# Have we run out of stuff to talk about? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278 "2001-01-16T04:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/61 "2001-01-17T08:03:13Z")
Zenster I think you miss the point here. Some of us are wondering how come you get to determine who is loved and admired and therefore is worthy of being ‘spotlighted’? Negotiations? Pass me a bucket and quick… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/62 "2001-01-17T08:10:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ayesha \* > Ahhh, yes, the very first thread I posted to on the SDMB. And my naming thread too. Thank you for letting me relive that moment Krispy. Were you posting under “Lioness”? How was this your naming thread? ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/63 "2001-01-17T08:26:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Ryan \* > \*\* > Were you posting under “Lioness”? How was this your naming thread? \*\* Yes, that was the thread where Ayesha changed her username from Lioness to the one she has now. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/64 "2001-01-17T08:27:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Byzantine \* > \*\* > So, baby, can I squeeze your lemons? 😉 > \*\* **Byz** , you WENCH! That one stunned me into a 4-beat silence before totally cracking up. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/65 "2001-01-17T08:47:24Z")
I so live for that four beat silence… that’s the time I can grab everyone’s lemons and give them the big old SQUEEZE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Ayesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Ayesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ayesha)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/66 "2001-01-17T09:21:25Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by The Ryan \* \*\* > [@](#): > > Were you posting under “Lioness”? How was this your naming thread? \*\* Yes I started out here as Lioness, and if you read a bit you will see that Uke Ike (TY Ike)said something about _Hail Ayesha_ in a post in that thread. I liked that, so when I couldn’t post as Lioness one day for some reason I changed my name to Ayesha. And yes, I told a mod at the time. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/67 "2001-01-17T15:05:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > I’m currently negotiating with someone who is loved and admired here to start a thread that will showcase her talents. **Nachos** , you do not have to drop by (although I wish you would), just know that I have no intention of wasting this board’s time with another “My Car Won’t Start” thread. See, **Zenster** , first it was just “advertising” “your” threads in your sig. “Visit my recipe thread!” “Bay Area Dopefest & Pizza Party.” Then it was popping into other threads (any time cooking is mentioned) and saying “I’m sure I can help you. Please visit my recipe thread!” Now you are doing advance publicity? Good god, **Zenster** , if people are interested, they WILL stop by. No one is asking you to justify your existence here or prove your relationship with “loved and admired posters.” What are you negotiating? Movie rights? Settle down, my good man, settle DOWN! ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/68 "2001-01-17T15:54:23Z")
Look what is STILL on the front page of MPSIMS. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=50236](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=50236) Look, you have each other’s email addresses. You have each other’s PHONE NUMBERS. If you need to “hijack the board”, why not purchase banner space right at the top? That way EVERYONE can see it, every time they log in. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/69 "2001-01-17T17:52:08Z")
Heya **kells**! 😉 > [@](#): > > I would try and come up with an interesting thread, but I am dry as a bone - I got nothing. Even if I > did, it would disappear in a few minutes with new threads. This one didn’t… 😃 I, too, have lost much interest in the board, especially MPSIMS, because of all the garbage. It is such an immense dilemma, though, isn’t it? What do we do? As others have mentioned before, the problem is not that there are newbies; the problem is the sheer _number_ of people posting to the board. I can’t bitch too much, because I am an MPSIMS ho, although I always enjoy reading GQ (the most important forum, IMHO), and occasionally post there. A lot of the things people have mentioned are things that were amusing “back in the day” (Flirtation threads, PCPs, exceptionally pointless threads, etc.), when we could all keep track of each other and the number of posts wasn’t so overwhelming, so it sucks to bash those threads, but things just don’t work like that anymore. There are just too many people to follow. I think it’s a big reason for the board breaking up into different parties, as well. It is impossible to keep up with every single poster on the board. The grammar and spelling level on the board is atrocious. (Please, Gaudere, don’t