If there's anything there's a surfeit of on the Net, it's opinion. And
for those who don't have a slick site of their own, there's always the
discussion group to vent their spleen or, well, say what they
just think. Down here we have a listing of a few sites oriented towards
discussions that address issues of relevance to Indians. So here we go:
Setuppolls.com is a quiet site, almost mousy. With its black and navy
blue interface, its lack of flourish, its dry use of sans serif, it
certainly lacks the chutzpah you'd expect of a discussion site, where
individuality is celebrated, convention denied. But in an age of
aggression, even restraint is a quiet assertion of independence -- or so
I consoled myself.
But soon I saw that its early days yet for Setuppolls.
There were categories that had no questions, the front page slid out of
my 800x600 window without letting me have the option of a horizontal
scrollbar. So I could see a pic of Khairnar peeking around the edge but
had no clue what the text just beyond was about.
I wandered into Entertainment, which had one woeful entry: 'Who is the
best actress?' While Arts and Humanities had five questions and one
cryptic entry: 'No question'.
When I clicked on one them, 'Who is the best lady singer', I found I
agreed with about 50 per cent of the other voters when I voted for Asha
Bhosle.
When I right-clicked on Science and Technology as a preliminary to
opening a new window, a Javascript popup told me, Please try later.
When I used the more conventional key, I landed up on a page that told
me it hadn't any questions yet.
What setuppolls does have is the option of setting up a poll yourself in
what setuppolls claims is 10 seconds. It may not be 10 seconds but it's
darned easy, all right. It also gives you the option of sending email to
your pals to come in and vent their views.
One warning: Don't switch off Javascript. Your page will run long and
true, like unspooled scotch tape.
There was once this piece in the New Yorker about a survey -- about the
money the US spent on foreign aid. People were asked if it was too much?
A large percentage answered in the affirmative. The next question gave
them four choices: whether the sum was less than 2%, 4%, 8% or 16% of the GDP. The large group opted for 16 percent. The fact is, the actual
number was closer to 2%. So the opinion was based on warped data. The
piece had waggled an admonishing finger at those who blindly go by the
popular vote.
It is perhaps to address the shortage of information before an opinion
is actually expressed that Indiareacts ensures there is background
material provided, besides special reports and the like.
It is newsy and covers a good range of topics and despite a broken link
or two, avoids the sophomoric content of some other sites. The text is
generally tight and the content is more journalistic. The design,
though, could do with some beefing up and the pictures, with some
improvement. There's also the indiscreet way they send a mail after you
register that includes your password... But, overall, one of the better sites of the opinionated bunch.
Returntoindia's discussion section calls for you to
agree to be clear, focussed, polite, to avoid petty battles and
advertising. Thereafter you can discuss topics of interest to Indians
mentally still dwelling back home. The discussions appear to go on
endlessly, a sure sign of a well-visited site. Worth visiting for the
varied hues of opinion available.
Indolink's India forum
is long, updated regularly, and covers a huge range of topics. But it
isn't divided by section and you can't see the responses to the first
message listed until you click on the option. Registration is quick,
though. With a little better organisation, this could be what's often
termed a 'killer site'.
Sawaal.com's discussion forum home page
is correspondingly a
wee bit too colourful but the fizz and youth makes up for that a good
deal. The text of the messages appears to have been cleaned up a bit.
You assume that by the absence of many typos but then it just might be
that only literature grads pop in here.
Registration is a little tedious and there is no link to the privacy
page on the page. But with a little searching I located it on the Sawaal
home page. It could do with better advertising.
The topics covered include phatta times, bhoot bangla and embarrassment,
besides the standard ones -- romance, jokes and suchlike. The updated
list of opinions also find a place on Sawaal's regularly updated home
page.
You do wish that there was more than just a pitch for the discussion
group on the section home page. But a promising site nevertheless.
For a well-designed page on discussions, check Indiaserver's Forums page. Its sober, well put together, updated
fairly regularly and addresses pretty trenchant topics.
The registration page is a trifle long to go through. On the plus side,
it has links to Indiaserver's spam and privacy policy prominently placed
on the left.
Defects? Well, I had found my way to it through its 'Rhodes Scholarships
(India) Discussion Forum'. I couldn't find my way back to it though,
giving me the feeling that there may be many forums I may be missing out
on. Also, the site asks you to suggest a topic instead of letting you
put one on directly. While this improves the content and tone of the
material, it also reduces spontaneity. But it's a bit a of dilemma, I
guess, finding the right balance.
A place for a pretty comprehensive bunch of discussions is hindustan.net. It covers every topic under the Indian
sun but somehow doesn't have as regular updates in all of them. The
looks are about passable. The advantage is that, as in the other places
that make things easy, you can post a message at the bottom of the page.
On the home page of the discussion group you have the option of
recommending the site to a friend though I'm not sure who will do that
other than guys/gals who actually post stuff.
If you still haven't found a place to say your piece, then try Forum One. Whether it's global warming or the nuclear arms race; tending your garden or rustling up a meal; open source or euthanasia; whatever your interests you are likely to find a forum here to voice your opinion. Browse through a neat index for the forum of your choice or search by keyword its database of over 310,000 discussion forums.
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