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Cluttering up The Head Shop with short replies that are silly and anti-thought-provoking

08:35 / 17.08.02

How do you feel about this atrocity? Shall it be allowed to conduct itself any longer, or should various forms of authority come wipe out this clitter clut? What is "clitter clut?" What is an "atrocity?" Is it part of the rivethead culture? Should those who fancy themselves part of the rivethead culture be allowed to post in The Head Shop? What if they think Trent Reznor is talking to them? Is Trent Reznor talking to you? Is Trent Reznor an Invisible? Is the Devil? Would you play a game of chess with the Devil? Would you play a game of Devil's Advocate with Trent Reznor? Would you play a game of chess with someone who cluttered up The Head Shop with short replies that were silly and anti-thought-provoking? Is this post anti-thought-provoking? Is nuclear war? What are the intellectual manifestations of nuclear war? Would you like to fuck a giraffe? What if the giraffe was Invisible?

10:35 / 17.08.02

What if we all took our meds?

10:35 / 17.08.02

What if a moderator moved this to the conversation?

12:36 / 17.08.02

What's anti-thought, and how can I provoke it?

14:20 / 17.08.02

It has been my lifelong dream to be tall enough one day to fuck a giraffe. I have tried enticing them to ground level with carefully placed shrubs to make my task easier but it's difficult to coordinate my priapic lunges when I'm standing on the shoulders of an obliging bushman. It would be much easier if I could strike up some sort of casual, non-sexual relationship first but they have little conversation; only want to talk about leaves, Damien Hirst's spot paintings and the perils of sheet lightning on the savannah.

I don't think invisibility on the part of the giraffe would make much difference, unless of course it shared Lord Fanny's taste in couture.

As for your Headshop query, Rage, after a whole year of barbling, I am still too intimidated by the Brainiacs there to do more than sneek about furtively, quickly buy a tube of queery theory or a roll of assorted labels, and slip away before I attract attention. But I am truly shocked by the abuse you report. Some people just have no manners, do they?

15:37 / 17.08.02

What's anti-thought, and how can I provoke it?

An anti-thought is the complementary state of any thought, and whenever a thought occurs its anti-thought is also created. While thoughts occur in tandem with our linear tracking of time, anti-thoughts have negative linear momentum and travel backwards from the moment of their spontaneous creation to plague us as garbled noise and shadows in dark hallways. To provoke an anti-thought you merely have to poke it with the sharpened end of a stick taken from a mulberry bush during the new moon. Also, if a thought and anti-thought pairing ever meet at the same instant in time, the mind of the being they collide in suffers from a Zen-like state of no-mind.

m3

19:01 / 17.08.02

I've just been for a wander round the more serious areas of the board and I find it really dificult to resist the urge to post short ireverant comments on most of the active threads, due to this thread I have and now I feel cheated.

Thanks. Now I have to go and talk to my wife. Thanks again.

12:39 / 18.08.02

Short irreverant comments with no point in the 'serious' forums are considered very very bad form. If you are a new member who has gained access to the board since we reopened the gates a few days ago, I would ask you to remember that you're GUESTS here, until you demonstrate otherwise, and that until you've got the ropes, you should bloody well behave yourselves.

13:39 / 18.08.02

It's a diferent standard of behaviour, I'm sure I'll get used to it.

It is very rare that I would post even a short irreverant reply without having a point to make or a contribution in mind for the furtherance of the discussion. Often my short posts are first impressions and I am considering a full argument, sometimes they are to try and get a reaction that you can use in an argument and sometimes they are a criticism of the tone or direction a thread may have taken. I know I got into the habit of posting shorts on threads I was interesting in from board software that gives you a tick box to watch the thread when you reply, I know Barbelith is not one of these and now I know my behaviour upsets some. I will amend my ways.

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:44 / 18.08.02

Well, it kind of works on a case-by-case basis. As you say, often what appears to be a short, irrelevant and irereverent comment is an invitation to another person to consider a weaknessin their argument, or to draw out a theme. Often, the acid test is whether there is a possible second post behind the first which expands upon and incorporates other people's responses to the first.

But yeah, usually best to err on the side of information.

18:03 / 18.08.02

Frankly over the board as a whole (excepting the Convo) I am generally disappointed by the number of one line throwaway comments. I'm actually APPALLED by the number of one line thread-starters. I think it's extremely bad form and should be very actively discouraged by everyone... If you have something to say, say it - put some effort in. If you don't, then shut the hell up and let the grown-ups talk.

18:29 / 18.08.02

*mumbles, looks at feet*

Yes, Mr Coates. Sorry, Mr Coates.

*tries not to cry*

Jack The Bodiless

19:55 / 18.08.02

Mmm. Presumably that's the reason why your own one-line throwaway comment in the 'citizens and tourists' Policy thread has been deleted, Mr. C?

I have no problem with one line posts, provided they're relevant and pithy. Of course, it's entirely possible for a lengthy post to be irreverant and throwaway. Brevity and irrelevance are not remotely the same thing. And if a thread can be legitimately kicked off by a one-liner, why the hell shouldn't it be?

I agree that in the serious fora and the serious threads, casual irreverence is a fairly major Barbefaux pas. But let's not be too prescriptive about any of this.

19:26 / 19.08.02

I like
haiku.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

21:21 / 19.08.02

One-liners aren't so horrid per se, but I get a wee bit cheesed off when I see a thread depending upon a single link... which the poster has ballsed up. A better approach would be to give a short outline of the article, including just what aspect the poster felt inclined to discuss, and then add the link.

21:44 / 19.08.02

Agreed Mordant, how likely is it that I will follow the link if I don't know what the thread is about, unless I am truly bored.

It occurs to me that I might want to keep my posts short because I don't want to show my whole hand in one shot. It is nice to reserve something for the conversation, to encourage a bidirectional flow of ideas.

I am trying to come to terms with the culture of this board though. I have spent a few days on and off considering my reply to a thread, I am still not ready although I do have something to say, perhaps I never will have a lucid post to make on the subject, maybe it would be no great loss.

I am gratefull that no one has yet pulled me on my inability to spell (another thing that prevents me from making long posts) I will get something on this machine to check it, I promise.