Forums - Social Networking Godsend Or Work Of The Devil?

I really have to clean up my act. I spend way, way too much time on the internet interacting in a bunch of forums with - what I hope are - like minded souls. On the one hand, in the main my fellow forumites are friendly, empathetic souls I can discuss all kinds of topics with. The DVD.Reviewer and MyReviewer forums are wonderful places for a chat, although I have to admit that for a good old-fashioned, nerdy technical discussion they leave quite a bit to be desired. But then that's why I also frequent other forums. Most of them are friendly as well, but there are one or two where one has to tread extremely carefully so as not to upset the insiders.

My current domestic situation keeps me from a full and proper social life - I have to be available 24/7 as a carer, and I would not trust the local social services to adequately tend to the needs of a house brick. So for me, the internet is a valuable social tool.

For the naysayers who would argue that face-to-face social interaction is much better than the remote interaction of the internet, I would say that you get no argument from me, but I think interaction on the internet has to be carried out far more carefully and diplomatically than face-to-face because there are no physical cues such as tone-of-voice or body language to rely on.

This is, of course, where the problem lies. A great many forum users don't particularly give much thought to communicating tone and intent other than through the use of smileys or other emoticons. Either that or they're just plain bloody rude.

I find industry insiders the worst. No names, no pack drill, but you can assume I mean the film/television/DVD industry. They're a fascinating, knowledgeable, expert resource to interact with, as long as you stay on the right side of them. But if you make a statement that they see as presumptuous - displaying knowledge they don't think you as an industry outsider should have - they'll shoot you down in flames. And in the most belittling, condescending, arrogant manner possible. And it'll usually be either a semantic matter or a viewpoint that they don't think is worth the time of day.

I'm not an advocate of starting a fight and getting banned from a site. I'm more inclined to log off and go away to cool down, or occasionally vent my spleen elsewhere. Hence this blog.

I'm sitting here, staring out at a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon in September, wondering why I spend so much time on forums. I suppose I'm lucky I haven't got hooked on chatrooms, Twitter, Facebook and the rest. While I'm dispensing my pearls of wisdom and wit (occasionally to swine) on the internet, I could be getting on with writing my novels, doing the garden, cleaning the toilet or any number of more rewarding activities.

I need to get out more.