# Has this Board Changed? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 31, 2014, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035 "2014-08-31T09:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/121 "2014-09-04T18:50:25Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You called me a bear – does that count? 😛 A metaphor for one of great power and potential justifiable anger, I assure you. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/122 "2014-09-04T20:31:52Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > [sup]1[/sup]Here’s a shout-out to **Left Hand of Dorkness** for being one of the few current voices of conciliation. He doesn’t always post that way of course, and he doesn’t have to. Appreciated–I certainly feel like I could do better at it, too often finding myself getting caught up in snarkoffs with–ooh, I almost started again–let’s say with posters who approach conversation in ways that I neither admire nor want to emulate. I do appreciate your own measured approach, though. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/123 "2014-09-04T21:25:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I do appreciate your own measured approach, though. He who would pun would pick a pocket. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/124 "2014-09-04T21:32:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A metaphor for one of great power and potential justifiable anger, I assure you. What does this mean? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/125 "2014-09-04T21:40:52Z")
From my perspective, the board has certainly changed, but not in the way you suggest. I think the board has actually gotten a lot _less_ snarkier, overall. The major difference is that the volume of posts/members is down, and for any given topic, it is now less likely that you will find a knowledgeable and polite person who is interested in having an extended and thoughtful discussion (in GQ) or debate (in GD). The snark and uninformed morons have always been there, and remain so, but the pool of valuable participants is smaller and so the snark is more prominent by comparison. I blame the ill-fated pay-to-post experiment, I don’t think the board really recovered after that. There used to be a huge pool of lurkers who would read the threads in GQ and GD and only rarely post, when they had something constructive to add. You’d post an esoteric question in GQ and within an hour get a response from an expert in the field who had been a member for 6 years and had 20 posts. When the board went pay-to-post, it seems a huge number of those people left and never bothered to return since. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/126 "2014-09-04T22:19:28Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > What does this mean? That means that you Flirt With Death by poking a bear with a stick, or pointing out to Guin that she might have kind of sort of made some silly little insignificant mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/127 "2014-09-06T14:51:47Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > From my perspective, the board has certainly changed, but not in the way you suggest. I think the board has actually gotten a lot _less_ snarkier, overall. > > The major difference is that the volume of posts/members is down, and for any given topic, it is now less likely that you will find a knowledgeable and polite person who is interested in having an extended and thoughtful discussion (in GQ) or debate (in GD). The snark and uninformed morons have always been there, and remain so, but the pool of valuable participants is smaller and so the snark is more prominent by comparison. > > I blame the ill-fated pay-to-post experiment, I don’t think the board really recovered after that. There used to be a huge pool of lurkers who would read the threads in GQ and GD and only rarely post, when they had something constructive to add. You’d post an esoteric question in GQ and within an hour get a response from an expert in the field who had been a member for 6 years and had 20 posts. When the board went pay-to-post, it seems a huge number of those people left and never bothered to return since. That is a better explanation than mine and reflects my experience. What I notice as a difference is that with contentious subjects there used to be different people debating with you on different threads. Now it almost seems like you are being stalked by the same group of people who are aware of your other posts and often refer to them in ad hominem attacks. I had not realised the number of users had declined enough to make a difference; it sounds like a good explanation for what I am finding! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/128 "2014-09-06T16:03:09Z")
