lotsa times, we's sit and talk about ways to get more posters and more posts here. at least every other week. and, those discussions are all well and good, but ... that's largely the problem with those threads. they're "good". we don't do beneficial on the internet, particularly here. we're much better suited to discuss things that are awful and damaging and insulting. THUS! let us reverse the conversation, and chat bouts' the things on this forum that are killers to the forum, in and of itself. things that prevent new posters and/or new posts. what are the forum killers, destined to... kill forums?
i think that alts have been a large responsibility in making stuff pooish. not all alts. used t'be, back in my day (*sips iced tea*) alts were created to be another persona. there was a lil napoleon. a zod. even an urg, god bless him. they were characters suited to their role. i liked those. they were fun and inventive and stuck to character and, oddly, contributed to the appropriate threads in a logical fashion.
then, there were a buncha alts that were creativity-bereft. they required no thinking. they were bad. like mopius. online obsessor. post-2005 mister jla. mimic. "the." etc. posting to threads with no value, in a fashion i'd argue vastly different (and far more damning) than the traditional art of spamming, frantaing and/or basasmsing. the new era of alts seem to have a topic-ending impact to an impressive degree. they are fucking clown shoes.
i do not think politics is that large of a factor, if at all. whether you hate g-man, whomod, wondy, mem, or any of the other deemed extreme fans, i don't think causing anger and friction is something that stifles conversation, but rather something that inspires it. if g-man is pissing off the opposing team (not straight people or young people in this instance, but liberals) in more cases than not, that creates new posts. someone will want to get all riled up and retaliate.
however, there appears to be limits as to what can qualify as conversation sparking in the political realm. g-man linking the super bowl commercial thread in the media forum to ... i dunno. left wing agenda? that's likely a case of "too far". or, for another example, anything captain sammitch posts. i think posts that are laden with icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it.
one of the larger turn-offs to me, unlike slow walks on the beach, is the idea of "cheap heat". one of my absolute favorite things to do on the forum years back was getting into word fights and debates with other posters. the insults would fly back and forth, but with typical levels of creativity added in. it wasn't just a "you are a homosexual, and rex has sexual relations with socks" discussion. there were mini-stories created and images photoshopped and all sortsa inventive ways to specifically not say the same thing over and over (even though you were). ironically (or, perhaps, ingeniously-creative) i often find cheap heat comments much more insulting than the clever ones. not in the "my feelings!!" sorta way, but in the notion that i no longer have a desire to respond or contribute to the thread in any fashion, because the cheap heatior has lamed it (verb form) beyond repair.
I've said this before but things were better before everyone started copying and pasting from other sites. There's a lot of differing views on everything from politics to movies to comic books and I want to hear the actual views of people that post here. Sure, people are going to post articles from other sites to share information but we should also put what we think about things in those posts and threads.
I've said this before but things were better before everyone started copying and pasting from other sites. There's a lot of differing views on everything from politics to movies to comic books and I want to hear the actual views of people that post here. Sure, people are going to post articles from other sites to share information but we should also put what we think about things in those posts and threads.
i think that alts have been a large responsibility in making stuff pooish. not all alts. used t'be, back in my day (*sips iced tea*) alts were created to be another persona. there was a lil napoleon. a zod. even an urg, god bless him. they were characters suited to their role. i liked those. they were fun and inventive and stuck to character and, oddly, contributed to the appropriate threads in a logical fashion.
then, there were a buncha alts that were creativity-bereft. they required no thinking. they were bad. like mopius. online obsessor. post-2005 mister jla. mimic. "the." etc. posting to threads with no value, in a fashion i'd argue vastly different (and far more damning) than the traditional art of spamming, frantaing and/or basasmsing. the new era of alts seem to have a topic-ending impact to an impressive degree. they are fucking clown shoes.
i do not think politics is that large of a factor, if at all. whether you hate g-man, whomod, wondy, mem, or any of the other deemed extreme fans, i don't think causing anger and friction is something that stifles conversation, but rather something that inspires it. if g-man is pissing off the opposing team (not straight people or young people in this instance, but liberals) in more cases than not, that creates new posts. someone will want to get all riled up and retaliate.