smite me! _What_ run-on sentences?;)) Again, as has been mentioned before, how are we supposed to fight ignorance, or even effectively _communicate_, if we can’t write properly? I would hate to exclude people who have spelling or grammar problems, since they are probably the ones who need this place the most, but in this day of spell checkers they could at least have the courtesy to review their posts to make them more legible and comprehensible to the rest of us. Re: The Dope fest Threads. I can’t say it any better than **London\_Calling**. You were right on with that one, dude. I think the Dope fests are one of the most important things about this board, because they bring people together IRL. There is no way to include everyone, especially new people, without advertising these on the board. Plus, as everyone knows, it’s hard to meet people of this caliber offline, and I’ve made so many great friends from this board because of the Dope fests. One important thing that has been overlooked, that is part of the importance of this board, is people like me, who didn’t know Cecil from my ass (shudder) before I joined the board. A good friend invited me here, and it was love at first sight. I consumed the archives in no time and have faithfully read the column online ever since. So, I don’t think anyone should bash people who come to the board not knowing Cecil, especially if they become enlightened _through_ the board. What’s the solution? Well, we definitely must stop posting to post. We must have restraint. We must be patient with new people, yet let them know how things have to be for the board to run smoothly. Perhaps an addendum to the board rules requesting no PCPs? There’s nothing wrong with flirtation. Hell, I met my future wife on the board with the help of a _lot_ of flirtation. 😉 _But_, it must be kept reasonable and best done by including it in with a worthwhile post that contributes to the specific thread, or via chat, IMs and e-mail. One pet peeve of mine has always been the enormous sigs, no matter what they were for. They just disrupt the continuity of the conversation. Posting your sig more than once in a thread is intolerable, unless it is specifically relevant to the post you are making. I hope we can make this board work. It has been a big part of my life for over a year now. Post _ethically_! 😃 -Demo ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/70 "2001-01-17T18:26:07Z")
Look people, I think I have the solution to the problem: One God-Damned forum wide daisy chain. I’m talking mother Hands Across America fucking proportions here. All our aggressions, all our repressions, all our love and hate and embarasement taken out with 6,000 simultaneous money shots. But this in itself isn’t enough. No! No! What we need is a way to deal with both the firtation on the board and the ignorance that is still being spread. So, I propose a rule during this mass orgy: you give a compliment to the person on the left and you fight ignorance with the person on your right. “oh! oh! oh! Baby, your melons are so ripe I wanna squeeze them.” “Thanks, darling. Hey, did you know that the rule of thumb is not a measurement for the size of a stick used to beat your wife?” “I didn’t know that, thanks. Hey, can you move your leg a little forward? Oh yeah, right there.” Lemmie know when you want to schedule it. ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/71 "2001-01-17T19:33:25Z")
Wow. I am really suprised at what this evolved into. My real beef was with the quality of crap we, as a community are producing. Everyone raises valid points and I am glad we can clear the air and discuss them without this turning into a nasty bloodbath. I think it shows how serious the problems are. There is increasing talk of turning off the post counters - I couldnt agree more. Demo mentioned sigs: talk about a waste of space! Posting to the same thread and adding your sig every time…??? WHY? We read it the first few times, or we skipped it - enough already. And I remember when sigs were one smart ass line, or a clever quote… not an advertising billboard with everything ever said about you on the board, and links to every damn thread you started. Its clutter, pure and simple. These mega-sigs with bolding and italics and caps (all of them in one sig) really ruin the read-ability of a decent thread. I beg you: keep them clean, keep them brief, or skip them altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/72 "2001-01-17T20:02:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Demo mentioned sigs: talk about a waste of space! Posting to the same thread and adding your sig every time…??? WHY? Guilty! I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so annoying. Tell me if you like this better; I love my Wally sig, and I love of Lux sig, so I really hate to cut either off. ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/73 "2001-01-18T07:55:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kellibelli \* > \*\*Demo mentioned sigs: talk about a waste of space! Posting to the same thread and adding your sig every time…??? WHY? > > We read it the first few times, or we skipped it - enough already. And I remember when sigs were one smart ass line, or a clever quote… not an advertising billboard with everything ever said about you on the board, and links to every damn thread you started. > > Its clutter, pure and simple. These mega-sigs with bolding and italics and caps (all of them in one sig) really ruin the read-ability of a decent thread. I beg you: keep them clean, keep them brief, or skip them altogether. > > \*\* [The exact same thing you said 15 months ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=4702), thus proving your own point that we’re running out of things to say. ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/74 "2001-01-18T11:53:48Z")
Its only gotten worse man… ---
**Author:** ![Krispy\_Original](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ec9cab/32.png) [@Krispy\_Original](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krispy_Original)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/75 "2001-01-18T12:26:51Z")
Hi kelli! ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/76 "2001-01-18T22:39:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by magdalene \* > \*\ ***DRY** and **Medea’s Child** , we get that you are fond of one another. Please, please, please, start more threads so we can read more about your undying affections. I want more bad poetry, more Shakespeare references, more dragging each other’s names into every thread. Please continue to devote your sigs to one another and DRY’s bizarre little harem. We never get tired of reading about Diane’s erotic dream from 6 months ago! \*\* Let’s address some of these issues: Re **dragging friends into threads, or responding to threads that a friend posts to** : Sure, I do this. Sometimes I hijack the thread in question, sometimes not. In this respect, I’m a firm believer in what Hamadryad posted a while back, something to the effect of flirtations or hijacks being less objectionable if the poster makes an effort to respond to the OP. I believe Evilbeth is more or less saying the same thing: "But please, instead of starting a thread that says, “Look at how many times I have clicked “Submit Reply!”, start one that says, “My left nut itches, does anyone else’s? I’m craving a peanut butter sandwich, isn’t that weird? My dog has worms–let me tell you a funny story about that! And, by the way, this will be my 68th post! Anyway, about my dog…” It will kill several birds with one stone!” And actually, I try to do this. I make an effort to interact with whoever I wish to AND respond to the OP. “Killing two birds with one stone”, as it were. I reference the following threads as examples: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=55730](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=55730) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54974) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32671](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32671) Now I’m sure that someone can find instances where I DIDN’T do this. Honestly? I apologize for that, and for my part, I’ll try to do a better job of not letting that happen. I ALWAYS intend to respond to the OP. Re **Starting threads about my friends** : I believe I’ve started something like a total of FIVE threads in the SEVEN months I’ve been here. (I may be off by one or two, anyone and everyone is welcome to check.) And offhand, I can think of exactly ONE thread since July (A JDT thread). There are people here who start five threads a _week_. Medea’s Child has started something like two or three threads with my name in the title, not all about me per se (one was basically asking dopers to guess her middle name). I hardly think either of us are “cluttering the boards with multiple threads”. As to the phone call thread you reference. Yes, it’s chatty, and probably of limited interest to all but a few. It actually reminds me of THIS thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38940](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38940) Which was similarly chatty and mundane and not really dedicated to “fighting ignorance”. As a matter of fact, many of the same people posted in that thread. _Magdalene herself_ posted in that thread. I see nothing inherently wrong with either thread. Or for that matter, other threads that are interesting to only a handful of posters. I simply skip them if they aren’t interesting to me. How difficult is this? re **sigs** : I can understand someone objecting to a sig that’s offensive or insulting. Other than that, I politely submit that sig content is, frankly, no one else’s business (except an admin or mod, presuming it’s too long, judged to be in bad taste, etc). I’ll honestly concede that maybe there’s a point that my reference to Diane’s post a while back is a bit stale. I’ve removed it. As to the rest of my sig, and the “harem” comment? For the record, I’ve never met, in person, ANY of these