How many of us have gone online and found an interesting forum in our favorite hobby or area of expertise, and then think, wow, here are a whole bunch of people like me wanting to talk about these topics. It's a very exiting feeling indeed, however once we get into the participation mode, we see so many people with atrocious behavior, almost slanderous in nature.
Yes, this is far too common and it is probably why such forms of communication have not worked all that well, even if the Internet was designed for this type of cross-pollination of ideas. That is so unfortunate, but that doesn't mean you can't have a worthwhile experience carefully avoiding such mean-spirited comments, and arguments right?
Having participated myself for 1,000s of hours online and studied human interaction online, I've made some rather interesting discoveries, and have come up with ways to participate without getting your feelings hurt or your personal character slandered. Many believe it is best to go online and only use a pseudonym while using forums on the Internet, yes, this is possible, but in the end will anyone really trust you if you do? There is zero credibility there. In fact, how do you know you are not talking with a "chat bot" using a unique algorithm and some nifty artificial intelligent software? You don't.
Indeed, if you do use your real name and others do not, they may say things they think they can get away with, things they'd never say in person. Does that mean you are better off not using these online forums? Could be, although there are some benefits for information sharing, and it really depends on the type of forum and the level of integrity of the users. Some folks actually find it a fun hobby to go around and flame other people online, so that's another serious hazard to deal with.
Let's face it, the Internet is probably the greatest communication innovation of all time for mankind, and these days it's hard to live without it, so maybe it's time you considered how to use it correctly and get the most out of it without going insane. Some have chosen to ignore it, but those who use it correctly and use industry or niche specific forums tend to get a lot more out of them than you might think, and really it's all in the technique. So, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it - enjoy yourself and don't get hurt, flustered, frustrated, or fried.
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