Why are the conversations always the same?

[Belfaborac]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Is there no one here to speak of real meaningful ideas of what authorship should or could be?

Ask Giggleton. Or Stonetools. Or better yet: post your thoughts on the subject and see if you get a debate.

Or maybe a more in depth look on what literary works have or possibly could shape the future?

Try the search function. Or better yet: post your thoughts on the subject and see if you get a debate.

I am desperately woeful on what the great readers of my time ("you") can come up with.

Face it - most of us simply aren't "great readers" and certainly not deep thinkers. Which would seem to include yourself, since you apparently have no answers or new ideas, only complaints.

Every forum, regardless of subject matter, gets stale after you've been a member for a certain amount of time. Revolutionising tech breakthroughs, great paradigm shifts, super volcanoes, alien invasions and tears in the fabric and time and space only happen so often. In between them we while away time by regurgitation and being cross with each other.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

(snooorrrrre...uk...grunt....snort) Did someone mention supervolcanos?

Speaking as someone who also occasionally likes to get new conversations going, all I can say is: If you have a new topic to bring up, bring it up. What do you want to talk about? Start a thread; that's what they're there for.

[spindlegirl]

I've been here for a year and a half, but lurked for longer. I am not afraid of, nor bored by, revolving conversations. I'm fairly easy to please that way.

I have my favorite pet topics, (DRM, where to find cheap/free reads, advantages/disadvantages comparison and experience of e-readers, etc), and there are times when it's refreshing to find that someone I have never met, nor has likely read my past posts, comes up and says nearly the same thing I said months ago. It's a big "I agree" of the sincerest kind.

But I often find as well, refreshing takes that I agree and disagree with in new posters about same topics.

[DiapDealer]

I, for one, am a cotton-headed ninnymuggins. That's why my threads end up being so low-brow.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Realistically, I have been both reading and posting to some things on this site for over 2 years. Why are there no original thoughts? Always, there are the same questions of authoritarian ownership, best books, worst books, and other typically mundane things. Is there no one here to speak of real meaningful ideas of what authorship should or could be? Or maybe a more in depth look on what literary works have or possibly could shape the future? I am desperately woeful on what the great readers of my time ("you") can come up with. We keep regurgitating the same idealistic views, with no real insight, of the same topics that have beleaguered literary types for the length of time as recognizable to us. I have not posted much merely because it is irrelevant to what has already been spoken, even in this style. you can hate me for stating the truth, but so be it. I, personally, hoped for more from this group. You all, for the most part, are well read and know your own-selves. Yet nothing seems to be new, no new conversations, nor any new thoughts. I'm disillusioned and distracted by the thought of the readers ("us") into a spiraling downward spiral of mundane thoughts. Maybe a personal enlightenment could help me, or us all....

First, this post has generated some discussion. If that was your intent, well done. I don't think the discussion is particularly interesting, but I find myself typing a response, so what do I know.

I have only been a member of this forum for less than a year. In that year, I have evolved. Initially, I was looking for support for my new e-reader. Here, I found a LOT of help with the reader and utilities that extended the functionality of the e-reader. When the Fire came out, I spent a lot of time in that forum learning about features, updates, and sideloads. Once I got things under control, I spent more time in the News, Discussion, and Freebies forums.

This is probably pretty normal. The number of people in the kindle forums generally matches the rest combined. No surprise that many of these never make it to the other forums -- some people have lives, afterall.

I have reached the place where, from time to time, I find a news story that I feel compelled to share here. I stop in daily to see what the others have found. Sometimes I join discussions and sometimes I just sit back and listen.

I would like to read and discuss books with others. Maybe we could start a 'free book' reading club? Maybe start a poll to select a free book that we could enjoy simultaneously with some literary scholar guiding a discussion? This may not lead to original thought, but I think it would be interesting to see how different cultures (age, nationality, etc.) react to classic publications.

