Heh, saw this the other day over at the Nag’s and it soooo reminded me of myself during my h2g2 days many years ago. Glad that’s over. All those pointless circular “debates”… anyone remember those?
~ from xkcd via Nag on the Lake ~
duty calls
08 Wednesday Sep 2010
casa azahar 
It’s hard to believe it’s been six or seven years since I’ve been on H2G2. But at least those debates did mostly cure me of trying to argue with the Internet in general.
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Yeah, been about six years since I actively participated. And I learned the same lesson. It was fun sometimes though… and look at all the nice people I met! 🙂
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Arguments on the ‘Net are pretty much like arguments about religion. You know they don’t end and the people doing the arguing will never change their minds.
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And a lot of the h2g2 threads were in fact arguments on the net about religion … so you can just imagine.
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That’s one of my favorite XKCD’s — it’s so on the mark.
I had to learn to put the mouse down and back away from the desk slowly. There are people who will turn almost any discussion into an argument about their favorite hobby horse, not to mention the trolls.
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One of the things I don’t miss, ever – hootoo. Made some good friends there, and writing for the guide taught me a lot, but I sort of get itchy if I think about the forums.
And not a good itchy.
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I don’t miss it either, but I know my life would be a less happier place if I’d never stumbled upon it.
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Ah, come on, h2g2 is not bad if you avoid the god threads. Even so they seem much more civil than others internet forums; or maybe they have just become tamer in time (some of the more, um, vehement participants having left).
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Avoiding the controversial (and often just plain stoopid) threads leave you with a few people chatting about this and that. Kind of blogging within a ready-made community, but also one that is quite restrictive (no personal photos, no swearing, etc) … I guess I’ve just moved on to something else that suits me better.
Of course, the az cabal never would have been born if not for hootoo and the ficticious “Della Wars”. Gotta admit that was both fun and funny at times, but like any joke it began to wear thin after awhile.
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Ah yes, on here we’re allowed to swear. Semprini!
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I was never in h2g2 but was involved in several newsgroups. Each had their own character and each fulfilled a need. And the arguments and flaming were fun. I dropped out around six or seven years ago when my ISP dropped newsgroups. I blog now.
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Isn’t it funny how it’s that “6-7 year ago” thing? Around the time when online groups like this were first happening. I’ve pretty much outgrown flame wars by now, but there was a time when I found them quite entertaining and amusing.
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I find h2g2 a nice light place to spend my lunchbreak. I only subscribe to Ask and I’m quite quick with the unsub button so if something either irritates me or bores me I just don’t bother with it. That said, I find some threads a bit like carcrash tv and can’t stop reading! But I don’t tend to participate, just lurk.
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