Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Why do serious Legion discussions seem to be ignored?

HWW suggested this, so I thought I'd start it.

Why do threads that are more serious in Legion related thoughts seem to be ignored for the whimsey that is prevalent on this board?

Not sayiong all do, but the majority get a couple posts and fade away...or so it would seem.

Any thoughts as to why?

I wonder if some of it might be time constraints. I mean, alot of us seem to post from work, or have families that require attention, or just plain busy lives. And to get into really in-depth topics often requires putting alot of time and thought into what you want to say. Being really serious can be time consuming, and I wonder if, perhaps, some of the posters just don't have that kind of time to spare. Instead they focus more on topics that, while maybe not requiring less thought, certainly often requires less time to post, since often time those topics consist of posts that are only one or two lines long.

Of course, there is the other possibility that it's often times just a lot more fun to be less serious, so it could be that those types of threads are just more entertaining

Time is one reason, I believe.

It takes time to draw up a serious thread, if you're going to put some text into it.
And it takes a while to respond - to think up the response, write it up, reread and edit it. Speaking for myself, maybe some people can just type away - I often have to make notes separately before I answer at length.

Answering the silly stuff is spontaneous - it's not always easy, and I have sometimes pondered and even researched the whimsy - but generally, it's a wham bam sort of thing.

Well, minds think alike, don't they? I'll avoid using "great" in my case.

I have to do real world stuff now, but I'm going to think about this.

For me, it's both time and the fact that I go online to stop thinking about stuff and have fun. I enjoy a good laugh.

But, for the most part I enjoy reading well thoughtout discussions, I just can't find the time to respond properly. Usually, by the time I sit down and type stuff out reread and spell check , someone else has already posted my thoughts exactly. And, what I'd have to say is redundant.

I think one major reason that the latest issue doesn't garner as much discussion as one might like is simply the result of previews/spoilers. Most of the really interesting stuff in issues has generally been given away months in advance, and has already been hashed out by the time we actually read the issue. The latest Legion news has to do with all the goodies that are in store in Legion #25, not with what happened in #21.

I think some of it is an inaccessibility issue. For example, while I do very much enjoy reading Reep's "what-if" thread, there is no way in the world I would ever post to it. Why? As far as the sheer volume and obscurity of information presented over there, I'm WAY out of my league talking about it, and frankly, I don't like to look stupid.

You don't run into that problem on the silly threads... you can just post away!!! I also think part of it are the personalities who are posting right now. That will change as the most prolific posters change over time, and as this message board continues to pick up mew members. I also think that once the current creative team gives us something new and controversial to sink our teeth into (and it seems like we're turning the corner into that area for the next storyline, after all,) there will be more discussion. It's been 4 months since Sensor's change, and nothing significant has happened to the Legion since then. Dream Crime has been entertaining thus far, but it hasn't moved anything forward. Once new developments begin occuring, there will be more for us to talk about.

I think.

I'll throw in my two cents and agree with what's been said above -- off the cuff responses are just easier to spout out and require less brain power and in some cases, research.

For my part, I try to take part in the more serious topics if I feel I have something to contribute, but I tend to hang out here while I'm watching tv or doing something else, so sometimes I can't read through a long thoughtout thread unless I'm totally devoted to it (I figure it's more respectful to the person who wrote it to wait until I can really digest their thoughts than skim it and respond with something less thought out).

Then I also think that in a lot of cases, the more serious threads don't require as many responses -- sometimes once you state your opinion, that's it. Any other response to another's thoughts would just be reiterating what you already wrote.

i'd say that TIME plays a big factor !!! i find it impossible to respond to every thread and to then give more informative replies !!!

because usually by the time i get to reply .... someone else has already said it, and in a better way !!!

Matthew.

That's my main problem, too. I mean, I've been reading the Legion for nearly 30 years, and I remember the basics of most of the stuff that I've read, but I am way out of my league when it comes to the finest details that some people seem to pull out of nowhere. Granted, if I am posting from home, I could go pouring through my collection to research my facts, or to find out what is being talked about. However, since the lion's share of my weekday posting happens at work, I can really only comment on the things that are fresh in my mind.

If nothing else, I am always in awe of the vast knowledge that some of my co-posters have of all things Legion

I enjoy the serious threads as well and read them all, even if I don't respond.

BTW, the new messages threshold at the top of the page at these boards is a wonderful thing!

It means that a topic doesn't have to be at the top of p1 to be noticed, so if it gets pushed down by a couple of silly topics, it's still read.

So although the serious topics may not get as many responses, I don't agree that they are ignored.

lil'rhino

The serious topics seem to be getting more responses here lately.

I view this board as a break from the work day. When I'm on break, I want something uplifting, so I usually go for the silly topics. Other people smoke cigarettes, I check the boards. I usually try to stay away from computers once I leave work.

Indeed, they do seem to be getting more traffic, and I have to wonder about Dev's point (and HWW's, and -- more despairingly -- Reep's) making much sense.

Fat Cramer just got a lively thread going on "Vampires, werewolves, and magic." I had responses about Shikari, thoughtful ones, going on long after my (not wholly sound) outburst about a poll.

Many other examples exist. If you think back, they really always have been around, and those who want them find them easily. Few are entirely lost or ignored. Those usually get bumped, out of pride of authorship. Or mere obsessions.

