| I like to think that most people on MAL are able to understand each other and respect each other’s taste, even if your tastes don’t necessarily line up. Unfortunately there’s always a darker side to every community that can have varying consequences to the members of the community. I was wondering how MAL or any other discussion board/site has impacted you as a consumer. As the title says, do you think actively commenting in forums has at all enhanced your own experience in watching anime or just being apart of the community at all? Has participating in the forums ever negatively enhanced your experience? Any general thoughts on discussion boards/sites and such. |
| Meow meow meow meow and meow shogi, meow meow meow meow and meow shogi. Taking one step a time, I work and try my best. Though I'm the weakest of the bunch, Expect from me a good paw punch! Meow meow pawn, meow shogi. |
| Participating in forums is all about what you make it, at least that's how I see it. I steer clear from certain topics and mainly chill out in other simple topics (what anime is underated/overrated?). Also, I sometimes post in Episode discussion to sort of just air my thoughts. Generally, I think that episode discussion is sort of fun because a lot of the times for me I'm watching anime by myself irl so having a place to speak your thoughts is cool but I mainly jump in when my work load is light. So overall, I would say I am sort of active on the boards but it doesn't add anything to my experience nor takes anything from it. I just come on the forums when I'm between jobs and I have more time and well just bored. |
Nuggey said: I like to think that most people on MAL are able to understand each other and respect each other’s taste, even if your tastes don’t necessarily line up. Well, shit. At least you acknowledge that it's wishful thinking, because it's certainly not the case. I wonder why we're all held under the same umbrella, as in like, "the anime fandom." We definitely shouldn't be treated as one entity. The audience can have so little in common about why they watch anime or read manga or w/e that it's like saying there's a fucking "music fandom" that everybody who likes a type of music can be safely grouped into. |
ManabanMar 10, 2020 11:30 PM
 |
Manaban said: Nuggey said: I like to think that most people on MAL are able to understand each other and respect each other’s taste, even if your tastes don’t necessarily line up. Well, shit. At least you acknowledge that it's wishful thinking, because it's certainly not the case. I wonder why we're all held under the same umbrella, as in like, "the anime fandom." We definitely shouldn't be treated as one entity. The audience can have so little in common about why they watch anime or read manga or w/e that it's like saying there's a fucking "music fandom" that everybody who likes a type of music can be safely grouped into. I agree with and also think OP was trying to be nice (?). But I know for me view MAL forums as the main building on campus but there are many other sites/blogs that can accommodate everyone's interest and views. |
| I comment in forums mostly to pass time especially since I have a lot of thoughts, but know few real-life friends who even watch anime. In general think it's fun to interact with people because it's a joy to find like-minded individuals, and it's also interesting to see why there are others who may think otherwise. |
 |
| Sometimes they are nice, it's not a hostile environment because we have active moderators. I dislike that if you disagree with mods your review can get deleted lol. People get away most of the time by asking silliest question imaginable. It's fun if you know what you're looking for but after some time thread looks samey. Some people hate certain anime because of certain people so I hope they don't delve too much about it. |
| I haven't been very active on these forums, but from what I have observed most threads don't promote back and forth discussion. I don't mind disagreements and friendly banter, but I feel like the users here talk past each other instead of engaging with one another. A lot of threads feel like a collection of short blog posts rather than a living conversation. I think I would get a lot more value from this platform if I knew where to find a smaller group of like minded people. I don't doubt their existence, I just haven't found them yet. |
| I don't like these forums, I post after I finish an episode just for the heck of it. I think that a discussion like 4chan's /a/ where I'm more familiar with the community enhances my experience. |
| MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST |
| No, in fact I avoid going to episode discussion of an anime I just watched because I know there's only cancer there. |
 |
| Lots of times the threads give me a severe sense of deja vu.Original threads are hard to come by. |
 |
| Right not I stopped participating I just use MAL for references and to see what's new. |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| I still prefer forum over discord any day. |
 Kickstarter for Rokujouma is fully funded. Good work everyone. Lets wait for the result of our hard work together. |
