Hate Me, For I Am an Opinion Bigot

by Matthew Scribner

This editorial originally started as a post on the editorial thread of the message board. Then I thought to myself, "Hey, Matt, why don't you just follow your own advice?" Then I thought to myself, "Good idea, you sexy little starlet you."

My advice is this. As it has been noted, the Editorials column has been wanting for submissions lately, and has only seen one or two Rebuttal articles since the column's revival. This is not because of any lack of opinion or thought - a quick stop at the message board will put that thought to rest. The problem is instead, I argue, with the message board itself.

I don't know the full history of the Editorial column or the boards, and I have no idea which came first. However, I think that since we've had the two closely linked together, some readers have given into the temptation of posting their thoughts on the board, instead of expressing themselves through an article. The results of these hasty decisions extend beyond a lack of editorials, as important as that is. Gratuitous board usage could also lead to cheapening of the opinions expressed.

For me, the message boards are a place to leave short, informal messages, or perhaps general announcements. The relaxed and instant nature of the medium doesn't lend itself well to developed opinion. Because the message has to be composed on the spot, the editing process tends to suffer. It isn't news to anyone that the spelling is atrocious on all message forums on the Internet, but nobody seems to mention that having a long, ugly post means that it is impossible to take seriously, if it is even read in the first place.

Many posts on the editorial forum equal or approach editorial length, and through several forced readings, I've been able to discern that there is ample intelligent thought and opinion in these posts to be able to make them into editorials proper, with some editing. As a community, we should be proud that we don't rampantly abuse the English language and each other as some other boardies do (I sincerely hope that those idiots on gamers.com aren't old enough to vote). All the same, putting these thoughts into editorial format will do nothing but allow for the time to develop proper language, tone, and organization, and in the end allow for proper recognition. Let's show everyone who doubts the intellects of video gamers what we're made of!