Those above have quite sound reasons for why the "serious" topics don't get the heaviest traffic. It'll always be that way, though. I don't see it as a huge mystery. Sometimes you want rhetorical meat that needs slow cooking, sometimes you want Oreos that slide down the gullet soaked in -- horrors! {g} -- "trans fat." Neither one is a danger to your equilibrium or sanity, unless that's your whole Net diet.

Now I'm hungry!!

lil'rhino

Oh, great-- now I want a winged Oreo screensaver ala the toaster ones...

Hmmm.... 4 hours 39 minutes before the sillies set in on this one. Of course, trans fat is a very serious health issue....

You know, I was going to get into a long and serious discussion with Greybird on the subject of sentience/consciousness in animals and humans over on some thread, but I just didn't have the energy by the time I got home on Thursday. Serious threads tned to take effort and, as some have pointed out, you're not always able to devote that effort - temporally, mentally, intellectually.

See how deftly she brings this back on topic, but doesn't, alas, add anything new to the discussion. She had to go back and correct the math too. Such work!

See, this has been a very informative thread with some well-thought-out responses.

There's nothing really more for me to add.

Which is why I normally wouldn't make this post.

And that's where you're wrong Lash. I really don't think my response was well thought out at all.

Maybe some of the others were, but mine definitively was not.

First off, thanks, Dev Em, for acting on my suggestion. I was hoping to start such a thread when I had time, but that didn't happen today. It's nice that someone else stepped up to bat.

Lack of time to post thoughtful remarks seems to be the recurring theme of this thread. I understand this. Posting in a fan forum is meant to be fun, not the stuff of graduate theses.

It happens that I and maybe certain others find the serious topics to be fun. I enjoy learning, and one way to learn is from other people's points of view. One need not be a Legion scholar or even a fan of several decades to have a strong opinion on something. Sometimes the best opinions are the fresh ones, from people who are relatively new to the Legion.

As it happens, I initiate very few topics. I seem to be more comfortable responding to questions put forth by others than in generating my own topics. So, I understand people's reluctance to put a lot of thought into posting, or not wanting to look stupid. (Though that shouldn't stop you -- I'll wager every one of us has said something we've later regretted. I know I have. Looking "stupid" just means you took a risk; some risks pay off, others don't.)

So, anyway, I appreciate the feedback that this topic has generated. It opens up some questions: Should our serious topics be a little less thought-provoking? Should we try to be more concise, or break up our thoughts in some way? What would be the most effective means of having serious discussions that more people would feel comfortable (or less constrained by time) to participate in?

Any suggestions?

I've seen some people say that they don't feel qualified to enter into some of the deeper discussions and that's too bad -- I say don't feel intimidated by the initial post. Even if you can find one point to comment on, do it. No one expects everyone to be able to research their points and expound on them as much as the initial post. Or ask questions if someone is talking about a part of Legion history that you're unaware of. Or post your thoughts based solely on the title of the thread, stating that you haven't been able to read through all the posts -- it might still be of interest. We're all hear to listen to everyone's opinions (I assume).

It is a bit intimidating to reply to some of thses posts. I have been reading the Legion for 20 plus years, but to see the thought some of you guys put into things.

Well, it reminds me of when I was younger. I would count the panels that each Legionnaire appeared in each issue. It was a long process and I'm not even sure why I did it. I would then add them all up to see which Legionnaires were getting the most screen time!

I wish I still had those papers and I wish that I had the enthusiasm that I had back then.

Speaking for myself, I've have 2 fundamental problems contributing to more "serious" topics, ones that haven't been brought up in this topic thus far:

1) I get a monthly shipment of comics through a mail order service. This means that everyone has read the latest issue of Legion before me. So if a current issue is being discussed, I haven't read it. And by the time I read it, everyone's talking about the NEXT issue I'm waiting on!

2) The first year or two on the Legion message boards I really mined all the "serious" topics I wanted to talk about regarding the Legion's history. So if I see, for example, a topic on some aspect of TMK, I think, "oh well...been there, done that." Basically, I've seen it all at this point, so new serious debates or discussions about runs preceding the current one rarely hold any interest for me.

But the humorous topics I find fresher and more interesting to contribute to. This make any sense?

I have to say a lot of it for me is the time thing. Plus I just don't have the ability I once used to have of being able to come up with a well thought out, serious discussion on any topic, not just the Legion. Currently work and real life keeps me from really trying to get back into the swing of any deep philosophical dicussion. I've already mentioned elsewhere what I did at work the last two days but its is hard to focus on the fun stuff, like the Legion, when your head is full of database info.

I can understand how it feels to post something you've spent a lot of time thinking out and have no one reply. Which is why I try to post a thank you to each one done even if I don't have a better response. Let's face it, some of you are way out of my league when it comes to how well you can add 2 and 2 and come up with e=mc2.

I've been reading this book (or its serveral incarnates) since my father died in 1975. In a lot of ways the Legion was there for me when I needed it and this board is some small repayment of that. Without all of you (especially Gary) it wouldn't be the same. I've a number of other on-line friends that I came to know because of the Legion but it doesn't mean the same to them and they have other outside obsessions (mostly on-line e-mail games and HeroClix). You guys give me a sounding board for the serious stuff, even if I don't participate, and the light heartedness I always need.

So I guess I'm thanking you all again and hope that we all continue to consider Legion World your home. For serious discussion or not.

[Edited because I couldn't make sense out of my last sentance. See, that's why I avoid serious discussion. ]