Average age on boards... and its decline

ChRoMe

Warning: Some people may react to this thread as flamebait.

Id take a guess that I'm one of the most long term users of boards.ie...However over the past few years I've really felt that due to its popularity the standard of debate has been lowered a lot. I get the feeling that boards.ie is on average populated by teenagers who are still finding their way in the world and thus post less than intelligent/reasonable posts (fair enough BTW I was the original teenage troll on the system...ask Tom). Due to this the regularity that I check the site has declined.

Purely for my curiosity how old is everyone here?

Gillie

28

Karoma

Search + Census forum will give you your answer (Warning: May require basic addition.)

23. A/S/L?

Pighead

Depends. If Beruthials offline it's circa 23.78, if shes online its 78.29.

The Bollox

tbh

Crucifix

Census: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=249008
Very recent thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055034050

aidan_walsh

Here all this time and still doesn't search Just done week or so ago.

I get the feeling that boards.ie is on average populated by teenagers who are still finding their way in the world and thus post less than intelligent/reasonable posts

Intelligence and reason expand purely with age? Since when?

Rb

ChRoMe wrote:

Warning: Some people may react to this thread as flamebait.

Id take a guess that I'm one of the most long term users of boards.ie...However over the past few years I've really felt that due to its popularity the standard of debate has been lowered a lot. I get the feeling that boards.ie is on average populated by teenagers who are still finding their way in the world and thus post less than intelligent/reasonable posts (fair enough BTW I was the original teenage troll on the system...ask Tom). Due to this the regularity that I check the site has declined.

Purely for my curiosity how old is everyone here?

I hope you're not just basing this on AH.

Also, since you're one of the "long term users" here, I would have presumed you'd have figured it out by now that theres an inbuilt search engine and that the topic of age has not only been done many times before (including the recent past on AH), but there is an entire census forum full of polls which quite a number of users have participated in.

grimloch

If the quality of debates has gone south, it's because there's a far greater number of jackasses in the ranks.

swingking

thread was already done before christmas. I would agree with you however about the quality of posts that are appearing on Boards

Killaqueen!!!

Ah here now, the search function is a bit sh1t to be honest.

And I am one of those teenage tossers you were talking about OP, and I agree with ya completely.

But even if there were a way to ban all teenagers from a public internet forum, I would imagine the majority of people would vote no for the change.

Bateman

25

ChRoMe

aidan_walsh wrote:

Intelligence and reason expand purely with age? Since when?

Not purely with age but I think the ability to have a intelligent and constructive discussion usually improves with age?

The reason for my post was that I read a couple of other forums on the net which just seem more mature. This of course is only IMHO.

Its not a big deal at all was just woundering about it and was curious to see if anyone else felt the same.

Edited to add: i'm not basing it on only AH.

Alter-Ego

18

Pc+1

Red Hand

ChRoMe wrote:

Warning: Some people may react to this thread as flamebait.

Id take a guess that I'm one of the most long term users of boards.ie...However over the past few years I've really felt that due to its popularity the standard of debate has been lowered a lot. I get the feeling that boards.ie is on average populated by teenagers who are still finding their way in the world and thus post less than intelligent/reasonable posts (fair enough BTW I was the original teenage troll on the system...ask Tom). Due to this the regularity that I check the site has declined.

Purely for my curiosity how old is everyone here?

Interesting post, OP. From what I know of boards, is that it was originally an offshoot of a gaming message board site? So perhaps, with more and more people not of that gaming clique (I'm not using that word offensively by the way:) ) joining, and a more representitive sample of the Irish (and non-Irish) with internet access going online, it might be fair to say that a "decline" in debate might be witnessed.

For instance, many people in the past with internet access might have been affluent and have had enough money to invest in a computor? Likewise, third-level students (again perhaps the instigators of many "debates") would have had access from their computor rooms and libraries.

