I don't really go on the Forums, I did when I first got on the Internet, but I find endless, repetitive sameness brings out the troll in me, and I then bring out other people's worst opinion of me, not something I'm too bothered about, if you want to make your mark on the world you have to accept some people won't like you!
But there are some forums you can only join - if you want to read/follow the content - as they are locked-down, silly I know, as what have they got to hide? The self-perceived shame of having a 'nerdy' hobby I suspect? Anyway, for those Forums that insist on a login to view content there is a very useful tool...Be the Bot
http://www.avivadirectory.com/bethebot/
You place the URL you can't access in the box and the bot takes you to the page!
It's not foolproof, for instance today I tried to follow a back link to a thread (which seems to mention my blog) on 'The Guild'...tag-line: "If it didn't exist...we'd have to invent it!" and their login over-rode BTB, well...OK, I can't discover the context in which my blog has been referenced, no great shakes, but if BTB can't read the forum, Yahoo, Google and Bing can't either, which may be why I've never heard of The Guild, nor encountered them in Google searches.
This means that whatever nuggets of pure gold pontification the members may have arrived at on that blog, they are lost to humanity, and someone still needs to 'invent' the thing that was invented because it hadn't been, by being anti-search-bot-friendly it's lost in the 40-billion pages of that there inter-web thingy, and therefore has still to be invented, by someone other that those who claim to have invented it!
And what's really weird, is it seems to be a forum based on several commercial companies (Elhiem, Lancer, C-P miniatures etc...), with each having their own section, you'd think they'd want maximum availability, not a mole-hole on the edges of the web!
But for those that aren't so securely locked down, BTB's there, and worth a try...but even when or if you do 'get in' be prepared for disappointment! After patriotism, the next refuge of scoundrels seems to be Forums! Lots of 'What if...', a plethora of FYI and AFAIK's, endless "What's you favourite...", "What do you want 'x' to make next?", "Your top ten...?" and such like, along with self justification for using the wrong figures, rivet counting, the use of unexplained jargon to keep the 'newbie' out...it's all a bit tedious!
"...not something I'm too bothered about, if you want to make your mark on the world you have to accept some people won't like you!"
ReplyDeleteMmmm...I'm intrigued: Are you a man who wants to make his mark on the world, Hugh? What would you like that mark to be? Just curious:)
To not make your mark on the world is to waste a human life (somebody who probably did probably said!), whether I have made a mark, or am still to make one is of no consequence...one might argue a blog is a small mark? Are you suggesting that it is OK to enter and exit this life without making a mark or at least trying to?
ReplyDeleteI'll humor you on the PPE posts but if you are to start point-scoring or trolling on every post I'll just block anonymous comments...which is no way to make a mark on anything!
H
"Just Curious" is in the same group of venal nausea as AFAIK and FYI isn't it?
Excuse my ignorance but what is AFAIK? and is it pronounced like arseache?
ReplyDeleteHeh-heh-heh! Hi Brain...it's "As far as I know..." and allows the chosen expert to proceed with a few line of bullshit without using the question marks of real guesswork! It probably should indeed be pronounced 'A fake'!
ReplyDeleteAnother is ITYF...I think you'll find!
They do raise the hackles.
H
"Are you suggesting that it is OK to enter and exit this life without making a mark or at least trying to?"
ReplyDeleteOh dear, again no-one is trying to get at you. However, to answer your question: what about the babies who die before they're capable of doing that? Surely they have an 'excuse' for not "trying to", Hugh?:(
Now you made me cry:(
ReplyDeleteSorry, got emotional there - I'm silly:) I'm genuinely fascinated, Hugh - your comment about making a mark stimulated my imagination. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? Not just with regards to the plastic scene but with your life?
ReplyDeleteThree comments in a row....that's like green ink with red highlights in a letter to the PM's office, you may prove an amusement yet!
ReplyDeleteH
Sorry for the triple post the other day, Hugh. I didn't mean to alarm you or creep you out.
ReplyDeleteOh! Annon! That's poor isn't it? Very flat, like a prefect's understudy trying to make an ingratiating joke as he busts the Fifth Form smokers.
ReplyDeleteYou need to raise your game if I'm to let you carry on wittereing away here, we've got 600 visitors a day to amuse, you're not going to measure-up to the mark with stilted work like that. No comedy, no cutting satire, not even worthwhile 'trolling', just a literary stumble in the dark...
...must try harder! H
Point taken, thanx.
ReplyDelete