Zosoforum

A TREATISE
on How to Use the Internet in General and Zosoforum in Specific.

>>2 Preamble, "On the Nature of the Internet"
>>3 Book I, "How to Use the Internet"
>>4 Book II, "How to Use the Zosoforum"
>>5 Culmination, "Responsibility"

PREAMBLE
On the Nature of the Internet

What is the problem with the Internet Science? What has happened to the digital commons that energised hundreds of thousands once upon a time? Why do the communities of the Internet, from the forums to the social media groups to the servers of Discord, all inevitably face the same fate? What is that fate, even?

My own answer to the questions I pose above is that the problem of the Internet Science is a problem of its very nature. There are two iron problems that every online community must face at one point in its life.

Firstly, a trend towards the lowest common denominator. This problem feels almost unsolvable, like a law of gravity rather than an actual problem; the Internet is ever growing and has not stopped growing or evolving, meaning that every online community, when it gets discovered or platformed by someone with good intentions, will be struck by a constant wave of unfamiliars. The sheer number of these unfamiliars makes it very hard to absorb them; they talk with each other, often over each other and over the original members of the social group. At the same time, a sort of pacifism begins to strike those who have the power in these groups; to ban these newcomers, that would be harsh! It would be censoring, even! Is the nature of the Internet not consistently free and open, a bastion of liberty against the fact you can no longer be obscure in real life? Such behaviour becomes tolerated, and eventually the new baseline. The young are too plenty and the old do not care. This begins a cycle of death; the best of the old, seeing the degradation, know that they have more options than others, and begin exercising them; the degradation of the social group is exacerbated, causing more to leave; by the end, an entirely different culture has formed.

What, then, is that new and different culture? This leads me to the second problem that I have identified, a trend towards inauthentic behaviour for the sake of attention, the elimination and abandonment of the self, if there ever was one to begin with. The culture becomes focused on ragebaiting, on attracting attention, on gaming the number of engagements and other such metrics. This is another problem with the nature of the Internet; as a method of People-Connection it is meant to transmit mental behaviour to one another, and the easiest mental behaviour to transmit would be the behaviour of a grifter. After all, it is much easier to destroy than it is to build. The Internet has been called a Network, an Art, a Tool; I consider it a Science. The purpose of the Internet Science as invented by its founding fathers is to learn (pseudo/ano)nymously and to value what it has created and what it can show to you. A Science can be a very deadly thing if not handled correctly.

This Treatise exists to ensure the Science is handled correctly, in general and on this site in which you stand.

BOOK I
How to Use the Internet

This Book is a Book of Law. Read and hold it dearly, for it will be beneficial beyond this place.

Article I
"Lurk before you Post"
In order to understand the culture and norms of any place, it is best to observe it from a distance.

Observing from afar the customs of a place allows you to assimilate into that space much more easily. "Lurk" here also means reading the whole thread; having more context to add to your contribution to a discussion and making sure you never repeat anything that was already said and didn't need a repeat.

Article II
"Your Post is made to be Lurked"
You do not post merely for the present, but for the future as well.

Someone will eventually take your place as the lurker. You have a responsibility to make sure that the posts they read while lurking are of a high standard, and ideally either timeless or an important reflection of the contemporary mood, which would otherwise be lost.

Article III
"Send Little and Receive Much"
As you are ultimately here to learn, you benefit by being conservative in what you send and liberal in what you receive.

In posting, there is an asymmetry. The number of observations that are poor far outnumber the observations that are intelligent, and poor observations expose the author to much less loss than intelligent ones. This asymmetry is why one should send little, to reduce the chance of poor observations happening, and to receive much, read the intelligent observations of everyone.

Article IV
"Never Post in Anger's First Hour"
Wait at least a few hours before sending an emotional response to a message.

The Internet as a mechanism and economy of connection allows ideas to transmit, and the easiest idea to transmit is anger. At the same time do not let this make you be afraid of posting anything; any imperfections which you may subjectively perceive in yourself or your posting.

