becomes more prevalent.