But now with the fall in the price of computors and the similiar fall in the price of broadband/dial-up, more and more plebs like myself are lowering the standard of debate and contributing to the demise of boards?

(Only {half} joking about the last part!:) )

I'm a recent 23 by the way.

Dave!

This thread posted on the same day that at least 3 philosophical threads are posted in AH! Something tells me that the OP's opinion on what qualifies as intelligent debate differs to others'!

ChRoMe

Correct Boards.ie was spawned from a forum that Irish quake players used to arrange games/leagues and of course to hurl insults at each other regarding playing ability.

I miss the old quake days!! Anyone with a registered date of 1998/9 will most likely be a quake player.

ChRoMe

DaveMcG wrote:

This thread posted on the same day that at least 3 philosophical threads are posted in AH! Something tells me that the OP's opinion on what qualifies as intelligent debate differs to others'!

To which threads are you referring to? I cant see anything on page 1 that fits that description.

aidan_walsh

Irish quake players used to arrange games/leagues and of course to hurl insults at each other regarding playing ability.

And the reasoned and intelligent debate has gone downhill, you say..?

Dave!

ChRoMe wrote:

To which threads are you referring to? I cant see anything on page 1 that fits that description.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037108
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037346
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037165

I would also consider these slightly above the level of retarded.....
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055035792
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037532

dvega

27

ChRoMe

aidan_walsh wrote:

And the reasoned and intelligent debate has gone downhill, you say..?

Your getting confused by comparing the original irish quake forum with the early boards.

On another note I find it strange that you adpot the persona of a lsd casulty that wanders around temple bar promoting teenage rock bands. Again for my curiosity (and possibily my entertainment!) why did you choose it?

ChRoMe

DaveMcG wrote:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037108
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037346
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037165

I would also consider these slightly above the level of retarded.....
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055035792
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055037532

I agree with the statement slightly above the level of retarded.

I think george carlin with his ten commandments speach sums up the reality
of the god and faith questions. Search for him on uptube to be enlightened and entertained all at once

Dave!

ChRoMe wrote:

I agree with the statement slightly above the level of retarded.

I think george carlin with his ten commandments speach sums up the reality
of the god and faith questions. Search for him on uptube to be enlightened and entertained all at once

Thanks for the enlightenment. I thought George Carlin was just a myth.

aidan_walsh

why did you choose it?

I chose the picture simply because the guy appeared to be an utter goofball who I happened to share a name with.

That or I am same said lsd casualty. Whichever you prefer.

Rb

ChRoMe wrote:

Not purely with age but I think the ability to have a intelligent and constructive discussion usually improves with age?

ONLY if a person chooses to educate themselves as they age, and is entirely topic dependent. A 21 year old Business Student will be able to have a more intelligent and constructive discussion on Business (or one of the many topics included in their studies) than a 60 year old who has no business experience.

If someone has lived here for 40 years, a political studies student may well be able to provide a more intelligent discussion than them. Just because they've lived longer, doesn't necessarily mean they can have more intelligent discussions.

Also, a lot of older people will be more stubborn and ignorant, they'll have it in their head that their way is the right way, or their way of thinking is the right way, whereas younger people are generally more open to accepting new ideas/thoughts/theory on topics.

Age != Level of Intelligence.

Kfitz

27

Bob the Builder

Well, tbh, I think age has nothing to do with quality. I'm 14, I try to make sure whatever I write is up to scratch, and I agree, there is 13-17year olds coming in just ruining the place, but same thing happens with 21-25 yr olds, etc.

I think a per forum Karma system is in the need, where if a mod of a certain forum thinks a user has been helpful, doing a good job, etc, that a mod will have the ability to increase that users karma by (eg) 15. As it is, people are just writing into threads just to +++postcount, which is pretty scum imo.

...Although, no doubt, whatever happens on Boards, there will alway be some whinger around the corner....

