Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is about bulletin boards (such as the English Sabla BB) that keeps people coming back for more? What is the attraction with reading people's personalised, individual opinions/ideas/beliefs/words/rants on any particular issue from 'Your Favourite Weather', to 'How to Strategically Create and Sustain a Universal Community' ...(come to think of it we havent covered that second topic yet).

My question is, why do we do it, and what is the point exactly? What do we really take away from learning what Qais's opinion is on Saddam Hussein, or what Arby thinks of public opinion?

Are there any real lessons to be learnt or are we in fact merely filling a need to be heard, a need for self-expression in a world that has become increasingly numbed to the significance of face-to-face conversation?

Nowadays, it seems that the 'traditional' ways of spending an evening are being neglected or given less priority while people indulge in individual (sometimes anti-social) activities like computer games, watching TV, etc. How often do we hear of big family gatherings with everyone enjoying a meal together and then spending hours conversing, catching up, or participating in a group activity conducive of socialising and creating stronger family ties?

Maybe, therefore, this indeed is a place where we are all seeking to be heard, or feeding a need to have someone 'speak' to us.

What is your opinion on this?

You know, I was thinking on the subject earlier today, and asking myself the same question: Why do I love to come home, turn on my computer, and find out what someone else thinks of my opinion..(even if it is disagreement). Whats the big thrill? This interaction w/people I've never even met?

I think for me, Ive always been fascinated with other cultures and learning how people think and live in other parts of the world. Another part of it being that sometimes people feel safer socializing with other people in the comfort of their own home.

Interested to see what others think...

For me
The reason makes me keep in coming to this sabla is my desire to speak my mind and share ideas and thoughts with other people.

good topic raffee

the world has become a small world and ppl these days wanna feel the diversity and space of the universe through using the internet in general. ppl are bored of the routine life they are living. so they tend to join a forum or somin to know different ppl, different ways of thinking, different levels of knowledg and many other things that u dont find when u go out the same ppl all the time .... u live in an another world!! could be a fantasy world but it is there!!

long time ago....this world....was as big as the universe....nowadays....this world...is as big as a 18 hour flight..from 1 side of the world.to another...its as big as a time between a millisecond and few seconds...of data travel around the globe.... it is obviously clear...the world....is in our hands....we merely need to walk on it to reach to what we want.

the idea of sharing and exchanging thoughts and idea....the idea of hearing others opinion..and to be heard....is basically...one of the ways...to improve ones self....and to actually learn more about human....ways of thinking.....

in real life...would have discussions with friends and anyone one you meet..but that will always be limited to your surroundings....but on a forum..BB... there are no limits no boundaries.... you can hear from extereme opinions...to ones that would be shared with u..... the whole idea of it.. is to make it another mean of educational..media..... what is school....what have we learnt from it.... quite alot ..but ....its history already...(for those who graduated at least..:rolleyes:) ....you might learn some of this sharing there..but.....not in such a universal...way..

quoting from the movie Matrix :gap: ....."Free your mind" ....thats the idea...each one of us has their own beliefs and opinions...or even they might have the belief or opinion of not having any :) but ...thats the idea... to free the mind...and accept that there are different people who think different. There isnt a Yes / No answer for everything....so the best..is to be able to be able to juggle your thoughts in between them all...

hmm.....lets see what others might think....

