Welcome to Gaia! ::

Now we all feel the urge to vent, myself included, and many of us feel the urge to strive to inform the uninformed and all that nice jazz.

ITIT=Ivory Tower Intellectualist thread=A thread aimed at getting a particular point across to the general masses.

So the questions are as follows:
-when is an ITIT no longer worth bumping or keeping alive?
-What criteria do you feel is necessary to keep an ITI from becoming flamebait?
-Are ITIT even necessary?
-Are misleading titles necessary?
-Do certain phrases become overused?

Discuss.


Yes this is an attempt on my part to prevent this guild from dying.

Rants are totally necessary. Without rants, some forums would turn into a collection of 1500 "who luvs inuyasha" and "omg henati so gross!" threads.
A good rant establishes a topic for a thread, and provides discussion material that makes a thread worth visiting.

At several points...

1> When the crisis its meant to address has passed. At this point its caretakers (poster and dedicated bumpers/defenders) should bookmark or subscribe it and allow it to sink into the depths of the AMC. When it becomes relevant again, bring it back up, dust it off, refine it, and trot it around the yard for people to see. The problem with many rants is that they become first page fixtures and are recognized in the same way that you treat your hedges... you mostly ignore them.

2> When someone else has said it better. If you really cared about the issue, you would toss your support behind a thread that made the point better. It is more important to achieve your goal than to engage in a tug-of-war for people's attention between two threads merely for the sake of personal glory.

3> When it becomes a total flamefest or spamfest. It is better to let a thread disappear for the sake of cooling down than to have the mods lock, kill, or chatter box it and lose the effort put into creating it.


1> A title that accurately and boldly states the point of the thread without direct insults. A title that throws the first punch like "WTF is wrong with you Inuyasha retards?" invites flaming. A title like "Hot Yaoi Inside!!!11!111!!!1gaysex" on a thread about fangirl behavior only incites those interested in the stated topic when they find out they've been duped. It also attracts the ire of those who hate said topic.

2> Improper facts in the body of the main posts. Nothing starts up the detail-oriented user like poor research and bulshittery. Its like tossing chum in the waters... predators WILL show. Also, anyone who is particularly attached to the topic is likely to be pissed off by what they view as misrepresentation.

3> Openly inflamatory content. Pretty self explanitory... nothing attracts flames like flames. Maybe imply that you're talking to those who just don't get it, but avoid openly calling the targets morons.

4> Some topics will always be flamebait even when approached delicately. There is little that can stop this on a forum such as this.


Yes. Sometimes a fact needs to be hammered home. Big, detailed, in-your-face posts with a list of reasons and debunkings of common arguments will at least make a portion of the other side realize that they might not be entirely correct in a way a simple statement never will.

That said, they have become trite, overused, and occasionally detrimental to their cause.


Not really. A bold yet accurate title should be able to get the attention necessary. After all, one of the reigning champions of the AMC is the Superman vs Goku thread, and you don't get more direct and bold than "Goku CANNOT beat Superman". And it brings in the crowds. Further, its topic ensures a constant parade of basket cases rushing in to keep it bumped and on topic with an endless debate of the same points over and over and over and over again.

I'd have to say that it may be the best example of the self-perpetuating rant I've ever seen.

A rant that has to lure people in with offers of something else is either the sign of an unimaginative creator or something not important enough to warrant legitimate attention.


YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!!!

We simply have a case of different definitions, then. I wouldn't consider someone simply venting frustrations as "a good rant". I use the term in a wider sense.

Rants are normal in every forum. People need to vent if they see too many repeat threads, idiotic posts or have something about the fandom on their mind that they hate.

-When is it no longer useful to bump?: I never bump rants unless their n00b warnings about repeat threads. I don't see the point of posting after I've had my say on the matter. It's very rare for an intelligent debate to start on rant threads. All the points are usually covered on the first post if the rant is good enough. It just ends up being arguments with the people that disagree.

-What criteria do you feel is necessary to keep a rant from becoming flamebait? : Rants are going to be flame bait no matter how much thought you put into it. Someone always misreads it or reads the title and assumes everything from that.

-Are rants even necessary? : Sometimes it depends. Most of the rants I've seen in the AMC are just pointing out the obvious or are there as flame bait. The rare ones that have a thought out first post are getting harder to find. But I enjoy reading a good rant even if I disagree.

-Are misleading titles necessary? : They where funny the first time I saw them but now it's getting old. I guess there's still people out there that would be fooled by them but I doubt it. The 'one one' at the end always gives it away.

-Do certain phrases become overused? : Having One eleventy one at the end is getting overused. 'Don't quote the first post!' No matter how large the poster puts this someone always quotes.

Discuss. : There I have, now I'll be on my way. My visitor pass is expiring. sweatdrop

Given the sadistic glee most of the people that are prone to ranting jump on repeat threads, I question the need for a thread providing the exact same information. Remember posing new information in an existing thread has ALWAYS been promoted over making a new one.

I have nothing against repeat threads either. I'm just saying that I see absolutely no reason for two rant threads to present the exact same information. Unlike most repeats which could have various kinds of responses and actually vary from the rest sometimes, the presentation of most rants is similar enough that the responses will all be similar in nature.

Sometimes, but that could also be peer pressure and mob mentality. I'm sure you know, and I personally am well aware of how accurate information presented in that manner is and how well people take to such actions. Not to mention it still doesn't justify the need for two flamebait threads.