~NevF

ChRoMe

rb_ie wrote:

ONLY if a person chooses to educate themselves as they age, and is entirely topic dependent. A 21 year old Business Student will be able to have a more intelligent and constructive discussion on Business (or one of the many topics included in their studies) than a 60 year old who has no business experience.

If someone has lived here for 40 years, a political studies student may well be able to provide a more intelligent discussion than them. Just because they've lived longer, doesn't necessarily mean they can have more intelligent discussions.

Also, a lot of older people will be more stubborn and ignorant, they'll have it in their head that their way is the right way, or their way of thinking is the right way, whereas younger people are generally more open to accepting new ideas/thoughts/theory on topics.

Age != Level of Intelligence.

You dont really seem to be reading my post correctly. Pay attention to the language we have all agreed on. I said "usually" people with more life experience are more capable of having intelligent and constructive conversations. Its not a set in stone rule. Also education has very little to do with intelligence I've worked in a very well respected university and had to interact with academics who were considered the top of their respective fields. Thier level of ignorance in regards many things amazed me on a daily basis.

A degree from a university (or really any educational qualification) simply proves your ability to recall information that has been given to you. Its also important to note that there is many different forms of what intelligence is. I could really open a can of worms and ask you to define what intelligence is. I sure cant and it seems to be a question that some of the greatest minds in the world still cant pin down... just food for thought.

Furthermore I think you really underestimate the problem that a lot of young people have of being able to accept that they still have a lot to learn. Im old enough now to know that I dont know everything (or even close!). Kinda reminds me of a fridge magnet my uncle used to have it read

"Teenagers move out while you still know everything"

Edited to add: I'd give more trust to the view of someone who has real life experience (without formal education) more than I would someone who's knowledge is built upon what they have read from a book. You'll see this attitude reflected in business daily when a employer (for example) will hire the person who has actually done the job but has no qualifications versus the fresh univesity graduate.

Rb

ChRoMe wrote:

You dont really seem to be reading my post correctly. Pay attention to the language we have all agreed on. I said "usually" people with more life experience are more capable of having intelligent and constructive conversations. Its not a set in stone rule. Also education has very little to do with intelligence I've worked in a very well respected university and had to interact with academics who were considered the top of their respective fields. Thier level of ignorance in regards many things amazed me on a daily basis.

A degree from a university (or really any educational qualification) simply proves your ability to recall information that has been given to you. Its also important to note that there is many different forms of what intelligence is. I could really open a can of worms and ask you to define what intelligence is. I sure cant and it seems to be a question that some of the greatest minds in the world still cant pin down... just food for thought.

Furthermore I think you really underestimate the problem that a lot of young people have of being able to accept that they still have a lot to learn. Im old enough now to know that I dont know everything (or even close!). Kinda reminds me of a fridge magnet my uncle used to have it read

"Teenagers move out while you still know everything"

Edited to add: I'd give more trust to the view of someone who has real life experience (without formal education) more than I would someone who's knowledge is built upon what they have read from a book. You'll see this attitude reflected in business daily when a employer (for example) will hire the person who has actually done the job but has no qualifications versus the fresh univesity graduate.

But its entirely situation/topic dependent. It doesn't matter how much life experience a person has, if they're talking about something they have little or no idea about then its hardly going to be an intelligent conversation is it?

Sit down with a 50 year old brick layer and try and discuss the economic implications of the latest raise in the minimum wage, chances are you won't get much of an intelligent discussion about it from him (or maybe he will if hes chosen to educate himself in the field of economics). Sit a 21 year old economics student with the same person and try and have him discuss brick laying/etc and you won't get much of an intelligent discussion from him.

It doesn't matter if you have a degree or not, if you attend college chances are you're going to receive an in depth education on the field you choose to study. Having that education will enable you to have more intelligent, informed conversations about the topics.

Having life experience does not mean you're able to have intelligent conversations about everything.

What I'm saying is that just because the average user age of Boards may have dropped over time, it may well not be the cause of any drop in the level of intelligent discussions on Boards. Also, ripping into eachother about ones level of skill in a computer game does not constitute intelligent conversation

Sure enough there are a few dunces on Boards who are young, but theres also idiots around here with plenty of your "life experience".

