a little late for my .02, but I’ve been reading this thread since it came up. I’m a newbie here, despite having lurked on and off for over a year. And I try real hard to research the board events that people talk about a lot, dig up old threads that people refer to and make my own informed decision, like John Corrado said. Fenris made pretty much the same point a few posts back. I’m one of those new people who would really appreciate the existence of a possible lesson in board history. For what it’s worth.
Actually, I did a search for Wally threads when the announcement about pruning was made. However, new posts had been made to his threads (or threads about him) since the cut-off date, so they are in no danger of being lost. In fact, quite a few much older ones were bumped shortly after we lost him. When I knew that they were safe, I didn’t feel the need to bump them up. I assume others have done the same thing. Woops, I just saw Shayna’s post. Good.
As for the controversial threads that got revived, they are pieces of Boards history. While I don’t agree with reviving the FreakFreely one, Melingate and others are, if nothing else, a good reference for all the newbies that see such things mentioned. They’ll sink again fairly quickly, but it’s useful to have them around.
Why would I want to bump the FreakFreely thread? Because it’s great reading. The drama! The raw emotions! The psychosis!
Please folks, it’s only words on a messageboard. Try not to get your feelings hurt by things that were said long ago. The train-wreck observation is spot on. The point of the observation escapes me, though. Train-wrecks are spectacular and people rubberneck. So? People also read Steven King and went in droves to see Silence of the Lambs and Trainspotting.
There is an element in this discussion that rubs me the wrong way. It’s the “sweep it under a rug” mentality. As if hiding the strong feelings and acting as if the bad blood that sometimes pops up here doesn’t really happen. If we close our eyes to it, then we can pretend we’ve always been one big happy family. Bah!
And it’s not only “bad blood” that people seem to have a problem with. My observation about the Wally threads is a case in point (although I’m glad to see that they will not be purged). If someone, especially a newbie, has the nerve to ask “who was Wally?” a number of posters will jump up and down. Do a search! Don’t mention him, a lot of people loved him! Don’t bring up a thread because some posters will be hurt to see a Wally thread on the first page.
Why? It’s almost as if the older posters feel as if there are things that only they should have access to. There own special memories that will be sullied if anyone should cast their eyes upon it.
The above are all my very own personal observations. If someone would like to give me a new perspective on all this, I’d be glad to read it. I’d be glad to read it 10 years from now, too.
The only time I’ve seen a negative response to a Wally comment is when some idiot says “Who the hell is this Wally guy anyway? What makes him so damned special??” in response to reading a thread (or seeing Wally sigs). I’ve never seen the phenomenon you’re describing at all.
Wow, at least you’re not getting melodramatic about it!
Well, I guess the entire point of pruning threads is to speed up the boards a little. We would all love to keep each and every thread for eternity, but there isn’t a way to do that. That’s why they’re getting rid of a bunch. How hard is that to understand?
Zette
No Zette it’s not hard to understand at all. I also understand that we, as posters, were asked to save threads we thought worth saving. I also understand that people’s idea of what is worth saving differs.
And this is what I thought this discussion was about, what is worth saving. I didn’t know my comprehension was being questioned. But thank you for clearing it up for me.
It seems to me that the bulk of the posts to be deleted will consist of -gry questions, “I got a girlfriend” -type announcements, lists of favorite movies/books/video games, and the less noteworthy iterations of the evolution, homosexuality, abortion, and gun control debates. If we were all to bump all the threads that actually stuck out in our memory there would still be plenty to delete.
You’re creating a false dilemma. No one’s suggesting that “each and every thread” be saved. And the choice isn’t “each and every thread” or “none”.
Ed made it clear that he wanted people to save threads that they liked or thought were important and AHunter3 has been doing just that. I agree with many of his choices, and was considering bumping some of the same threads myself (he beat me to it.) Like I said, I was going to bump some of the Phaedrus ones, but they were safely past the deadline.
AHunter has saved…what? 30-40 threads? All together, I’d be shocked if over 200 threads have saved, and I’ll bet closer to half that number. Presumably that’s insignifigant compared to the number that’ll be deleted. (If it’s not, then I don’t see the point of pruning)
If Ed didn’t want any threads bumped, he would have said so. If Ed only wanted “happy” threads bumped, I believe he would have said so. I’m not sure why there seems to be all the discontent about saving a few memorable, treasured, or “historic” threads.
(Although I agree with John Corrado that e-mailing a mod or two as the thread is bumped is probably a good idea.)
Fenris (who loved J.C.'s characterization of the Melingate thread as “bilious”.)
I’m also confused here. I think it’s the mindset of the people who couldn’t care less what gets pruned, and can’t understand why people would want to save some of it. Look at my registration date–I couldn’t care less, either, but I do understand that 1) we’ve been asked to bump threads we want saved and 2) there are people who want to save threads.
As such, I don’t know why you’re jumping on Biggirl, Zette. It seems to me like you have a policy gripe. Bitch at Ed Zotti; he’s the one that instituted the whole bumping thing in the first place. Bitching at those people who want to save some threads isn’t going to accomplish much.
Isn’t there some way that we could take all the old historic stuff, like Melingate, and JDT, and Serlin and all that good happy crap and make a Board History Site?
FWIW, I just checked…the FreakFreely thread that has been discussed was last September, and so is well beyond the cutoff for pruning.
(It’s at http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37697 in case anyone else like me had no idea what everyone was talking about. Having just read it all, I can now say: wowsers.)
dropzone said:
I’d never do such a thing. Besides, all of those that I know of came well past the January 2000 cut-off. 
Redboss said:
Not wrong, no–hell, I usually check the Pit first myself. I’m just as likely to rubberneck the bodies as I go by the wreck as anyone else.
But it seems to me that a thread from 22 months ago ain’t looking at bodies as you drive by–it’s looking at picturesof bodies from oldwrecks. This isn’t necessarily wrong either–I mean, whatever yanks your lanyard–but I don’t see why the board should waste space on it.
Biggirl said:
I don’t know whether this is directed in part at me or not, but let me say that I have no such mentality. However, there is plenty of angst, conflict, and pissed-offness here just about every week–why bother with what Diane aptly described as “old news” when there’s plenty of newnews?
Why Wally and his threads aren’t linked on this board’s FAQ is a mystery to me.
And if the FreakFreely meltdown is ever in danger of being pruned, I’ll definitely taking steps to save that puppy.
Hell, I’m trying to secure the movie rights.
The FreakFreely Meltdown…hmm. Very interesting. Certainly an entertaining example of just how much soap opera is possible in mere pixels.