Well, excellent example or not, I'm here, @denmarkguy, and I'm in agreement that the more human interaction the better.

I find the whole idea of the bots somewhat exasperating (when I think about it for longer than two seconds), but I don't have the answer. I know we keep being told that they're a fact of life, on the one hand, but on the other, they're a detriment to the long term whatever of the platform.

Well, if we can see that coming, and it's true, then at some point, they need to be gone, or we lose the platform, right? I know there's all kinds of layers there, and in reality, vote bots are actually using the platform for what it was made to do—commerce—but I guess that's a bit like merchants paying the mob to protect them from the mob. Or maybe not, but I liked the imagery. :)

As far as the challenge and attention spans—never before in the history of the world have so many people had so much say over anything, including their own lives. It's all thanks to the internet, social media, etc. But while that's amazing and awesome to contemplate, it has a downside. That being, not everyone who offers an opinion is going to know what the heck they're talking about. Not every idea is valid in every circumstance. And frankly, because such a grand part of the noise that rises up through it all comes from youth, I am becoming more and more sure that a little more maturity is in order to guide this thing through.

I know. Maturity isn't always age related, but in good measure it is. And for those who are mature beyond their years, well, they can certainly be a stabilizing force. Maybe it's time that those of us who have been around the block several times step it up a little. Provide some value to the idea of long term, and actually discussing things as opposed to what amounts to flinging inane tweets, signifying nothing, back and forth.