Gautama

ChRoMe wrote:

I get the feeling that boards.ie is on average populated by teenagers who are still finding their way in the world and thus post less than intelligent/reasonable posts

Me? I'm 34.
I'm a new user to this site, and have placed a number of posts and after a while I was getting the opinion that I have little incommon with most other users.
Case in point, I posted a poll regarding how/where did you meet your partner.
So many respondents said things like "4 months and going strong" or "coming up on our first anniversary" that I got suspicious. These people regard a few months as a relationship?
At my ancient years, a relationship doesn't get really serious until the second Christmas together...

So I posted another poll, regarding ages on this site:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055034050

Most users are under 25! Only 1 person in 8 is older than me.

In the future, if I'm looking for advice or the opinions of like minded people, I'll go to Brendan Burgess's forum.

This is not a criticism of the under 25s, I'm just in the wrong place.

1huge1

im 17 in 3 weeks

as for us teens being immature (or however you put it)
I really just think that it depends on what board your on.
When I first joined boards I probably posted some posts that were well to put it clearly stupid and irrevalant but I found that you improve like its been almost 2 years since I used txt words on boards ( bak l8r etc)

Sorry if I explained myself badly (maybe I still have a lot more to learn)

ChRoMe

rb_ie wrote:

But its entirely situation/topic dependent. It doesn't matter how much life experience a person has, if they're talking about something they have little or no idea about then its hardly going to be an intelligent conversation is it?

Sit down with a 50 year old brick layer and try and discuss the economic implications of the latest raise in the minimum wage, chances are you won't get much of an intelligent discussion about it from him (or maybe he will if hes chosen to educate himself in the field of economics). Sit a 21 year old economics student with the same person and try and have him discuss brick laying/etc and you won't get much of an intelligent discussion from him.

It doesn't matter if you have a degree or not, if you attend college chances are you're going to receive an in depth education on the field you choose to study. Having that education will enable you to have more intelligent, informed conversations about the topics.

Having life experience does not mean you're able to have intelligent conversations about everything.

What I'm saying is that just because the average user age of Boards may have dropped over time, it may well not be the cause of any drop in the level of intelligent discussions on Boards. Also, ripping into eachother about ones level of skill in a computer game does not constitute intelligent conversation

Sure enough there are a few dunces on Boards who are young, but theres also idiots around here with plenty of your "life experience".

You seem to have some difficulty with reading comprehension so I'll boil it down for you. Now please keep in mind that it appears to me that you are determined to try and change the topic.

The thread I started was regards the average level on debate of boards decreasing. I think its a fair assumption to say that topics here are wide and varied? Agreed good lets move on.

First: I dont disagree with your analogy of the economics student and bricklayer. In fact I agree!

Second: In a situation where both partys are not experts on the subject (a large majority of the time). It was my view that a older/more experienced person would be more capable of having a intelligent/constructive debate on a subject that they are not a expert on. To aid your comprehension of this point I'll elaborate (I do think you are capable of seeing that I am now being patronising to you!)

A more experienced person will usually (again note the use of the word) be able to to comprehend the facts of the situation and come to a logical view point.

But more importantly will be able to see the merit of the other sides argument even if it does not fit with their own view. And on a second consideration will accept the parts where the conflicting view has merits. This is the core of what I've been trying to say.

This is what I've seen the average users on boards have trouble with.

Ps Ive underlined and bolded the statement just in case you manage to miss it.

PPs You along with Aidan Walsh didnt seem to be able to grasp the concept that you are not comparing like with like. To be clear the irish quake forum was designed for exactly the purpose it was used for arranging games and slagging each other off (it was all harmless fun BTW). It was a different reason that the boards were setup.

