h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

was it you (I suspect it was but I can't find the convo) wondering about the attraction (ok, finding it annoying) of tweeting and watching TV?

or something similar?

read this, it might give you more of an idea

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/14/world-cup-final-2014-internet-reacts-germany-argentina-twitter

in particular this passage:

"People no longer want to sit back and drink in what Mark Lawrenson has to say about the game; they want to join a nationwide discussion about how annoying it is to have to listen to Mark Lawrenson."

Yes, it was me, and it was this conversation F50359?thread=8309771 What prompted me to start that one was spoilers rather than people posting during a TV show or sports event, but comments came up too. And it happened again yesterday, although not on Twitter, and not exactly in the same context of an open forum.

I'll have a proper read of the piece later on when I can give it my full attention.

although I do agree - spoilers are evil

When you're in a small group of people, a group of people who you know, and you're all in the same place, such as at work, it's easy to say 'I don't want to know the result', and for the others to respect that. For instance - in 1981, during that incredible Ashes series, I had a little tranny with an earpiece which I used to listen to TMS while I was working. On the day that England beat Australia at Headingley, when they only needed something like 120 to win but we bowled them out for 111 and Bob Willis took 8 for 43, there was one bloke who didn't want to know what was happening so that he could watch the highlights later on without knowing the result, so I didn't say anything in his earshot, but there was one other bloke who was hanging on my every word as the wickets tumbled.

What a day that was What a match - Botham's 149, and that stand of 117 between Botham and Dilley, then Brearley getting Bob Willis good and by making him bowl into the wind

But in every online community I've been a part of, since around 1998, whether private, public or worldwide, there's always been someone (usually someones) who it seem to feel they have to bring important news to everyone else, usually someone dying, and do it first. Which is why I like the setup at h2g2 - it's not like Twitter or an email list where you see everything. Someone will usually start a new conversation if there's a piece of news such as a famous person's demise, or have one like my Closing the Book conversation. If you're subscribed to the forum you'll see the new conversation title in your listings, though.

yes it can be a pain in the backside, that's for sure