I can certainly appreciate what you're saying about the forum. There's certain threads that I visit, and often if I see a certain person has posted on a thread, I'll pop in to see what they're saying, because normally I enjoy their posts. And regarding the money thing -- I've kind of noticed a yin and a yang. People either complain about being broke and feeling guilty for spending money, or they brag that they can spend hundreds of dollars per month on BPAL.

One thing I've noticed is that there are people who are really good at crafting a forum persona and gadding about a lot of threads. I became friends with a woman from a different forum who has that forum persona chit-chat patter down to a fine art. She is a riot in a forum, but if you get to know her, she's really not that funny or especially glib. To know her wise-cracking self on a forum is completely different from knowing her through more extended conversations, such as emails or blog entries or phone conversations.

So maybe (maybe? probably!) I'm biased, but I think that blogs tend to bring out more in-depth conversations and more authentic communication over time. They have more continuity. People do get to know you better, and you just can't sail in a wise-crack and play roles as easily as you can in forum threads. Not that I'm saying everyone does that on the forum, but it is more frequent.

I call this the "blog island" on the forum, because I really think it's a bit of a small enclave unto itself, and I rather like it that way.

I prefer reading everyone's blogs to little posts too. I would start to post too-long responses in a thread, then get dismayed that I'm boring everyone else to tears and would delete it So I much prefer to ramble on in my blog; if people think it's entertaining, great! If not, who cares? It's entertaining to me.

That was a bit off-topic -- I do agree with you about the forums too. I don't think it's age necessarily, but there is a level of maturity that comes from people who are out of school and have been working in the "real world" for a while. I'm not claiming to be mature but there's a certain entitlement mentality of some who are still in school, like that's their "job" and they deserve a certain lifestyle on top of going to school or living at home.

Giant Egg Brains!

OK, not really a drive by post, but I tried.

I see where you're coming from. Even though I think the average age on the forum is still higher than that of other forums, the average mental age based on the little notes we fire off at eachother might be closer to the norm. I know I'm especially prone to "dude!"s and ranty, bitchy tantrums every once in a while... whereas on my blog those tantrums stretch out to essays on Man's Inhumanity to Man. Well at least it does in my perfectly worded, immaculately spelled blog in my head. Heh.

Lately I've been feeling sort of old and sluggish for not keeping up. I've been with the forum since right before the switch to bpal.org (joylandpark?) but am a triple-digit-member. Second generation? I'm like the woeful middle child.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

(PS I like that term of Valentina's: Blog Island. This really does feel like that. Sort of a quiet cafe to sit and chat while the rest of the forum buzzes on the sidewalks and streets.)

It's not even the perpetual arguments about how much people spend on bpal (though those annoy me too - who the hell cares?)

I know I said there wasn't a single thing... but that thread in the books forum about the girl who plagerized, how it seemed to degenerate into some kind of bitchfest about how every kid at a private university was a spoiled brat who bought their way in just really left a rotten, nasty taste in my mouth. (Especially in light of that assenine argument I had a few months ago with Bluestar about why mentally retarded people, while valuable members of the human race, were, by definition, not capable of getting a PhD.)

I don't know, there just seems to be an ongoing undercurrent of class-based bitterness... Though it may well be just a handfull of bitter people, but sometimes that's all it takes.

I call this the "blog island" on the forum, because I really think it's a bit of a small enclave unto itself, and I rather like it that way.

I also like this description. I have always prefered, in my real life, to have fewer better friends instead of a lot of aquaintances. And the atmosphere over here is a lot more like the social interaction I'm used to. I like it.

And, of course, it helps that you guys are actually interesting!

I hear you. I have been on the forum a long time too. Probably since the first day it opened. I was under another user name at the time though and the email I used for the account was compromised. That has nothing to do with anything though.

You're right, it has changed and not really the kind of changes I like to see...but I've been in enough forums to see that just happens after a time. The people come and go and the essence of the place starts to reflect those changes. I mean I still post, but I too like it better on the blogs. I prefer the authenticity over this way.