however, there appears to be limits as to what can qualify as conversation sparking in the political realm. g-man linking the super bowl commercial thread in the media forum to ... i dunno. left wing agenda? that's likely a case of "too far". or, for another example, anything captain sammitch posts. i think posts that are laden with \:lol\: icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it.
one of the larger turn-offs to me, unlike slow walks on the beach, is the idea of "cheap heat". one of my absolute favorite things to do on the forum years back was getting into word fights and debates with other posters. the insults would fly back and forth, but with typical levels of creativity added in. it wasn't just a "you are a homosexual, and rex has sexual relations with socks" discussion. there were mini-stories created and images photoshopped and all sortsa inventive ways to specifically not say the same thing over and over (even though you were). ironically (or, perhaps, ingeniously-creative) i often find cheap heat comments much more insulting than the clever ones. not in the "my feelings!!" sorta way, but in the notion that i no longer have a desire to respond or contribute to the thread in any fashion, because the cheap heatior has lamed it (verb form) beyond repair.
I think the entire reason we're here is because all the other forums were killed for us by posters who expect.....Things. Like....Um, what's it called? Curtsy? No wait, courtesy.
Our definition of MB etiquette is just different than what most prospective dedicated posters consider reasonable.
It's really not any one issue, but rather the overall feel of this place.
On that note, we should make Jaburg the official greeter for all new posters!
i think that alts have been a large responsibility in making stuff pooish. not all alts. used t'be, back in my day (*sips iced tea*) alts were created to be another persona. there was a lil napoleon. a zod. even an urg, god bless him. they were characters suited to their role. i liked those. they were fun and inventive and stuck to character and, oddly, contributed to the appropriate threads in a logical fashion.
then, there were a buncha alts that were creativity-bereft. they required no thinking. they were bad. like mopius. online obsessor. post-2005 mister jla. mimic. "the." etc. posting to threads with no value, in a fashion i'd argue vastly different (and far more damning) than the traditional art of spamming, frantaing and/or basasmsing. the new era of alts seem to have a topic-ending impact to an impressive degree. they are fucking clown shoes.
i do not think politics is that large of a factor, if at all. whether you hate g-man, whomod, wondy, mem, or any of the other deemed extreme fans, i don't think causing anger and friction is something that stifles conversation, but rather something that inspires it. if g-man is pissing off the opposing team (not straight people or young people in this instance, but liberals) in more cases than not, that creates new posts. someone will want to get all riled up and retaliate.
however, there appears to be limits as to what can qualify as conversation sparking in the political realm. g-man linking the super bowl commercial thread in the media forum to ... i dunno. left wing agenda? that's likely a case of "too far". or, for another example, anything captain sammitch posts. i think posts that are laden with icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it.
one of the larger turn-offs to me, unlike slow walks on the beach, is the idea of "cheap heat". one of my absolute favorite things to do on the forum years back was getting into word fights and debates with other posters. the insults would fly back and forth, but with typical levels of creativity added in. it wasn't just a "you are a homosexual, and rex has sexual relations with socks" discussion. there were mini-stories created and images photoshopped and all sortsa inventive ways to specifically not say the same thing over and over (even though you were). ironically (or, perhaps, ingeniously-creative) i often find cheap heat comments much more insulting than the clever ones. not in the "my feelings!!" sorta way, but in the notion that i no longer have a desire to respond or contribute to the thread in any fashion, because the cheap heatior has lamed it (verb form) beyond repair.
Give me the POWER my liege, and I shall SMITE the Alts from the face of the web! And then I will make a lot of edits to Rex's posts to piss him off. But, then I'll stop. And then I'll do it again later. But, I won't do it all the time...
Also, with the only skins available being shit-brown and the other retina-burning-white, an upgrade to the forum with versatile skins wouldn't kill your chances of bringing in new life. Am I wrong?