ChRoMe

1huge1 wrote:

im 17 in 3 weeks

as for us teens being immature (or however you put it)
I really just think that it depends on what board your on.
When I first joined boards I probably posted some posts that were well to put it clearly stupid and irrevalant but I found that you improve like its been almost 2 years since I used txt words on boards ( bak l8r etc)

Sorry if I explained myself badly (maybe I still have a lot more to learn)

Not at all mate you expressed your view very clearly. I must apologise if I came across as bitching about teenagers I didnt mean to at all. In fact when I was younger I was in the running for biggest immature troll on the boards. The fact that you have learned that using text speak isint required (or desired when you have a full qwerty keyboard in front of you) is something some people with a good few years on you still have not been able to grasp.

Fair play to you.

Red Hand

rb_ie wrote:

But its entirely situation/topic dependent. It doesn't matter how much life experience a person has, if they're talking about something they have little or no idea about then its hardly going to be an intelligent conversation is it?

Agreed, but sometimes having a conversation with someone who knows very little about the topic you are know alot about may be quite beneficial to both. For instance, the person who knows little about such and such a subject may be able to challenge the "authority" on the subject in questions that would not have appeared obvious to the person schooled in established "facts" and perhaps open up new avenues of exploration, since he or she is coming at the subject with no knowledge of it and perhaps is not corrupted by the status quo of universities?

Sit down with a 50 year old brick layer and try and discuss the economic implications of the latest raise in the minimum wage, chances are you won't get much of an intelligent discussion about it from him (or maybe he will if hes chosen to educate himself in the field of economics). Sit a 21 year old economics student with the same person and try and have him discuss brick laying/etc and you won't get much of an intelligent discussion from him.

I would have to disagree here. You are perhaps assuming that there is no merit in an ordinary working man's opinion? He may have quite a practical grasp of what it means for his apprentices are going to be paid more by him (asssuing he is self-employed?) Almost everyone is familiar with inflation and supply and demand, though they may not refer to the economic terms.

Knowledge is there to be dispersed, be it brick-laying or economics. It is up to the participents in a conversatioon to geneerate interest in the topic being discussed. As I mentioned before, many iinteresting debates can be spparked off with one person knowing alot and the other knowing liittle.

For example, how many times in school, Rb_ie, did you have a debate with a teacher on some subject or other? Not all of us were as educated as our teacher in History in my class, yet both me and my classmates as well as our teacher, derived alot of enjoyment from debates, even though he knew a whole lot more than us.:)

It doesn't matter if you have a degree or not, if you attend college chances are you're going to receive an in depth education on the field you choose to study. Having that education will enable you to have more intelligent, informed conversations about the topics.

Having life experience does not mean you're able to have intelligent conversations about everything.

Some people might argue that some universities are self-perpetuating, in that they teach subjects certain ways with little room for debate or alternate theories/ideas. Some professors want to keep tenure and so teach conservative, status quo views, producing students who are familiar with the status quo and nothing else?

You mentioned economics. Why is it that almost the only way to control inflatioon is to interefere with interest rates (which themselves are a contributor to inflation?)? Why are we taught that?

What I'm saying is that just because the average user age of Boards may have dropped over time, it may well not be the cause of any drop in the level of intelligent discussions on Boards. Also, ripping into eachother about ones level of skill in a computer game does not constitute intelligent conversation

Sure enough there are a few dunces on Boards who are young, but theres also idiots around here with plenty of your "life experience".

Knowledge isn't always found in a book.:) But yes, in general I agree that educatioon increases your ooptioons when it comes to work and where you want to go in life. Knowledge, as someone recently told me, does not equal wisdom though.:)

Rb

ChRoMe wrote:

But more importantly will be able to see the merit of the other sides argument even if it does not fit with their own view. And on a second consideration will accept the parts where the conflicting view has merits. This is the core of what I've been trying to say.

Ps Ive underlined and bolded the statement just in case you manage to miss it.

I disagree with this completely. I've more often found the older generation to be more stubborn and less accepting of others views (that contrast with their own).