| Meh, it's fairly rare that I get feedback on my posts so it just ends up being me repeating things I've said before. And when I do it's usually either just a "Yeah, I agree with that" or a "Let's see who can out autism the other." On the other end of things, a lot of the time when I see posts with opinions I disagree with, they generally don't elaborate themselves enough to gain much insight from. I will give that watching other people get in the autistic debates is informative in its own right, but only enough so to balance the frustration of getting in them. So it just leaves me feeling like I'm not losing much more than I'm gaining or visa-versa. |
| "If it's not big, it's only a bust," some guy on the internet |
| Nope. But it does teach me how to deal with the idiots and assholes in this fandom. Between these forums, the Rick and Morty fandom and the gaming community ,I think I'm fairly well versed in dealing with such people. I'm not saying I'm some kind of genius or a really nice guy or anything,but I don't hold a candle to a lot of the other stupid assholes I've come across. |
| Not even a little bit, in fact I would say on average interacting with the community either negatively or has no effect on my watching experience. This is mostly due to disappointment with shows that I consider to be overrated that I would have likely just skipped had I not heard them referenced regularly. I'm a firm believer in the notion that a completely blind experience with an open mind is the best way to consume media in general which is why I try to avoid discussions for particular shows. That being said if a show clicked with me then the general consensus either positive or negative (or the outspoken minority at least) has no influence on how I view a series. |
| I don't know why most people here talked about episode discussions but /a/ and r/anime episode discussions are better than here though I rarely go to those places. About the question, yes it actually improved. I didn't drop anything back then but I now easily drop anything doesn't entertain me. Also I have found some interesting titles not by participating but reading people's opinion and find if someone has a similar/same opinion to me... |
| Not really. My watching experience was just fine before I joined any anime forum. I'm just here to chill and talk about my hobby with like-minded people. |
on 
| Well I have found that discussing anime on discord is better than MAL forums cuz of what you described. I like to think that most people on MAL are able to understand each other and respect each other’s taste, even if your tastes don’t necessarily line up. Unfortunately there’s always a darker side to every community that can have varying consequences to the members of the community. I find it easier to discuss anime on discord. Or maybe its just because I don't discuss much on MAL forums. I am too lazy to go into the forum page and search for a topic. |
 |
Passa said: Manaban said: Well, shit. At least you acknowledge that it's wishful thinking, because it's certainly not the case. I wonder why we're all held under the same umbrella, as in like, "the anime fandom." We definitely shouldn't be treated as one entity. The audience can have so little in common about why they watch anime or read manga or w/e that it's like saying there's a fucking "music fandom" that everybody who likes a type of music can be safely grouped into. I agree with and also think OP was trying to be nice (?). But I know for me view MAL forums as the main building on campus but there are many other sites/blogs that can accommodate everyone's interest and views. It's a neutral ground, sure. The fact that we have a neutral ground should be seen as a testament to my point. We're not all of the same audience. We won't all like the same thing. Not all of us like every genre of anime. That's fine. It just means that neutral grounds like this are going to be more of a shithole than your average forum, as per this fundamental component of anime. We don't get each other. Most people don't care enough to try to understand that divergence on something so trite, and god forbid if they find it offensive on first contact for whatever ass-backwards reason. We have to deal with each other when none of us really benefit from doing so, at least not before meeting up with a group of people that you can relate to and then relocating to Discord or Profile Comments or somewhere else. Y'ever notice how most regulars on this site are around for a year or two tops and then a new group comes and replaces them? The very few who stay around are either people like me who desire conflict because of our internalized edginess or people who only really post things with the most vapid and meaningless of intentions. |
ManabanMar 11, 2020 3:14 AM
|
| Sometimes? Mainly in discussing episodes/chapters, following something in a community is a lot more interesting than watching/reading by yourself. |
| If I was to answer this question in the past I would say yes. Since I became a mod I would say this became a bit less clear... :^) On more serious note some things can enhance the experience, some things do not and others harms it, so I guess it's overall fairly neutral. But it's fun to participate regardless. |