Originally posted by DeSerTDesTroYeR
long time ago....this world....was as big as the universe....nowadays....this world...is as big as a 18 hour flight..from 1 side of the world.to another...its as big as a time between a millisecond and few seconds...of data travel around the globe.... it is obviously clear...the world....is in our hands....we merely need to walk on it to reach to what we want.

the idea of sharing and exchanging thoughts and idea....the idea of hearing others opinion..and to be heard....is basically...one of the ways...to improve ones self....and to actually learn more about human....ways of thinking.....

in real life...would have discussions with friends and anyone one you meet..but that will always be limited to your surroundings....but on a forum..BB... there are no limits no boundaries.... you can hear from extereme opinions...to ones that would be shared with u..... the whole idea of it.. is to make it another mean of educational..media..... what is school....what have we learnt from it.... quite alot ..but ....its history already...(for those who graduated at least..:rolleyes:) ....you might learn some of this sharing there..but.....not in such a universal...way..

quoting from the movie Matrix :gap: ....."Free your mind" ....thats the idea...each one of us has their own beliefs and opinions...or even they might have the belief or opinion of not having any :) but ...thats the idea... to free the mind...and accept that there are different people who think different. There isnt a Yes / No answer for everything....so the best..is to be able to be able to juggle your thoughts in between them all...

hmm.....lets see what others might think....




well said!!

i agree!:gap: :gap:

Well, I beleive internet is a way to enter a new world that you never imagined.

In it, you shape your personality and you learn to stick to what you beleive.

Why are you attached to someplace like this. SImply because you are not known. No one can misjudge you if said a certain thought that you might not have the confident to talk about in reality. This is the ideal place for you to xpress what you have.

As you socializing is a need in every human being. this is the place for everyone to socalize and like what DD said .. you tend to get opinions from all over the world and not limit it within your society.
You learn confident.. after spending so much time in a BB you tend to realize that saying your opinion is not that scary and it might slip away and you start saying it in public (if you are the shy type of person).

I beleive learning is endless, from new vocablury till shaping your personality.

a bulletin board is just another and easier way of finding people who share the same interests as you. plus over here i feal that i'm heard, and that my opinions matter to some people who actually care. not that i didnt get that in the real world , but its just different here! and anyways..DeDe stated it perfectly well, and covered all the important points.

you dont get this from sitting in a coffe shop, your work place , or even walking down the street. not in our society at least where men and women are treated with boundaries between them.

What ! ?

You guys are real people ! ?

I though this was an online game.

Boy, do I feel foolish.

Say whatever you want. Who can stop you?
If somone doesn't like your opinion or if you want to be nasty then its all the same. We're all floating in an imaginary world that cant influence our real world, so now we're just free to do - whatever we want.

For example, I've never personally considered suicide to be a solution for even the worst of problems but was always curious to know about others. I could never touch a topic like this at home - but here the doors are open.

Wanderer: glad..that you finally discovered the truth....no wonder you have auto- response...posts sometimes...:D

--------------

such a good topic??.....what do others think??:rolleyes:

Where else could a 36 year old American woman ask a 19 year old Omani sailor why he admires Osama bin Laden?!

Where else could a British ex-Christian living in Oman debate religion simultaneously with an American pagan, a british catholic, a muslim ex-catholic from the carribean currently living in Oman, a female Omani muslim student in the US, and a variety of other muslim arabs both male and female, old and young?

Technology is a wonderful thing :)

The idea of speaking your mind out is rather impossible in Oman; there is a limit to everything, however, having a bulletin board like this is better then nothing to share your opinion and idea’s with people from different backgrounds.

Sad enough, this board is full of crap most of the time, I would like to see more serious discussions around rather then just switching every discussion into a fight or a chat.



I rarely come back most of the times to check on who answered my posts, knowing that I wont get what I am looking for.

Originally posted by Deep Ocean
Sad enough, this board is full of crap most of the time, I would like to see more serious discussions around rather then just switching every discussion into a fight or a chat.

I rarely come back most of the times to check on who answered my posts, knowing that I wont get what I am looking for.

maybe it would be a good idea if YOU started some "serious" topics instead of criticizing the board. cause as i can see..General , politics, religion , H&E sabla , business and even arts sabla ..have some rather good and serious threads in them.:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Deep Ocean

Sad enough, this board is full of crap most of the time, I would like to see more serious discussions around rather then just switching every discussion into a fight or a chat.



