9.29.2008

Why message boards should be banned

This one is just for Cindy!

I am a big believer in free speech. I believe that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I also believe that some people's opinions are better kept to themselves and not shared with the whole world. I find that especially true when those opinions reveal the person to be a biased, sexist, unoriginal person who just likes to see their own words in print. Because people see message boards as a way to be cruel, ridiculous and just plain uneducated, I really think they just need to be closed down until further notice. That, or you should have to pass some sort of test to be able to submit a comment. Now, I don't want to be the moderator of the world's message boards, but still...it's pathetic.

I should have learned by now not to click on the "comments" button under any article in the online version of your local paper. No matter how good the article, no matter how positive or uplifting, people find ways to ruin it. Recently, an article was written about a 12-year-old girl who had donated her hair to Locks of Love, not once, but twice. That's impressive for anyone, but especially for a 12-year-old! That is understanding that the world is bigger than you and that even small things mean something big. And, what was the first comment under the story? Not that the girl was doing a good thing, not that she deserved to be commended for giving heart, no...it was a complaint about Locks of Love and how they distribute wigs. I don't know that much about Locks of Love, so I don't know if the criticism was valid or not, but I do know that what they do has NOTHING to do with the heart of a healthy 12-year-old girl trying to do something nice for people. GRRR.

And, fear not, it's not restricted to the local Bloomington paper - message boards and 'comment' boards across the internet are full of only the loudest people. And it's not just that I am usually completely opposite of the people posting, it's the way they do it. Like their opinion is the only one that matters, and to "you know where" with anyone who dares to disagree with them. There is a reason there are professional writers in the world - and a reason so many people do not fall into that category.

So, here's my advice to people who use message boards as just another way to sound off their undereducated opinions on things they haven't researched or really thought about - or to those people who have potentially valid opinions but are mean, cruel and uncalled for most of the time - get a blog! Don't pollute message boards with your drivel.

And that's all i have to say about that!



2 comments:

  1. This is why I'm sponsoring legislation to change the names of such boards to "Moron Boards."
    The few times I've been tempted to comment on a story, I've changed my mind, saying to myself, "Oh, I see. This is a forum for idiots, not for people with intelligent comments."
    There really is no need for such imbecilishness.

    And that's all I have to say about that.

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  2. I wish you had a message board for this post. :)

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