Manaban said: I wonder why we're all held under the same umbrella, as in like, "the anime fandom." We definitely shouldn't be treated as one entity. The audience can have so little in common about why they watch anime or read manga or w/e that it's like saying there's a fucking "music fandom" that everybody who likes a type of music can be safely grouped into. Don't say that Mana. Me and my pals at recreational activities fandom are very upset with you dividing our community. |
 |
| It's always fun to talk to people who shares the same interest as you even if we mostly are going to disagree on things. But as for show specific threads I rarely go there and when I do I mostly just stalk on the saltier threads like the recent bokuben ones. |
| To some extent, yes. I've picked up interesting comparisons, recommendations, and sundry thoughts by being here. It also makes me feel more immersed in anime overall, making me a little more emotionally invested and contemplative in what I'm watching. It's a subtle but noticeable effect. |
Shining_Boy said: I haven't been very active on these forums, but from what I have observed most threads don't promote back and forth discussion. I don't mind disagreements and friendly banter, but I feel like the users here talk past each other instead of engaging with one another. A lot of threads feel like a collection of short blog posts rather than a living conversation. I think I would get a lot more value from this platform if I knew where to find a smaller group of like minded people. I don't doubt their existence, I just haven't found them yet. I have to agree with that. It would be great to have actual conversations with like minded people but posting here is like farting in the wind. This forum being so behind the times doesn't enhance the experience at all. At least give us a thumbs up/down feature so we know someone read our comments. |
 |
epidemia78 said: Shining_Boy said: I haven't been very active on these forums, but from what I have observed most threads don't promote back and forth discussion. I don't mind disagreements and friendly banter, but I feel like the users here talk past each other instead of engaging with one another. A lot of threads feel like a collection of short blog posts rather than a living conversation. I think I would get a lot more value from this platform if I knew where to find a smaller group of like minded people. I don't doubt their existence, I just haven't found them yet. I have to agree with that. It would be great to have actual conversations with like minded people but posting here is like farting in the wind. This forum being so behind the times doesn't enhance the experience at all. At least give us a thumbs up/down feature so we know someone read our comments. I mean, clubs. Clubs clubs clubs. They're largely neglected by MAL development, but there's a few that have decent activity still. Most of them are fronts for Discord servers these days, though. It makes sense, given that Discord provides the same kind of activity clubs used to but in a way that's a lot more intuitive, but all the same that's where to look on this site for anywhere decent. Auron_ said: Manaban said: I wonder why we're all held under the same umbrella, as in like, "the anime fandom." We definitely shouldn't be treated as one entity. The audience can have so little in common about why they watch anime or read manga or w/e that it's like saying there's a fucking "music fandom" that everybody who likes a type of music can be safely grouped into. Don't say that Mana. Me and my pals at recreational activities fandom are very upset with you dividing our community. I did not divide the community, it comes pre-packaged that way. It's just up to me and my infinite wisdom to make people more aware of it so we can all move on and have a better understanding of how to navigate this shitheap :> With great intelligence and sex appeal comes great responsibility. I will humbly accept my duty in light of as much. |
ManabanMar 11, 2020 5:12 AM
|
Manaban said: epidemia78 said: I have to agree with that. It would be great to have actual conversations with like minded people but posting here is like farting in the wind. This forum being so behind the times doesn't enhance the experience at all. At least give us a thumbs up/down feature so we know someone read our comments. I mean, clubs. Clubs clubs clubs. They're largely neglected by MAL development, but there's a few that are decent activity still. Most of them are fronts for Discord servers these days, though. It makes sense, given that Discord provides the same kind of activity clubs used to but in a way that's a lot more intuitive, but all the same that's where to look on this site for anywhere decent. Auron_ said: Don't say that Mana. Me and my pals at recreational activities fandom are very upset with you dividing our community. I did not divide the community, it comes pre-packaged that way. It's just up to me and my infinite wisdom to make people more aware of it so we can all move on and have a better understanding of how to navigate this shitheap. yeah I should definitely look into some of the clubs here. Smaller online communities always have a more personal atmosphere. I've only had bad luck with anime Discord servers though. Banned from one for saying the word "fap" and banned from another for "spoiling" Code Geass by wondering how the movie plans to explain away Lelouch's death. |
|
