On Communities, Growth and Dialog

First, let's just start off and say that the final word is actually spelled correctly. It's used as Neal Stephenson does in Anathem. It's a great book and I strongly recommend reading it if you are into making decisions through things like the scientific method. This discussion grew out of malcontentjake and my own pregame discussion about how his recent post hammered away at things that have been discussed many times on this site, and yet still need more attention. This site's growth is phenomenal, and because of that some recent posts have seemed like new ideas, but, like the Lorites, there aren't a lot of new ideas about soccer under the sun.

Still, to quote Erasmus from Anathem (page 106):

Ideas are good things to have even if they are old. Even to understand the most advanced theorics requires a lifetime of study. To keep the existing stock of ideas alive requires ... all of this.

All of this is a staff of managers, editors, writers and podcasters. All of this is an extraordinary community that is willing to challenge each other's thoughts, while respecting their individual presence. All of this is an extraordinary network and technology background to help us communicate more clearly.

So sometimes you longtime readers may see something repetitious. But, just maybe we'll find a new way to talk about it. Or, even better, a commenter will find a new idea altogether and write a FanPost based out of what they have discovered from our further discussions.

Anathem also describes three different ways of dialog (formal discussion between theors) and those relate to who and what Sounder at Heart is as well.

The first of these is the classic student-teacher. It is used to educate from those that know to those that do not. It is about the ideas. Not about who is spreading them. And it isn't always from an authority figure to a neophyte. It is merely from the holder of knowledge to those that do not have the knowledge.

Second is that of the peregrin, or wandering avout. When two of these meet, they discuss and share information. Since neither has the exact same backgrounds there is always room for learning. The topic could be simple or complex, but the goal of the dialog is for both to learn.

Also outlined in the book is a discussion with an even fancier name. The Periklynian dialog is one where someone is about to get planed. To plane is "to utterly destroy an opponent's position in the course of dialog." Again, it is about ideas, not individuals.

That's basically a summation of the community guidelines and foundation here. We're about spreading knowledge, which in many ways the core of our passion for soccer and Seattle Sounders FC. Will we repeat ourselves? Absolutely, but sometimes we'll find a new way to think about a situation, or the most recent metaphor will hit a portion of the audience in ways that previous have not.

At the same point, we aren't just about theory and dialog. This is fun for us. We have some silly memes. Nos Audietis isn't cool because it is Latin or Old Orth, but because it captures who we are. We will be heard. We enjoy seeing the massive tifo displays, we like to sing and chant. We enjoy watching the majesty of sport and unique, yet repetitive nature of mere games. We're this odd little hybrid of news, analysis and fandom.

I like it that we have these discussions. And I'm damn proud of every single one of you that has chosen to participate in this site, whether as a Managing Editor, a former author, a long time reader or someone who stopped by for the first time today.