Keeping the Forum Fun and Interesting

[KLS52]

I’ve been thinking about VV a lot, lately. Do things have to get heated and ugly in order to be considered interesting and fun? Is it just human nature to think so? When I see all of the FB threads that have thousands of comments, it’s always because people are being obnoxious and fighting/arguing. Very few comments are rational where people are really trying to hear and understand each other.

Even the cat lover threads or threads like Gilmore Girls fans, while fairly active, they don’t get more than 50-60 comments. Sometimes someone just posts a cute picture of their cat and maybe 20 people “like” it out of 1000 or more members. It’s interesting to me. Yet I get it...how many cat pictures can one person like. Unless it’s unique or they post a funny commentary about it, there’s not much to say.

But something about politics, religion or how to raise your kid and people go wild. They’re just not always nice about it.

So is our problem that we like each other too much here and we don’t want to “get into it” too much? I know I feel that way with some family and friends on certain topics. The feelings you have about some people can change, depending on how big the differences are becoming.

 

[Andy_T]

I guess many people see little value to add a post like "Yeah, I think that, too" to a thread, so if everybody agrees on a topic, it possibly might "die down" soon, unless people really do have fresh content to add to it.

If people disagree with something, they might be more likely to take the effort to answer and state their position.

And, let's face it, the very nature of a discussion forum with longer (and hopefully more thoughtful) posts is quite different to Facebook-, Twitter-, or Reddit-type interaction and does not lend itself to posting a large number of quick replies (which is not necessarily a problem IMO).

 

[Brian W]

It's a tricky balance I suppose. Thinking of myself, I like a good in-depth discussion but find it difficult on an online forum. I find this forum refreshing precisely because it is friendly and people want to get along. I certainly wouldn't want it to end up like much of the Youtube vegan community with all it's infighting.

 

[andre1]

I think many people get into more heated convos and a thread keeps going because everyone wants to be heard and understood, if we all agree and then there isn't much to say other then to just agree

 

[beancounter]

I think the issue resolves around the fact that most of us have been vegan/vegetarian for a long time, and don't feel the need to go over all of the related topics that we did when we were "newbies"

Also, it's a fairly small group here, and most of us are aware of each others views. Really no need to rehash old arguments again and again. The majority of members hold similar views, and as others have said, there is little need to express your opinion in an echo chamber.

Much like Mischief, when I'm looking for political debates, I go to forums where there is a diversity of opinion.

That being said, I have seen people who are on the same side, go after each other on minor differences, which is either indicative of boredom, or some deeply rooted psychological need to be right.

I’ve been thinking about VV a lot, lately. Do things have to get heated and ugly in order to be considered interesting and fun? Is it just human nature to think so? When I see all of the FB threads that have thousands of comments, it’s always because people are being obnoxious and fighting/arguing. Very few comments are rational where people are really trying to hear and understand each other.

Even the cat lover threads or threads like Gilmore Girls fans, while fairly active, they don’t get more than 50-60 comments. Sometimes someone just posts a cute picture of their cat and maybe 20 people “like” it out of 1000 or more members. It’s interesting to me. Yet I get it...how many cat pictures can one person like. Unless it’s unique or they post a funny commentary about it, there’s not much to say.

But something about politics, religion or how to raise your kid and people go wild. They’re just not always nice about it.

So is our problem that we like each other too much here and we don’t want to “get into it” too much? I know I feel that way with some family and friends on certain topics. The feelings you have about some people can change, depending on how big the differences are becoming.

 

[Poppy]

In this forum, because I like and have known so many of you for so long, when I do disagree, I tend to try and be nice about it. That's not so much the case when I respond to a political post on FB or Twitter.