Oh, it does. It does indeed.
Yes, Cnote. We do.
I expect the full wrath. I welcome it, if only that many more may come to understand just exactly what it is an example OF.
What’s the bitch?
That linked thread’s clone was already started two or three times in here. Just how badly do we need to beat this dead horse?
Lib, just… go… away.
You’re using this board to hurt yourself. I don’t know why, I don’t know what your problems are outside of here that drive you to do these things. You blow out big and public and then beg forgiveness and then go away and then you come back and do it again.
You’re valuable here but you’re also a basketcase and doing this to yourself OVER and OVER and OVER is not good for you.
And there are no cliques. There are no cliques. The cliques are in your head because you want to pandered to. Newbies join everyday without kissing ass.
I have never, ever, turned up in a popularity thread. I don’t care. Why does anyone care?
About the thread you linked. It does belong in the Pit. It’s too bad there’s no place for non-Pit discussion of the Boards, but you know why there isn’t? Because in any discussion someone eventually starts screaming about how all the mods are a bunch of fucking fucks and there’s all these cliques and now you’re going to silence me, blah blah censorship blah blah assholes.
It’s a shame, but that’s how things turned out, just like we used to have HTML but it got disabled because idiots abused it.
Seriously, Lib, its depressing watching you self-destruct over and over. I think you need to permanently step away from the SDMB and stop damaging yourself.
–John
Really, Jack? Got a link? I see a coupla threads about Sultan, but I don’t see any about what Arturo was talking about. I don’t see any threads by someone who once admired Straight Dope, and who, in as rational and civil a tone as ever was mustered on these boards, has practically begged us to stop and look at ourselves. Our board is sick. It has a bug. An insidious one. One that may well destroy it. I don’t mean one that might take it offline, but one that might well gut out its heart. If it hasn’t already.
There’s no bitch. Too numb to bitch. I swear, it’s just like Ionesco’s Rhinoceros.
John,
Nope. I’m not going. Not voluntarily, at least. There are one or two who understand this. I very much appreciate your concern, but I assure you that I’m fine.
No, Lib, you’re not fine. You’ve done this so many times its pathetic. And the fact that your episodes are getting closer together is depressing.
Let me put this as simply as I can… You’re wrong. Things are about the same as they ever were, except the board is bigger. More people get banned, because there are more people being jerks, because jerks are a percentage of the total and the total is going up.
And–
You know what, fuck this. You’re in Lib the Righteous Crusader! mode, where you can do no wrong because its for our own good. You did it with your view on government, and you pissed off both liberal and conservatives. And then you blew out, and came back, and were less obnoxious and then people adjusted and you stopped getting attention for it. And you’ve done the same thing in religious threads, because neither the athiests nor proponents of organized religion agree with you.
And then you did it in the Fred Phelps thing, by screaming at people who were trying to help people. And now you’re trying to wedge yourself as midway between normal posters and the people who only post here because they hate it and don’t want us to forget.
You like the negative attention. Only you don’t want to see yourself as doing it on purpose, so you convince yourself that you are right and they are wrong so its ok for you to lose any restraint.
And yes, you have lost restraint. You aren’t saying ‘fuck’ a lot but you’re sounding very paranoid.
And you aren’t going to listen to any of this, because you know you’re right!!! and we’re just poor deluded sheep who need to be shown the light.
So, fine, Lib. Blow up again. Beg apologies again. Go through your whole sick cycle over and over as long as you like. But everytime you do you lose friends here.
Peace and God go with you.
–John
Should have been
Fine, perhaps Arturo wasn’t specifically complaining about Sultan’s banning, but he was using it to prop up a tired old argument, which for some reason you’ve decided to support.
“Wah, I don’t like this board. I’ve got 24 posts and I can already see it sucks.”
I just don’t get it. I’ve been here for over a year. I post like a madman. Sometimes I contribute sometimes I’m just a presence. But after all is said and done there is one thing I know for sure – This is just a freakin’ message board.
