I got my November (No. 472) “Viva-Lancia!” last week (things slow down dramatically once Royal Mail hands it over to those African runners with cleft sticks, I tell you
), and was pleased to read Chris, Neil, and Lee’s excellent article about “The LMC Internet Forum”.
For a long time I’ve felt that members who only read “Viva-Lancia!”, are missing out on the many advantages of the LMC Forum, and the Forum is the poorer for not having them on board too, as the LMC’s “Speakers Corner” would be all the better for having a few more hecklers around.
From my own experience, really useful help is generally only a few days away after making a technical post on the LMC Forum, where the news is really fresh, as opposed to my latest V/L which is probably two month's old by the time I get it as an overseas member. (I’m not knocking the excellent efforts of those involved in V/L, but that’s just the way printed, posted matter is.)
The Forum is also an excellent place to debate the way the club is run, and it’s future direction (obviously we know this, but those not on the Forum probably don't), provided it doesn’t become just another “room for an argument” like that infamous “Monty Python” sketch:
“Is this right the room for an argument?”
“I told you once”
”...I’m not allowed to argue unless you’ve paid.”
“I just paid.”
“No you didn’t”
“I DID!”
(This goes on and on at some length, with more nonsense like “Ah-ha. If I didn’t pay, why are you arguing?” “…I could be arguing in my spare time.”, which sounds a bit like the LMC Forum at times!)
But the most telling line for me in this somewhat silly Python sketch is, “Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes.”
Nota Bene! The Ancient Romans (at the root of so much we Italophiles hold dear) knew and appreciated the tremendous worth of the Forum, even though at times it was disorderly, and now and then there was the odd murder…
But having established a case for the LMC Forum, how do we overcome the obstacles of getting more LMC members online?
Once again from my own experience (especially as I don’t have Internet bandwidth worth speaking of, nor a full-time Internet connection), I’ve found it useful to:
- Dial up once a day, but stay ‘logged in’ indefinitely, keeping the Forum page open on my computer desktop.
Read only the latest posts since my last visit.
Pick out just the ones I’m interested in 
and quickly read them, then mark them all as read.
Finally write anything that requires thought, or is lengthy, off-line, and simply paste it into the relevant thread next time I visit the Forum.
Quick and easy!
Still, I’m amazed that many high-profile LMC members don’t have an identity on the Forum, but given the vitriolic nature of a few posts, I can’t say I blame them. On the other hand, nobody should feel obliged to have to answer every whim of just a few on the forum who behave like petulant children. (Let’s get right down to it, and just call a spade a shovel here, shall we?
)
But to those who haven’ tried it, I can only say that overall the LMC Forum has far more to offer than you could possibly imagine.
Kindest regards,
Guy
P.S. This post has been e-mailed to the LMC Editor for publication in V/L for those not active on the LMC Forum.
