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Where do you go to...?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

12:48 / 22.11.05

My lovely. Oh, I just slay myself.

No, what it was was, we were hanging around in Teh Meen Mod Forum, aka The Policy, and talking about how it was a shame more people don't read it ect.

I realise that as a moderator I'm supposed to swing by the Policy regularly, but I'd probably keep doing so even if divested of my unnatural thread-mutating abilities by a torch-weilding mob. Personally I find it very useful to keep an eye on the Policy. Problems get flagged, interesting discussions are had. I even dig raiding the archived threads for an insight on how the board has changed and developed over the years.

My top three fora when I hit the board of a morning go: Temple, Policy, Convo. To be fair, my main reason for visiting the Temple first is usually to see if I've had a response to my latest stupid question, but also (perennial drama outbreaks aside) I still find the discussions there to be some of the most interesting on the board. Policy I've explained above, and Convo for soup, badgers, barbarians ect. Then I will usually have a sniff round the fora I moderate: peruse the Head Shop (I read obsessively but I don't have the nerve to post there anymore), catch up on the news in the Switchboard, head down to the Lab (see as for Headshop), gaze in envy at the cool kids in AFD, then retreat to the Comics forum before they can mock my shoes.

You?

13:05 / 22.11.05

Mordant, your loveliness goes on and on.
Yes it does.

*cough*

I go to Conversation first, then Policy, then either Head Shop or (perhaps bizarrely) Temple. Sometimes I skip Switchboard altogether, sometimes I head for Comics (although I avoid it on a Wednesday, as the Yanks are talking about the stuff that's not released here 'til Thursday) or Film, TV and (never) Theatre. Then I noodle around, and possibly check out Music and/or Books. I rarely go into Laboratory and even more rarely Games. Art, Fashion & Design and Gathering, very infrequently. Creation almost never.

13:06 / 22.11.05

Conversation is the first port of call. Then a read through what I've missed on Films TV fora. Shufty over to policy. Check gathering before I leave.

On extended visits, I check all of them except (usually) comics and temple - so I was quite amused to read they were the two top forums.

13:22 / 22.11.05

Boringly I just work my way down the list, jumping over Temple & Creation, which I only check out in extended viewing sessions.
If I'm just in for a quick recce, it'll just be Convo, and any fora which have active threads I'm involved in.
I'll back Mordant up in praising the Policy. I'm not a mod, but I go there all the time. It's where the discussions about how to build a community go on, which is one of the best things about Barbelith, imho.
(psst, you can often get the latest gossip there, but that's obviously below such high-minded individuals like us, right?)

13:30 / 22.11.05

Convo has to be first to keep up with whatever silly questions and comments I've made recently.

Then head over to Comics to see if anything I like is being talked about, then head over to Film, TV (oh, and Theatre) to check out the Lost thread.

After that I tend to float back and forth between the above occasionally checking Art, Fashion & Design and Policy.

Games & Gameplay comes in there somewhere but it's still not been intergrated into my normal fora browsing yet.

(I'm not going to admit how often I check Creation per week in the hope (vain hope) that Teh Computer has been rebooted.)

13:49 / 22.11.05

In the morning I read from the bottom up, skipping comics and temple. The most life these days tends to be in the top half so I like to nip through the quiet ones first. Then throughout the day I just go wherever I feel like, mostly books, policy and convo. I do check pretty much every forum (except comics) a number of times throughout the day, in search of new life. Which is (one reason) why I hate the current site layout and miss the old one with the top three threads on the front page.

13:53 / 22.11.05

I start at the top and work my way down, in typical predictable fashion. Most of the forums are in-and-out, following a thread or two that catches my interest.

Lately I've been spending more time reading threads in Policy, because they've been the most interesting. Convo has been improving lately as well.

Just sharing the perspective of a still-mostly-lurking newblood.

14:20 / 22.11.05

I go in this order:

Convo - as a sort of warm-up/attempt to get my stupids out before I move on to more serious matters. I find I'm speaking up a lot more here, mostly cuz I don't feel as bad for typing something dumb.

Policy - to find out what's happening with the community, what's getting modded and why. I don't have a lot to add here, but I feel that I have a responsibility to know what's going on.

Temple - where I do most of my learning, and probably 2nd behind Convo re: where I post most. Listening more than speaking of late, until I feel I have raised my game and can give-and-get more equitably.

Comics - though I've not bought a comic in months, I like to keep up with what's going on and note down what looks promising. I'd decided before Seven Soldiers came out that I was not going to bother with it. Seeing the buzz in Comics has convinced me to pick up the trades. So thanks for that, Comics. I still [heart] you.

Music - It's new on my list of Places to Go, but there's a music thread percolating in the back of my head, and I want to get a feel for the place before I dive in with my own topic.

Switchboard - though there's not much for us Amerikaners these days. A lurk place, and always informative. I like finding out how things are done politically in other countries. Very educational for a sheltered boy like me.

Then it's a lurk around Creation, FTV&T, Headshop, Lab, and Art.

