Meeting Web talkers face to face
There are more than 2,000 registered users of MonroeTalks.com, and about 300 of them are regular talkers on the “Your Talk” forums. About 50 are very frequent talkers.
The leading poster, “cc,” is approaching 5,000 posts since the site was launched last June. (Seems like we should have a party and award a gold watch or something when the milestone is hit.) Four others have more than 4,000 posts, and six others more than 3,000.
In addition to the registered users, there are something approaching 10,000 unique visitors to the site each month. In other words, a few people post most of the content, but many people read it.
Any regular reader of the forum knows many of the regular talkers as if they’re next-door neighbors. Their character comes through in their posts, and many have very entertaining personalities.
There’s a natural curiousity about what they’re “really” like.
That’s one reason I enjoyed very much getting a chance to meet a half-dozen of them Friday morning over coffee at Cafe Classics. Another reason is that all were just as interesting in person as on-line.
In some ways, the MonroeTalks experience will never be the same - now that I know what they really look like, I’ll see a real face in my mind when I read their posts, instead of that imaginary image.
Several of the talkers who joined me for coffee Friday said the same thing. The experience changed dramatically for them when they met many of their fellow talkers at a MonroeTalks gathering.
We talked briefly at the coffee shop about why MonroeTalks.com is so successful. Someone - I don’t remember who it was - gave the most obvious answer. It’s because of the people.
Because the talkers are characters, real-life personalities with the full range of human traits, from wit and charm to anger and jealousy, the content of MonroeTalks is fascinating.
Some of it is thoughtful and articulate. Much is inane and just plain silly. But it’s all real. Except the part that is fake. And there is no way to tell the difference, just as in real life.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Your comment about “fake” seemed to echo what you must have told the half-dozen people that met with you over coffee.
Lordfly posted in your “open note to French Fry” that the banishment/blocking issue is “COMPLETELY 100% FABRICATED and that the mods never banned me. He went on to call me dishonest when the truth is that the Fry doesn’t lie.
Unfortunately I couldn’t defend myself because robg banned ICU.
I’ve been trying to figure out the motive behind your deception:
Maybe your desire to be in the limelight has out-weighed your position when you gave a speech about not becoming part of the story.
The Judges and law enforcement that I’ve pointed the finger at may have forced you to remove me or at least to remove my cloak of anonymity……which would explain your demand that we meet. (I have a violent past and an uncontrollable temper so it’s better if we didn’t meet)
The campaign might be an attempt to discredit me and thereby discounting my assertions.
Perhaps you’re just taking advantage of all my ranting about the situation on craigslist.org to increase your readership.
I doubt anyone would believe that moderators JC and RobG did everything unbeknownst to you.
To convince the participants of the coffee/TOS gathering that everything has been fabricated in spite of the admission that you had indeed closed the fry account and blocked the IP address…..you must have the power of David Koresh or Jim Jones.
Maybe you used some sort of hypnotic suggestion……whatever the reason, it just defies logic.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:17 am
As I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t need to violate your anonymity. I just need to be reassured that you’re not going to violate the terms of service.