Forums: Roundtable vs. Online

[Mezonos Maven]

What are the pro’s and con’s, if any, of a real life (i.e. in person) moderated roundtable forum (where everyone is given an opportunity to present their views) vs. an online forum, such as this one?

What are the pro’s and con’s on an anonymous online forum (such as this one) vs. a non-anonymous verified identity online forum? Does one promote civility more than another?

[Mezonos Maven]

Another, related, question is, What are the benefits (upside) of participating in a forum? And what are the costs (downside) of participating in a forum? Which outweigh the other?

[jphone]

Annonymity emboldens people to say things they would not ordinarily say, about people they would not ordinarily speak poorly about and about topics they know nothing about. There is no downside as far as the writer is concerned. The worst that will happen is that their user id would be banned from a forum in which case one can create ten new identities within 30 minutes and start again.

[Bemused]

“and about topics they know nothing about”

jphone, best line ever :).

[Author]

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