A virus? A ruined community? Can we be just a little more melodramatic? A couple of disgruntled posters does not equal a cultural revolution.
I’ve always said, you get out of this board what you put into it. Me? I put in a little humor, when I can. I speak my mind when it seems warranted. And I learn a lot.
If all you’re going to do is complain about how it sucks and how it has been ruined, then you’re just setting your plate. If you declare it to be sucky, then what would you propose we do to make it unsucky? Change everything to suit you? I don’t think so. This isn’t The Straight Libertarian Message Board, or The Straight Arturo Message Board, or even The Straight Batty Message Board for that matter.
You need to get over yourself. You are not the meter with which we guage the worth of this message board. I’ve said it to others and meant it – if you don’t like it here, hit the friggin’ road. I know that’s what I’ll do, if I ever start to feel that way.
I think you may have missed Lynn’s point. The thread is an example of why those sort of discussions can’t take place in ATMB, but must take place here. Now, I’ve no problem seeing that sensible discussions about board policy are hard to have here, nor with seeing that that is unfortunate. But that’s how it is with a large board. And I don’t think it is any different to how it was when I arrived. If anything it’s more civil and less cliqueish. And I’m about as popular as Yue Han. 
People step over the line and are stomped on past any useful point. Frequently they are those who don’t know where the line is or are crying out for help and attention. Small boards can be cozy and can cosset difficult members. This board is huge. There are advantages to both sizes and disadvantages. Pit pile-ons are a disadvantage, but I don’t think there’s much you can do about them except post snide remarks to “me too” posts.
If I may say, you are deeply concerned with how things should be. If you were more concerned with choosing amongst the various less-than-great alternatives before us, you’d be more effective and less prone to getting exercised about things that - sadly or not - are irrelevant.
Lib, I’ve read quite a few of your posts here. You strike me as an intelligent man with opinions on a wide variety of topics. Some of them are even right.
But your “voice of reason” shtick is becoming tiresome.
You weren’t elected to that position. You’re self-appointed. And if you were elected, I’d still challenge you because I wouldn’t have voted for you in the first place.
Stop already. Maybe this board doesn’t need fixing. Maybe it suits most of us just fine.
Maybe you should make a list, like Fenris did, and go on to other things.
Or maybe you should start your own board and give us the link, so that we can marvel at the perfection of your creation.
Thanks, Hawth. You’re right if that was Lynn’s point. I did miss it. Whether she missed Arturo’s, only she knows. I have no gripe with Lynn. She’s never been rude or reprehensible toward me. But this board isn’t huge. It’s medium size. I post at Flashkit, which has, as of this writing, 244,736 members. That’s pretty big.
At any rate, as Cnote pointed out, and at least one other person noticed, the irony was positively rich. When I used to work with the director of accounting for a large industrial distributor, he once told me, “It’s not enough just to be honest and above-board. You must at all times maintain the appearance of being honest and above-board.” The thread might not have been closed propoganda-minister style, but the appearance was nothing that I’d be proud of.
As to ganging up, I don’t care. I’m immune to it. I know the ones who will. It’s all just more of what Arturo was talking about. In good historic fashion, it appears that we are murdering our prophets.
This is just…how do I say…stupid!
There is something wrong with people who want to make this place more than it is. It’s an Internet message board for people to exchange a few ideas, show off the old intelect a bit, and generally waste a little time out of the day.
Yammering on about how things are supposed to be is really out of the reality zone, folks. This is not real life. It’s an amusement, a nice break from the day. Sure, there are people here I like immensely, and even some I’ve met IRL, but to invest emotionally here is really counter-productive.
You’re trying to make this place something it’s not. For one thing, the SDMB is no substitute for parents, friends, children, and lovers. The people you interact with daily, the ones you spend years with, THOSE are the people you need to invest in, not words on a phosphor screen.