epidemia78 said: Manaban said: I mean, clubs. Clubs clubs clubs. They're largely neglected by MAL development, but there's a few that are decent activity still. Most of them are fronts for Discord servers these days, though. It makes sense, given that Discord provides the same kind of activity clubs used to but in a way that's a lot more intuitive, but all the same that's where to look on this site for anywhere decent. I did not divide the community, it comes pre-packaged that way. It's just up to me and my infinite wisdom to make people more aware of it so we can all move on and have a better understanding of how to navigate this shitheap. yeah I should definitely look into some of the clubs here. Smaller online communities always have a more personal atmosphere. I've only had bad luck with anime Discord servers though. Banned from one for saying the word "fap" and banned from another for "spoiling" Code Geass by wondering how the movie plans to explain away Lelouch's death. I mean, I know you're into H&E stuff, from past convos. The H&E club on this site has one of the largest Discords on MAL and is still one of the most active clubs. I used to own it and all, so of course it's great :P Maybe give that place a go. H&E is a good place and you can access it by clicking my signature. |
|
| i'd say it can be a positive enhancement, as it can really give some new insights into shows that I'd never realize, similar to what @Ate_na said That being said though, it only really applies to episode discussions, which are already a mess as it is like you have the few that reply the thoughtful comments, the few that reply short but sweet love/hate, the few that reply with something along the lines of "nani?!?!? people have different tastes than me and actually like/hate this show? masaka!!!!", and the worst case is the few that reply with the most bot-like comments on every single episode discussion (which actually ends up being the same few users). I mean, I know sometimes episodes are so uneventful that there's not much to say, but bruh you could easily attribute some of these as spam bots lmao |
 'On-Hold' is another way for a completionist to say 'Dropped' |
| Hell no. Shit posting here it my eternal prison and punishment. And your all trapped here with me. |
| Certainly not. Especially the episode discussion threads where even if I like the show just as much as everyone else the posts there seem to be written by autistic alien lifeforms. I just can't relate to their complaints or their praise for the most part. It's especially bad when I'm having fun with some random show and poke my head into the threads and have to be subjected to nothing but moronic whining about how 'bad' the anime is. (It seems the older the posts the worse they are) |
syncrogazerMar 11, 2020 11:50 AM
| No. The amount of times I go into the last episode discussion thread after finishing a series and see shit I agree with or welcome into my thoughtpool is miniscule. More often than not I find myself disgusted with the contents of the thread. |
  |
| It just made me realise that my favourite series are trash and I should feel bad for liking them |
 |
| I don't have much friends who are hardcore anime fans. Most of them saw just a couple of series and never read the any manga. Forum on MAL allows me to discuss about some series my friends are not familiar with. |
NamikazeHime said: I don't have much friends who are hardcore anime fans. Most of them saw just a couple of series and never read the any manga. Forum on MAL allows me to discuss about some series my friends are not familiar with. Pretty much this.I can´t share any conversations about anime in real life that go deeper than surface level stuff so this forum is a good outlet for that. |
|
| I'll be honest, no. I mainly participate in these forums when I have a few minutes of extra time and don't know what to do with it. So, procrastination. If I want to discuss anime there are actually a bunch of other places/groups where I could discuss stuff. That said, sometimes there are interesting threads here and I read and/or comment on them. And occasionally I can get anime recommendations from them. |
| Avatar character is Gabriel from Gabriel DropOut. |
| No, most of the time people complains about not understanding something that was explained already on the show, that they don't get immediatly answers on the mysteries of said show, that other show did something similar before so said show it's generic and doesn't deserve any praise, that they didn't liked so there it's something wrong with everyone who liked and etc. In general discussions here are truly awful, so they do the opposite of 'enhancing' the experience, they make you dislike anime. The less you do that the better. |
 |
petran79 said: Yes thanks to that old school anime club by the guy that had to suffer here to the point of reaching madness Wait, I've reached "madness?" Lol. What do you mean by that? |
 |
