You have a good point about people who hide behind anonymity just to cause damage. Thankfully, the latest generation of Internet forums has been able to keep these voices confined to places where they don't cause any damage, or, in the case of /b/, in an environment where they can actually generate something worthwhile.
I'm not sure we will ever see a society which is so diverse and open that many of the views we see in internet forums could be brought into the wider public area. It would be awesome if this happened, because you often see groups of people who have interests and views which are considered unfit in most public gatherings (a mundane example that many of us are familiar with is simply admitting that you're a nerd and talking about a technically complicated subject), but which could flourish if the people who have them were brought together. There is an idea of "the normal" which almost everyone tries to adhere to, while repressing the ideas and impulses they really care about.
In the meantime it is still very valuable to have a place where it's possible to be honest. There are way too many games and too much acting in Western society. This might be the case everywhere, but the West is the only culture I know well enough to be sure.
>In the meantime it is still very valuable to have a place where it's possible to be honest.
It's also a place where you can be completely dishonest, make up stories, be someone else with almost no repercussions. I think most people are being honest on reddit or HN, but the small percent that like to make up stories, personas, etc. makes it difficult for me to fully trust many of the comments I come across.
I'm not sure we will ever see a society which is so diverse and open that many of the views we see in internet forums could be brought into the wider public area. It would be awesome if this happened, because you often see groups of people who have interests and views which are considered unfit in most public gatherings (a mundane example that many of us are familiar with is simply admitting that you're a nerd and talking about a technically complicated subject), but which could flourish if the people who have them were brought together. There is an idea of "the normal" which almost everyone tries to adhere to, while repressing the ideas and impulses they really care about.
In the meantime it is still very valuable to have a place where it's possible to be honest. There are way too many games and too much acting in Western society. This might be the case everywhere, but the West is the only culture I know well enough to be sure.