INTPCentral

[Sackanaka]

If this has already been done, then this thread can be deleted.
Other than that, this thread is to voice rants&raves about the forum.

My main rant as of current is that it seems to do more harm (a reason for procrastinating, learning things I wish I didn't, and the like) than good... but I can't get myself totally away from it. I piss myself off like that.
But getting back to the theme, I think that it has gone past "a point of improbable return", where no longer am I amazed that there are others like me, but rather keep up with what others are doing.

However, as some have said, there seems to be "a lack of interesting threads." I figured that it wasn't so much a lack of interesting threads so much as it was a lack of truly new ones. Themes are repeated as time goes by and more members join, repeating revelations and connections. It is more an intrinsic "fault" of joining a growing forum and nothing to get too worked up about.

Despite all that, it is still all very annoying that I have lost the majority of the amazement I once had when I first joined. I find myself being little more than reflections of others' opinions, since this is often the case in vice-versa; unless the issue is highly controversial, I am willing to bet that the silent (or reassuring-posters) majority of us think "I feel the same way" or "I know what he/she's thinking, but I wonder if he/she sees it my way?" It's seems as though people know what the opponent is trying to say but would rather emphasize the significance of their own, "unique" perspective.

I'm probably not the only one who feels/thinks this way, nor the first to post this. I'll still be a participating member, but just wanted to voice my rant about the forum.

[Sally]

It's a forum that emphasizes similarities. I think that therein lies its weakness as well as its strength. Our tendencies to agree with each other can make it rather boring, and then when we disagree with each other, it can get downright rude, because we feel that we *should* agree. If our personalities are so similar, we can't both be right!!!!

Not that this is always true, or even often stated, just an... undercurrent... I've picked up on. Or maybe it's just me. :}

[Helios]

Hmmm very true, but N central gives you an example of less alike, and while you are dead on about the decline in amazement I still feel this this forum is "inside my own head", while say N is a gathering of really cool or interesting people. Yeah I go there, but being an I , I prefer my "head" even when it is boring.

[philonightmare]

I have little rant to give about INTP-C, but your observations on losing the "thrill" of being here is similar to what I experienced with my LJ community full of INFJs.

There's something wonderful about being a part of a group that one doesn't truly belong to because you gather new information, are able to see new ideas that you never would've thought of --but are obvious to that group. When I was very active with my other community, I started to feel the same as you do now. I felt, "Well heck, what's the point of saying anything other than to comfort the other INFJ? They feel similarily to how I do...They think similarily too...What's the point?" But, honestly, when you get right down to it, the fact that there's a place full of people just like you is kinda appealing when you feel down and need a picker-upper or just want sympathy from like-minded folk.

Give it some time. I'm taking a big break away from my other one because I started to feel claustrophobic (is that even possible online!? ) and I will most likely go back to visit sometimes. Just take a break and then see how it goes. Perhaps a comprehensive list of all threads ever made should be created so that newbies don't re-create the same idea? Something productive could always be done about that.

[Clara]

I find myself being little more than reflections of others' opinions, since this is often the case in vice-versa; unless the issue is highly controversial, I am willing to bet that the silent (or reassuring-posters) majority of us think "I feel the same way" or "I know what he/she's thinking, but I wonder if he/she sees it my way?" It's seems as though people know what the opponent is trying to say but would rather emphasize the significance of their own, "unique" perspective.

This assumption annoys me more than you might guess. It's true that the chances are good that at least one person somewhat agrees with ( at least part ) of whatever whoever is saying -- it's a big group. And sometimes a new opinion is formed, because of recognizing, "Looking at it that way, I agree." But not arguing does not always mean agreement.

Some of the agreement is based on mistaken understanding of what another is saying. And the only way to find out if another sees it your way, is to express what you think. Interject, here, another highly annoying phenomenon : some of us are thinking out loud, hoping for insight ( disagreement that addresses the thought, or agreement that expands, or colours, it ). What might seem like an understated version of a more elaborate idea... might just be incomplete, waiting for other perspectives.

Some of the time, reading a thread without posting in it, I agree to some degree with differing posts. I don't think it's necessary to have an opinion about everything. Or to try to say everything I think ( impossible to do; unwise, or unkind, to try ).

[Lee]

If you want a disagreement you should have just asked, I am quite happy to disagree with almost everything.

[Shai Gar]

no you are not

[SheepDog]

no you are not

"This isn't argument. It's contradiction."

[SheepDog]

I imagine that most of the INTPs who find this site start off by saying something like, "wow, a bunch of people like me... I'm not alone as I thought." It's a pretty powerful thing, having felt 'different' for so long to suddenly have your existence legitimized.

But after a while, we still have to live our lives. We may still enjoy discussing things with people who tend to think the way we do (not that we agree, of course, but the manner of thinking of things). The thought becomes, "I'm not alone. Now what?"

Ultimately, a forum like this is only a bunch of people typing words into a web form, which is organized in a series of posts to approximate a 'conversation'. The medium alters the message, however. Subtlety is sometimes lost, and the nuances of actually interacting with people is replaced with a bunch of text that is too easy to take as either aloof on one hand, or too literal on the other. The conversation is not with each other, but with each others' text.*

It's not really surprising to me that a group of seemingly like minded people can be so far off in their interactions, in a setting like this. I'm not saying there's nothing to be gained in such a forum, and if there weren't then I wouldn't be here. I'm just saying it is what it is, and expecting something different is really just setting onesself up for disappointment.


*[I'm sure that to some degree my version of this rant is just a continuation of my bias against technology in the path of communication. There is an assumption that technology 'helps' communication by making it more prevalent. I hold that the opposite is true. More is not better, more is less. And technology takes part of human interaction, and by ignoring the rest, distorts the overall interaction. e.g. Telephone emphasises a reproduction of the voice, but is blind to facial expression and body language. IM emphasises, text, as does this forum, but distorts attention span(imo)]

[cathmc]

My rants about INTP Central:
1. When people say things like 'and then some goddamn SJ has to come along and screw everything up'. Other types have advantages, we have advantages. I don't buy that there is any inherent superiority to any type, least of all mine.
2. When people say things like 'because we are INTPs the whole world will never understand us and its not fair'. Yes, we're the minority, blah blah blah, but everyone has to learn how to navigate the world with their own peculiar mix of neuroses and skills. The world does not owe it to anyone to adjust to their way of being. (I've said this elsewhere, and I know some people feel like this is their only place to say stuff like that so I should shut up. But this is a rant! So I'm ranting!)

That said, the usefulness for me of coming here is to notice patterns, similarities, etc. as a way of helping me understand why I do what I do, think what I think etc. The ultimate goal being, as stated above, to learn how to navigate the world with my own peculiar mix of neuroses and skills. I have gained a lot of insights toward that end. So I DO enjoy the threads that discuss/analyze things like being introverted among extroverts, or how/why we all do the 'chameleon' thing. As long as they don't deteriorate into 'this is the way we are and the whole world is against us'.

Whew. I feel better.