Manaban said: Y'ever notice how most regulars on this site are around for a year or two tops and then a new group comes and replaces them? The very few who stay around are either people like me who desire conflict because of our internalized edginess or people who only really post things with the most vapid and meaningless of intentions. This is a cardinal rule of forums, they are and always will suck unless you like stirring the pot. The main reason I've joined MAL is I miss being a jackass on forums, and shilling my obviously correct opinions facts. OT, anime discussions are always garbage that is either a hair away from flame wars or just unadulterated echos and parroting. Shonens are categorically the worst of the threads. The only time I go into the anime or series subforums are to waifubait or trash bad takes. Rare exceptions are news threads to hype my fav shows that deserve more seasons. |
| Nico nico ni~eed a siggy like the all the cool kids Really wish we had a rep system so I could farm it and spam rep+ |
| The forums on MAL, have allowed me to interact with other anime fans. I don't really have enough of that in my life, talking with people about anime I mean. Its helped me feel less lonely in terms of my hobby and helped me to interact with people online in general. I wasn't so good on "Skype, Facebook, Twitter or even Youtube", so these forums are my connection to the world outside my country. |
 |
| half the threads here are recycled with a slightly different title lmao no creativity...just like isekai ln writers |
join the hyper going home club!  |
| Honestly, most of the anime I watch anymore is to fill the completionist void in my heart for the anime challenges that I usually get too busy for. |
Nuggey said: I like to think that most people on MAL are able to understand each other and respect each other’s taste, even if your tastes don’t necessarily line up. ='D Unfortunately there’s always a darker side to every community that can have varying consequences to the members of the community. I was wondering how MAL or any other discussion board/site has impacted you as a consumer. I agree to a certain extent that having a good group of others interested in the same things as you can help you be more invested in said hobby. As the title says, do you think actively commenting in forums has at all enhanced your own experience in watching anime or just being apart of the community at all? Has participating in the forums ever negatively enhanced your experience? Any general thoughts on discussion boards/sites and such. Being an active member of certain communities in the past, def was one of the many things that made me more invested with anime/manga. I don't think it will enhance the experience, since that's individual, but it will help to broaden/expand it to a certain degree at least (the exposure to the unknown). And yes, it can go both ways. I honestly that most people have experience something negative in these communities at least once, sadly it's not that uncommon... |
ItsaNico said: This is a cardinal rule of forums, they are and always will suck unless you like stirring the pot. The main reason I've joined MAL is I miss being a jackass on forums, and shilling my obviously correct opinions facts. Ah, yes. Thank you for telling me how this community works and forums work in general, user with 200 posts and a 2019 account. I have much to learn from you. |
|
Manaban said: ItsaNico said: This is a cardinal rule of forums, they are and always will suck unless you like stirring the pot. The main reason I've joined MAL is I miss being a jackass on forums, and shilling my obviously correct opinions facts. Ah, yes. Thank you for telling me how this community works and forums work in general, user with 200 posts and a 2019 account. I have much to learn from you. Oh right, MAL is the only place that ever existed. I guess all those other places I joined over sixteen years must have been a hallucination. I fully admit I don't care for the way this community works, I'm an interloper only nostalgic for old forums that gave in to the caricature for a fix. You yourself said that regular posters tend to cycle out in two year spans, which only solidifies the fact that anime "communities" suck, even more so in current decade. It was better back then, but never actually good. At least we didn't have to rely on a single corporate shill site with all the free-range organic forums that existed back in the mid-00s. Plus all the grey beards are rarely around on MAL which is a significant loss to all of weebdom, I miss the stories about pirated VHSs and anime in the 80s. Those guys must be in their 50s or 60s by now. |
| Nico nico ni~eed a siggy like the all the cool kids Really wish we had a rep system so I could farm it and spam rep+ |
| Yes, I decide what's worth watching based on talk of rape/assault scenes, naked lolis, etc.~ ItsaNico said: regular posters tend to cycle out in two year spans If you're in my position (spoiled as fuck by your parents and never worked), ain't going anywhere.~ |
IpreferEcchiMar 12, 2020 4:32 AM
   |
More topics from this board
Poll: » does anime promote decadence?deg - Mar 29 |
28 |
by Eldinis
»»
5 minutes ago |
|
» ⛄ Winter 2025: Anime of the Season & discussionnirererin - Yesterday |
47 |
by Neengen
»»
20 minutes ago |
|
» What are your thoughts on ai generation in anime and media in general?bubba460z - Mar 27 |
37 |
by BigMac7
»»
24 minutes ago |
|
» Summer is gonna be so packedTsutanaiFuun - Yesterday |
22 |
by Ricchan__
»»
43 minutes ago |
|
» How would you rate your friend's anime recommendations?Rally- - Mar 29 |
13 |
by Ricchan__
»»
49 minutes ago |