I don't feel I have the full info on some of the more interesting aspects of Lulu, and to avoid misprinting anything I will save those topics for another time. I do feel the need to blog about a recent Lulu Blog, Forums - Rubbing Elbows, Virtually.

I've always been a little outside the forum loop myself. I don't quite get them, they are a little to slow and static for me. Or, in other cases, there is too much information organized too sporadically to be bothered. Growing up with the internet seems to have made me complacent. So, for those not familiar with forums, this is what Lulu has to say...

Forums are virtual meeting rooms where people with an Internet connection from all walks of life can come together and mingle. Think of forums as a party where the discussions are typed out and only one person talks at a time. The people at the party might be writers, photographers, teenagers, single parents, lawyers, pool boys or even sports fanatics. Each person has a unique point of view and will add something different to the discussion.

In this blog post Lulu encourages its users to get involved in the forums and the community that is created by them. The analogy, a forum is like a party: if the people at the party are boring, the party will be boring. So join in to make this party fun!
They may have a point here.
I haven't spent a great deal of time yet in any one forum or strand on Lulu, I've been very busy just bumping around trying to see what people talk about, what kind of communications are going on. A more focused post on forums will come in the future.

1 Comment

1. rsrcher on February 20, 2009 1:31 AM

   I'd be interested to hear if the party analogy holds up to scrutiny; if some of my recent experience in anarchist forums discussing the Greek riots, etc., is any indication (and I admit that it is an exceedingly specific one) then they can very much be the wrong kind of party (the 'hosts,' a couple of individuals putting in all of the social labor needed to keep the conversation fresh, dominating, and the one-off commentators or flame-throwing ranters kicking in much of the supplementary content).
   
   This is actually a fine form for a sort of Q&A (with 'hosts' both gracious and seemingly knowledgeable), but fares so-so with the party model...
   
   I expect that many 'forums' keep the party alive, but am curious how/why that is (only) sometimes the case (and I have my guesses)...
   
   cool project.