I'm comparitively new to this internet lark & CMON was the first forum/messageboard type thing that I've signed up for & posted on more than a couple of times, so I'm not speaking from a hardcore net-head POV
Isn't the change that people are refering to simply a result of the development of the online world? It really isn't that many years ago that dial-up was standard, a slightly geeky level of tech knowledge & fair level of wealth was required to even get online & the place was far more sparsely populated. From the handful of sites out there to do with any given subject, a lot of people were thrown together & communities developed (such as this one). Then we got the MySpace type site & blogs. Splintering all of the old groups as people dashed off to proclaim their individuality & instead of participating as part of a community on a forum, locked themselves away in their private gardens. Socialisation on forums decreases as people now use Facebook type sites for primary communication with individuals or groups. I expect that this will continue to the point where sites like CMON no longer exist & we're all just typing frantically into our own little blogs, which of course leaves no time to visit anybody elses space. Millions of words & images typed into the ether & everyone else so busy doing likewise that it all goes unread.
I suspect that this ties in with the sense of self-importance we all feel naturally, exacerbated by commercial advertising, political manipulation, etc. To have to share a space with others when we could have our own, where our opinions aren't challenged & our work not criticised, is very tempting in a low-level (subliminal?) kind of way.
The internet is changing & we with it. It's good to look back at fondly remembered times & to reminisce with likeminded individuals but looking at the why is important too I feel.
Make any sense?
Cheers, B.
