I haven't really noticed huge changes since I came on board, but have noticed a number of little changes to the Cyburbian culture found in the FAC.
Does anyone think there was a 'Golden Age' on this board? I was looking at threads 'round late 2002 - through 2003 (before I came aboard) and thought 'wow, those are some pretty cool/funny topics they had during that time'. Do you think the character of this board has changed? I wonder why?
People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor
Can't say, although I've been here since 2003. Well I used to post a lot more during 2003, but that's because I was on a sabatical yearThen with my undergrad the visits have become less frequent.
I doubt that the "golden age" was during 2003, now we have more regulars than before.
During the early days (say until 2002) the activity was very slim, and you could have days without activity. Now we have activity throughout the week, with an obvious decline on weekends.
Things have changed, but I don't think for worse.
While I certainly agree with the policy, the image-leaching prohibition has changed the tenor of the FAC, in my opinion. You just never knew what was visually around the next corner in those days.
I think some of the personalities back then were just plain hilarious people that don't stop by and post much (if any -- where are you el Feo?) and that has had it's effect as well.
I'm certainly not complaining -- some folks, such as biscuit -- have a way of finding my funny bone on a routine basis.
You, Mr. Maister, sometimes have a way of making me think too hard.
I have seen
old ships sailing
like swans asleep
The character of the FAC has definitely changed.....I won't say for the better or worse....just changed. A lot of us have been with Cyburbia since its inception, long before it evolved into what you see now. I think the FAC probably peaked in 2002-03 because we were really starting get used to the new format. Every topic was new and it really gave us a chance to get to know each other. There are a few users who haven't been around much in the past years, but if they were to pop in now or whenever, I'd still remember them or some aspect of their personality. This isn't necessarily because of their post count, but because of what was discussed on any given day in a particular thread.
I've been tempted many times to resurrect some of the older threads just so that some of the new users can get a feel of how things were done in the past. Not to imply that those threads were any better than some of the more present-day threads, it's just that I think that some of the older topics were, at times, less contrived and polemical.
"A witty woman is a treasure, a witty beauty is a power!"
We had way fewer members back then, and because of that everyone knew where the lines were (not that they didn't get crossed). Now it seems if anything gets a litle weird the posts get reported. We are also trying to build membership by being more serious outside of the FAC. See, growth really is bad!
“As soon as public service ceases to be the chief business of the citizens, and they would rather serve with their money than with their persons, the State is not far from its fall”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I find that there are a lot of folks here who are antagonistic. I'm sure some may think that of me as well. I may start out with a gentle suggestion and it gets blown out of proportion, or even a sarcastic comment gets taken terribly wrong.
I just wish the topics were more instructive (guess the city, tour my town) and less opinion (my city is better than your city).
We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes - Fr Gabriel Richard 1805
Seems to me that it started to spiral downward on 5-31-03.
Bear
Occupy Cyburbia!
For me the golden age included the prudence and the blue haired waitress stories and the spawn of many chetisms and the good natured ribbing of downtown for her university days drinking stories and plannergirl's latex and leather obsession.
The change seemed to have happened around the time a long list of members changed their user names (cardinal, chet, downtown, jeff, h, repoman).
I think the "random thoughts thread" has sucked alot of life out of this place, there have been posts within it that could have easily and readily been their own threads and contributed to the sense of community.
The golden age also included the first haiku and limerick contests and photoshop contests.
haiku - http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showt...ight=photoshop
apa covers - http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showt...ight=photoshop
limericks - http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showt...light=limerick
Too lazy to beat myself up for being to lazy to beat myself up for being too lazy to... well you get the point....
Good grief, some of ya'll have half your post counts just in the limerick thread!Originally posted by donk
Oh, Chetisms.... I think those were from late 2003 and early 2004 though...
donk does have a point about the never ending thread... it has sucked out the life out of the forums, but on the other hand, it keeps most of the ramblings in one easy place to avoid...
Yeah, you know, you start letting Them in and it just goes to hexx...
If indeed there was a golden age, I probably came end at the tail of it. I remember some of the chetism origins and the planner haiku. Based on the photoshop APA covers I'd say that might have been the peak of craziness on here (that was impressive). It does seem that things have gotten a bit more touchy & political on here over the last year or so that has changed the attitude on the forum a little, but that probably reflects the culture outside Cyburbia as well.
Looking back, I'd say the FAC used to be more lighthearted than it is now, but that is likely a result of membership growth and less getting to know each other on a more personal level. When you look back at the older posts, it seemed like a group of friends that got together at the pub down the street after work every day; now it seems more detached.
It's not good or bad--just different.
"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
- Herman Göring at the Nuremburg trials (thoughts on democracy)
Registration information for "Bear Up North"
I think donk makes a great point in saying that the Random Thoughts thread might have been something that changed the character of the place a bit. There's lots of great full-blown threads hidden in there that's buried among the chat room-like talk, which was the original intent of the thread.
donk also mentions the name changes. That's another reason why I'm very reluctant to approve them; they really change the character of the site in some way that's hard to describe. You associate a name with a personality, posting style or pet subject, and then all of a sudden the name changes, and it's as if the poster disappeared and was replaced with a body double. I think a Cyburbian's online persona also changes in some hard-to-describe way when their name changes.