Oh, and if you made it mandatory to register before viewing the forums, I bet the traffic would inadvertently go up. If nothing else, think about all the Wimmen's Forum lurkers, and JLA's sweet pron! Make the Anonymous work for it...
or, for another example, anything captain sammitch posts. i think posts that are laden with icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it.
also rob is gay and reax is a sockfucker.
in all seriousness though, I am fully capable of participating in a reasonable debate with anyone. generally I give someone the time of day if I respect them enough to do so. putting mem on ignore or editing into adler's posts implies I do not - in my personal opinion they should either completely overhaul just about everything about themselves or fuck right off these boards. if I want to talk to someone I do. if I don't it's because I see no point in showing them respect they have neither merited nor reciprocated.
reax is a horrible little bastard troll whose place in hell was assured years ago. he is also, at times, this place's most important quality-control device. this is not a place you join to have your ego stroked, and I don't believe, rob, that you have ever stated that it should be. I do believe most posters (see previous paragraph) should be accorded some modicum of respect and decorum - except of course in the OT forum - but we can't go coddling every thin-skinned attention-whoring little... well, pcg who posts here. sorry, couldn't think of a better term. rex sets the tone for discussion in most forums; whether that's a good or a bad thing is entirely subjective. should he tone it down a bit sometimes? possibly. but every castle needs a bridge troll to discourage unwelcome guests, and adsense revenue aside you can't tell me in all honesty that everyone who turns up on here has been welcomed.
this board has evolved over time, and there are a number of selective mechanisms in place governing the trajectory of its evolution. the politics forum has taken on a life of its own, for better or for worse, and it is what it is. people will always piss and moan when they sense that not as many people share their personal perspectives as they like, and some people will never be content with the 'alignment' of the politics board either because they loathe exerting the intellectual effort to progress beyond stage 1 thinking or simply because they're so far out to one extreme or the other that no one else is even close to sharing their views. just as with reax, whether you like him or despise him, g-man is a vital part of this place because he keeps people talking, which last I checked was the point of this place. does he have bias? hell yes he does - it's just that he doesn't share the same bias as many of his detractors. he's not perfect by a long shot, but then again it's far from a gathering of model citizens in there anyway. everyone contributes something - doc, pro, perkins, even posters people bitch about like basams or jla or even myself, we all pitch in something of value from time to time. it may not be pretty or inviting by any means, but things do get discussed.
as far as the conduct in the other forums (besides OT which is a foregone conclusion), you're gob, you make the rules. if you say 'hey cut that shit out lololbathoganwii' we stop. usually. sometimes. if someone is taking politics into forums where it doesn't belong (which I agree is a serious problem) then mods need to step in and say 'gtfo dumas' or whatever. this place is whatever we make it into, but it's entirely within your right to whip out rob's rape rod when someone gets too unruly, I suppose.
Oh, and if you made it mandatory to register before viewing the forums, I bet the traffic would inadvertently go up. If nothing else, think about all the Wimmen's Forum lurkers, and JLA's sweet pron! Make the Anonymous work for it...
I'd suggest that Rob basically turn the whole women's forum into the secret "house of porn" and require both registration and a certain post count before the lurker can see the pictures.
Oh, and if you made it mandatory to register before viewing the forums, I bet the traffic would inadvertently go up.
No, that's what a forum does when they're scared of other people. See: the Insurgency.
One big turn off for me is opening a thread and finding nothing but "" or a who's online message. It's like, I came all this way for this? I demand satisfaction, robdammit. That's why, despite my obsessive-compulsive need to keep up with every forum (except Sports and Politics) I don't bother clicking on a thread if I see the last poster is an alt or a known offender.
Oh, and if you made it mandatory to register before viewing the forums, I bet the traffic would inadvertently go up.
No, that's what a forum does when they're scared of other people. See: the Insurgency.
Yeah. Let me make clear my earlier comment about locking down a forum was limited solely to the idea that making people work for the porn might not be a bad idea.
The biggest problem here is that we (and, sadly, I have to include myself in this) tend to pick, pick, pick at something or someone until it stops being even mildly funny and just becomes boring to everyone except maybe the immediate participants.
Oh and honestly, while I don't actually care about Comic Books these days, I think one of the turn-off for a lot of posters was the lack of moderation in that particular forum. I'm all for the normal shit we do. But, at the same time, a lot of our blood came from a comic book message board. They came here to be able to talk about comics without having to deal with the corporate bureaucracy of the DC Boards. So, without the ability to talk about comics without being hounded for their politics or general chaos, they had no reason to stay here. And I'm not talking about freaks like the Legion nerds. I mean guys like Jeremy, Kaz, or even some of the others. Yes, guys like TK-69 are chumps, and Velo was a whiner, and all that. But, honestly, without versatility here, there's no life. Even for people who exist only to argue and fight, there's no one to really argue or fight with now. They've all been driven off by a variety of factors. Mainly, in my opinion, the inability to maintain separate forums, with separate standards, versus all one big OT Chat. I mean, if nothing else, it would at least give guys like BSAMS something to crusade against...
