Forest

Caracasus wrote:

It's OK mate, the first step to overcoming a problem is acknowledging you have one!

Each day at a time, each day at a time. I'd reccommend browsing the below the line comments on literally any newspaper for 5 minutes a day as an effective substitute for NSG, before eventually weaning yourself off that too.

But I do that already. Sometimes I even spend more time reading the comments than I do the actual article.

Caracasus wrote:

Oh god yeah, sometimes I'll see the headline and just skip straight to the juicy drama in the comments. One of the very best I have ever seen was when the Mail (nb to non brits, the mail is a right wing paper that practically runs on outrage) printed a story about left wing people being more intelligent... I mean it doesn't take a sociologist to figure out the basic fundamental problems with a. Making that claim or b. Actually testing that claim but damn the BTL comments were a rollercoaster ride.

Sounds brilliant! Except I must put in my compulsory - Ew, the Daily Mail.

I remember a really good section a while ago on some trashy pop-science website (memory is suggesting it was IFLS) writing some rubbish, and the comment section was a posse of scientists all going in to disprove it.

Problem was, it was one of those things where the experts disagree on a lot of the specifics (even when they agree on the basics, which the article got wrong).

It was fantastic because you see, first it was interesting watching the debunkings, but then it got funny watching them try and one-up themselves to find out who is the biggest, most important and most clever scientist in the room. Because then that would prove the superiority of their favourite theory about that super specific aspect of the thing over all of those other, clearly wrong theories.

Good times.

I do kinda wonder how a tour of NSG would go.

'And here, scuttering in the undergrowth is the lesser spotted DOS nation. This remarkable creature will attempt to replicate... oh, no wait, one of the larger moderators has spotted it. Stand back, this may not be a pretty sight. Now, on your left past the strawman fields you will notice the very well guarded gates of the ideological foundry. It is in this location that various nations are subjected to and subject others to rigorous tests of ideological purity to better discern friend from foe. Almost always the results of these tests locate only two pure enough to be considered worthy. Themselves and maybe the dog.'

Jutsa wrote:

Firstly: That was excellent.
Secondly: I thank goodness I hang out in Got Issues?

Thank goodness you do, indeed! Your threads there are absolute manna from heaven for writers.

Caracasus wrote:

I do kinda wonder how a tour of NSG would go.

'And here, scuttering in the undergrowth is the lesser spotted DOS nation. This remarkable creature will attempt to replicate... oh, no wait, one of the larger moderators has spotted it. Stand back, this may not be a pretty sight. Now, on your left past the strawman fields you will notice the very well guarded gates of the ideological foundry. It is in this location that various nations are subjected to and subject others to rigorous tests of ideological purity to better discern friend from foe. Almost always the results of these tests locate only two pure enough to be considered worthy. Themselves and maybe the dog.'

"And over to our left we have a thread where the Communists and the Fascists are bashing each other over the head... don't worry if you can't get a good picture now, I guarantee we're going to be seeing a lot more scenes like this on our tour."