One of the best, and paradoxically worst, features of the internet is the opportunity it affords people to post opinions whether they know anything about a particular subject or not.
People often get confused about the concept of free speech and forget that it comes with taking responsibility for what you say.
On internet forums, you can remain largely anonymous, which can lead to outrageous slurs, lies and libels.
Fortunately, www.thesnookerforum.com does not appear to be such a place.
It is a lively site where snooker fans around the world can come together to debate various issues, whether about favourite players, tournament results, advice on technique or a myriad of other snooker-related themes.
I don’t contribute because I’m not sure it would be appropriate but I do read it because the opinions of snooker watchers are always I interesting. These are the people who ultimately keep professional sport alive, after all.
The particularly heartening thing about TSF is the international make up of its members. The first thread I clicked on today had contributors from Egypt, South Korea, Greece, Sweden, Holland, China, Belgium, Finland and India.
The enthusiasm for snooker is great to see and there seems to be a genuine feeling of a community of like minded people.
Obviously, not everyone will agree with all opinions and not all incorrect statements are put right, but from what I’ve read there is a pleasing lack of aggro that you tend to find on many forums.
Passions tend to run high when particular players are debated. Inevitably, Ronnie O’Sullivan divides opinion pretty sharply and TV commentators of a sensitive nature may wish to look away at times but all credit to TSF and its members.
They are snooker people and no sport should ever forget that the fans are central to its success.
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