The biggest problem here is that we (and, sadly, I have to include myself in this) tend to pick, pick, pick at something or someone until it stops being even mildly funny and just becomes boring to everyone except maybe the immediate participants.
The inability to recognize when a joke is not only dead, but has been ground into a fine powder, is an inherent staple of the boards that does not need to disappear. I'd merely contain it to the right forums. MEM may be a "Liberal Crazy" in the Politics Forum, but in the Comics or Media forum, he should just be MEM. I'm sure exceptions can be made for people like Whomod, Black Machismo, etc. who deserve tooling at all opportunities. But, for the permanent members there should be a line...
I might know of a group more retarded than the insurgency but I don't think they have one message board they belong to. It could be fun to kick them around.
...without the ability to talk about comics without being hounded for their politics or general chaos, they had no reason to stay here. And I'm not talking about freaks like the Legion nerds. I mean guys like Jeremy, Kaz, or even some of the others. Yes, guys like TK-69 are chumps, and Velo was a whiner, and all that. But, honestly, without versatility here, there's no life. Even for people who exist only to argue and fight, there's no one to really argue or fight with now....
Other than the usual trollery that exists across the board here exactly what sort of hounding occurs with any frequency on the comic book forum?
...without the ability to talk about comics without being hounded for their politics or general chaos, they had no reason to stay here. And I'm not talking about freaks like the Legion nerds. I mean guys like Jeremy, Kaz, or even some of the others. Yes, guys like TK-69 are chumps, and Velo was a whiner, and all that. But, honestly, without versatility here, there's no life. Even for people who exist only to argue and fight, there's no one to really argue or fight with now....
Other than the usual trollery that exists across the board here exactly what sort of hounding occurs with any frequency on the comic book forum?
Man, look back through the threads. Everything from fucking with Jeremy to whoever was around at the time. The point is, and remains, without the ability to moderate the forum for the fun of its users, of course Jeremy left. Some of the people came here not because they enjoyed everything about the boards, but particular boards. And without the carrot, why would they come back for the stick?
i love politics, its the only way to get heat on the interwebs. even in this thread people are bitching about politics. its awesome.
in all seriousness rob, the only way you are going to grow this forum appreciably is to turn it into another forum. give guys like pro the power to decide what is or isnt acceptable conversation(pretty button power). it will then set up a pecking order of brown noses and wannabes and the community will grow.
see nightly.net wikipedia ect. from pageviews standpoint its not a bad way to go. its your $ if that what you want go for it. i guarantee you wont have the same community you have now, but i have to think if this wasnt enjoyable we wouldn't all keep coming back. but i dont think you can have it both ways.
personally i would rather go back to the natureverse and debate the bots.
Man, look back through the threads. Everything from fucking with Jeremy to whoever was around at the time. The point is, and remains, without the ability to moderate the forum for the fun of its users, of course Jeremy left. Some of the people came here not because they enjoyed everything about the boards, but particular boards. And without the carrot, why would they come back for the stick?
I never noticed it on that forum but I'll take your word for it.
That being said, what do you propose? This is not a board that takes well to any sort of "moderation."
it should be moderated! people dont know how to post for themselves!
Understand that, by asking my question, I'm not agreeing with what I think is Pro's suggestion.
At the same time, I think we all need to moderate ourselves a bit more.
Basically we all need to exercise some self restraint and not be such dicks to each other...and not be such whiny pussies whem someone else is a dick sometimes.
give guys like pro the power to decide what is or isnt acceptable conversation(pretty button power).
Judging from the stickied threads in the Poli-forum, I'd say you have no problem with "pretty button power" as long as you're the one using it.
Quote:
but i dont think you can have it both ways.
I disagree. I think you can have it exactly both ways. I think you can have light moderation in particular forums, and unbridled freedom in others. It doesn't have to be the extremes you seem to think it is...
Basically we all need to exercise some self restraint and not be such dicks to each other...and not be such whiny pussies whem someone else is a dick sometimes.