(MC - I just got your little joke up there, and now that song's stuck in my head. Thanks a fuckload. :-P )

Less searchable M0rd4nt

14:22 / 22.11.05

and now that song's stuck in my head

My work here is done.

14:34 / 22.11.05

I tend to start at Conversation and work my way down though all of the forums except Gathering.

Just seems logical to me and means I don't miss anything.

14:44 / 22.11.05

I generally do moderator jobs first, then click the "Reference" link to see the threads.

Those are usually a good random sampling of things that people are interested in at the moment.

After that, it varies. I nearly never go into Gathering, and only went into Games as long as I was active in Urban Dead (Wilma, thank you for breaking me).

Creation gets a cursory glance, as does Art & Fashion.

All the rest, I'm pretty interested in, so I'll just hit whichever one I was most active in recently.

Typically, I'll start with Policy to see if any fires have started since I left, but I don't do this every day.

It goes through cycles.

In a perfect world, my order is P&H, Lab, Conv, Temp, Switch, Head, Music, Comics, Film, Books.

But that rarely happens in real life.

14:52 / 22.11.05

Like Jub, the Temple and Comics are the two forums I never go into. Well, since I started subscribing to the RSS feeds, I now occasionally see Temple threads that look interesting, but I always get scared off again within a couple of paragraphs.

I usually start with the Convo – scanning the thread titles for movement, tantrums, or notable activity. I might catch up with any that I’m involved in. Then into the Policy which is the only forum I consistently read all of. I love the Policy for loads of reasons, but mostly because I enjoy the agonising and internal politicking. I do think that people who avoid the Policy are missing out on a lot of what makes Barbelith great (I think any impression that it’s more for mods than anyone else is a huge mistake). So I catch up there and then do a kind of hop skip and jump through the Head Shop, Lab and Switchboard. The amount of time I spend there really varies. Weirdly, the longer I’ve been here the less time I spend in those forums. Probably says more about me than the board though.

I then tend to leap straight over AFD, Books and Comics, and spend some time in F,TV&T. I finish off with a read of the Gathering, largely because I mod there and feel duty-bound.

Sometimes I’ll do all that in reverse. I’m keraaaazzzy, me.

A

15:06 / 22.11.05

I usually either go Comics then Conversation, or vice-versa (although I went to Music first tonight for some reason). I generally hit those and Music ever time I'm on here. Next on my list are Film/TV, Switchboard and Laboratory, in no particular order.

Most of the others, I usually only look at about once a week, because some of them tend to move rather slowly and others I only browse if I have enough time to read a lot at once. Games and Temple I rarely visit, and, being in Australia, Gathering is of little use to me, so that's almost never.

Ninjas make great pets

15:18 / 22.11.05

I flit from section to section.. watching from behind the glass like some dickensian child.

I spend so much time reading the stuff I rarely get to reply! (save when workload allows or I'm waiting for pixels to dry on the other machine)

All Acting Regiment

15:38 / 22.11.05

No real pattern, though it's always based in convo and that's where I return to as a sort of base camp for fireside stories with the friendly tourists before we head off into the jungle once again, don our masks and engage in an orgy of blood and thunder.

16:37 / 22.11.05

Thanks to tabbed opera browsing I open up every forum and then start with policy. Always intriguing to see how people with some power (here the mods) think. Just the other day a mod thought about deleting a thread simply because ze didn´t like it.

Then I look into the "more serious" fori (headshop, lab and switchboard).

BTW, I almost always skip threads where typical US topics (for example Political Correctness, GWB/Iraq, Intelligent Design vs Evolution, Terry Shiavo) are talked about, because they have no effect on my personal life and just make me feel slightly uneasy.

From there I read my way down to gathering.

My favourite forum, conversation, I read and peruse last.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

17:01 / 22.11.05

I think I know which post you're referring to, Mistoffelees, and I'd dispute your interpretation. Also I'd point out that on this board, it's impossible for a moderator to delete, or even move, anything, without a couple of other mods agreeing the decision.

17:54 / 22.11.05

I usually hit Creation first: And although it doesn't seem to get a large amount of traffic, perhaps because in comparison with other parts of the board it lacks that essential element of debate, there is frequently many interesting threads (particularly when I trawl through the backpages).

Then possibly Film, Tv & Theatre or Books: I really enjoy reading the analysis and dissection of the mediums that sometimes occur there. I'm finding the recent spate of Book Buying/Reading Habits threads to be very intriguing. I read through recommendations or discussions on particular products and now and again someone speaks about something with such clarity/passion/insight that I'm compelled to track it down and enjoy it too.

Policy: Gets a look but I rarely post there.

Conversation: Usually reserved for late night insomnia.

Comic: Occasionally but sometimes I find it a bit "meh". Although that's most likely related to x-franchises being a bit "meh" and their predominance on the forum, than a reflection on the forum itself.

18:58 / 22.11.05

I get an RSS feed of Head Shop, Lab, Policy, and Temple. If I have a few minutes to spare (which I really, really shouldn't right now) I'll skim the thread in Conversation to see if there's anything intersting.

