Well, sure, (and your examples were hilarious) but you'll find examples of such extreme fanaticism just about anywhere. Social networking sites focus on getting people talking to each other and keeping each other informed, and some people will challenge that to the extreme. The fact that the sites are global, and the fact that Google allows you to keep a semi-permanent archive, means it's that much easier for you to dig up what you did. I'm sure if we look into Usenet archives there will be many people who have, over the decades, posted personal scatalogical details in some obscure newsgroup. It doesn't mean we dismiss it as a viable online forum, we just accept that there is always going to be that weirdo who pushes the limits.
As for self-importance and posting irrelevant details, who's to define what's what? Your sig boasts a list of Mac equipment that you own. Do you think that affects my life, or that of anyone else reading MacRumors, in the slightest? Of course not. On some website, somewhere, are PC users laughing at us Mac fans for being self-important and sharing details with each other that nobody cares about. And so it goes.
On this site, we're fans of Mac hardware and software and so we post all kinds of petty details about our Mac products and usage. On a site like MySpace, we're fans of other people, and I think it's fair to say the same idea applies.
Yeah, they were kind of funny. I have never seen anyone describe that stuff in such detail. I don't even talk to my doctor in that level of detail.
You do of course make good points. I know there are a lot of weirdos out there, and there are of course a few nice people. It seems increasingly hard to find the nice people, and much easier to find the weirdos (even in real life).
I could also see how you would see my signature as a boast. That's a reasonable assessment based on appearances. But, surprisingly, there is actually another reason it's there.
I originally came into the discussions on Apple's Discussions support site. And, they have a spot where you can list your system details. I originally thought it was simply a boasting space, and left it blank. But, then there turned out to be a pretty good reason to fill it in.
I found that whenever you had a question about something, that often the answer would depend on what machine and what accessories you have plugged-into it at the time.
So, the helpers frequently would suggest that you fill-in your system details so that they wouldn't have to ask, and you wouldn't have to remember to tell them what you had.
It made it a lot easier for them to diagnose issues if they knew what you had plugged into your computer. "Oh, you have the SoundSticks, yes we have seen that those have trouble in this situation". "Oh, you have a Lacie hard drive, yes, we've seen some of them have this issue, check your firmware and see if there's an update". "Oh, you have an iMac G5, yes, those do exhibit the behavior you describe, check out this article here for an explanation".
You see, it worked to the poster's benefit to describe their configuration as precisely as they could.
When I came to MacRumors, I found that the signature space is not as generous as it was an Apple's site. So, my details are a bit generic. No brands, no models, just basic stats.
When I post a suggestion to someone who has a similar system, they can see in my signature that I probably know the idea will work since I am using the same computer. Likewise, if I say I'm having trouble, they have a general idea of what I'm using (although not as specific as the details would be on Apple's site).
We actually had a lengthy discussion about this a few years back in the Apple Discussions to adopt a general means of describing what we have in such a way that it would be very useful to anyone we spoke with on the support site.
But, after a few years of helping people on Apple's site, I eventually tired of the strict regiment that Apple imposes on participants (particularly the ones who are there to help and climbed up the ranks). I made it up into the exclusive levels there with certain privileges and access to the private lounge. But, tired of the increasingly poor treatment of us by Apple. The poor treatment, lack of respect, and so on was disheartening considering that we essentially were unpaid active front-line support which saved Apple from having to hire employees and pay them to support people.
The Apple Discussions, if you haven't been there, are strictly for support and technical issues. No "discussion" about ideas or concepts or personal thoughts is really permitted. They do happen, but frequently, the posts are deleted and the poster notified with a nasty note warning them not to do it again.
So, I came here where a person can have a light-hearted chat, and help someone if they see someone who has an issue.
Not as many people post here with technical issues (probably since it is not a strictly technical issue support site). But, it's nice to help someone out, and still have the freedom to jump into a discussion with someone and have some light-hearted fun.
In the Apple discussions, if I answered someone's question, and then they were curious about me and asked where I lived, or other details about me and then we discussed a couple of personal interests, the discussion would be locked, deleted, and I'd be sent a threatening note about the potential for my account to be locked.
I just got tired of it. So, now I only use the Apple Discussions as a place to browse if I have a question. I'll look at it to see if someone else has asked the same question.
But, I got tired of the long hours I put in helping fellow Mac users solve issues and then the constant rule changes and impositions on us by Apple that sought to make us strictly free and unpaid support people without personalities.
