“Must say I find the ebb and flow of multi-user sites (like this one and a couple of others) a lot more entertaining than accessing the thoughts/world view of a solitary individual that wants their own platform. Nice to have many voices, even if they don’t all agree.
It suits some folks better I suppose.”
.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I have provided a quotation from a topic in a web forum for your perusal. It is on the subject of blogs vs forums. The author clearly prefers forums.
So…what do we think? (No naughty or insulting answers please as it is someone’s personal view on the subject…who is unlikely be visiting the blog to defend it. 😀 )
Personally I think the author of the quote doesn’t fully understand what bloggers are…and why they do it in the first place. As for accessing a world view…I don’t feel too parochial thanks to the likes of Florene (USA), Annie (NZ) and Iain (Australia) who pop in, not forgetting friends in France and Belgium and all over the UK who I know drop by.
How solitary do you feel?
Where The Fatdog Walks 
Interesting post Kenny
Forums have their place but I’ve found too often that they descend into vitriol and abuse and I’ve been a victim of that. I rarely use them now other on technical forums where I’m looking for a very specific answer to a very specific question.
I’ve only been blogging since early this year but in both writing my own and reading other people’s I’ve learnt a huge amount both from other people and about myself as I try to develop my own writing style and online personality as it were. For me getting to know the thoughts and personality of a small group of people is preferable to the mass contribution of a forum. It’s about choosing your online friends. I choose to read those blogs whose content or style I enjoy and I hope the same is true of those people who read mine.
When I started my blog I had hopes that I would get a reasonable number of views(heading for my first month of 400+ views) and I’ve been really chuffed with the number of people who read mine and take the time to comment. I enjoy every post I write, hoping that I get some responses. Likewise I look forward to new posts from the dozen or so I read regularly.
“solitary individual that wants their own platform”?
I certainly don’t feel solitary
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I’ve never had a problem with that sort of thing on forums although yesterday came close at walkhighlands where a couple of readers had difficulty with the length of the comment and so missed the point. Ironically the main recipient of my point turned out to be very nice and we exchanged cordial messages.
Good to see the readership is on the up Andy – well deserved!
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“blogs vs forums”
Hmmm… methinks that’s where the problem lies.
IMO it’s not a choice of one vs the other, they complement each other, there are plenty of blogs that link to forums and plenty of forum-posts that link to blogs.
My blog’s like home, I call the shots and spout whatever BS I like, others there have the choice to ignore it, listen to it, or chip in. I reckon that’s OK. Visiting other folks’ blogs is like visiting their home, you have to respect their rules, opinions and authority. Some folk can’t cope with that.
Going on forums is like going down the pub – everybody has an equal say, there’s plenty of banter, the old hands sit in the snug and moan about whatever takes their fancy, the yoof go on about apps and tech stuff and, maybe, even about blogging! Sooner or later somebody has one too many and says something that causes aggro, and so the landlord (if he’s got any balls) shows him or her the door and chucks sawdust on the blooded floor.
Both can be fun, but either one alone could get a bit dull. I wouldn’t want to be stuck in home 24/7 with no prospect of escape, but neither would I want to live in a pub.
Everything in moderation!
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Thanks Stef…a rather good analogy. Mind you, there’s a few pubs you wouldn’t want to go into! 😆
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My default position is to be fairly misanthropic anyway, and to be frank I can’t bite my tongue quickly enough these days to be anything other than an infrequent poster on forums.
Having said that, I’d hate it if nobody ever visited the blog, but it has to be people I respect and agree with, obviously.
;0)
Splendid isolation maybe has more of a subliminal meaning than I thought…
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Ah…so you still haven’t figured out how to stop me visiting your blog then, Scott. 😉
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To be honest, I find forums a bit of a pain as they seem to be prone to misunderstandings and polarised viewpoints. But they can be useful for solving problems.
I think I’m with BG on this one – well said Stef.
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There is definitely a trend building as I work my way down the comments Martin. I have to say I’m visiting forums less and less myself – but maybe my reasons are more to do with the shift in interests because of problems with the limbs of both man and beast rather than the squabbling.
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They both thave their place in my opinion.
My blog is primarily for my own benefit and I update it when I feel like it.I don`t go round publicising it and looking for readers but having said that it`s nice to get the odd comment and know that someone looks at it.Quite enjoy reading other folks stuff even though I`ll probably never meet them and I`d rather do that than watch crapppy tv of an evening.