As a result of having the RSS feeds available, I find myself visiting Barbelith directly less frequently. I guess an outgrowth of this is that I don't look at the other fora much at all.

19:49 / 22.11.05

Sometimes I’ll do all that in reverse. I’m keraaaazzzy, me.

You do it just for fun
For a laugh aha-ha-ha

(But do you ever get your lips wet?)

20:17 / 22.11.05

You want to look inside my head, yes you do...

Top three: Bookmark takes me to The Conversation and if I get beyond that frivolous sandbox, it's The Policy, then Switchboard.

The Conervarsation is a bit like seeing my mates. There are the witty ones, the clever ones, the conscientious ones, the ones who combine all three traits and get shouty with it but you forgive them. The Policy Forum is the ectopically beating heart of the Barbelith. The Switchboard gets my blood pressure up, but not as much as most other boards, but also can help me see things from a slightly different point of view.

Some other fora I'll visit depending upon time and how much fun i've recently had there. Some fora I never go to because I did once and found that half a dozen posters, upon whom I would not piss if they caught fire, all posted there, regularly.

I come here most days and, on balance, it's definitely a net positive.

20:40 / 22.11.05

Also I'd point out that on this board, it's impossible for a moderator to delete, or even move, anything, without a couple of other mods agreeing the decision.

Yes, I know and agree with that. That mentioned post reminded me of internet experiences, where mods deleted arbitrarily.

Nice thread title btw; how am I to delete that song out of my head now?

*hums*
"...you know the Aga Khan
He sent you a racehorse for Christmas
And you keep it just for fun, for a laugh, A-HA-HA-HA"

12:39 / 24.11.05

I go first to the Conversation, and, when I'm slumming around in that neighborhood of an evening, I am a regular in the corner bar/local pub that is the Lateshift. I like the Lateshift, especially when I'm grading papers at night; it's a kind of treat I can give myself for finishing each paper, and one that doesn't have calories or seriously impair my brain (most nights...), something most of the other treats I might consider tend to do...

If I can stop messing around here, then I go a variety of places: Headshop, Policy, Switchboard, Books, Art/Fashion/Design, Laboratory and the other day I wandered into the Temple for the first time. I felt like a vestal virgin.

12:44 / 24.11.05

upon whom I would not piss if they caught fire

That Xoc, ain't he posh? Even when he's insulting you, he exhibits perfect grammar.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

13:35 / 24.11.05

I start of with the Conversation, and I love Legba's fireside/base camp thing. That's exactly how I feel about it.

Then Policy, which is a bizarre hybrid of serious business and actually being very interesting at the same time, which is cool. Then Switchboard and G&G, to see if anything needs fixing as well as to read and post.
After that it varies from day to day- all depends on which threads were active last time I looked, or in the case of much of the Spectacle, whether there's a new comic/film/book/album out that I think people will either be discussing or would be interested in me starting off about. Eventually I work my way through all of them. The Temple I just lurk in, as I find it fascinating but have little to contribute.

But really. Everyone should read the Policy. It's not just important, it's also bloody interesting. Part engine room, part soap opera.

13:36 / 24.11.05

I start at Convo and then wheel down them in order, finishing up at the Supercontext where all the old skool Lithers hang out and talk about you.

20:49 / 24.11.05

Loomis, upon you I would piss if you were on fire or had been stung by a jelly fish. But that's not an invite to come to Streams of Pleasure with me at the weekend.

21:19 / 24.11.05

Although that's most likely related to x-franchises being a bit "meh" and their predominance on the forum

Eh, I count 3 threads on the front page. 3 threads out of 30, and none of 'em are particularly popular. Maybe three years ago, perhaps... < /genuine bafflement>

I'm like Sax: start at the top and work my way down. Fnarrr!
Oh god, shoot me now.

22:02 / 24.11.05

Yeah on reflection it probably was bit of a baseless statement Boboss, it's probably more accurate to say something like "their predominance in my reading and how I percieve comics than a reflection on the forum itself".
Could be that I normally buy trades as oppossed to singular issues these days leaving me unable to read or participate in the more up to the minute threads too. Sour grapes anyone?

I head into music too but read more than I post.
I fall in and out of love with AFD depending on mood.
I get the feeling that it's best for all if I don't post in Switchboard, Laboratory, Head Shop or Temple (as everytime I've ever said something there it has been terribly stupid) but I do read them occasionally.

22:03 / 24.11.05

Sorry comics forum!

22:31 / 24.11.05

Because my work browser is shit and the only easy way to get to the Barb when no-one in charge is looking is to type in the forum numbers:
1. Convo. Fluffy, mostly. A nice cushion to land on.
11. TV. It's part of my job to steal opinions from Ganesh.
15. Because I'm a mod, for some reason, I feel obliged to check what's going on.
2. Quick Policy check for new trolls and to find out who Haus and Fly are baiting at any given hour.
4. Headshop. Think I know what to say, then run away like the intellectual ponce I am. Every time.

I've been scared away from almost everywhere else, as I know I too often only post when drunk (see this post) and regret it afterward.