Is there a place on the internet where people have intelligent conversation?

Question

I'm not just picking on Yahoo! answers. I encourage anyone to show me a single comments page, forum, or bulletin board that isn't almost entirely composed of hate-filled, uneducated, barely intelligible mud slinging with no facts or even plausible theories anywhere to be seen.

Answer 1

I think there is not such place.

People is so rude these days.

Answer 2

I am not sure what kind of 'conversation' you meant.

I guessed most people prefer to choose light,no-full-concentration-demanded topics to converse on internet, as a deflection from whatever the real world outside the virtual world.  

And I agree with Elle, maybe one can find it first on one's own E-mail account, it must be the simplest way.

Internet is the best source of intellect and up to date information so far I have experienced, but usually to access such sources  we need to pay.

Answer 3

The only place I know of is my email account...

Answer 4

For as long as I have been chatting and been using the internet (12 years), I have yet to find any such happenings.    

Answer 5

Nope! Doesn't exist.

Answer 6

Just try a place where you have similar interests.  One of my favorite conversational spots is on national geographic.  Stay away from pop culture areas and argumentative areas if that what disturbs you.  Even some of the most intelligent scientists I know can not see beyond their own point of view, making them great for reference information but terrible conversationalists.

Answer 7

Well, there are a few message boards on GameFAQs that are composed of grammatically correct, rational posts.  But every once in a while someone will go and post "omggggz u ppl r sooooo stupd link is teh best character everrrr."  But those sorts of posts are usually ignored.  And then sometimes there will be trolls, who sometimes have great spelling and grammar and can compose complete sentences, but generally divert their attention to annoying the h**l out of others.

Answer 8

Not here

Answer 9

Obviously you haven't heard about the dumbing down of America. Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way!

Answer 10

Where there's intelligence, there are hate-filled, mud-slinging b******s. That's just how it is. When people have intelligence, they have opinions. It doesn't mean they're good about expressing their opinions, but they do have opinions. Look at politics - every single one of those people (whether or not the media or general public agrees) has intelligence. Do people still fight over politics? Yes. Is having a political conversation still considered having an intelligent conversation? Yes.

I suggest you pick an intelligent topic you know about, and Google around. I'm sure there's an academic forum, a special interest forum, or something of that nature for that topic. It's not all just n00bs and trolls on the interwebs. They just make their voices heard the loudest.

Answer 11

You had this coming...

LOLCATS FTW!

Answer 12

I belong to a couple of group lists where the conversations are intelligent and mature, and occasionally there are honest questions with sincere answers here in YA.  But not often enough.  Too many adolescents, some who should have grown up long ago!

Answer 13

Yeah, go to the category of Science or Math or go to an intranet at a University - Yahoo Answers is for average dumbasses like myself :)

Answer 14

sorry........

Answer 15

There  is, but in my time browsing the Internet, I have yet to find one of those that isn't completely messed up. Like, people who fantasize about being eaten alive by fish messed up.  

Answer 16

Well, I think that question seems a bit silly. The internet is filled with these sorts of message boards, really.

As long as you have a nice little self-contained forum, about a particular subject/area of interest, you're really not going to see much mud-slinging, for the most part, because there would be no point. Really the time you'll be most likely to see that sort of behavior would be on some sort of mass-media million-member message board (hey, look at that alliteration) or other site with heavy traffic (such as Yahoo! Answers, or YouTube, or anything that's going to be on the first page of a google search), or a board about something that is clearly going to draw in shiploads of ignorant people with attitudes (like something with the title "Creation vs. Atheism").

Otherwise, no, there's really not so much of that as it may seem. As for encouraging me to show you a forum that doesn't have the insanity you described. Well, I think a great example would be a forum I post on, www.stevebartek.com however I think you have to be a member to view it, so I'll find something else.

Let's see...perhaps the forum at snopes.com? I don't actually read it much, but from what I've read it seems like a pretty reasonable place.

http://message.snopes.com/

Also, I think Wikipedia is a pretty cool example, considering how heavily used the site is. For example, a page with a lot of very civil, reasonable, constructive discussion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_t...

And there's really a lot more. It's only the silly people who are crazy and uncivil.

Although, one little thing, I noticed you used the word "theories." This leads me to believe that you are a mathematician and, although you forgot to write it, you are referring specifically to forums having to do with mathematics. Unfortunately, if that's what you're referring to then you're out of luck, because of all people mathematicians are among the most barely intelligible, uncivil, hate-filled, mud slinging creatures in the world. So you're not going to get intelligent conversation from them anywhere, let alone on the internet.