Cybercommunities

I came to the Internet relatively late in life; I was almost thirty when I got my first desktop computer, and actually in my thirties when the embryonic Internet came into being. Internet discussion Fora were a long way off.

So for me, the people I've "met" online aren't really fully fleshed-out human beings. I don't mean this in a derogatory sense at all. It's just that, to me, it's almost impossible to connect words appearing on a screen to actual warm bodies. When I communicate with people, I do so face-to-face, or over the telephone, where I can see and hear emotional expression. Therefore, I don't become emotionally engaged with Internet discussions, arguments, dramas or community rules of engagement. Nor do I understand why other people do so. If someone online upsets you, just walk away from the computer--it isn't as if they can follow you around your house or workplace.

Now I have formed friendships with people I've met online. But in these cases we spoke on the telephone and usually met in person. In one case I married someone I initially met online, so it is possible to make an initial connection, but these Internet communities are simply random people typing words on a screen, and in my opinion the cyber-identities are almost entirely fictional, or at least partially fictional,. You may disagree, but I can prove you wrong if I care to, but I really don't care to. Nor should you care what I think; I'm just a cyber-fiction typing words on a screen which you're reading for God only knows what reason.

I have been members of several on-line communities or Forums, or Fora, or whatever the hell you're supposed to call them. I've also quit going to most of them. I've quit going to every one of them for exactly the same reason: They had stopped being fun. Invariably, the threads deteriorated to nit-picking, arguing, discussions about discussions (and by God, there is now a term for this in Internet jargon; a discussion about a discussion is called a meta-discussion); academical discussions about the meaning of terms, and arguments about what the meanings of meanings actually meant--it's absurd. Usually there will three of four posts about the topic of the thread, then the thread will deteriorate into hyper-anal nitpicking, tangents, and arguing. Even the well-Moderated Forums do this, because the Moderators are usually great fans of this kind of debate and discussion. There is an early, rather cynical article that still floats around that refers to "Godwin's Law." Godwin's Law describes the minimum amount of time it takes for an Internet discussion to go on before one of the participants accuses the other of being more evil than Hitler. Unfortunately, there is more truth than fiction in this, like most satire.

I love convivial companionship. There's few things I enjoy more than siting with a friend or two on a back porch on a nice evening, sipping a drink and having a pleasant conversation about interesting topics. But this is not what the Internet has become. I think the reason is Internet junkies are socially isolated people who for one reason or another, either through shyness, social awkwardness, or a general inability to relate to their fellow Homo-Sapiens, flock to these chatrooms and Fora for a way to interact with people--sort of--without actually having to DEAL with people.

Let me tell you of what had to be the most eye-opening experience of my Internet adventures. You would think if anyone could make an Internet Community work, it would be Buddhists. Well....

I was a member of a couple of Buddhist Fora which, one would think, would provide a safe haven for someone looking for convivial companionship to discuss the teachings of the Buddha. I will tell you this is a mistake. Cyber-Buddhists are no different than any other Cyber-dwellers, except they layer their nastiness with a thin veneer of quotations from the Pali Canon. Snide one-upsmanship on the level of 17th-century Rapier duels take place on these forums interleaved with extensive passages from Buddhist literature intended to prove the other guy is a total schlemiel. And these threads go on for hundreds of pages. Some of the participants post dozens of replies a day. And what of the famous Buddhist open-minded tolerance? Please. It is to laugh. The Vegetarians on a Buddhist Forum are enough to make me, a Vegetarian myself, crave raw meat. In fact, once every six weeks or so, I eat a hamburger, because I have this superstitious belief that every time I eat meat, a self-righteous Vegan dies.

When I once made some mild objections to a series of threads ridiculing other people's religious belief's, and suggested the principle of Right Speech indicated we should be more tolerant toward those who held different beliefs than ours, I was told my opinions were "rubbish." That is a direct quote. The ideological bigotry was so offensive and rampant, you would think you were on a Fundamentalist Islamic Forum instead of a "compassionate" Buddhist community. If you posted humorous stories, these were dissected by the hyper-analytical members for syntactic errors and logical inconsistencies--I'm serious--and the same arguments spewed on endlessly because--well-nobody seemed to have anything better to do. No volunteer efforts seemed to need their attention, no humanitarian association or animal shelters nearby, apparently. It was somehow much more important to make twenty to thirty posting a day arguing over points that mattered to nobody. Somebody on the Internet was WRONG, and must be corrected. After all, this was what the Buddha really intended 3,000 years ag0--correcting those who make piddly errors, not seeking escape from suffering.

So after attempting to participate in friendly discussions, and having my head bitten off once too many times, I posted, "The more I read this Forum, the better Scientology looks to me." and signed off forever.

There are two Forums I look in on these days, both related to my profession, and I post on them a little bit, but man, am I careful. I try to stay off the Internet as much as possible. Here There be Monsters. I remember when my son and I first heard of the Internet we were both happy, because we thought with all the world's information online and available at our fingertips, no one would ever be miserable or ignorant again.

Chalk it up to Life's Disappointment #1,287, 563.