Prometheus happy Moderator Madman with a Box 15000+ posts 48 seconds ago Making a new reply Forum: Pro & Jake's Fortress of Awesome Chat Thread: Re: forum killers
And this is exactly what we're talking about here. The same kind of inflexible, dismissive tone you take with any single person who disagrees with you. What's the point of discussing anything with you?
PARMA, Ohio – With less than an hour before President Obama's scheduled speech, 75 seats remained empty in the recreation center at Cuyahoga Community College's Western Campus.
Anonymous 52 minutes 35 seconds ago Reading a post Forum: Media Thread: Why do you think Michelle Meyrink's career didn't get very far after Real Genius?
I tried recruiting more misfits from the DCMBs once upon a time with the hope that there'd be more people who'd be able to survive the exodus and hazing, but Mxy was too jumpy with the trolling and got the thread locked before my web could catch any flies.
I'll try again later when I don't have any formations.
Captain Sammitch User returning cheapion 15000+ posts 09/09/10 06:42 PM Reading a post Forum: Pro & Jake's Fortress of Awesome Chat Thread: forum killers Ultimate Jaburg53 Moderator but you will blow me first. 15000+ posts 09/09/10 06:40 PM Reading a post Forum: Pro & Jake's Fortress of Awesome Chat Thread: forum killers Joe Mama User Inglourious Basterd!!! 15000+ posts 09/09/10 06:15 PM Reading a post Forum: Pro & Jake's Fortress of Awesome Chat Thread: forum killers
i think that alts have been a large responsibility in making stuff pooish. not all alts. used t'be, back in my day (*sips iced tea*) alts were created to be another persona. there was a lil napoleon. a zod. even an urg, god bless him. they were characters suited to their role. i liked those. they were fun and inventive and stuck to character and, oddly, contributed to the appropriate threads in a logical fashion.
then, there were a buncha alts that were creativity-bereft. they required no thinking. they were bad. like mopius. online obsessor. post-2005 mister jla. mimic. "the." etc. posting to threads with no value, in a fashion i'd argue vastly different (and far more damning) than the traditional art of spamming, frantaing and/or basasmsing. the new era of alts seem to have a topic-ending impact to an impressive degree. they are fucking clown shoes.
i do not think politics is that large of a factor, if at all. whether you hate g-man, whomod, wondy, mem, or any of the other deemed extreme fans, i don't think causing anger and friction is something that stifles conversation, but rather something that inspires it. if g-man is pissing off the opposing team (not straight people or young people in this instance, but liberals) in more cases than not, that creates new posts. someone will want to get all riled up and retaliate.
however, there appears to be limits as to what can qualify as conversation sparking in the political realm. g-man linking the super bowl commercial thread in the media forum to ... i dunno. left wing agenda? that's likely a case of "too far". or, for another example, anything captain sammitch posts. i think posts that are laden with icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it.
one of the larger turn-offs to me, unlike slow walks on the beach, is the idea of "cheap heat". one of my absolute favorite things to do on the forum years back was getting into word fights and debates with other posters. the insults would fly back and forth, but with typical levels of creativity added in. it wasn't just a "you are a homosexual, and rex has sexual relations with socks" discussion. there were mini-stories created and images photoshopped and all sortsa inventive ways to specifically not say the same thing over and over (even though you were). ironically (or, perhaps, ingeniously-creative) i often find cheap heat comments much more insulting than the clever ones. not in the "my feelings!!" sorta way, but in the notion that i no longer have a desire to respond or contribute to the thread in any fashion, because the cheap heatior has lamed it (verb form) beyond repair.
Moles and trolls, moles and trolls, work, work, work, work, work. We never see the light of day. We plan this thing for weeks and all they want to do is study. I'm disgusted. I'm sorry but it's not like me, I'm depressed. There was what, no one at the mutant hamster races, we only had one entry into the Madame Curie look-alike contest and he was disqualified later. Why do I bother?
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I think we should just give up trying to get more people in. We're internet dinosaurs. We're not that good at attracting and maintaining conversations from people nowadays because we're very old, and bitter, and jaded, and we've been there, done that, and all that shit.
