What is the Internet good for?

[ThePeterNetwork]

Let's see if my positive contributions can get some more recognition.

Like any good computer user, I rely on the Internet for various purposes. The main one being public interaction via email, IM, forums and the like. I think it's great, and it's cheaper than using the phone.

But what do you do when the certain things you use the Internet for start to deteriorate until you find no reason to go online anymore? Where do you go to feed your satisfaction levels? Who do you turn to when there is rejection all around?

About an hour and a half ago, I was just cut off from someone whom I thought I could discuss anything with. Anything at all. But last night, some words were said that could not be taken back, and all that was left over was an abrupt end.

This situation is not unique. I have gone through various states of ups and downs on the Information Superhighway, particularly with groups in varying states of emotional bonding and painful separations. I have joined chats and forums, and I have left them just the same. Rejection, depression, I've been privy to it all. And where have I gotten it from? You guessed it: the accursed Internet.

And yet I just can't tear myself away because there is so much to do and so much to see. Human beings require some form of social connection, whether it's meeting strangers at a bar or a dance club (two places which I am personally repulsed by; musical venues, I don't have a problem with as long as they have a good band), or social networking sites like Myspace (I am also repulsed by Myspace and have previously vowed never to register with another website already). I fall into a unique category where I am outcast by both the haves and the have-nots, and I just seem like I don't fit in with anybody.

This is not a self-pity post, and I don't expect anyone to offer anything less than adequate advice. I would just like some kind of direction. Find some kind of courage to explore the world searching for folks like myself who have tossed away the confines of their own reality and are not afraid to speak out for themselves. The Internet is full of unique and different people. I just want to know where those people who are as unique as I am are.

Then again, there are some days I wish the Internet was never invented or discovered.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

If you're just complaining about the problems concerning the social aspect of the internet, then it's no different from real life. People will get into confrontations, break relationships and move on. That's life. The internet is actually even more impersonal, but the advantage is that you're better able to express yourself on an open platform.

You can't just go out in public and say something out loud and expect people to respond, let alone not take you for a madman. In the internet, you can do that and it's ok. IMO, that's the biggest advantage socially. You DON'T go on the internet just to look for a place not to get hurt.

[Space Cadet]

I always found the internet useful for:

-Looking up information

-Another outlet for talking with friends

-Message Boards

-Anime

-Music(legally and illegally)

-Porn

-Virus(trying to get rid of them and getting them)

-Porn

-William C. Maune

-Illiteracy

-The constant (Mis)adventures of Landstander

-AAT

-Porn

-Strawberry Jam and whether or not he'll make an update to his blog

-Porn


Yeah, that about sums it up for me.

[DisneyFan]

Here's what I see the internet for..

1. Meeting new people from around the globe and talking too them

2. Buying tickets too a concert or baseball game without having too wait in a 2 hour line.

3. A place with many places with many people who share the same interests as you.

4. A place too look at the recent scores of a sports game.

5. Too check up movie times without looking in the paper or calling Moviefone.

6. Too buy 1 song instead of having too buy a 17.00 CD which has only 2 songs on it that you can actually enjoy.

7. Easier too look up things it takes a lot less time too figure stuff out nowadays.

[Gatomon41]

Various Fandoms - SF, Gaming, Comics, Anime. The Net is a big resource to find items, information, and communication networks between fans.

Connects many people together

Encyclopedia Gaia - Although 99% of the Net is trash, the !% contains the entire world's knowledge and wisdom.

[Tintin]

Know lot of new peoples i guess
Have more informations before the TV news

[Mog]

I always found the internet useful for:
-Looking up information
-Another outlet for talking with friends
-Message Boards
-Anime
-Music(legally and illegally)
-Porn
-Virus(trying to get rid of them and getting them)
-Porn
-William C. Maune
-Illiteracy
-The constant (Mis)adventures of Landstander
-AAT
-Porn
-Strawberry Jam and whether or not he'll make an update to his blog
-Porn
Yeah, that about sums it up for me. Good list, but needs more.