You can try and be as condescending as you like, you'll go on ignore soon enough if you continue OR how about going back to lurking and quit posting? You were far less annoying that way and somehow I doubt you'll be missed.

ANYWAY, back on topic.

Talliesin

Some pretty young posters often make very sensible, reasoned and creative posts.

Some pretty old posters often make you wonder if they've been potty-trained yet.

RoundyMooney

A supreme irony indeed, that a long lost poster returns to boards, decrying what they find, and making shallow claims, while at the same time outdoing all comers with patronising and condescension.

Not exactly a good way to grease the wheels of debate, now is it?

I think someone else touched on this, but, while it takes two people to engage in convo, be it intelligent or otherwise, they don't both have to be neurosurgeons. A reasoned debate can be a very effective learning tool...

ChRoMe

rb_ie wrote:

you'll go on ignore soon enough

I agree back on topic!

ChRoMe

RoundyMooney wrote:

Not exactly a good way to grease the wheels of debate, now is it?

Strange thats exactly what I thought I had done considering the speed and amount of replies to a fairly innocent beginning!

In regards to shallow claims. Thats your viewpoint which you are perfectly entitled to.

Similarly I expressed all my views not as facts but simply my own views on the situation.

Rb

Roundymooney wrote:

A supreme irony indeed, that a long lost poster returns to boards, decrying what they find, and making shallow claims, while at the same time outdoing all comers with patronising and condescension.

Not exactly a good way to grease the wheels of debate, now is it?

ChRoMe wrote:

(fair enough BTW I was the original teenage troll on the system...ask Tom).

Hrmmmm, maybe old habits re-appearing?

Jeremiah 16:1 I'll respond to that post in a short while

RoundyMooney

Well, you *do* have an excellent point, and I see we're back on track again, so...

I don't see the decline as an age thing in itself. Sure, a great deal of the nonsensical "omg zoiks me tooo!!!!!!" shite seems to come from the younglings, but that aside there are plenty of narrow minds out there (of all ages), and as the userbase gets ever larger, so do the number of ill-informed plonkers.

Is there a solution? Probably not, unless said nimr0ds dirty their bibs in sufficient amounts to warrant site bans or some such.

The way I look at it is, it's the 10% of the wheat, as opposed to the 90% of the chaff that keeps me here, and I'm sure that's true for anyone else that cares to, or has the wherewithal, to know the difference. Any generic forum, of which AH is a prime example is going to suffer from post whoring, lack of informed opinion etc., but among its blessings are a minority of posters who make me roffle (or think) and keep me coming back.

ITYF when you break it down into specific fora (Politics etc.), you will see that the debating ethos on boardsie is quite strong, and well worth the attention of an hour here and there. I read a hell of a lot more than I post, if that counts for anything, I'm practically a lurker in self.

That said, forums like tCN and the Thunderdome should be drowned at birth IMHO.

Feedback perhaps?

andrew

With the rise in computers and broadband (as someone else said) I suppose it's kinda inevitable that there will be an influx of young people to boards, but i've noticed that usually on Boards any immature comments or posts are quickly taken up on by more informed members, be they young or old. IMO Boards is a pretty useful 'learning ground' (or whatever you want to call it) for young people to get common sense and learn not to use txt speak all the time or to learn to see an issue more clearly - is that such a bad thing? Surely you cant expect all new users to be perfectly mature well rounded individuals.

btw i'm 16

Kintarō Hattori

Well past my teenage yars, I'll be 30 later this year.

Red Hand

rb_ie wrote:

Hrmmmm, maybe old habits re-appearing?

Jeremiah 16:1 I'll respond to that post in a short while

Looking forward to your post.:)

ChRoMe

rb_ie wrote:

Hrmmmm, maybe old habits re-appearing?