I think in the "good 'ol days," we might not have been afraid to say something for fear of offending someone. Now, we might be a bit more careful. There's always going to be antagonistic posters, but with increased membership, there's going to be more people who will take offense at what a poster might say, even if they didn't mean to ruffle some feathers. It's too bad; I really don't want to see discussion stifled that way.
Take, for instance, "fag." It used to be something of a catchphrase in the FAC, and nobody really got offended, not even the many Cyburbians who are gay. We started to get complaints from new users, who actually said they weren't gay but they found the term offensive. Despite my explaining "Cyburbia culture" to them, that we know it's borderline but long-time gay users had no problem, that the context usually wasn't in a way that was derogatory to gays and lesbians, the complaints continued, and eventually we said "we might not want to say it so much."
The offenderati are just a minor issue here on Cyburbia, but it's not unique to this site. Many other boards seem to reach a stage when they hit a certain size, and suddenly some topics that were once commonplace are taboo. On one message board I belong to, there's the "chubberati" - say anything that might even be remotely considered derogatory to overweight people, even if it's "Some fat bitch cut in front of me in the line at the grocery store this afternoon," and the poster will get flamed. "What difference does it make that she's fat?" "You wouldn't say 'some weight-height proportionate person cut in front of me', would you?" "Are you saying fat people are rude?" There's tens of thousands of people on that site, and people are terrified to say anything that mentions weight, lest they get flamed to a crisp. I really don't want to see the same thing happen here.
I think the quality of the posts here in the FAC are phenomenal; they're quite cerebral compared to 2003. There's still fun posts, but remember - there were fewer posts overall in 2003, and a higher percentage of them were of that offbeat fun nature. I'd say the number of those offbeat posts is about the same today, but with so much more posting now compared to three years ago, they now make up a smaller percentage of FAC posts.
We could be a wee bit less prudish in the FAC, if anything. The line between "SFW" and "NSFW" is hard to define, but we probably could be a bit more open about things.
One very positive change from 2003 - far more Australian and UK posters. Cyburbia used to be something of a "North American Planner's Club" - not by design, but just because ... well,I don't know why. I'm glad to see Cyburbians from across the ponds here, and I'm sure others would agree.
Maybe a weekend-log Cleveland Alefest? I've got extra beds and futons.
How about this: Bring Marrytheresa back for an encore performance!
I joined once and then the site crashed. I rejoined again a second time. Then I got the boot. I was released on a bond and was given a chance to swim free. Since then, I don't know. I've been lacking in my A-game. No time and the fact that I'm heading off into to some unknown direction. I guess after all the shiit, its time I stank. Time to put things in order...................................................Fcuk ya'll............[insert winkie]
A guy once told me, "Do not have any attachments, do not have anything in your life you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner."
Neil McCauley (Robert DeNiro): Heat 1995
Donk and Dan hit it on the head. I'm humbled as the "chetism" creator though
As people's lives change, their posting habits change too. Notice Jeff and Prudence don't play here anymore, and I am not around much either. And let's not even talk about Cardinal
See joining the dark side "destroys" place in more ways than you'd think.Donk and Dan hit it on the head. I'm humbled as the "chetism" creator though
As people's lives change, their posting habits change too. Notice Jeff and Prudence don't play here anymore, and I am not around much either. And let's not even talk about Cardinal
Too lazy to beat myself up for being to lazy to beat myself up for being too lazy to... well you get the point....
tough thing for me, has been the internet policy at my employer. "we are a public body and ALL internet activity, email activity, phone calls, etc are public records and could be requested at any time. The fear is the local rag will request a copy of the net records and go nuts.
Dude, I'm cheesing so hard right now.
Ahhh the good old days-well the Bush budget has cut back on the latex and leather shopping a wee bit and a more high profile job has made things more complicated but the nutty plannergirl is still around.
I do think the unending joke etc threads take away from things, now its all about post counts.
Wonder if that went away how the boards would change
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin
Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO- HOO what a ride!'"
I can only speak for myself but I really don't think there are more than a couple folks here that are trying to pump up their post counts. Seriously.
I know the admin/mods have discussed this very issue in depth. If there's a question as to 'Random Thoughts' thread value on this forum then I say kill it. You can always reintroduce a thread just like it.
Tell you what, what if we were to put it to a vote for the users? I'll start a poll now. The powers that be are under no obligation to to act on the results, but at least you'll know which way the wind is blowing.
People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor
so your proposing a non-binding advisory resolution?
Dude, I'm cheesing so hard right now.
You've clearly been in the planning field too long, son.so your proposing a non-binding advisory resolution?
I find your remark insulting enough that I plan to pull up in your ingress/egress drive tomorrow and utilize my fist to provide the property owner/occupant with one (1) knuckle sandwich.
People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor
Maister, I think he was doing a reference to NationStates there...
Many posters have become nicer and less volatile in their posts.
Yes, another form of bureaucrat-ese!Maister, I think he was doing a reference to NationStates there...
People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor
I'll keep the Cynicism and Sarcasm off the FAC, sorry.
Why not start a Deathmatch? I have never seen one of those.
You get all squeezed up inside/Like the days were carved in stone/You get all wired up inside/And it's bad to be alone
You can go out, you can take a ride/And when you get out on your own/You get all smoothed out inside/And it's good to be alone
-Peart
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