Why waste time on an Internet forum?

There are lots of different reasons:

 Chat with others about whatever comes up

 Discuss a particular topic

 Preach (religion or politics)

 Prevent others from preaching (religion or politics)

 Be a nuisance

 ...

Personally, I want:

 To converse intelligently, regardless of topic

 To share stuff I have found interesting

 To learn  why others think as they do

The problem with Internet forums is of course that all these different objectives are operating in the same space. The &@%#% who just wants to fuçk with others is in the same space as the folks who'd like to be serious. Makes for hassles, sometimes...

Then there's the guy (or gal) who derails unintentionally, simply because he can't follow a single line of thought for more than ten seconds. He may not be be an "&@%$# who just wants to fuçk with others"... but his impact on a conversation just as destructive, so he often gets the same... greeting... as the &@$#&.

It's astonishing that forums ever actually manage to hold decent conversations.

... oh, wait...