I'd be grateful (I mean that in all honesty) if you could point out where I was trolling as it was not my intention. I felt that I had backed up my point of view with clear and straight forward reasoning. Yes I was patronising to you which in reflection maybe was overly harsh for that i apologise. However I felt that you were mis reading my posts on purpose. While running the risk of taking this thread off topic again I would be interested in knowing how you defined older generation. From my point of view I was talking about the difference between lets say a 18 year old and a 30 year old.

RoundyMooney: They are very valid points and I had started this thread looking for that kind of feedback.

To the other posters who have pointed for the wide spread penetration of broadband and pc's into the average home its fair comment that as the overall numbers of members increase so do the possibilty of silly posts. I'll admit that I've been using the internet for a long time and I could very well be guilty of looking at the past through rose tinted glasses so to speak.

Edited to add: No andrew I dont expect everyone to be mature and well rounded I just had felt that the ratio had shifted negatively thats all.

Rabies

It isn't the quality of the debate on boards as a whole that is declining. There are loads of interesting threads in Politics, Humanities and the Religion sub forums.
Years ago some interesting threads would have been common place in AH. Boards has grown so big that everything has a place. At the lower end of the debating scale (often with humours consequences) is AH.

Savman

ChRoMe wrote:

On another note I find it strange that you adpot the persona of a lsd casulty that wanders around temple bar promoting teenage rock bands. Again for my curiosity (and possibily my entertainment!) why did you choose it?

:D:D
"don't work too haaaaaad"

nesf

ChRoMe it has little to do with the average age and a lot to do with the greater 'popularity' of the site. It used to be that it was a certain 'type' of person posted on here since other types didn't tend to either a) be online or b) venture onto message boards/forums.

Essentially, from what I've observed, boards in becoming more popular has become more homogenous due to an atomising of groups with the addition of a large number of forums and the dominance of certain 'types' of people in said forums. The more homogenous a group is the less interesting, and generally dumber, the group becomes, regardless of the individuals making up said group. Plus, it's usually the loudest people who dominate groups which in this country is usually a bad thing.

Look at the 'debating' forums like Politics and Humanities. The same tired old debates have been trotted out again and again and the same arguments are laid down again and again. In fact, the only time the forums get interesting is when either a new topic (rare) or an intelligent new poster (even rarer) are thrown into the mix and force people to argue a bit differently. It usually goes back to the old cycle fairly quickly though. Just do a search for abortion threads on humanities if you want to see an example.


Oh and I'm 25 but feel like I'm 35 sometimes.

Reganio 2

I am 17 but I like to think that I have proper conversations on here and have never used text speak.

InFront

ChRoMe wrote:

In a situation where both partys are not experts on the subject (a large majority of the time). It was my view that a older/more experienced person would be more capable of having a intelligent/constructive debate on a subject that they are not a expert on.

Don't agree at all, you can be sure that some people who are twenty now and have a disregard for other people, or an unwillingness to listen and no desire to learn, can be pretty much that same guy fifty years later.

If you are logical and can put forward opinions with a bit of clarity, respect and thought, and are willing to listen to other people, that makes you a good poster imo. It doesn't have very much to do with age at all. It comes from your attitude to learning and contributing to the board.

As has been said, there was a similar thread created recently to do with age of posters. If you are familiar with posters on this forum and you look at their respective ages, this point becomes very obvious.

A degree from a university (or really any educational qualification) simply proves your ability to recall information that has been given to you.

Are you serious? That is what the Junior Cert is for, most people have outgrown that attitude even by the time they finish secondary school.
A University education is not in place simply to teach students facts and numbers, but method: to encourage them to think logically and approach problems systematically and clearly. In the arts, and in mathematics, there is also the encouragement of creative thinking.

This is what many older people will have missed out on.

Univeristies are also probably the most diverse communities in the country, with mature students, the disabled, people of many nationalities and religions and socio-economic backgrounds all existing there under the banner of education.
Ireland's younger generation, in my opinion, tends to have a more "cultured" worldview than what their parents might have had at the same age.