Posted by Pimped-Out-Jedi-Knight at webcacheb12a.cache.pol.co.uk on July 01, 2002 at 16:00:37:
In Reply to: "Showing the light" and such... posted by Zeebadaboodee on July 01, 2002 at 15:27:19:
Thanks for taking the time to answer - I appreciate that it must be frustrating coping with the board at times. I'm no 'oldbie', but I still get a little sick of all the polls and self-serving posts occassionally (although that might be a little hypocritical, considering my history of having 'play-flames' with various members of the board - but, damn it, at least they were mildly entertaining).
And onto the questions - I've heard of how the board used to be two boards - were they divided into 'on topic' and 'off topic'? And why was 'the other board' taken away? I know these are questions that will make me look ridiculously stupid, but the idea of having two separate boards seems like a reasonable idea, and with proper moderation, could result in reds returning to ask questions. And yes, I know I'm probably coming off like a complete newbie right now, by bringing up a topic that's probably been done to death, but I'm a curious little monkey.
: : ...stuck around to show people the light, instead of just posting from time to time to complain about how crappy this place has got, then it wouldn't be so 'awful'. Still, I suppose it's a whole lot easier to just moan rather than do anything...
: There are a couple of us still around. I think a lot of us have tried to lead by example, but the sheer numbers of ridiculous posts makes it difficult to do this.
: It's a vicious cycle which I try not to bitch about too much because it's not my place to do so. The truth is, as more and more posters come around and see how the board operates, this becomes the norm. Anyone coming on the board right now for the first time sees the numerous polls and "chat" posts and thinks that is how this board operates, and maybe that's not so wrong.
: In my opinion (and keep in mind, all of this is just my opinion), the posters on this board (both new and old alike) should have taken an enormous hint from Kevin's post about why he doesn't come around here that often anymore. There are quite a few "reds" who have chosen to post elsewhere, and that's a huge fucking shame. The more posts that appear that don't have any real merit or worth, again a subjective idea, the harder it is for Kevin or any other red to search through them for intelligent thought.
: Whether this place has gotten worse in the last few years is subjective. There have always been assholes here, but back in "the day" there were fewer of them. Of course, there were also fewer posters period. I can remember a time about 4 years ago when there were just a few (maybe 15 or so) true regulars who posted here everyday. At that point, it was easier to weed out the people who came here and posted ridiculous posts that didn't have any real value.
: Kevin has said several times that this board will be the last thing to go. Maybe that's true, but without his consistent presence the place turns into a tough environment to have intelligent conversations. Of course, the vicious cycle is that because of some of the crap that is posted here, Kevin comes around less.
: The really weird part about this place is that after being here for awhile, I now feel like a newbie. The people who get recognized here these days are not so much people who make a contribution to the "Askew community" (whatever that is), but people who have nothing better to do than reply for no reason to every single post on the board. There's a new breed of regulars here now, and that's not so bad necessarily. However, for many of us "oldbies", the new way to run things here just doesn't work.
: Whatever happens, I'll be around here for a long time. But for now, I'll remain an infrequent poster who scans for messages by Kevin or some of the other names I recognize.
: ksb