Little boy,

Before you jump on people and start to shoot your posts to criticize I wish you could read what I said again.

The point is not about lacking good discussion, but the fact that most of them turn into chats or fights.

threads switching into fights or chats happen in all discussion boards. it isnt easy to control all threads..but we do our best.

little u say.. lol..am sure u could come up with something better than that. ;)

Originally posted by Deep Ocean
Little boy,...

hmmm, it appears that it is comments JUST LIKE THIS that turn discussions into fights... so you might consider practicing what you preach!

Originally posted by raffee
Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is about bulletin boards (such as the English Sabla BB) that keeps people coming back for more?

I think the mystery of the unknown is what first attracts us. We keep coming back as we are wandering which new idea or thought is posted.

I am personally happy to share my opinion, but I could equally be satisfied by simply reading other people's posts, just to see how individuals think and interact with each other.

I do believe that a bulletin board which offers so many different sujects of discussion like this one, can be on one hand a great source of knowledge, and on the other hand an unhealthy distraction when it becomes an addiction.

"If talking is silver then silence is gold"

I’m not quite sure if that’s the way to say it.

That is something that most of the members/mods/admins including my self should learn.

Have a great day.

Deep Ocean
It is nice to have your say .. but it is also nice to include some of what is dont actually arounf here ..

I dont think its fair to say there isnt any serious discussion over here, its up to us to turn what is not serious to serious.
you said it your self, you dont come back to check what people wrote judging beforehand that it would be chats. Here remains the problem, we have a misconception before we even coming back so whatever you see will actually be as you thought even if it wasnt.

I think living in english sabla helped me and other members grow. We shared alot and we feel like we actually one world family. No one agrees with all thier family members and so happens in sabla and even if it was silly we could creat some serious topics from silly comments!

Originally posted by Arabian Princess
even if it was silly we could creat some serious topics from silly comments!

Respect your point Arabian P. however would you like to elaborate on how often does this happen? i mean seriouse topics from silly comments?

I think you have created enough distraction in this thread Deep Ocean and would appreciate it if you started a separate thread about your 'issue' elsewhere.

Now let's get back on track, and I call on the mods to ensure that this thread is not swayed off the topic again.:rolleyes:

(I will reiterate what Moonie said and ask that you practice what you preach or perhaps you can preach elsewhere).

Cheers,
Raf.

I don’t see any topic that has been diverted from the main topic; we are still talking about the bulletin board! ! !

Anyways, the only reason I come back to this board is that I have free time, or am just lazy to do some house work or go and study, otherwise I would not have bothered my self. I really had this big wish that perhaps this place would become more quieter and mature people would speak out, some people like MUX, Grasshopper and mimosa are missing out, nevertheless we still have people like X-Press, MoonChild, bimzoori and arabian to join us in and we hope to see more of their posts.

To me I look up to MUX I have never seen him post any rubbish, and he ALWAYS makes sense, I would defiantly come back here and post more then I do nowadays to read his posts if he were to post on daily bases.

Again you find many people from different back grounds and we all know that we can’t handle them.

P.S : I have noticed that many members who join in and give their straight opinion about their thoughts get mistreated Example “Deep Ocean” calling boy-inter a little boy is nothing, I bet if one of you did it everything would be kewl but because he/she is new you always have the chance to attack. Anyone wanna attack me for opening my mouth, spare me a thread/post and PM me.

Some1, there isnt any kind of attack here .. like you are free to say your opinion .. everyone else is free too!

I think you know more than any person that we in sabla welcome dearly any new member and especially if they are strong opinioned like deep ocean. However, not because we dont agree with what she says we should follow with the trend. We have our opinions too!

You are free to come back here or not .. but you still come back! this means there is something that push you back here. I admire mux too and MANY other members. Everyone have thier style and every style as wrong as it is not insulting is welcomed! This is the beaty of BB. Otherwise it would be dull! you dont expect everyone to be mux :)

After all boy-interrupted was wrong by jumping into conclusion without reading the post again, and his post in my opinion was rude, then came along the gang to defend him. No problems but you see these are new members, they don’t know weather you are joking or being serious, something that one has to take into mind.

