Quote:
Originally Posted by Formendacil
An interesting take on the matter--we all know well how comments (anywhere on the Internet they exist) frequently devolve into relentless back and forth argumentation. While forums do involve this, they seem to avoid--at least on the Downs--the same kind of acerbic battle. Is this a result of a medium that is not about a "thing" that is commented on, but a first comment followed by further (equal in status) comments?
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I admit to not closely following any blogs, or any other fora on the 'net than this one, so I don't speak from a wealth of experience.
However, I think what has kept this forum so civil for all these years is the consistent emphasis on keeping it all-Tolkien, all the time. For me, it's rather difficult (and pretty silly) to get all worked up over who Bombadil really was, where Orcs began, and of course, they fabled Balrog-wing debate (no wings!
). It seems to me that the focus on Tolkien and his works has overall attracted a very mature sector of webcrawlers, and the polite level of interchange here is a direct result of it.