-Online games
-Porn
-Communication
-4chan
-Buying stuff
-German Schiess Porn
-Video (downloading and/or streaming)
-Pushing back human morals inch by inch
-torrents of anything

[Kaoru]

Encyclopedia,
maps,
porn,
dictionary/thesaurus,
cartoon resources,
shopping,
porn,
chatting/community message boards,
community internet radio,
music/games/video downloads...


Have more informations before the TV news Watch other local tv news also.

[TheMecca]

Why do you think the net was born?
Porn, porn, porn.
Torrents, message boards, iTunes and podcasts in general (TMBG podcast > all), Weird Al's advertising campaigns (not to mention "You're Pitiful")...
alot.

[Kevin the Geek]

I think that the internet is great for entertainment, shopping, and looking up information.

[ThePeterNetwork]

Wow. Alot of you said porn was one of the major reasons to have an Internet. I don't know about you, but IMHO, porn prevents you from developing a meaningful relationship with someone.

Buying stuff online is pretty cool, except that you have to register an account with the website, and that usually sucks. It would have to take a big amount of convincing for me to register for any website, especially after the bad experiences I've had in the past.

Information, news, and blogs (Oh my!): I never really paid attention to the news except for the weather. I got hooked when I set my TV alarm to turn on the local news and watched that waiting for the weather. That, and the free newspapers I read while commuting to and from work. As a preference, news doesn't really interest me unless it's industry-specific, like what's offered on ToonZone.

It's the social interaction that gets me though. As previously commented by Leaping Larry Jojo, people make friends, lose friends, and move on. That's a part of life. I think it's a very unfortunate part of life as everyone should keep friends close to each other. I thought the Internet would make that a whole lot easier just by looking for people who share your similar interests. While they may share your interests, their thoughts, opinions and beliefs may clash with your own. That's where most of the breakoffs come from.

Maybe Mom was right; you can't make friends from the Internet. If you can't there, then where?

[TheMecca]

Wow. Alot of you said porn was one of the major reasons to have an Internet. I don't know about you, but IMHO, porn prevents you from developing a meaningful relationship with someone.



Uh...
I don't look at porn... (I was making an Avenue Q reference. There's a song called "The Internet is for Porn".
It's a joke.

[Wanted]

Um, yeah, porn... not.

Here's my list

creating a website
finding new contacts
going to Zimed.NET and telling the poster to screw himself... haha.
interviewing a writer to spotlight on that webpage
finding other people to interview for my site
laughing
blogging
spreading ideas
communication
downloading
uploading
escaping reality
keeping my typing in check
watching pirated videos
watching legal videos
keeping you disappointed, because you have 56k
making you angry you don't have DSL
NOT watching Toonami Jetstream
NOT watching adult swim fix
NOT having DSL
nothing
everything
going on MySpace and finding that someone YOU DON'T KNOW wants to add you
educating others...
telling people to go to my website

EDIT: buying DVDs and CDs at absurd discounts
telling people to go to my website (http://the.toonmaster.googlepages.com)
HAVING PEOPLE SCREW YOUR DAY BY TELLING YOU SAD NEWS
Wikipedia
Thinking 'Toon
Thinking 'Toon
creating a small empire with three blogs, a forum membership, a website, a MySpace, and three Photobuckets

[RD!]

Wow. Alot of you said porn was one of the major reasons to have an Internet. I don't know about you, but IMHO, porn prevents you from developing a meaningful relationship with someone.No I don't think this is true at all. I mean, if you leave porn up on your monitor and put posters of it around your room and show everyone you meet your neat collection--then yeah, maybe, yo won't be making a friend. But... really. You're allowed to enjoy yourself.


going to Zimed.com and telling the poster to screw himself... haha.You'd have better luck if you went to http://zimed.net I am just saying this because I haven't seen you tell me to screw myself (assuming you meant me, being who I named the website ater and all) in the 3 years it's been there. I will wait patiently as you find your way.

