Is there a resident social forum?

Forums sometimes can and have made me think gee why am I paying so much for use of Linden Lab Servers sometimes
Yet inbetween the condescending feed back, insults and feeling overwhelmed, other unpleasant post in forums I have found really interesting things that I wouldn't have found inworld.
I have also met friends, who inspired, encouraged and even helped me in ways I never expected. It helped me with information, answered some related content and in world questions. The friends I have made who remained my friends today have added to my experience as resident or I probably would have quit in my third month because between the learning curve, the isolation, making new friends who I share interest with or who would feel accepted by and the expenses to have space as resident is it bit steep and difficult
Forums serve there purpose for me though I wish there sometimes bit more community encouragement and dialogue then the negativity I see but I understand sometimes people get frusterated need to vent. If they are venting they haven't left yet. When people stop caring, the forums and Second Life will become a ghost town. The membership will start to plummet, less and less will be buying from Lindex or goods. Soon less money for Lindens. So while the complaints are hard to hear at least they care or invested enough to be bothered enough to vent. When people stop and start to leave then you should start to worry.

OMG, that gave me such a laugh. Thanks. *keeps the advice in mind*

There is no real way to hold time shifted, persistent conversations in world. It's very much group focused and realtime. More like chat than forum.

Just as a followup, I, along with a number of other Lindens, are making a concerted effort to read and post to the forums. We most certainly take your feedback seriously, and I will continue to see the forums as a relevant method for communication between Lindens and Residents. I'm open to additional feedback on how you believe our communication channels can be improved.

Gutting the general forum 'soapbox' and sending its participants to the far corners of the net resulted in micro-communities as opposed to a centralised community. Where all of SL could focus their thoughts, comments, rants, whatever to the rest of us. The fact that once in awhile somebody would go overboard and let loose with a personal attack is just the nature of the beast known as ' FREE SPEECH'. Happens. Everybody knows it happens. We carry on. As far as it being such a drain on resources, WAAAAAAH! Let me play my tiny violin for them. This aint rocket science. This isnt some Havoc 4, 3-D, Windows Vista ,dual core required tech monster, ITS A FRIGGIN MESSAGE BOARD. Strife knows this, if they paid him enough ,he'd mop up the boards all damn day. My kinda job!
Unite the populace. Give them a localised space to speak their minds.

Point taken, Winter. Thanks.

I'm pleased to know Lindens are listening ))
Thank you Herectic, you're restoring my faith in LL.
Sometimes we dont ask for anything, but knowing that you care to read our thoughts is soothing, we're not alone.

/me whispers dont listen to those advices, he's grumpy (Strife) LOL

Uhuh... *nods in agreement and hides from the moderator-stick*

Well, I am a forum beast myself. I write on many forums and most are not related to SL or online worlds at all..... and on some I have a post-count that makes me look here a beginner (but then again, I write on those already for several years ).

Thing very important to see, is that we are all humans (even when we are in SL Neko's, Furries, Vampires, Furies... or whatever ). We have all our opinions, believes and moods. And those things can collapse at times... So it was good Strife locked yesterday a certain thread, because when I came back home later in the evening I was about to write a very details and spicy answer to something... as said, it was good the thread was locked ^^.

Anyway, for me... I can bitch around, but I also step easily over things. People with who I had yesterday a hot discusion going on, I laugh today with. And as long I can do that, I will stay on a forum.... like I am still here

Morwen.

As I've said before, whenever the "general chat" forum on any BB system like this is closed (it's happened on other sites for just the same reasons), then the next most appropriate forum becomes the de facto "general chat" forum. Here, it's Resident Answers.

The unity is very important. A forum is a good way for different subcultures in SL to get to know one another, and for oldbies and newbies to share knowledge and questions. It's also a good place for people to alert each other of problems that aren't technical enough for the Lindens to get into, but for which the residents themselves can find solutions. And most of all, the information on how to do things is priceless.

I moderate forums elsewhere and have noted frequently that one inherent problem is that the older, simian parts of our brains still have a "monkey see, monkey do" nature. People can be wonderful and helpful right up to the point where you get the one person who is by nature, a jerk who doesn't actually have a leg to stand on and thus launches personal attacks to create an argument. The minute that one person starts behaving badly, 6 other people will go "see, they are doing it, it must be ok" and now you have a forum melee break out. Then 5 more people follow suit and eventually you have a significant portion of your forum members acting like jerks because you let the one person get away with it initially. You also see this exact behavior when it comes to things like directional signals while driving. One jerk thinks he's too good or cool to signal intent and suddenly everybody else decides that if one person can get away without signaling, why should they?

This is also the same principle as the Broken Window Theory and if there is going to be open community dialog then it unfortunately has to be policed to the degree that you can't allow that one person to launch personal attacks because others will follow. It requires firm, consistent (but also respectful) moderation.