Mormon Dialogue board on the verge of death?

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_honorentheos
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Posts: 11104
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 5:17 am

Re: Mormon Dialogue board on the verge of death?

Post by _honorentheos »

Mayan Elephant wrote:i think of the boards differently now. people go on these boards for all sorts of reasons. some folks like to write. some like to read. some like to do Sudoku. some just like debate. and some people treat it like family. holy s***, right? for some people, these goddamn boards are VERY personal and mean as much to them as real family and real life. if there are offenders or offenses on the board it becomes very personal. for others, the words and letters on the board are about as personal as the letters in an online crossword puzzle.

Mayan Elephant, I have to say this paragraph is the most resonating piece I've read on the board in months.

After some soul searching a couple of months ago, I realized that I had started taking the boards more personally than I ever intended. Whereas I had always considered MAD a place to discuss Mormonism with Mormons and critics, when the board changed enough that I no longer felt it was valuable, I migrated to here where the conversation seemed more lively. At the time, I would never have said I had an actual side in the discussion, and just posted what I thought. At a certain point a month or more back, there was a long-forgotten occurrence that had little to do with content and everything to do with personalities. And I realized that it was no longer about discussing Mormonism for me. It was then that i started consciously spending less time on the board.

That said, because it has become more of a social place for me, I drop in to chat significantly more than I actual read the board. Kind of an on-line bar, conversation being free but you have to bring your own drinks.

In regards to the OP, MAD is no longer a valid place to discuss Mormonism from an outsider's perspective. It is only ok to discuss the insider's perspective, regardless of one's own position. Since that is the case, I doubt it will "fail" in a real way as there will always be those with an insider's view and appeal to being such, but I don't see it thriving as it currently is, either.
The world is always full of the sound of waves..but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows it's depth?
~ Eiji Yoshikawa
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