Oh, sure, it’s possible for posters to meet IRL and carry on a relationship, but the board is only the meeting place, not the relationship itself. That has to be worked out in meatspace.
People who find that the SDMB is their main interaction with the human race need to get up from the keyboard before their legs atrophy and get out into the real world, make friends, get laid. That’s the only way to get genuine emotional fulfillment
I’ve been here for 18 months, I have almost 2500 posts. If that does qualify me for Clique-Status, I don’t know what does. And yet…and yet…I am not part of any clique. Somehow, this does not hurt my feelings because there are no cliques!. Honestly people.
I also haven’t seen any major changes in the “community”. However, I do get extremely annoyed when I’m just lurking around, seeing what’s going on, and someone gets banned and all of a sudden we have a “BRING BACK THE JERK!” crusade squad. I do get annoyed when someone says, “If I had this conversation with real people…”. I do get annoyed when people criticize the mods for banning people because the mods don’t ban people! I do get annoyed when posters instead of just saying to themselves “I don’t like this community, I’m going to find another one” they have to post a huge “pity me…oh, BTW, this is all the reasons I hate you” thread.
I took a break from the SD, partially because I was forced to (No computer) partially because I wanted to (I could have bought a computer). I was gone for 2 months. Nobody noticed or cared, but it allowed me to get some perspective, and realize that is one pretty cool place. But, in case I ever get tired of it again I have found six other equally cool places to call “home”.
So, what exactly should we change? What should this OL community become? How do you want us to act? I think we are doing just fine as we are.
Wrote Libertarian:
.
I don’t know whether this is melodramatic or absurd. I’ll play it save and call it both.
You’re no prophet, Lib.
But I’m starting to think you have delusions of grandeur.
Take a break. Get some fresh air.
I wasn’t refering to myself as the prophet, oh wise one. But the prophet has now spoken for himself. I’m done with this. It won’t change. It can’t. We’re too busy being ignorant.
[SouthPark]
What do you think this is? Children’s play hour where we sit around lick Barney the dinosaur’s pussy all day?
Dude…we don’t have watches
[/SouthPark]
I think what Slip is saying Lib, is what I say to every Russell Crowe character:
Ease up.
There are cliques kinda. Not some Kabal that meets in secret chat rooms, but a group of posters that everybody likes. Some are like Fenris and Scylla, who are just cool funny guys. Others are kinda like Satan, where they push their popularity so they can get away with stuff.
Read a thread. If there are posters that you immediately associate with the Dope or you even recognize their names, they are popular. Chances are you haven’t read my stuff because I am not funny or controversial enough to get noticed. But you know what? I don’t care. High school has enough cliques for me. Just ignore them, they aren’t plotting against you.
IT’S A FUCKING INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD.
Who the hell cares if there are cliques or not? Jesus, go outside and play.
Wrath?
Er…okay.
Compare this quote…
…with this one from right in this one…
The latter is alleged to be a description of the former. There’s irony to be found in various places.
Another quote comparison that I think should be engaged in:
compared to one that, if you don’t remember, Lib, you should. You should probably read the thread it came from roundabouts daily.
Wrath? Murdered prophets? A sickness in the heart?
Compare. Reread the last link. Repeatedly.
Wrath would be easier. I could have a better ending then instead of just shaking my head.
Hey, PLG, where, huh, where, huh, huh, huh? Tell me! [/bratmode]
This is my first webboard <blush> and I think it’s pretty cool, too. I’ve visited a couple of other boards and been, shall we say, less than impressed.* But if there are other places as cool as this, I’d like to check 'em out. Just in case I need a ‘home away from home’ on occasion, y’know?
Thanks!
*Geez, I wish y’all woulda told me I was supposed to register on those boards just so I could tell them I didn’t like them and was leaving! This netiquette is so confusing. I just slipped quietly away without saying anything at all! Damn you people for not informing me! Damn you, I say!
Huh? Could someone clue me in? WHAT is Lib upset about?