Adam Chin

The internet is a place with extremely large amounts of fake drama.  Not even as intense as what you would find in a soap opera.  Pretty much any community I stumble upon while I surf the net, is filled with power-crazed vitriol-spewing ass-hats.  It's even worse when those online personas are just like their authors in the real world, acting with the same "civility".  Okay well that's a particular community I know.
Even as I write this I try to pin down why I left so many forums over the years.  Well there is the already-stated problem of assholes, so bad that I felt immediately compelled to mention it.  Also most communities are immature, I have found a life free of flame posts and trolls and couldn't be happier.  But the most annoying problems come from activity.
Most annoying message boards are either stagnant or too overflowing with activity.  A stagnant board is obvious, it devolves to a handful of people replying to each others posts.  But ones that are too busy are interesting, they are filled with a collection of people who have more time than us to a) think up interesting topics I don't have time to come up with intelligible responses to and b) already come up with everything I would like to say.  Then I am feeling left out of their reindeer games.  This is why the information highway is overall one of the most unwelcome places to be.  It is hard to find a community not overrun with bloated egos and fanboys.
So if you can find a message board where you feel welcome and have enjoyable discussions, you hold on to it as long as you can.  Until it gets hacked or dugg or flamed to the virtual ground.