[tucsoncoyote]

Actually there's a lot of stuff on the net you can use to help you assist yourself in varying areas...

First for me, it's Weather Information (you wonder where I get all that weather info about Heat Waves, Hurricanes, and even Tornadoes and Flash Floods? It's all on the Internet (Heck just Type in NOAA and your city name in Google, and you got at least 10 different ways to access the weather data you need (Even Heat Index Charts)

Then there are Recreational uses.. for example, Gaming..(I'm a big Sims2 and Flight sim fan so I go looking at websites where I can download aircraft (and Repaints) and even find very creative house styles for The Sims 2 (and even different outfits.)

Research is even more important. (Want to find out things Like Bus Schedules, Train Schedules, Airline Schedules.. you can go to those sites and find them..

Then there's Entertainment.(and this is where TZ.net falls into) You can find out a lot about your favorite TV shows, Cartooons, Anime, even Movies.

and finally obscure facts..(Hey without the Darwin Awards, and Dumbcrooks.com you would be wondering what fools would be out there either removing themselves from society or ending up in jail all without the touch of a single mouse click.)

News, Weather, and Sports.. Heck CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and even Fox News and local TV Stations have their own websites...

and yes Creating a website is another facet..(heck I started with a Yahoo Group, and now have fans who have created up to 24 different websites all based off the same animation topics..

In short other then the porn aspect that some folks comment about, there's a lot out there, be it fun, creativity, even informational knowlege in short you just know where you have to look to find what you want or need on the internet (Philosophical sayings, or actually commentary by anyone? it's out there too. so in the end, it's a number of good things. but yes you still have that "Im-personality" that exists, but then society today has become a bit impersonal.. so in the end, The Internet I see as nothing more then a tool. Nuff said.

:coyote:

[Wanted]

You'd have better luck if you went to http://zimed.net I am just saying this because I haven't seen you tell me to screw myself (assuming you meant me, being who I named the website ater and all) in the 3 years it's been there. I will wait patiently as you find your way.:D

Wrong site... but, yeah, I went there; looked at the blog. One thing led to another, and...

[ThePeterNetwork]

Uh...
I don't look at porn... (I was making an Avenue Q reference. There's a song called "The Internet is for Porn".
It's a joke.
I am aware of the song "The Internet is for Porn." Somebody made a Flash animation to it using jpegs. :)


Quote:
Originally Posted by ThePeterNetwork
Wow. Alot of you said porn was one of the major reasons to have an Internet. I don't know about you, but IMHO, porn prevents you from developing a meaningful relationship with someone.

No I don't think this is true at all. I mean, if you leave porn up on your monitor and put posters of it around your room and show everyone you meet your neat collection--then yeah, maybe, yo won't be making a friend. But... really. You're allowed to enjoy yourself.
I'll give you that, but what if you're enjoying yourself a bit too much? So much infact that you tend to neglect the people around you until all you have is your own fantasy. It's kinda like some kind of psychological barrier between you and the public. It doesn't help developmentally, does it?

[Gatomon41]

The Internet could be the first step for cyberspace :p

[RD!]

I'll give you that, but what if you're enjoying yourself a bit too much? So much infact that you tend to neglect the people around you until all you have is your own fantasy. It's kinda like some kind of psychological barrier between you and the public. It doesn't help developmentally, does it?I think you may already have a problem unrelated to mass porn consumption if it is getting to that...

[Dr. OneWay]

My reason's:

- Chatting with friends

- Seeking out and talking to random people

- Posting art, writing, etc.

- Getting the latest news

- Posting on message boards

- Looking at friend's artwork

- Buying DVD's, books, music, etc.

Thats about it.

[g_UnIt_GaNsTa]

Porn

and uh...

Well, I guess...

Damn.