Great post. I totally agree with the sentiment expressed here.

One of the most attractive features of the Boagworld community is that people generally tend to be very friendly, helpful and, most importantly, mature. It’s almost uncanny how the forums have managed to steer clear of flame wars and general churlish behaviour. I was therefore deeply disappointed when I logged on to the stream last night only to find a bunch of immature comments messing up what was supposed to be a civilized gathering of mature people. Granted, there are many teens and pre-teens who get into web design these days and there were probably a couple online at the time. However, I have a nagging hunch that many of the less than flattering comments were from people beyond their teens. Maturity isn’t just about age.

The beauty of the web is that it’s free for all. Granted, “free” is a relative term. However, juvenile behaviour of this nature will probably lead to the erection of new barriers to entry. What makes it worse is that the people who are behind this nonsense are supposed to be the very architects of our digital future!

I believe the only true way to create a fun, safe and open playing field for all it to play fair. If you can’t have a stranger say something about your mother or your sister or anyone near and dear to you for that matter, don’t say the same about someone else. At least not in a setting like this one. It’s as simple as that. If you really must vent some venom, there are places online set up specifically for that purpose. Seek them out and be as lewd as you please. (Personally, I’d recommend going to a shrink, but what do I know?)

Rant aside, it was really good to have a meetup where we all could participate for free from wherever we were in the world at the moment. I hope to see the adoption of this approach (with better technology) across the web through this and the coming years.