Firstly Usenet, that huge conglomeration of discussion groups on everything from Elvis Presley to pretzel fetishes. Its huge diversity is a reflection of mankind, but so is their current state. Hardly a group is still alive and well. Most have been flooded with unrelated posts, cross-posting to hundreds of groups, spammed advertising and more. Everybody's noticed it and there's nothing we can do, new users unaware of the rules inadvertently cause havoc, but are often happy to be corrected. The danger are those bad Netizens who knowingly break these guidelines to post thousands of commercial ads etc. Add to this bitter, twisted and petty people who always resort to insults. Good discussions fall apart as battlelines are invariably drawn and the flames begin. Discussions hardly ever last.
Similarly Hotwired's Threads discussion area has fallen victim to people's egos taking control as they insult each other. What we find is not the exchange of ideas in their purest form but people repeatedly stating their position and insulting others'.
The answer isn't easy and requires much effort. Moderation is the way to go, all the best discussions I've recently participated in have been moderated. This filters out irrelevant posts and insults and keeps the amount of useful discussion to a maximum. Its a hard job for the moderator but definitely worth it.
A few bastions of free speech may remain for the oppressed, but for those wanting to take part in true intellectual discussion the party's over. Pick up your digital dog tag and prepare to enter the ordered, responsible and buzzing world of moderated electronic discussion.
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