[carpetmojo]

I'm simply someone who enjoys the Forum because it provides (mainly!) interesting views, opinions and proposals.I also appreciate the leads we get for resources, offers, reviews, and specialist help and advice when needed.
All of which seems vaguely appropriate for a Forum primarily intended for readers of digital literature in all its forms.
Now and then I find threads that do deal with the weighty matters you seem to want more of, not because I look for them, but because they interest me and catch my attention.

So, I agree with the vast majority of posters on this thread, and look forward to your offerings on life, truth, and why we're here, and other fascinating subjects ...............

To coin a phrase ........... put up or shut up.

Please.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Realistically, I have been both reading and posting to some things on this site for over 2 years.

And in that time, you've been inspired to speak up 30 times. Including this post.

Why are there no original thoughts?

Some of the rest of us find original thoughts here. If you're waiting for the conversations to turn in directions you like, perhaps you could facilitate that by joining them.

Always, there are the same questions of authoritarian ownership, best books, worst books, and other typically mundane things.

For many of us, these are endlessly fascinating discussions to have, both with new people who haven't heard the standard arguments, and with known correspondents whose perspectives may be changed or enriched by recent events. Some of us like to discuss how known stances react to new situations, so we keep discussing the same themes--fair use, corporate control rights, authorial rights vs supporting the arts--through the filter of whatever's going on this week.

Is there no one here to speak of real meaningful ideas of what authorship should or could be? Or maybe a more in depth look on what literary works have or possibly could shape the future?

In case you missed it, the purpose of this site is not "literary review and analysis." It's "reading on portable devices." While "the future of literature" is certainly not off-topic here, it's also not what draws people to the site. If you'd like a more literary or academic focus, perhaps you could provide starting posts for those topics.

And if they don't take off, perhaps you could realize that it's not our job to provide you with entertainment.

I am desperately woeful on what the great readers of my time ("you") can come up with.

While I'm flattered to be considered part of "the great readers of [your] time," I have doubts that you *really* want to know what I think of the meaning of authorship or what works I think will or should become influential.

We keep regurgitating the same idealistic views, with no real insight, of the same topics that have beleaguered literary types for the length of time as recognizable to us. I have not posted much merely because it is irrelevant to what has already been spoken, even in this style.

You want new, original thoughts, new viewpoints to be discussed, but you have none of your own to contribute?

you can hate me for stating the truth, but so be it. I, personally, hoped for more from this group. You all, for the most part, are well read and know your own-selves. Yet nothing seems to be new, no new conversations, nor any new thoughts. I'm disillusioned and distracted by the thought of the readers ("us") into a spiraling downward spiral of mundane thoughts. Maybe a personal enlightenment could help me, or us all....

Again, in case you missed it:

Mobileread is not a literary critique site that evaluates books and decides which are and are not worthy.
It is not a philosophy site that discusses the place of literature within the cultures of humankind.
It is not a political site that seeks to increase the education level of the general public by promotion of important titles.

It's a site about ebooks and ereaders. That means we get, and will continue to get, a lot of discussions about how ebooks work, how ereaders work, which ones are moving into and out of the market, recent legal actions related to ebooks, and preferences for device settings and ebook formatting.

We're not going to stop discussing how long copyright is in various countries, because newcomers to the site will always need to know that. We're not going to stop discussing how right or wrong we think those lengths are, because even when we disagree, we agree that more people should understand that it's not a nice simple issue. We're not going to stop discussing what we think are accurate or over-reactions to new trends in digital literature.

If those discussions aren't adequate to your needs, feel free (am I sounding like a broken record yet?) (I will refrain from seriously considering how obsolete that simile is) to create threads that *do* address the issues you want to discuss, and make them intriguing and entertaining enough that people want to talk with you about those issues.

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I, for one, am a cotton-headed ninnymuggins. That's why my threads end up being so low-brow.

Now I'm a world famous globe trotter and goodwill ambassador and have been from Maine to Spain, Memphis to Moscow and even some parts of Mississippi. But in all my travels I have never even heard of such a thing as a "cotton-headed ninnymuggins".

