I searched the internet for a discussion forum that took my fancy but alas I have discovered I am a very boring person!!!! So instead of finding a forum that would hold my attention I decided to look at a few unconventional sites and see what was happening. The TradeMe discussion forum is by far the most interesting and inclusive forum I visited. A range of topics is discussed; sometimes the topics are so diverse you have to wonder if you are still on a trading site! The boards appear to be self moderated, that is the users of the board appear to moderate content themselves through their responses to the threads although abusive and/or offensive behaviour is monitored by and removed by TradeMe administrators. Members can also vote to remove offensive or abusive threads. On the whole, members are supportive of each other but as with everything there are a few vocal numbskulls that need to be heard (or read) even when they have nothing of substance to say.
If I thought Trademe was diverse you can probably imagine my surprise when entering the message board at NZDating.co.nz . Goodness, gracious there is are 5 different categories of boards to decipher so I decided to stick with the General board. Why did I choose this site? Honestly, I don't know...I was sick of looking for something interesting to read and when I did find boards that looked like they might be of interest I found that I had to be invited (private forum) or my application wasn't acknowledged in the two week timeframe. So I went to this very public forum for some insight into dating and related topics. Before you rush off and sign up to this site thinking that you are missing out on the latest and greatest dating tips, stop! turn the browser off and thank your lucky stars you read this first! This site is the most uninteresting, repetitive site I have come across yet. Some of the threads are interesting...most however are not! Although is this supposed to be a dating and friendship site if you venture past the general boards you might wonder how some of these people get dates let alone remain friends. If there was one example of how an online community doesn’t function well, this site may very well be it!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I went into the TM discussion board and looked at discussions about pregnancy and midwives. I was so horrified at what was being said, I never went back again LOL
ReplyDeleteHow would you facilitate a discussion or event on a discussion board? How would it differ from facilitation of a live event?
If I start a discussion on a discussion board it is generally because I am interested in the subject so would encourage people to participate. In lots of ways it would be the same as a live event (in terms of keeping people motivated) and in other ways it would be slightly different ( logging it, catching up with posting on the threads, answering queries, reasearching, asking probing questions etc)
ReplyDelete