Into the Forums

Curious about what you’ve been missing over at the Mountain Xpress Forums? You should be. Just take a look at what you’ve missed if you haven’t paid a visit recently.

• If there’s one thing the Xpress forums had been missing, it’s a deep, thoughtful discussion of that most elegant of motor sports, the demolition derby. Thankfully, ever-surprising forum moderator Zen used to be a demolition-derby driver, and was more than happy to share a little bone-jarring, crushed-bumper, behind-the-wheel knowledge with us.

• The newly planted Farm & Garden subforum seems to be taking root, with conversations like What should N.C.‘s ag stations be researching? already sprouting a few interesting exchanges.

Xpress contributing editor Margaret Williams reports a seemingly inexplicable encounter with seagulls outside her rural WNC home. She’s even uploaded a YouTube video to demonstrate the strange event. Other forum posters are equally baffled, although publisher Jeff Fobes offered a potential explanation.

• A few weeks ago over in the Food subforum, mainstay poster Ralph Roberts posed and interesting question: Where should you go to get the 2nd best barbecue in Asheville? People in WNC definitely have some strong opinions about their BBQ, and the debate rages on.

• The recently introduced Media & Journalism subforum has been hopping this week, and at least part of the reason is the recent Asheville Citizen-Times layoffs. But Xpress readers may want to pay close attention to Margaret William’s recent thread, Should Xpress convert to online only? (complete with a user-poll).

• Although contributions have been sparse thus far, there’s tons of discussion potential in the recently launched Neighborhoods subforum — particularly if some brave soul decides to start a Montford/downtown versus West Asheville thread.

• What happens when a bunch of language-loving folks on the Written Word subforum start discussing phrases they just don’t like? Posting gold, that’s what.

• Although the topic has been up for nearly a month, there’s still plenty of activity over at the Where to buy local/handmade for the holidays thread in the Fashion, Style & Shopping sub-forum. With Christmas still weeks away, this should turn into a worthy resource for finding interesting and unique last-minute gifts.

• Moving on to more philosophical realms, forum regular TomH recently posted a thread that claims All Ideologies Are Idiotic. Is he onto something?

• And finally, Xpress staffer Hal Millard wants to know how forum users are tightening their purse strings this holiday season to cope with the weakening of the economy. One possible solution? Millard’s other new thread about selling plasma for extra cash.

Steve Shanafelt

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.