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by KineticSpirit on November 18th, 2006

KineticSpirit

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Do you think Answerbag substitutes/is a replacement for something that you used to do/have before it came along?

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Answers. 10 helpful answers below.

  • by Stableboy on November 18th, 2006

    Stableboy

    Even though it's a great question, I'm going to cheat and not-quite-answer it, because there's a question that seems to be lurking just below the surface of it which comes up rather regularly around here with people. It's something like "am I wasting my time here addicted to a web site, instead of doing something useful?"

    My own thoughts about that are something like this:

    - There are several aspects to the "addictive" quality of Answerbag; one is that it connects people up to a sense of community. The people here make me laugh, make me think, make me angry, and make me cry -- just like in a non-digital community. The fact that we have an electronic "pipe" to talk though, which keeps us at a distance from each other, is incidental. People are people, relationships are relationships, and we make do with the medium available.

    So community and relationships get my vote as "useful and worthwhile ways to spend time".

    - A much-overlooked part of Answerbag's genius is the subtle pressure to be "helpful". The up-rating buttons don't say "good", or "funny", or "I agree", they say "Helpful". People find out quickly that if they have no interest in being helpful, the community pretty much votes them off the island in short order. The reason this word qualifies as "subtle genius" is that when something calls us to be helpful (instead of proving how wonderful, smart, or clever we are), that tends to bring out the best in us.

    So trying to be helpful gets my vote as a useful and worthwhile way to spend my time.

    - There are some amazingly smart, wise, well-educated, and creative people hanging out here. No day goes by when I don't see at least a few discussions that just blow the top of my brain off: I see something from an entirely new perspective. It takes hours or days for me to integrate the new understanding which shows up. In short, Answerbag is educational in a way that is very interesting.

    And "getting educated" gets my vote as a worthwhile way to spend my time.

    Having said all that, there is a kind of "danger", too: processing all the stuff that happens on Answerbag during the rest of the day tends to interfere with doing whatever I'm doing.

    My goal is to be present all the time: to do the dishes when I'm doing the dishes, and talk to the wife when I'm talking to the wife. Having a bunch of self-dialog about conversations with Answerbaggers adds to the challenge of just being present, responsive, and available during the times I'm not online.

    So there's a price for all those benefits, and I think it's up to me to stay focussed on the task at hand, rather than "blame the 'Bag" for my distractedness when that happens.

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  • by anonymous on November 18th, 2006

    anonymous

    Its a substitute for all the time I used to spend waiting to sleep!

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  • by ChrisDG on November 18th, 2006

    ChrisDG

    In my case it is a subsitute for online poker, though I do still play it, just not as much as before.

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  • by travis bickle on November 18th, 2006

    travis bickle

    - Mopping around
    - Watching crap on TV
    - Homework
    - Contemplating death

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  • by Im Alec has abandoned this account on November 18th, 2006

    Im Alec has abandoned this account

    It definitely a replacement for all my free time.

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  • by Spyder on May 5th, 2007

    Spyder

    Facebook? lol

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  • by Lippycow on May 5th, 2007

    Lippycow

    yes my housework is suffering i spend more time on here than cleaning,i just have to work a good balance but AB gets more of my time than my housework at the moment.

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  • by Anonymous on May 5th, 2007

    Anonymous

    Not for me, it has added to my life as I enjoy the community here. I wasn't really missing anything before, if anything I have squeeze time in to make contributions here on AB.

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  • by amanda on May 5th, 2007

    amanda

    yahoo answers

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  • by Cowboy-Matter of Fact on May 5th, 2007

    Cowboy-Matter of Fact

    I used to play Spades at Yahoo alot. I still do but now I share that time at AB. I really enjoy the interaction and the variety of opinions expressed here. I have found no site, not even joke sites, where I genuinely laugh as much as I do at AB. I can honestly say I have learned some things while here too, not only "facts" but about people as well. People and their thoughts are inherently interesting.

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