individuals. Only one of them knows what _I_ look like. The most “incriminating” thing I’ve done with any of them is exchange Christmas gifts. To the extent I am aware, said exchanges have been well received. No admin, mod, or FBI agent has contacted me about being a potential stalker, at any rate. They are simply my friends, and my “motive” for mentioning them is, I imagine, much like many old time poster’s motives for mentioning WallyM7: to praise someone who made/makes the boards more enjoyable to the poster in question. (And please: this is NOT a criticism of Wally or anyone with a Wally sig.) I certainly don’t apologize for complimenting any of the friends I’ve somehow managed to make here. If anyone insists on reading into my present sig and being offended/put off, etc, I suppose that says something about me. But it says far more about the other individual in question. There’s been a lot of talk of “quality of posts”. That’s obviously very subjective. For what it’s worth, I come to the message boards to have a good time. I don’t post to piss people off. Or piss myself off. As a matter of fact, I’d be willing to bet that maybe two dozen of my posts have been “ill tempered”. That’s 1% of my posts. I don’t claim the rest have been works of art, but I think it’s a reasonable statement that the other 99% have been generally good natured, friendly, and, where applicable, supportive. I’ve tried, where possible, to be kind, respectful and TOLERANT of others. (There are things that posters do that I don’t like, too, but I don’t complain about them because they don’t make ME feel any better and they certainly wouldn’t make the intended target of my complaints feel any better). I’ve tried to post to “feel good” threads and “sympathy” threads. I’ve posted to post parties even though I don’t particularly like them (particularly 100 post ones). Why? Because (hopefully) it makes other people feel appreciated. Maybe a solution would be to somehow limit the number of posts per poster per day. That would force us to make choices about what topics are really important to each of us. Should the technology allow for this, I’d support such a restriction, absolutely. And should such a limitation be made, I personally would not choose to “waste” any posts complaining about what other posters do. I’d concentrate on the positive, what I ENJOY. To the extent that any of you enjoy complaining about the board, things posters do, or other posters, well, I suppose that’s what the Pit is for. I honestly hope the posters to this thread enjoy so doing. I honestly hope that each and every one of you on this board enjoys their time here. Well over 90% of the interactions I’ve been involved in here, I’d classify as positive. Nothing I said here should be interpreted as a flame, personal criticism, or attack on anyone. I apologize if that’s bad form for the Pit, but it’s simply not my style and not at all reflective of the poster, or real life person, that I aspire to be. And I don’t intend to get involved in a protracted debate or argument, so I rather doubt I’ll be returning to this thread. However, if there’s anything CONSTRUCTIVE that anyone would like to respond to, my e-mail address is below. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2001, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/77 "2001-01-18T22:58:56Z")
> [@](#): > > No admin, mod, or FBI agent has contacted me about being > a potential stalker, at any rate. Are you telling me that guy I sent to break your legs never showed up? For shame!!! 😉 ---
**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:** [January 18, 2001, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/78 "2001-01-18T23:20:11Z")
You know, I got the link to the Straight Dope from Snopes, and started checking in on Cecil’s columns every so often. They’re funny, interesting, and I think I’ve read them so many times, they’re great. THEN, after awhile, I decided to check out the message board. I’d say that I post fifty fifty-I LIKE serious, deep debates. I adore it, but there’s not alot of it-at least not always topics I like. So I post to some of the silly, stupid stuff because it’s fun. Personally, I think it’s kind of nasty to say, “Oh, these people have been here longer, these new people don’t remember so and so, and oh, the good people…” if that isn’t fucking cliquish, I don’t know WHAT is. I mean, so what? Does anyone have any kinds of debates they’d like to go into? I know there are tons of things I’m interested in. Unfortunately, they don’t always fly. I guess I’m neutral on this one. But I do think it’s pretty shitty to put people down just for being new. Holy fuck, I get enough of THAT at SAAN. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/79 "2001-01-19T01:08:18Z")
Guinastasia, please make your sig longer. No, I mean it. Really. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278/80 "2001-01-19T01:49:47Z")
DRY, decent answer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-run-out-of-stuff-to-talk-about/50278.md?page=5)