Article V
"Seek Truth from Facts"
When assessing a claim, judge the claim and not the claimant.

Every claim is to be judged by its own merit, and must be held to an acceptable standard. More important still is the courage to admit that your claim might not be foolproof, or that your claim was wrong after you found out more.


Article VI
"Preserve What You Love"
Save what you love, for the Internet will not save it for you. See Article X.

The old adage that the Internet will remember everything is false; now more than ever, link rot has made the older Internet pass away with the passage of time. Screenshot, archive, document; one day another person will encounter your efforts and will thank you.


Article VII
"Anonymity is Your Armour"
You are free and no one should be able to attack you by way of identity.

The parts of yourself that would otherwise hide are allowed to represent you here. Conversely, you must also respect this same article for everyone around you; never deanonymise another.

Article VIII
"The Currency of the Internet Science"
It is attention. You must spend it, and never beg for it.

It should be much easier to spend attention and much harder to beg for the attention of others. Ignore anything that could game this.


Article IX
"Your Duty to Correct"
Correcting someone is a duty owed to the group and does not have to be rude.

When someone strays from the norms and culture of a place, you have a duty to correct that behaviour from someone, not to correct or impose yourself on that someone. Do so privately and with kindness if circumstance and temper permit.

Article X
"This too shall Pass"
Nothing persists.

No one is the same throughout the years, and no place will be the same; in many cases a place will disappear. Grieve and remember but do not obsess, for it is impossible to stop change. Nonetheless, see Article VI

Article XI
"Separate Yourself from Your Things"
Your things are not you, and you are not your things.

By letting the two become one thing, you risk driving yourself to madness. When a thing of yours is incorrect, that does not mean you are incorrect.


Article XII
"And Yet, be Yourself"
Do not be afraid of who you are.

Sincerity is one of the greatest things a person can have. Practice sincere compassion towards yourself in the present, as well as in the past and future.

BOOK II
How to Use the Zosoforum

Just as Book I, this Book is also a Book of Law, but it is best applied for this House.

Article I
"On Entry"
Anyone can see or lurk, but in order to participate, you will need to register.

Registration requires the writing of an essay; this essay must be at least 100 words and answer the prompt laid out. A human must have been the one to write the essay; submissions written by LLMs are not accepted. The administrator will review each essay and judge whether the author's prose is sincere and representative, and whether or not they would fit within the forum's culture and contribute to substantive discussions.

Article II
"On Threads, and Mail"
Threads are the heart of the forum. The threads are spaces for discussion that relate to the topic of the board that the thread is a part of, and which allow you to discuss an even more specific topic. If you cannot find an existing thread about a topic, you should consider writing a new one.

Mail can be exchanged between two people; mail is particularly recommended in moments of hot headed disagreement that could prove disruptive for the other participants of the discussion, and for discussing private matters between two members.

Article III
"On Referencing, and Marking"
There is an obligation to provide context to a reply that is pointed at a previous post in the thread. You can do this by referencing the post's number, for example, >>1

Posts can also utilise other forms of pseudo-markdown.

Article IV
"On Correction"
You have an obligation to correct; whether someone is incorrect factually, or stepping out of line with forum culture. Self-centredness, aggressiveness or rudeness, and gossip about persons rather than ideas do not fit this forum.

Article V
"On Posting, and Culture"
The ultimate goal for the Zosoforum is to be a place for discussion of things and ideas, rather than for discussion of people or things related to them. The slow trend of the Internet, from deanonymisation to short form video, is for the prioritisation of the man over the principle. We do not do that here; as long as you don't either, you will probably fit in.

CULMINATION
Responsibility

Every member of Zosoforum, from the highest to the lowest, has responsibilities. These responsibilities are directed at the forum itself; a responsibility for the highest members to be a good example and to guide newcomers into the culture, and for the lowest members to make an honest and good faith effort to assimilate to it. This space, too, will fade, so let us make sure it is remembered for good manners.