Newsgroups

The thing that amazes (stupefies) me most about newsgroups is that so many people will devote so much time and energy to so many trivial matters. I know, I know: To each his own. But while I had a hard time finding much strictly "educational" content, it was almost impossible to avoid the countless groups devoted to music, films, and pop culture. There are a few reasons I have never been much of a newsgroup junkie, and this experience reminded me of all of them: 1) It takes so long to find what you are looking for. I suppose this would not be the case if you simply had a few groups you looked at on a daily basis, and you "knew" the main contributors from experience reading their posts, but to just start from scratch and try and find something worthwhile is difficult. It's like trying to jump into a conversation that has been going on for half an hour before you showed up. And it is almost impossible not to get sidetracked and end up looking at gossip about your favorite rock band when what you set out to find was a good recipe for salsa. 2) Most newsgroups seem to have an unclear purpose: are they educational or simply entertainment? Until the members of the group agree on what the purpose is, it makes for a very disjointed "conversation," and since there is always one fool in every group that just doesn't get it, it can be a maddenning experience trying to find a clique that suits your tastes. 3) Who cares? I asked myself that a lot as I was scrolling through miles of petty quibbling about whether or not Peter Criss's drumming style was the reason KISS became so popular in the 1970s. It seems to me that if all these wannabe rock stars are ever going to make it big, they won't do so in an online newsgroup, but rather by practicing with their bands and playing gigs! I know, I know: that was harsh...but that's what creeps into my mind when I realize I've spent more than ten minutes of my life reading such stuff. I guess what it really boils down to is audience. There is an audience for everything, it just so happens that a larger segment of the population prefers to bicker about movies than about instructional technology. Of course I realize this is all part of the freedom of the online world: everyone can be an expert on something, and everyone is a publisher. And occasionally you come across something worthwhile. I just think there is usually a better, faster, more efficient way of doing so.

I spent two hours browsing various newsgroups, but couldn't bring myself to participate in any of the discussions. Then I remembered I'm not taking this class for credit, breathed a sigh of relief, and went downstairs to read some Harry Potter with my son.

*<%^) Mike