So I have to wonder, when did these new forums sneak on to WTF? And why did they sneak? I’m a great proponent of centralized discussion, although it may be an unachievable dream to expect even eloquent people with different points of view to ever agree to exchange those views openly, or that This Here Spot is the place to do so. The Legion of Doom was unable to get a forum going mostly because its members are still communicating by homing pigeon. Lddebate.org sunk of its own confusing weight, plus, I gather, some hacking. If you have too many threads and categories, it’s easy to get lost. Simplicity is a cardinal virtue of design, at least in communications venues. More people are able talk on the telephone than to send Morse code, because it’s easier, which is why telephones replaced telegraphs and Morse code is going the way of the horse-drawn carriage. Anyhow, these new WTF forums look spiffy and simple, and Bietz, AKA the Stealth Webmaster, seems to have posted them in the most tentative fashion possible, presumably in the hopes that either people will find them on their own and somehow take them to heart and prove their worth in some sort of Frank Capra fantasy, or in the hopes that people ignoring them will make them go away and thus prove their non-utility. Curious. Then again, this is the same venue that, while touting itself as an outlet of an educational operation at the secondary school level, subsidizes inappropriate blogs that simply have no place in that sort of operation. God knows I’ve longed to let free my inner tranny, but I’ve managed to hold back the temptation. WTF should do likewise.
In any case, I hope they do something about their forums. These could take off and do a good service to the LD community. I’m all in favor of it.
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