I visit the hill forums as well but with less frequency nowadays due to the number of awful trip reports which consist of 20 pics of mist and rain crowned triumphantly with a mugshot of some buffoon from the nether regions of the Central Belt sporting an inane grin and celebrating “number 19” 😆
Will try and remember to email you a link to a trip report on one of them that had me rolling about the floor laughing.
Alex.
PS: No offence intended by my Central Belt comment 😆
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Alex / Bob. You’ve got a point when you say that not all trip reports on forums are entertaining. However, in my opinion you’re being a bit cruel to describe some posters as “buffoons with inane grins.” In my opinion, if people are given a bit of pleasure out of writing a trip report then they should be celebrated. I actually envy them as I’m a bit of a miserable bugger myself. Russell
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You must have seen MrP’s summit photos Russell – come on!
Sorry Simon…just couldn’t resist. 😆
Thanks for the comment at walkhighlands Russell – didn’t recognise the initials but thougt it was you from the writing style. 😀
No problems with directing the traffic here Russell – the blogs never been so busy 😆
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I thought you would welcome comments, Kenny. Agree with your comments on next topic about criticising anonymously. Its a bit like letters to the local rag with “name and address supplied.” I’ve written letters complaining about this but have always had them ignored.
I think an anonymous comment is ok if it is being complimentary or non-contentious such as “one man and a black hairy thing in a boat” comment below. However, people who post critical or argumentative comments should be prepared to stand up and be counted.
All the best, Russell.
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I was so tempted to let your comment go without a reply Russell 😆 . “the black hairy thing” was Simon – he had trouble signing in this afternoon and had to re-join 😀 . 2 of the Anon comments are down to him. Another one is down to Kinley when he tried to sign in for the first time. There is only one Anon comment I don’t know the author of and I really do think it was down to a signing in thing. But thank you for leaping to my defence.
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It was tongue in cheek Russell although I do believe that a couple of zero view pics would be sufficient to illustrate a manky day out 🙂
Bob is away on the hill today I think taking advantage of the good weather…
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Fair enough, Alex. All the best, Russell
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No offence taken Alex 😀 . The only reason there were very few summit photos of this buffoon were that The Fatdog always seemed to have problems with the shutter release.
Liked the link btw – thanks.
I know what you mean about trip reports. Shills got to a level where there was a superabundance of reports…and for me some of the magic was lost. When it started it was like a mystery tour with the hills in the north west having almost legendary status…but then as the trip reports piled in the magic disappeared. It was a bit like discovering there was no Father Christmas. (A poor analogy because this is an absolute impossibility 😉 )
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I think blogs and forums each serve a separate function and each have their place. I rarely post on hillwalking forums now, although I have in the past. I still drop in and read some occasionally, but like Scotlands Mountains, I tend to gloss over the trip reports – there are just too many of them. I see forums are places for debate and discussion, but as we all know these can (sometimes all-too-soon) deteriorate into name-calling and arguments.I can’t be bothered with this.
Funnily, I’m a avid-follower of a couple of forums related to different pastimes. I know which posters and threads to avoid there!
I enjoy reading trip reports on blogs because I feel I know you all a wee bit.I admit that finding and adding fellow bloggers interested in hillwalking and other outdoors stuff was (and still is) a purely random/luck thing, but if after browsing a few posts on a blog I find I’m interested, I’ll add you to my list.
I started my blog simply as a place to write about my outings and to expand on the information I was sharing through my photos that I’ve put online for a few years now. Some of my readers are folks I’ve known for years – through these other online communities, but it also nice to know some of the posts are read by other outdoors bloggers.
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Thanks Sheila…as you so rightly suggest blog readers can be a mixed bag. e.g . other bloggers, family, friends, friends of friends and random people you bump into on the ‘net. Makes a blog a more balanced place I feel. 😀
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I think I’m going to say the same as everyone else, but blogs and forums serve a different purpose and there’s a need for both of them.
I set up my blog as it seemed a simple way of writing trip reports, with photos, for friends to read. I used to publish my TRs on Usenet [still do occasionally] but the blog is a bit more flexible, I see my blog as being like a postcard which I send to a few friends; but it’s nice when someone I didn’t know finds it and leaves me a comment.
If I wanted to ask a question about a walking location, or gear or some other outdoorsy-type topic then I’d use a forum/newsgroup as that would keep the discussion together (and I can’t expect enough people to be reading my blog to get a good range of answers!)