This begs the question: How can anybody who knows about such esoteric things as "cotton-headed ninnymuggins" be a low-brow.

In perplexity - John

[charmian]

I'm also really confused by the idea that this site is supposed to be about literature. I had thought it was about ereader and ebook technology.

If discussions on the site have been repetitive, it's because there haven't been that many e-reading tech developments, outside of tablets.

In the future there will be lots of stuff to discuss.

On the e-book/software/ebook business side:
1. What will be the impact of the DOJ's decision on the US ebook market?
2. How will the ebook business develop in Europe and Asia?
3. How will epub 3's rollout go?

On the hardware side:
1. If there really is a mini-iPad, what effect will it have on e-ink readers?
2. Will Amazon drop prices on its e-ink readers this year? And if so, will there be another price war?
3. Can the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet hold on, now that the technologically superior Nexus 7 is out, and given that there might be a mini-ipad?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Realistically, I have been both reading and posting to some things on this site for over 2 years. Why are there no original thoughts? Always, there are the same questions of authoritarian ownership, best books, worst books, and other typically mundane things. Is there no one here to speak of real meaningful ideas of what authorship should or could be? Or maybe a more in depth look on what literary works have or possibly could shape the future? I am desperately woeful on what the great readers of my time ("you") can come up with. We keep regurgitating the same idealistic views, with no real insight, of the same topics that have beleaguered literary types for the length of time as recognizable to us. I have not posted much merely because it is irrelevant to what has already been spoken, even in this style. you can hate me for stating the truth, but so be it. I, personally, hoped for more from this group. You all, for the most part, are well read and know your own-selves. Yet nothing seems to be new, no new conversations, nor any new thoughts. I'm disillusioned and distracted by the thought of the readers ("us") into a spiraling downward spiral of mundane thoughts. Maybe a personal enlightenment could help me, or us all....

You've become a dark jaded cynical duck.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The same conversations pop up because the same issues keep coming up in the news, with new aspects and implications. They keep popping up because the issues remain unresolved. And because the site is focused on a very specific set of topics: Mobile, device-based reading.

(Also, because some people who shall remain nameless have their own pet peeves they can't let go of. ePub supremacy, Amazon = evil, copyright is obscene, etc.)

For alternative topics of discussion, try the Blogs at economist.com.
They have a whole different set of same-old, same-olds over there.

and that too.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Jabby

Now I'm a world famous globe trotter and goodwill ambassador and have been from Maine to Spain, Memphis to Moscow and even some parts of Mississippi. But in all my travels I have never even heard of such a thing as a "cotton-headed ninnymuggins".

This begs the question: How can anybody who knows about such esoteric things as "cotton-headed ninnymuggins" be a low-brow.

In perplexity - John

Good! I was wondering about that myself but just couldn't work up the gumption to google it.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Good! I was wondering about that myself but just couldn't work up the gumption to google it.

By all means; allow me.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cotton-headed+ninnymuggins

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

By all means; allow me.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cotton-headed+ninnymuggins

[mrscoach]

Personally, I don't really care about the direction literature will take or how it will shape things. I read for one purpose and one purpose only, to escape from real life. Well, that and learn things I need for work/school, but I consider that studying and to be different.

I know this is horrible for someone who has helped teach English/Literature (and wants to be a certified teacher), but I find some 'great literature' to be anything but that. What makes something more valuable for society over something else? The fact that people call it 'great'? And I am not talking sales numbers. I am talking mostly older books that are usually considered for studying.

So, if you really want to discuss authorship and literature I'm sure you can either start a thread here or find a site where everyone wears jackets and sweaters with leather patches on the elbows and smokes pipes while pontificating on 'great literature'. Oh, and after a while you will find that they keep saying the same things over and over as well.

No, I don't hate you, you have the right to say what you want, even if it isn't new.