Also, people are going to get tired of debating the same damn thing over and over. A significant number of threads in GD just cover the same ground that has already been covered a dozen times, with the same people posting the same arguments. It’s bound to get a bit snarky in that case, although I’m still not clear that things really are all that more snarky. I think it’s that you post mainly in those threads that have been beaten to death. Perhaps we need to introduce the death penalty for certain subjects in GD. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/129 "2014-09-06T16:49:28Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > From my perspective, the board has certainly changed, but not in the way you suggest. I think the board has actually gotten a lot _less_ snarkier, overall. > > The major difference is that the volume of posts/members is down, and for any given topic, it is now less likely that you will find a knowledgeable and polite person who is interested in having an extended and thoughtful discussion (in GQ) or debate (in GD). The snark and uninformed morons have always been there, and remain so, but the pool of valuable participants is smaller and so the snark is more prominent by comparison. > > I blame the ill-fated pay-to-post experiment, I don’t think the board really recovered after that. There used to be a huge pool of lurkers who would read the threads in GQ and GD and only rarely post, when they had something constructive to add. You’d post an esoteric question in GQ and within an hour get a response from an expert in the field who had been a member for 6 years and had 20 posts. When the board went pay-to-post, it seems a huge number of those people left and never bothered to return since. Actually we have more traffic than before pay to post. There’s fewer that become members or that hang out for a long time and even less that renew existing subscriptions. We do have more people who come here with one question, get it answered, and then check out. There’s huge numbers of lurkers, too, ratio of involved people to observers used to be much higher. these days there’s lots more opportunities for other time sinks, both online and off. Facebook was not such a big deal in 2004, to name just one. Is this because of pay to post? I don’t think so. The SDMB has been on its own website since 1999. Pay to post was in operation for four years, roughly June 2004-June 2008. We have not required subscription fees for participation on this board in quite a while now. The Straight Dope is in competition for your time with many other opportunities, including movies and TV shows, items that were not so much on the scene in earlier times. These days people are more likely to Google up and go to sites like Wikipedia (although the SDMB pops up surprisingly high in lists on Google, even now.) When we started Wikipedia didn’t even exist; blogs were rare. The range of information available to people was much more limited. Things change, people change too. Nothing stays the same. We can hope that we’re still relevant in these times but that’s really up to our users, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/130 "2014-09-06T19:01:09Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Actually we have more traffic than before pay to post. Maybe, but the number of posts has been steadily declining for years now: 2010, average posts per day: 3,730 2011, average posts per day: 3,582 2012, average posts per day: 3,339 2013, average posts per day: 3,058 2014, average posts per day: ~2,900 so far That’s still a decent number, but it’s a disturbing trend. Even if your ad traffic is up, that won’t last forever if new posts dry up. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/131 "2014-09-06T23:39:45Z")
I just got back from a three-day road trip through the American heartland (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin). As the sights and sounds of real America unfolded around me, I couldn’t help but think of the foreign Dope posters whose exhaustive knowledge of the U.S. apparently comes from reading the Guardian in American airport terminals. Among the vehicles passed on the highway: a pest control truck festooned with graphics and logos proclaiming the company’s apparent willingness to kill anything you deemed a pest, plus supportive Bible verses. Then there was the Chicken-of-the-Sea Gratitude Tour van. I could only speculate what was going on here, but it turns out that “at 39 Chicken of the Sea Great American Gratitude Tour stops coast to coast, visitors can meet and take photos with the Chicken of the Sea Mermaid, and receive free recipes, giveaways and commemorative coins.” Is this a great country or what? I knew I should’ve followed the damn van. Later, American hospitality was further exemplified by skull and crossbones stickers on the car parked near mine at a lunch stop, one of which was accompanied by this thoughtful advice: “Nothing in this car is worth your life”. (since it was a Toyota Celica, that probably was true). Finally, I-57 in Illinois greeted us with cheerful signposts advertising a pro-firearms website, spread out in Burma-Shave fashion along the roadway: _Shooting sports are safe and fun There’s no need to fear a gun_ Poor **Pjen** ’s head would have exploded. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/132 "2014-09-07T04:16:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > That means that you Flirt With Death by poking a bear with a stick, or pointing out to Guin that she might have kind of sort of made some silly little insignificant mistake. Grrrr! _swipes at **Cinnamon Imp** threw the bars of her cage_ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/133 "2014-09-07T05:13:24Z")
