IS IT JUST ME?

Is anyone willing to step up and fill the void left by the posters we all miss?

How about if we all start a couple light-hearted, jovial threads and make a pact to participate in each other's threads.

I'm not sure it works that way, Butrfly. It's like telling people to suddenly become charismatic and originally funny. Most attempts would be fake or strained at best. Gus, Kicky and Lord Ellpus had true comic genius, with a touch of goofy vulgarity in Gus and Kicky's case. Some people here have the ability to shoot back with genuine humor and clever repertoire at times, but to create and sustain a thread with comic leadership takes natural born talent.

this is why there were no mimes in the old west...

you can't see it. but right now I'm miming my ass off

Better you learn to dance, hopefully with the foot off the ground before the bullet hits.

I've been thinking about this comment ...



While I am not advocating a return to such strict moderation of the site, I can't help but notice that some use the the "new freedoms" more constructively, or more positively, than a handful of others.
And I'm coming to the conclusion that it is the small handful who have exploited these new-ish freedoms for their own ends, who have acted as a deterrent to the participation of quite a few of the more thoughtful posters ... & dare I say it: posters with more integrity in their dealings with others.

I mean, who wants to argue with online thugs & bullies ....or trolls?
Who wants to be abused, on very personal grounds, for merely stating their point of view?
Who cares to take the time to post in-depth, thoughtful responses when they'll just be brushed of by some crass, dismissive response?
And end up fruitlessly arguing with some one's nincompoop agenda.... or worse, defending their own integrity?

Anyway, that's what I suspect may be the real cause of the loss of some of the posters I miss most here.
And that's certainly what has put me off participating in quite a few threads here, myself.

It's interesting, over the past few months, observing the re-emergence of threads from way back.
I've found myself reading some of these threads from start to finish ... & sometimes marveling at the thoughtfulness of some of these old posts, the time & the effort the posters actually put in to convey their perspectives .... without being thumbed up or down in response to their contributions.
PLUS how many different A2Kers participated in those discussions!
So much more interesting to read, to participate in ... a much more satisfying experience all round.

Not sure if it is the lack of moderation, or just the normal comings and goings of social groups, though, which explains losing so many great people. Also, I suspect if we put more effort in, we'd find lots of new great people posting away.

I don't seem to have any energy any more for doing that here.

Not sure if that means anything more than that it's no longer as rewarding, which might as easily be about me as anything else.

I certainly now view political threads as pretty much a ho hum and no go area, as I did on Abuzz, where I used to learn a lot from them. There might still be stuff to be learned, though, if I bothered to look.

I certainly don't seem to have any fun threads in me any more, which I used to love starting on Abuzz.

I wasn't arguing that it was a lack of moderation, Deb.
I said it is certain types of posters who have taken advantage of the situation, for their own purposes .... while others haven't.
(in my opinion)to the detriment of the quality of political & other discussions here. .... say nothing of the level of participation on "contentious" threads.
That is the type of small, but very off-putting anti-social influence we are currently living with on these types of threads.

I used to love starting threads here, too. I've started heaps of them in the past. And participating in political discussions, as well.
I hear you.

hey... i'm just cracking wise... not huntin' with dick cheney

Words cannot express my miming ability.

On a positive note, I've found that I've enjoyed the Caption the Cartoon thread as there's some clever folk that have added some creativity there. If you haven't gone there, check it out.

Yeah, what ever happened to Kickycan?

I'm pulling a rope... or something.

you start doing that box thing, and somebody will surely make you do the pistol dance...

last I knew, kicky was having to move out of his apartment. and having a pretty tough time.

maybe he will come back when things level out some...

Well, obviously, i think it's a big part of the change, which is why i posted that. Maybe some of the fun people have left precisely becasue of it. I know another member here was harrassing Lord Ellpus to the point that it just wasn't worth the candle to him. Maybe many of the "fun people" who have been mentioned felt the same way.

Sounds as though you hear me more clearly than I can speak myself!

or they just grew out of it?

Possibly. At another web site, one of the founders commented that on average, in his experience, the "participation life" of a member was two years.

yep....we're BEYOND geriatric!