After decades of trying, I long ago gave up on educating user forums. They don't want to learn. They don't care that they are steeped in fallacy and bad practice. Truth does not thrive in the forum culture. So although I still have member status in several, I have not been active on any forum for nearly thirty years.

Recently however, at the insistence of a friend, I joined a relatively new forum. There was promise. It looked like closed minds was not characteristic of this forum, as it is with others. But, when I submitted on a byline some basic mechanical tutorials, the response was a combination of unprovoked flaming and with many, a sort of antagonistic, electronic stare-down. Ad hominem attack and combative shunning. For a while I marshalled on, kept writing my articles, deciding to believe there was value in the effort. But very quickly the forum ethos that pervades online powersports venues came sharply into focus. It was no use. As with most forums, buck the party line and you become the enemy. Myth and extemporaneous dribble is deeply entrenched and it will not stand opposition, no matter how objective and impersonal, not to mention qualified.

The outcome was that this was one forum where I not only ceased contributing, but also cancelled my membership as well. Such was the level of my disillusionment and disgust. I gave up. Occasional lurking since has more than vindicated my perspective. The forum is even worst than I thought. If I hadn't pulled the plug when I did I would have been thoroughly disenfranchised, villified and slandered some time ago.

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