Talking about new members who don’t post anymore! I don’t blame them!

No offence anyone, and i am sorry boy-inter but this is what i persoanlly think, hope your kewl as you always are ;)

Deep ocean’s respond was because she/he was upset that people don’t read thus calling boy like that, again I say perhaps it was wrong, but I am sure that boy-inter would have not taken it seriously if it were anyone else.

The above is one of the bulletin board phenomenons

Some1,
scince when we have the "gangs" here. BOY I had his opinionand shared it. Deep ocean called him little boy .. again she is free. Moonchild thought it could insult boyI by that and brought to her attention what she thought .. simple as that!

its all based on that everyone is free to say what tehy want as long as they dont insult. We cant control what people think! No one can ask BOY I to change his style .. so cant we do with Deep Ocean.

I dont think BOY I was rude .. he said what he had!

To me I might think that he was rude, but ask others they might think I am the B around :D I know what people think, but I like to be open something that was missing when I was in your shoes Arabian ;)

I just hope no one gets upset that’s all.

Originally posted by Deep Ocean
Respect your point Arabian P. however would you like to elaborate on how often does this happen? i mean seriouse topics from silly comments?

It up to us to make it happen .. I think many members opened topics because they noticed something in a silly thread .. it is up to the serious members to notice that and search thier minds for topic to be opened.

i think it's so easy for people to hide behind their computer screens and say whatever they feel like. i bet half of the people in here have totally different personalities in real life. plus humans are always intrigued by the unknown.

I dont think its that easy big mo.. after few disscussions, everyone"s true colors will show!! But ofcourse it needs an observative eye :)

quite interesting...how the main idea of this thread is being drifted by a simple...un-required...conflict of opinions.

the end of it everyone is sharing their opinion and discussing about it...now isnt that the idea...overall..:rolleyes:

but again...the way is been going...thats almost another thread which can be discussed...

soo lets simply focus on the main idea...of this topic...and keep our side comments....please....:)

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sooo..let hear others opinions..about this........

ah some1.. always jumpin at any chance to prove me wrong. :D no worries..am chillin..as am used to it..commin from u. :p

anyways.. if i had ofended miss/mr ocean..then am sorry.. but to date i have never seen any "Positive" comming from him /her. oh well../each to his own. :o

I stand with DesertDestroyer here... Am stuck in here cause its one of the few ways that i can express and share what i have in mind without bounderies.. As well sharing from great other members what they do have in mind.....

Just a piece of a truth statement in here, As i can see many honesty is going around but one little coment from myside..Please there isnt any offence but trying to speak my mind out.So chill out and make it easy...
I really had this big wish that perhaps this place would become more quieter and mature people would speak out, some people like MUX, Grasshopper and mimosa are missing out, nevertheless we still have people like X-Press, MoonChild, bimzoori and arabian to join us in and we hope to see more of their posts.
I really barelly see any seriouse effort from you SOme1..And i mean you are like any other member who goes into the silly part as well as seriouse parts..So if you really want for this BB to persuade into a better place then you should first start to cut off the silly ones.. Maybe you did realize lately how chit chat threads or other silly threads can give a bad impresion but admit that you were one of those who fell into it ....
And thats the good part..you do see and visualize your mistakes, and i think everyone comes into a stage of realizing what fits him/her or not..and i hope that it wont take that long..

ANyways...No offense to anyone..This BB is like many others.. It has its Pros ANd COns.. and if the Con side is more higher then noone will turn it into a better place but you members!
You had givvin the chance to use it in a good way but................


By the way i see nothing harm in what B.I said! I mean he just asked D.O to start what he thinks is right! SO!!

Cheeers!