Hello Everyone! Ya Ya Yawm!

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

What hat?

Do you know everyone here in "real-life"/Have you met them in real-life?

[gunner154]

I have not. I doubt anybody here has really visited Singapore. And I have not gone beyond Singapore and Malaysia myself.

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

Oh, but he seems to know Gob and a few other people.

[Dunenewt]

Mahdi has met a few people on this site.  I've only met one...who signed up because he was my friend, and no longer posts on here.

[Mahdi]

I have met Vangaurd and Davo in real life, and have spoken to Gob on the phone.  The reason it seems like I've met so many people is because I've been posting here for eight years and been staff for almost as long.  Back when I was actively contributing to the site I was on here a lot and we all had many a conversation on these boards, as well as on msn.  While we may not have met in real life, and while much of each other remains a mystery, we have developed a bond of friendship which you can find on almost any tight-knit/old message forums.  Although I really think that facebook and myspace will mean the end of the messageboard era.

[gunner154]

Well, do people actually discuss something on Facebook and myspace?

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

I'm pretty sure they do.

[gunner154]

A more affirmative answer would be appreciated. Is it not a place for people to post about themselves? How does the term 'discussion' even fit in then?

[Mahdi]

Yes, you do have your own profile page which is the hub, but there are also thousands of groups you can join regarding anything - from food to politics to tv to books - with there own discussion boards, walls, etc.  There are also pages which are basically the same thing, but that you "become a fan of", which shows up on your profile as beign a fan of wahtever you joined.

[gunner154]

Well, for many who would be grabbing communities like freebies, participation tends to be very diluted. The forums are here to stay!

[Dunenewt]

MySpace is absolutely rubbish!  It is full of hacked accounts, adverts, and bad attempts at FaceBook.  FaceBook itself has become too much of a corporate entity.  I still think there is life in message boards for the foreseeable future.

[Andrew]

Myspace sucks. Facebook has been going downhill since I joined (late).

All those people freely giving their personal information to corporations. Especially the dumb people who have their profile completely public for anyone to view.

[Edric O]

Aren't "social websites" essentially just glorified forums with extra flashy features? That's how I always saw facebook. I mean, the basic features of facebook are the same as the basic features of this forum: You have a profile page (which is far more detailed and important on facebook than on a forum, but the idea is the same), and you have messageboards to post in - except that on facebook they have fancy names like "your wall," "groups" and so on. You can also send private messages, again like on any forum. The only things that facebook has which you could not find on a regular forum are the applications - which were added rather recently - and the simple but revolutionary feature of starting your own groups, which is the equivalent of starting your own boards on a forum. I think this latter feature is what allowed facebook to achieve such success. It's basically a forum where you can start your own boards.

Oh, and as for privacy, I think facebook is clear evidence that many people don't value their privacy nearly as much as we used to think. If so many people willingly spill out their entire life story on facebook, can we really make a case against things like biometric ID cards?

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

(This is completely off topic, but oh well) I know a huge number of my friends who go on to facebook and they say it's fun... and they also said some nonsense about leveling up.(?)

[Andrew]

There is no leveling up in facebook. It is possible for facebook app games which are stupid (a couple might actually be useful or fun). The more you play the more "leveling up" or whatever they want to call it.

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

They were saying something about "inviting" and also some leveling up stuff about it.

[gunner154]

The easiest part of a person's profile to search would be the basic, core information. Dates of birth, location, etc That is not to say people only post core information. Only the really private stuff become the subject of debate. They can choose what they'd like the world (or just their friends) to see, but what about stuff like their emails? Facebook cannot unjustify the desire for privacy.

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

Privacy or not, that's their choice.

[gunner154]

But a general understanding is required if you intend to debate policy.

[Dunenewt]

Mahdi's been pretty quiet recently...

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

Oh well, isn't that annoying?

[Dunenewt]

We miss him.

[gunner154]

It is annoying that he's been quiet ;)

[Andrew]

He needs to do what every cool person does and start a blog!

Put some ads on it and Gob could be making $5k a month :P

[Mahdi]

Mahdi currently works two jobs, the first starting at 8am and the last ending at 11pm.  On top of that he's struggling trying to get his secret level Canadian government security clearance, filling out international banking and wire transfer forms, and try (unsuccessfully) to find some time to relax and spend some quality time with his girlfriend.

Not to mention all the other recent thigns that keep popping up to rob him of his time.

Thus, Mahdi has been pretty quiet lately.