Thoughts

If one were to click the link over there on the side for Vague Idea, one would find a community of sorts. It’s my ring of friends in the local area (plus one or two.) It’s a regular blog that anyone can register with and post and do all that nonsense. There is also a message board.

On this message board, the proprietor posted a topic called “Gonzo Thread.” Apparently it is a reference to the stream of consciousness writing style of Hunter Thompson that was coined “Gonzo Journalism.” I found this amusing as that the basic structure of a message board (forums and threads and posts) is counter to the idea of stream of consciousness writing. It’s hard to truly “stream” when you’ve narrowed yourself down to a category, topic, and discussion underway. And more importantly, how was this different from posting to the public blog?

I think it all boils down to: How is the data presented? Many people prefer the illusion of community presented by the message board, rather than the stark landscape of anonymity afforded to the blog poster. When, in reality, it’s merely the aesthetic of how it’s presented.

So, this begs the question: Why hasn’t anyone seriously attempted to incorporate the two? It shouldn’t be that hard to create the databases (or just swipe any existing forum or blog database) and allow for multiple “views” of the data. You could view it like the traditional message board, in a threaded, by topic fashion, or you could just loop that shit out of the database in chronological (or perhaps categorical) order and spew it onto the screen.

I’m seriously tempted to try it myself. Perhaps when I have more time.