As hot topics seems to have become a hot topic on the future of this forum.
I like the hot topics forum. It has nothing like the amount of vitriol you find in other places like Twitter or say the BBC news site forums. At least that's how it seems to me. I rarely read either platform, but have been rather appalled on the occasions that I have
In contrast to these other platforms I've learned a lot through Hot Topics.
Because of Hot Topics I've followed up links and read things I would have never read, I've heard views from people with obviously very different life experiences and backgrounds to my own, that I would never have heard and I have benefitted from the views of individuals with specialist expertise very different to my own.
I read HT because I come to the forum to read the photography content. HT is a useful bonus that I skim through regularly and I am probably a regular, but not obsessive contributor.
I interact with some members in the photographic sub-forums, as well as the hot topic sub-forum, so it "feels" more like a discussion amongst friends than the discussions I have read in other places, and that's why I contribute to it. It's easy enough to ignore if you are only interested in the photography topics on the forum. At least it is for members, not so much for moderators.
On the down side, it does lose it's way on occasions, and it seems all to easy for reasoned discussion to give way to irrational rants or antagonistic postings that can trigger aggressive responses. But by the nature of HT, people are discussing important subjects that they feel deeply about and some posts are hard for people to ignore or "just let go" even after its' obvious the time for reasoned argument has long since past. The aim of much reasoned argument (particularly in Internet forums) is not to change other peoples opinion but to explain, rationalise and test your own.
I have the benefit (or maybe dis-benefit) of being used to *academic argument*, where I can be detached from the topic under discussion, or indeed switch sides when it seems important to counter views being presented by an over confident student. Additionally, I'm a pretty easy going and tolerant, but even I can be triggered into wanting to write a less than helpful, or pointless, response. This seems to be part of human nature.
But I never send these posts (at least I don't think I do) and I delete far more posts than I send, even if I've spent some considerable time writing them. And it’s the time writing and researching posts for HT that is the down side for me.
I think it would be shame to lose it, but I don't think it's fair to put the burden of managing what can be a difficult forum onto the moderators, and that contributors to HT need to be more self critical of what and when they post.
*Although academics (and my experience is largely in the sciences) are passionate and emotionally committed to their subject, this doesn't extend to their opinions about the subject, which should remain detached and objective. As an academic you can't afford to become emotionally attached to your opinions because you know that as evidence changes, your opinions will need to change as well. Some opinions have stood up well to the test of time, but most are rather short lived.
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