September 21, 2011--Topix

Living, as we now are, in a small town in midcoast Maine, I was drawn to a front page story in yesterday's New York Times, the headline of which was--"In Small Towns, Gossip Moves to the Web, and Turns Vicious."

Featured was a Website, Topix, where the "X" in place of the "S" should have been a hint of what, as I read on, was to come.

Topix, it seems, is a forum for posting small town news as well as engaging in forums about the weather; community news; local politcs; and, more and more, gossip. Much of which is quite malicious.

The place the Times profiled was Mountain Grove, Missouri where, until Topix hit town, locals would gather over coffee in Dee's Place where only one table is reserved--the one for the "Old Farts Club."

But because of Topix, particularly its Mountain Grove Forum, the folks who have traditionally come to Dee's are mad as hornets. A waitress said that things posted on Topix have already led to fights and even divorce. Again, note that X factor.

The diner's owner called Topix a "cesspool of character assassination." A posting about his wife titled "Freak" described her as "a methed-out, doped-out whore with AIDs." Not a word of which was true but she was defamed enough so that some in the town of 9,000 stopped speaking to her and as a consequence she thought about committing suicide.

I didn't have enough prurient interest to check the Mountain Gorve home page to see what else was causing all the upset; but though fearing what I might find, I trepidatiously checked Topix for the towns nearest us--New Harbor and Bristol.

You see, we so look forward to our morning coffee and catch up with friends at the Bristol Diner that I was worried I would find a Topix forum for us that was already bubbling with salaciousness. Enough to put at risk the special quality of life characteristic of this place that we have come so much to cherish. I didn't want to know who might be cheating on whom or who owed what to so-and-so. Too much information can be a very destructive thing. Especially about people you live with, see every day, and have come to both like and depend upon.

I googled Topix and when it came up, holding my breath, entered New Harbor's zip code to see what might be there.

There was an assortment of local news but the only forum topic I could find that elicited any comments was one about the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse who announced that the first major phase of restoration at Wood Island Lighthouse has begun.

There were 16 comments, a few of which were devoted to a dispute about how a little girl was rescued from the water near the light house. Here is one comment that offers a flavor of the nature of the exchange--

As I have stated before, my book, Wood Island Lighthouse The Rescue of Tammy Burnham by Margo Alley was written from expert first hand eyewitness accounts of the people that were directly involved in rescuing Tammy.

Need I remind you, Ms. Kennedy, that your father former chief John Kennedy was not the one that spent approximately 75 minutes in the freezing water fighting to hold onto Tammy Burnham and fighting to save her life, Edward Syvinski did that. In fact, your father John Kennedy and his engineman were snug on the 30 footer and in no danger of drowning or dying.

Noting that this happened back in 1960, and finding nothing hotter than this, I breathed a sigh of relief, and next turned to news and the community forum about Bristol, the next town up the road from us and, since it is considerably larger, perhaps here I would find . . .

I hesitated for a moment but when I took a peek, thankfully the most recent list of topics in the Bristol Forum included, well, nothing whatsoever!

There was news excerpted from the county paper--the Lincoln County News--that included a few benign police reports and an update about a new cell-phone tower that is a little controversial, but nothing gossipy.

Thinking I might be missing something, I looked a little closer. Maybe the mean-spirited stuff is to be found someplace else. Ah, I thought, spotting a hyperlink for "Dating & Personals," perhaps here is where I'll find . . . well, you know what. So I clicked on it.

Yes, it appears to be a place to meet others seeking relationships. I am familiar with this sort of thing from New York's Village Voice where sexual propensities tend to take up more space than anything else. But the first one listed here began--

"Love is Patient and kind. Seeking a man of God."
I am worth it! I am single! Yes, I am ready! I am passionate about what I believe in. I am seeking a . . .

And then there was--

"Sit back, relax, and just laugh! "
I am driven and know what I want. I am family oriented, career driven, and have a good group of friends . . .

Considerably calmed down from what I found, I roused Rona and said, "Let's head for the Diner. I could use some coffee and hope John and Al and Ken and Crystal will be there."

And so they were.