If Wishes Were Fishes...

[thantor3]

My former debating associate and general arch nemesis CE suggested that it would be interesting to explore the question of what different members expect and wish from SYM and how such wishes should be achieved. I was somewhat apprehensive in granting her wish, since I felt that such an action could change our relationship and I didn’t think I was up for a fairy godmother-type experience at this time. However, after due consideration I can see that this was simply a case of wishful thinking and therefore proceeded. Actually, I considered doing this as a boudoir thread where CE could engage in a love-fest with her alter ego… CE. Apart from making Dottie insanely jealous, I was also concerned that the ensuing excruciatingly detailed intercourse, laboriously nuanced linking behavior, and unending requests for gyrations of meaning would cause the universe to implode, so I resisted the idea.

Back to *ahem* the matter at hand. Please feel free to state what you expect and wish from SYM and how such wishes should or could be achieved. It is an open discussion, so be as serious or light hearted as you like. I really don't care.

[thantor3]

I suppose I should start, to break the ice and all. In a previous thread, which I will link to here for the benefit of the SYM research types, I began a discussion about community and if SYM could be considered a community. Some people thought is was or could be a community and others thought it basically could not be a community and was pretty much a posting board. In considering this whole situation in light of my current situation, I was intrigued to find that I now agree to some extent with those who say that SYM is basically a posting board. The reason that this so is because the relationships that once made SYM a community to me are no longer present for the most part. What I have come to realize is that it was not the threads in the forums that made SYM a community for me, it was the relationships that occurred in large part outside of SYM. Of course, if you don't reference these and take the proponents of the posting board perspective literally, then they have an excellent point. In fact, I feel rather chagrined at my obtuseness.

In some respects, embracing the posting board platform is rather freeing. I can take a detached, concrete, intellectually-centered view of the whole question. I can technically abide by all the rules but be as insensitive or as friendly as I want because, after all, it is just a set of pixels on the computer that I can shut off any time I wish. There is no compulsion to participate in any meaningful way, since SYM is not a community, and whether it lives or dies, splits or doesn’t splits, thrives or deteriorates is of no consequence to me. After all, I have the email addresses and ICQ numbers of anyone who is of interest to me if I need further stimulation at some future point. Or I can move on to other posting boards if I need to harvest more points of stimulation. The politics, squabbles, and quaint customs of SYM are now just the bleatings of so much sheep.

It is amazingly empowering that I can now totally take responsibility for my perceptions. And I can take whatever I want whenever I want it (within the constraints of the rules) since there is no longer any expectation that I need to contribute anything, unlike my previous incarnation. I no longer need coddling, positive strokes, or meaningful interactions. I have been SYMancipated! In fact, I can see the whole dynamic of SYM as an orgasm of solipsistic rapture and can be completely and utterly selfish, since, after all, SYM is just a posting board and everything written here is just epiphenomena from detached consciousnesses that I have no relationships with or connection to.

What do I expect and wish from SYM? That it stay in its little Petri dish, that it entertain me, and that it not bother me too much. And now, please excuse me. I need to catch Fox News.

[FweL]

Go for it. You have my blessing.

[dragon wench]

I'm still a bit sleepy, so perhaps not much capable of intelligent thought, but lol!

I think, Than, that one point which really strikes me is your reference to the connections that exist outside of SYM via email, ICQ etc. And also, you are right in mentioning that when people you formally had connections with post far less frequently, something changes. At such a juncture, I do think that perhaps the concept of community, at the individual level, does change.

A lot of people whom I became close to during my earlier time at SYM post far less frequently. While I am still in contact with most, their absence has influenced my perceptions of SYM to a degree. Not to say, that there isn't new blood, and always the chance of meeting people with whom I click

[Macleod1701]

Unfortunately thus is life, people move locations, jobs, etc or have kids and don't have enough time to devote to their spamming anymore. Maybe a computer chip in the brain would solve this.

[Ned Flanders]

This post has been deleted by me.

[thantor3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ned Flanders While you yourself are now experiencing this blissful detatchment, others have made the decision to embrace this place as more than a posting board, a community, if you will.

@ Ned: The post was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. Sadly, it looks like I need to brush up on my sense of irony...

[Weasel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thantor3 to explore the question of what different members expect and wish from SYM and how such wishes should be achieved.

To start, a trip back in time to what even brought poor old Weasel to this board (Pre-SYM).

Knowledge, nothing more.

With the search of knowledge came entertainment. With the search for entertainment came SPAM. (Welcome SYM). With this came friends.

What do I expect...just a friendly welcome.

What do I wish from SYM...just a few laughs.



Any questions? (Yes I hate writing)

[Macleod1701]

I have a question........why are all the younguns nowadays taller than me?
Completely off topic I know but you did ask!

[CM]

What do i want? Nothing at all. I have no expectations of SYM save what it is. A nice respectful place where we can relax and discuss serious matters with equal freedom. The ideas or perception that there is too much spam or too much intellectual discussion is rather limited in scope as these last a week or 2 maximum.

I like SYM because i learn alot from the people here. I want that to continue. I may not agree with what is said or who says it, but it provides me a point of view which i can't get in real life. In real life people won't be as honest as they are on SYM. One it is a safe environment secondly it has a sense of morality that i can very much relate to. People in the real world are way to PC and dishonest. SYM is honest to the point of being brutal. It is a refreshing change from all the BS i have to hear when i am at work.