Bulletin Boards in the last five years have become an amazing phenomenon. The first bulletin board appeared almost thirty years ago and, (as we see here) have evolved into a medium, previously unknown to man. Intended as a way for site administrators to share information, they have become MUCH more than just an adjacent technical warehouse.
Many of you can attest to the different aspects of this medium's evolution. Many of you have witnessed all it's incarnations? Like it or not, you are the epitome of what bulletin boards have become. The many links others provide have become your primary information source. The spammers have become your commercial interruption. The trolls have become your mortal enemies. The regulars have become your brothers, your friends, and your protagonist. Nick names and handles have become real people to some of you, (albeit untrue in the physical sense) they in fact, are real to you. In many cases handles have so affected the user, that the handle becomes the real person. Their literal life and ability to interact in the physical world are affected by their internet handle. They have, unknowingly, become their internet personas.
I am not writing this as an information thesis on the phenomenon. Nor am I inducing deflammatory responses from a "know-it-all" perspective. Real or imagined, this is, my take on the internet bb and it's parallels with the human condition.
I am very interested in your take on this bulletin board and how it has morphed into your reality, if at all? I would like to know if it has affected your judgement or time usage priorities?
A veritable plethora of you live on this board and are fiercely loyal to some personas, while others despise some personas, as much as a human can despise another. I want to hear your take on this? Your ideas? Anything you would care to share about your experiences including opinion, fact, hearsay or innuendo.
I will warn you this is research based and I am apt to quote some remarks. If so, the board name, and even the persona will remain anonymous.