Silverlode
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
May 10 2011, 7:20pm
Views: 1190
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speaking as someone who has been a member here for 11 years and an Admin for a large number of those, this supposedly "backward" format has a greater effect on the style of conversation here than most are aware of. It is indeed a deliberate choice and not a holdover for reasons of pure sentiment. In addition to the qualities that others have noticed, it is tied to the Threaded viewing option. I have noticed that the vast majority of those who complain about threads dropping off the board are also people who read only in Flat mode, not in Threaded (which they generally also sneer at as outdated). Among the advantages of Threaded view is the ability to have nuanced sub-conversations within the main conversation. Rather than everyone making their general comments and tagging them on to the end of everyone else's general comments, people are replying to specific people and specific thoughts. This produces a much more conversational style - but without automatically dragging the whole thread off into a particular channel. In fact, in every large thread here, you'll find multiple subthreads discussing different aspects of the topic. It also prevents people from quoting and replying to several people in one post, which can make it very difficult to actually pursue a specific line of thought in a large thread, especially if the person being quoted posted several pages back. I read forums like that, but most of them don't inspire me to participate. There are many, many excellent boards out there using the flat discussion style which has become the "norm". If you don't like it here, you have lots of other options out there to choose from. We just chose to be different, and reap some advantages that others don't have, and often don't even know exist. I highly recommend everyone not used to this format to switch their view to Threaded/Expanded for a day or two and see how different the place looks from that viewpoint. You still may not like it and want to change back to what you're used to, but there are plenty of people here who do like it, and it will help you to understand us and the way this place works. We're still thriving after a dozen years, despite (or possibly even because of) our quirks.
Silverlode "Of all faces those of our familiares are the ones both most difficult to play fantastic tricks with, and most difficult really to see with fresh attention. They have become like the things which once attracted us by their glitter, or their colour, or their shape, and we laid hands on them, and then locked them in our hoard, acquired them, and acquiring ceased to look at them. Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to do something else [make something new], may open your hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds. The gems all turn into flowers or flames, and you will be warned that all you had (or knew) was dangerous and potent, not really effectively chained, free and wild; no more yours than they were you." -On Fairy Stories
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