Admit it, when you look at discussion threads from other forums, it's either you can't relate or you think the posters are stupid. We're basically just the internet version of war vets exchanging and arguing over the same old stories. And as much as it seems like you may hate some people here, the truth is that they're actually the people that you can still stand (or stand to hate), unlike other people whom you just ignore.
As for Rob's hatred of ready-made insults and replies and memes, isn't that the thing on the internet nowadays? Look at 4chan, the Penny arcade forums, hell, look at every forum. People usually have recycled responses; rickroll, i can haz cheezburger, demotivators. fail, 0wned. etc. We're not that different from the rest of the internet, we just have a different set of those things.
We seem to tackle the same topics and interests as most of the people on the internet - politics, comic books, videogames, pop culture - we just have a different perspective. (e.g. whereas other people will talk about the Emmy's and support Big Bang, we'd bitch about it.)
i agree with SoM. forums are dinasaurs, with Twitter and Facebook and such people dont really do the forum thing anymore and when they do theyre pecking order fests, remember when we went to that forum MOTA posts at it wasnt just trolling that was banned, they would boot people for disagreeing with the moderator.
Glacier16 User 5000+ posts 09/11/10 11:50 AM Reading a post Forum: Pro & Jake's Fortress of Awesome Chat Thread: forum killers
I am particulary glad that these lovely children are here today to hear that speech. Not only was it authentic frontier gibberish, it expressed the courage little seen in this day and age.
I wash born here, an I was raised here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin bushwackin hornswagglin cracker croaker is gonna ruin me bishen cutter.
On another note with this.....where did all the Naturegirlz go??!!Seriously,used to be a fair amount of females posting here and they all left.I see Kimi on FB and know she's busy being married and travelling and such.Butter's still out there too but of the others,I have no clue what happened to 'em.
On another note with this.....where did all the Naturegirlz go??!!Seriously,used to be a fair amount of females posting here and they all left.I see Kimi on FB and know she's busy being married and travelling and such.Butter's still out there too but of the others,I have no clue what happened to 'em.
I killed Kwink. Sorry!
And I then got busy with my face between the thighs of a really really hot chick!
On another note with this.....where did all the Naturegirlz go??!!Seriously,used to be a fair amount of females posting here and they all left.I see Kimi on FB and know she's busy being married and travelling and such.Butter's still out there too but of the others,I have no clue what happened to 'em.
I killed Kwink. Sorry!
And I then got busy with my face between the thighs of a really really hot chick!
Anonymous 09/22/10 08:17 PM Registering a new user Anonymous 09/22/10 08:13 PM Registering a new user Anonymous 09/22/10 08:13 PM Registering a new user Anonymous 09/22/10 08:12 PM Reading a post Forum: Politics and Current Events Thread: Irony? Anonymous 09/22/10 08:11 PM Registering a new user Anonymous 09/22/10 08:02 PM Registering a new user
I think we are old....comics mostly suck now, and quite frankly, everything sucks now....or am I just jaded? Message boards generally take effort to work and get to know people on. You have to have a decent sense of humor, not be too self-important, and being intelligent helps, etc, etc...
I think we are old....comics mostly suck now, and quite frankly, everything sucks now....or am I just jaded? Message boards generally take effort to work and get to know people on. You have to have a decent sense of humor, not be too self-important, and being intelligent helps, etc, etc...
I don't see that on the web much now...
Comics do suck now, and have for quite some time. There's no way in the world that I'm going to even try to keep up with this year's MOST EPIC CROSSOVER EVANT EVAR!1!
Wrestling sucks (but hasn't it always? Wrestling misses the mark more often than not), TV is unwatchable, and the only hobbies of mine that have shown improvement are videogames, and porn.
High-Def porn makes the older stuff look weak (even material from the 90's; most girls didn't discover waxing until 93 or so, and I'm not going to get started on the horrible camera angles. Modern porn has "gonzo" features, and the quality of lezbo material has increased) and my 360 continues to kick ass. I broke down and bought a new computer two years ago, and this bad boy runs every title I throw in, whether it's an older or newer game. MAME still has it's charm, too.