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Hi Judith 😀 .
Looks like you and Sheila (swanscot) are on the same wavelength. I do like the “postcard” idea of a blog, something I’ve never considered myself. With my natural tendency towards swathes of text – I suspect mine might be considered as junk mail 😆
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Got pointed here by someone else.
If you want to discuss it Ken feel free to drop into the multi-user world.
Cheery-bye
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Tsk…that was me.
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Aww…Kinley – I was trying to protect your anonymity with the quotation. Now you’ve gone and spoiled it! 😉
I’ll put a comment on walkhighlands for you to play about with…oh…I see there’s a wee double comment to which a response would appear in order 😀 .
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Hmm, going down the pub versus listening to an aimiable raconteur. The world, even my own limited individual version of it, is arguably large enough for both.
I look forward to following your continuing progress (my thesaurus can’t supply a more appropriate word) through life via this media. I think of it as a sort of One Man and a Black Hairy Thing in a Boat.
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Blogs – trip reports on forums – what is the difference?
I’m not sure that your very long (troll-like?) comment on Walkhighlands does bloggers much real credit…
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Looks like you fell foul of the awkward WordPress sign-in process Anonymous – MrP had problems earlier – my apologies.
I agree it was long winded (but troll-like? ). I just received a really nice message from Dundreich who had originally read the (sadly long winded) comment hurriedly but went back for a re-read and saw where I was coming from. It wasn’t an attack on anyone – just, as I said, a demonstration of how comments can backfire and lead to people leaving forums.
However…I’ll put up a new post with a link to that comment (if I can still do it now that Paul’s shut the thread) and see if there is a consensus here that I’ve overstepped the mark.
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Oh well – the multi-user discussion got malletted.
Administrators are a natural hazard, like orcas and sandstorms.
You could try SHills – the admin is asleep for 30 year cycles. 😉
Toodle-pip.
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I noticed. 😦
I’ve just written to Paul.
Mind you – looks like the troops here are getting warmed up if you want to hang around 😆
You ever been accused of troll-like behaviour? You were always much better at that than me (sigh).
I suppose we could go across to Shills and do our old routine there if you like but Chris might wake up – he used to enjoy our Friday night sessions. I kinda miss those.
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Wibble-wibble, tea pot.
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Oh, come on MrP – surely you remember Kinley and I wreaking our own particular brand of havoc.
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Trolling? Me? Nope
I prefer to think I stimulate conversation. 😉
In a multi-user setting.
Speaking of which…….this venue lacks something vital.
Ah….this is a blog. Offski. 😉
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That’s you hooked now Kinley…you’ll be back. 😀
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I haven’t read all the other comments, so as to not be influenced by them (as if I would be, but just in case….)
I personally have become bored by forums. The ones I have in the past frequented were interesting initially because I was new to the subject, but after a month or two they become rather repetitive. And almost any thread that was interesting soon either goes completely off topic, or becomes a slanging ground for people at either end of the range of opinions on the topic.
There’s really only one forum I frequent now for it’s informational usefulness and it is fairly tightly moderated to ensure that it does indeed stay useful & informative, rather than declining into petty personal arguments.
As for blogs, I love getting an insight into the thoughts & world of another ‘solitary’ individual – how they are similar & different to mine, how even the look of their blog indicates aspects of their personality, looking at the pictures of them, their families (human & furry) and the places they visit that I’m never likely to see IRL. Being part of the blog world expands my world view & my empathy & affinity for people all around the world. And I have ‘met’ quite a number of folk now that I would love the opportunity to meet IRL – probably will never happen, but I’m sure most of them would be great fun to hang out with.
As far as my own blogging goes I enjoy writing, but as I’m never going to be an author or a journalist (nor do I want to be) or anything of that ilk I’ll settle for my blogs. I have fun with them, or get a chance to ‘think out loud’ or to store my memories, or any number of other purposes that a blog might fulfil on any given day. If other people find them amusing or interesting or whatever, that’s all good, and if it expands their world view somehow, I guess that’s even better.
Well, perhaps I’d better stop now before this becomes a blog post. 😀
Annie (way over her in NZ!)
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Thank God they’ve all gone to bed and I can now get some peace. It’s been like a forum in here today! I think I’ll go and join Kinley on a “multi-user setting”, it’s bound to be quieter than here.
😉
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