Imp! Quickly, bring incense and chocolate! ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/134 "2014-09-07T06:22:00Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > Well, dad gummit - look at that! I spelled rue as **ROO**. Whatever is the matter with me? I know rue isn’t spelled **ROO**. I guess I need my head examined. **ROO!** You called? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/135 "2014-09-07T08:16:01Z")
Not really. Just helping someone read a situation correctly. You sound a little … odd. Is it the air here? Maybe it’s the smiley. Hope I don’t offend. If I do, just ascribe it to my being out of the loop. 🆒 (_These_ smilies do rather suck.) ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/136 "2014-09-08T00:58:31Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > Not really. Just helping someone read a situation correctly. You sound a little … odd. Is it the air here? Maybe it’s the smiley. > > Hope I don’t offend. If I do, just ascribe it to my being out of the loop. 🆒 > (_These_ smilies do rather suck.) I stand corrected. It looks like someone else read that better than I did. I’ll read your questions differently in the future. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/137 "2014-09-08T01:20:43Z")
_Thank_ you. That’s a very kind measure for you to take. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/138 "2014-09-08T15:55:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > FWIW I agree with this. > > I doubt **Bricker** has changed much - he was always as good as this. > > The boards have changed, but I think the trend began mostly with the 2004 elections, and got a push with the elections of 2006-2008. People were outraged that they didn’t get what they wanted in 2004, and then things were all supposed to start a steady upward trend in 2008, when the Dems were in control of Congress and the White House, and we would get universal health care/impeach Bush/tax the rich and use the money to fix everything. Then they found themselves outnumbered 41-59 in the Senate 😃 and Obama wasn’t the seminal figure they all expected he would be. > > [Obama isn’t any more popular with the general public than Bush was](https://www.google.com/search?q=approval+ratings+Obama+vs+bush&tbm=isch&imgil=3MlYjfZIE1tgVM%253A%253Bf39mmwCqGqQC6M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fnews.yahoo.com%25252Fobama-and-bush-poll-numbers-nearly-identical-five-years-into-presidency-214919924.html&source=iu&fir=3MlYjfZIE1tgVM%253A%252Cf39mmwCqGqQC6M%252C_&usg=__PpV-c2oHbtIXYqJB1Rw6pUx6bJ4%3D&sa=X&ei=BooDVI26KZSUgwSg7YG4BQ&ved=0CDEQ9QEwAw&biw=1434&bih=706#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=3MlYjfZIE1tgVM%253A%3Bf39mmwCqGqQC6M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fl2.yimg.com%252Fbt%252Fapi%252Fres%252F1.2%252FolmFVO1DPLcBKQ_PowWbyQ--%252FYXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--%252Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fl.yimg.com%252Fos%252Fpublish-images%252Fnews%252F2013-11-05%252Fda59d181-d9a2-48ba-bccf-503f6e215d33_chart_bush_obama_ratings.jpeg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.yahoo.com%252Fobama-and-bush-poll-numbers-nearly-identical-five-years-into-presidency-214919924.html%3B630%3B424), howling racism at every criticism isn’t working for them, there are a lot more states that ban gay marriage than have implemented it (or had it forced upon them by judicial activism), and it appears the Congress is slated to return to GOP control. > > I couldn’t comment on the other board mentioned, as I don’t have much of a feel for how it runs and don’t go there much. > > And **Polycarp** died. God rest his soul. > > Regards, > Shodan I am genuinely impressed with your ability to turn literally anything into an anti-Obama rant. Give yourself a pat on the back from me. Personally I feel that a few bad ideas (pay to post, new pit rules …) and genuinely terrible (and frankly inconsistent) moderating has made the more interesting posters leave (or receive ridiculous bans). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/139 "2014-09-08T17:28:40Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I am genuinely impressed with your ability to turn literally anything into an anti-Obama rant. Give yourself a pat on the back from me. > > Personally I feel that a few bad ideas (pay to post, new pit rules …) and genuinely terrible (and frankly inconsistent) moderating has made the more interesting posters leave (or receive ridiculous bans). 🙂 Ridiculous bans? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035/140 "2014-09-08T18:12:41Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Grrrr! > > _swipes at **Cinnamon Imp** threw the bars of her cage_ _offers a lollipop onna stick back through the bars_ Your “threw” was deliberate, I know, I won’t be whooshed again… 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-board-changed/697035.md?page=8)