Hell, one of the reasons I got the damn divorce was so that I could do stuff like go to Dopefests again!!
I’d be very up for a New Brumfus fest.
Ha ha. Nice analogy.
I hope the post counts go up soo, 'cause that will help you to figure it out. I mean, if a guy like 'punha has 50,000 posts, well, I guess that will tip you off to the fact that he was a very regular (if irregular) regular in the past.
Speaking of irregular regulars, I wonder if oldscratch will come back. I think he and Autolycus would get along great. They can debate the pros and cons of ladles vs. toothbrushes.
In the case of returned posters, it depends on why they returned. If they came back just to continue bitching about the board, the mods, etc, then I’d just as soon they stayed away in the first place. We have plenty of members who pay for the privilege to bitch about every blessed thing they can find to complain about regarding the mods and the board; I’ve always wondered why people who seem to hate the place so continue to post here.
As far as new posters are concerned, it’ll be on a case-by-case basis as it was before.
Well, in my case when the board first went P2P, I paid (I remember sending a euro banknote to someone in the usa who very graciously paid for me, being happy to receive a euro banknote for their notes colelction or something, that was very nice ), then let my subscribtion lapse because I was a bit tight on money and because I wasn’t posting much anyway.
I did read the dope nearly everyday. This last week I had been very busy and only saw glimpses off the upgrade of the server and didn’t see the amnesia weekend then read on tuesday that the board was now free!!
When, seriously, I was firmly thinking the boards wouldn’t get updated or go free before months, if ever.
Actually, over the years there are many times when I had a great answer, or something really useful to add to a general question (and some other forums), but I couldn’t post, so I couldn’t share my knowledge. I am sure there are others who were in the same boat, so I would expect better things in the GD forum at least. The PIT might be a whole 'nother story though.
No, I’m riff-rafter than you because I don’t/haven’t had a great answer nor anything really useful to add. I picture myself as the friend of the friend of the Hero who stands in the dimly-lit corner by the door smoking cigarettes or partly obscured by the steam rising in the alleyway and only has one line to speak but the Director yells “Cut!” before he gets the chance. I also never get the girl in the end.
See, this is one of the things that I’m really looking forward to–a wider variety of people who can answer stuff in GQ. We did manage to have a pretty good selection of people to answer stuff during P2P, but it was definitely better before.
I think the overall quality of the board was declining. Many interesting posters left, few joined. Diversity of opinions declined too. I expect this change to be for the better, even though the mods might have a hard time if a lot of new posters join.
I’m pretty satisfied with this change.
Would you like to belong to a message board where every other post is “OMG we pwnz thiz boarde lolol!!!11!”? Thurston Howell III? What in blazes are you talking about?
a) forgetting that the SDMB was free for quite a long time before P2P and somehow we managed to muddle through without being overrun by zomg ftw (in fact, if you think about it, that kind of writing actually increased during the P2P period simply because the lolcats meme caught on here for a while)
b) seriously overestimating the interest the average OMG we pwnz thiz boarde lolol!!!11!-teen would have in the Straight Dope Message Board when there are so many other options available where they can go the OMG we pwnz etc.etc. route.
Quote:
Thurston Howell III? What in blazes are you talking about?
“The Millionaire” from Gilligan’s Island.
OMG!!! I wear a “Gilligan” hat! And the Professor is working on a riff raff to get us off the island! The Skipper caught a squid in the lagoon and Mary Ann is going to make a pie with it!
), then let my subscribtion lapse because I was a bit tight on money and because I wasn’t posting much anyway.