Internets boards jumped the shark years ago, but it's still fun to get on here and act like an asshole from time to time. It's always fun to surf YouTube for old music videos and other assorted rubbish.
lotsa times, we's sit and talk about ways to get more posters and more posts here. at least every other week. and, those discussions are all well and good, but ... that's largely the problem with those threads. they're "good". we don't do beneficial on the internet, particularly here. we're much better suited to discuss things that are awful and damaging and insulting. THUS! let us reverse the conversation, and chat bouts' the things on this forum that are killers to the forum, in and of itself. things that prevent new posters and/or new posts. what are the forum killers, destined to... kill forums?
identify!
well i think there is enough suggestions for a report. what's the verdict rob?
I think we should just give up trying to get more people in. We're internet dinosaurs. We're not that good at attracting and maintaining conversations from people nowadays because we're very old, and bitter, and jaded, and we've been there, done that, and all that shit.
Admit it, when you look at discussion threads from other forums, it's either you can't relate or you think the posters are stupid. We're basically just the internet version of war vets exchanging and arguing over the same old stories. And as much as it seems like you may hate some people here, the truth is that they're actually the people that you can still stand (or stand to hate), unlike other people whom you just ignore.
As for Rob's hatred of ready-made insults and replies and memes, isn't that the thing on the internet nowadays? Look at 4chan, the Penny arcade forums, hell, look at every forum. People usually have recycled responses; rickroll, i can haz cheezburger, demotivators. fail, 0wned. etc. We're not that different from the rest of the internet, we just have a different set of those things.
We seem to tackle the same topics and interests as most of the people on the internet - politics, comic books, videogames, pop culture - we just have a different perspective. (e.g. whereas other people will talk about the Emmy's and support Big Bang, we'd bitch about it.)
I'd like to sig this, but my current one's just too clever to get rid of.
i agree with SoM. forums are dinasaurs, with Twitter and Facebook and such people dont really do the forum thing anymore and when they do theyre pecking order fests, remember when we went to that forum MOTA posts at it wasnt just trolling that was banned, they would boot people for disagreeing with the moderator
4chan is still wildly popular and rife with trolling, and the only difference between us and it is the fact that it's an image BBS.
then, there were a buncha alts that were creativity-bereft. they required no thinking. they were bad. like mopius. online obsessor. post-2005 mister jla.
i think that alts have been a large responsibility in making stuff pooish. not all alts. used t'be, back in my day (*sips iced tea*) alts were created to be another persona. there was a lil napoleon. a zod. even an urg, god bless him. they were characters suited to their role. i liked those. they were fun and inventive and stuck to character and, oddly, contributed to the appropriate threads in a logical fashion.
then, there were a buncha alts that were creativity-bereft. they required no thinking. they were bad. like mopius. online obsessor. post-2005 mister jla. mimic. "the." etc. posting to threads with no value, in a fashion i'd argue vastly different (and far more damning) than the traditional art of spamming, frantaing and/or basasmsing. the new era of alts seem to have a topic-ending impact to an impressive degree. they are fucking clown shoes.
i do not think politics is that large of a factor, if at all. whether you hate g-man, whomod, wondy, mem, or any of the other deemed extreme fans, i don't think causing anger and friction is something that stifles conversation, but rather something that inspires it. if g-man is pissing off the opposing team (not straight people or young people in this instance, but liberals) in more cases than not, that creates new posts. someone will want to get all riled up and retaliate.
however, there appears to be limits as to what can qualify as conversation sparking in the political realm. g-man linking the super bowl commercial thread in the media forum to ... i dunno. left wing agenda? that's likely a case of "too far". or, for another example, anything captain sammitch posts. i think posts that are laden with icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it.
one of the larger turn-offs to me, unlike slow walks on the beach, is the idea of "cheap heat". one of my absolute favorite things to do on the forum years back was getting into word fights and debates with other posters. the insults would fly back and forth, but with typical levels of creativity added in. it wasn't just a "you are a homosexual, and rex has sexual relations with socks" discussion. there were mini-stories created and images photoshopped and all sortsa inventive ways to specifically not say the same thing over and over (even though you were). ironically (or, perhaps, ingeniously-creative) i often find cheap heat comments much more insulting than the clever ones. not in the "my feelings!!" sorta way, but in the notion that i no longer have a desire to respond or contribute to the thread in any fashion, because the cheap heatior has lamed it (verb form) beyond repair.
icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it. 
icons, or those that are simply anticipating someone you're goading has been goaded, devalue not only the discussion, but your argument in it. 