02-20-2003, 04:58 PM
Hi,
First, if it weren't for threading, I'd have to quote half of what you said. It was boring enough to read the first time, so threading saves us all some pain. ;)
Now, you go off on "Saying threaded forums are some how innately more intelligent is a charming line of reasoning." You like that so much, you felt you needed to say it twice.
However, I never said that. What I did say was "Threaded fora are more useful for deep discussions where branches in the thinking can and do take place. " and that was all that I said in any "line of reasoning". And I stick to that. If a topic has any depth to it, then it *will* break up into sub topics. And there will be side discussions. Only if the topic is so simple that it hardly merits discussing will it stay linear (and not even then). Threaded boards help in this division of ideas into topics. You admit as much yourself when you say: "It also increases the number of posts people make, dividing up their responses to the various sub-topics and responding to opinions". Somehow you imply that breaking an idea into its components and examining those components is bad. That may be true in some "religious" forums where ideas may not be questioned, but it seems to be the essence of rational discussion to me.
Now, in the last paragraph of my post, I did state an opinion and an observation. My wording makes it pretty clear that that is what they are, my opinion, my observation. You are welcome to disagree. But don't call it my "bit of reasoning". Not unless you don't know what reasoning is.
Finally, "there's always people who don't understand threaded view anyways." So what? There are people who cannot form a readable sentence. There are people who cannot follow a rational argument. There are people who cannot find . . .
Make a forum for the least common denominator and you make a forum for no one.
--Pete
First, if it weren't for threading, I'd have to quote half of what you said. It was boring enough to read the first time, so threading saves us all some pain. ;)
Now, you go off on "Saying threaded forums are some how innately more intelligent is a charming line of reasoning." You like that so much, you felt you needed to say it twice.
However, I never said that. What I did say was "Threaded fora are more useful for deep discussions where branches in the thinking can and do take place. " and that was all that I said in any "line of reasoning". And I stick to that. If a topic has any depth to it, then it *will* break up into sub topics. And there will be side discussions. Only if the topic is so simple that it hardly merits discussing will it stay linear (and not even then). Threaded boards help in this division of ideas into topics. You admit as much yourself when you say: "It also increases the number of posts people make, dividing up their responses to the various sub-topics and responding to opinions". Somehow you imply that breaking an idea into its components and examining those components is bad. That may be true in some "religious" forums where ideas may not be questioned, but it seems to be the essence of rational discussion to me.
Now, in the last paragraph of my post, I did state an opinion and an observation. My wording makes it pretty clear that that is what they are, my opinion, my observation. You are welcome to disagree. But don't call it my "bit of reasoning". Not unless you don't know what reasoning is.
Finally, "there's always people who don't understand threaded view anyways." So what? There are people who cannot form a readable sentence. There are people who cannot follow a rational argument. There are people who cannot find . . .
Make a forum for the least common denominator and you make a forum for no one.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?