MARTIAL   ARTS   FORUMS         

   This month, our top story trolls the martial arts online community where virtual personas, politics and hidden agendas rule the information superdojo in the name of regurgitating the cerebral aspects of the Martial Arts and  self-promotion via subliminal spins.  In this melting pot of yaki soba and chilli, we'll find  n00bs, online junkies,  trolls, leg humpers,  uber hosts,  search mastahs,  posse mods,  bores,  whores,  wannabes,  has-beens,  never-weres,  illiterates and sensei-knows-best.   Lets have a look...

Sample thread development with an exclusive 'behind the scenes' look at the posters:

See a Typical Martial Arts Forum and Topics (click here)

FORUM   MEMBERS

    "Somatotypes" is a theory relating personality traits to a corresponding body type, ranging from the viscerotonic (rotund/lazy) to cerebrotonic (skinny/geeky) to somatotonic (muscular/aggressive).   Sheldon's Somatotype theory of unsubstantiated sweeping generalizations, stereotypes and prejudices  seems a perfect fit for online pigeon-holing Martial Arts forum member personalities into a conceptual weight class for the virtual fight club. (See Fig. 1) .                                 

  Fig 1.

Example of somatotonic(muscular/aggressive) virtual personas.

   There is one major difference to actual vs. imaginary in the theory of persona to body type as it relates to an online Martial arts forum - people lie.  Without the threat of visual confirmation, forum members create a virtual personas to project a Somatotonic image, yet live with an endomorphic body type.  (Figure 2).

Fig 2.  Actual Body type. 

   With any theory, there are of course exceptions and omissions.  As Figure 3 illustrates:  in this case, online personality accurately corresponding to body type,  however, the pitfalls of a personality theory becomes apparent when there is a failure to take into account the intelligence factor.

                Fig. 3                                   

FORUM   MODERATION

      Moderators, Mods  A.K.A.  'Forum Addict'

* Mods attain their status by being persistent members with a high post count, half decent grammar, and occasionally are willing to post 'oops,  my bad'  ....or....are members who complain and suggest how things should be run on a forum.

* A mod's responsibilities include, but are not limited to:  wet-nursing n00bs;  extinguishing flame wars and trolls;  thread custodian and censorboard; making their ideas sound as if it was the idea of the Admin while making posters ideas sound like it was their own;  pointing idiots  to the search function and reminding twits they need an instructor in order to learn moves from 'kill bill'.

* Moderator's spouses are often led to believe their special one's reason for not going to family functions, staying up till 2am, and eating dinner at the computer is due to their forum 'responsibilities', which were honorably bestowed upon them by an elite panel of Martial Artists.  In reality, the requirements were no less arbitrary than an Elementary school teacher choosing which student volunteering for crossing guard duty or as hall monitor that month.

ADMINISTRATION

Administrator, Admin  A.K.A.           "Sir Bansalot",   "His Holy Dictatorship", "Emperor Honchohito"  

*  Caught between the complaints of forum  members, self-serving moderators, and policy of the site owner - they are left with no other choice than to drop the iron curtain and establish a hierarchical autocracy.  

* Bases all tough decisions like determining if 'Bull$h!t' is a forbidden word,  with  esoteric sounding fortune cookie wisdom that attempts to suggest His Eminent Adminship can read minds and intent.

* Delegates unpleasant tasks to his henchman Mod squads.

* Admins are chosen by a timeless and formless omniscient known as: "The Q".

Women and minorities are forbidden to become Martial Art forum  Admins.  No reason...thats just the way it is.                ---------        The Admin:   UberMod Elite.

 Virtual Sensei says: 

"The reason my advice doesn't work for you is because you're not reading it correctly."