Monday 24 March 2008

It's nearly that time of year again ...

Yup, "Big Brother Australia" is nearly upon us again. What do you mean you "can't abide THAT show" and you "can't believe you watch or support in any way shape or form that dross" ? :)

Well, I do and have done so since the first season was inflicted upon Oz viewer all those years ago ... can you believe we are now up to season EIGHT ?

Sadly, it would appear that Gretel isn't going to mother us through this season so there is some cause for concern if not despair.

Anyway, not only am I a long time proud viewer of "Big Brother Australia", but also I am a long time proud participant of forums and websites dedicated to the topic. Actually, I'm probably moreso a fan of such sites than I am a dedicated watcher of the show, for it is much more satisfying to be actively involved in something than a mere observer, yes ?

Once upon a time I used to content myself with the official BB Oz site but soon found that to be far too restrictive, manipulated, and the forums over-flowing with young'uns spouting endless pointless SMS speak. Yuck, eh ?

Then in 2005 I discovered the excellent "Behind Big Brother Australia" site and that soon proved to me to be a far better place to both observe and participate in the Big Brother phenomena ... you can still find "derspatz" posting there to this day.

And now, just in time for the new Big Brother Oz season, there is a new web site and foruming area that has recently been made available to one and all and thus far it promises to have a far more progressive, useful, and pleasantly welcoming approach to those who love "foruming" than anything provided by the Official Big Brother Oz site, or the official site's long time nemesis "Behind Big Brother Australia".

The recently launched New Improved approach to things is called "Behind Big Brother .NET" and it can be found at http://www.behindbigbrother.net/ and the most immediate difference between "the other" Behind Big Brother site and it is the fact that it IS a ".NET" as opposed to ".COM"

IE. None Commercial. Not For Profit. Get the idea ?
It also has a novel approach to Moderation and forum policing that I hope both works well and catches on for other online discussion places. Sure, it will be nothing new to those used to the old days of FIDOnet or USEnet, but it has been a long time coming for standard Web.

Anyway, nothing like a bit of healthy competition and I for one wish BOTH the mentioned "Behind Big Brother" sites all the best for BB08 ... I can imagine it is a massive and largely thankless job to maintain such web locations during such a popular show, and it is fantastic to have such sites available for the fans to gather at to communally discuss and enjoy their favorite show and a lot more besides.

Here is to BBo8, and here is to those who continue to give of themselves in order to make it even better for everyone, and here is also to the bright and shiny new boat in the docks: http://www.behindbigbrother.net/ and all who choose to sail in her, too.

Remember BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU !

So get Behind Big Brother Australia and join in with all the forum fun here at Behind Big Brother Australia ... NET :)

regarDS