Gala- The rating system was a mistake on the part of Abuzz, big time. I don't think that when they designed the rating system they ever anticipated the havoc that it could cause! We don't have it here, and WE DON'T NEED IT!
The fact that Abuzz rarely stayed up for more than 14 days straight may have been a factor too.
Yes, the nasties were a big problem, but from my perspective the technical difficulties were at least as problematic. I couldn't get into abuzz for months. I sent notes, desperate messages, pleas--never received a response. When I finally got back in, the site kept going down.
The last few times I went to abuzz, I recall people just accepting the fact that the site would be down on the weekend.
I loved that place when I first discovered it. It's a shame. I'm glad we have a new place.
No control on fraudulent imposters, rudeness, unnecessary personal attacks, expletives, and juvenile retorts. I'm probably guilty of some of them too, but in a 'moderate' way.
c.i.
In no particular order,
* Frequent unannounced outages
* The lack of any oversight
* The plethora of "imposters", "doppelgangers" etc.
* The rating system, which helped to infuse the sense of rancor and enmity that permeated the discussions.
I would put to you, though, that... "it ain't dead, it's merely pining."
I'm one of those who watched with growing dismay and increasing frustration as the "Flavor" of Abuzz changed and the site breakdowns became a regular occurrence. I think Abuzz became something very different from what the NYT originally intended or hoped, and as such became sort of the embarrassing ward, ignored and left to fend for itself. A2K on the otherhand was created to take advantage of the things which were once the best of Abuzz and to prevent the things which became the worst of Abuzz. Even now I visit and participate in Abuzz, though there are many Abuzzards with whom I simply will not interact. I'm active on lots of UseNet boards as well, and compared to many of those, Abuzz is more a tea-party than a bar-room brawl. An infinite number of monkies with keyboards may not spontaneously produce great literature, to paraphrase the old addage, but they invariably find their way to The Internet. To participate in A2K, a keyboardist must exhibit rather more social development than the mere ability to comlete a log-in form. To such extent, I suppose that is "Elitist", but I don't see that as necessarily a bad thing.
timber.
Yes, the technical difficulties were what killed it for me - the regular Sunday outages, the lost postings which meant you couldn't properly follow threads of interest & the muck ups with email updates .... In the end I just gave up ... with considerable regret.
I haven't read all the posts here, so I'm sure I'm duplicating what was already said. Regardless, from my own point of view I think there are a number of issues causing the demise of Abuzz, the most prominent being the lack of communications from the Abuzz Administration.
There's no bigger insult than indifference.
It was a regret for me too, but it was not painful. It was almost painful to stick around Abuzz, because of all the abuse going on. c.i.
i hung up on abuzz when there was a question about what song did you feel like at the moment and i got a slew of NOT-Valuable i then realized that just my name provoked that kind of juvenile behavior so i quit.
c.i.
It was painful for me to leave because it was so wonderful in the early days. I kept waiting for NYTimes to DO SOMETHING about the nastiness, the technical glitches, the silly or vicious imposters ... But it was clear that they didn't care at all. That reduced their standing in my eyes ... Allowing all that to happen.
I also felt very sad & disappointed for those of you who tried so hard to bring some sanity to the mess ... Trying so hard with the online newsletter, taking on the role of de facto moderators, trying to remain so positive ... And I really felt for the staff that lost their jobs there. It could have been fantastic if NYTimes cared. Hey, it WAS fantastic before the funding/staff rationalizations. What a lost opportunity!
Truth be told, I suppose the only "pain" I experienced was leaving so many good friends at Abuzz. I know what you mean about the "good ole days." I gave it my best shot to report to the Abuzz staff the people that didn't live up to their agreement as members, but the abuse continued to increase. At that point, I just didn't enjoy myself anymore, and the frustrations made the effort not worth the battle. Besides, I now have a new love called A2K. c.i.
For me the negatives of ABUZZ were not so much the rating system and its consequences, as they were the ranting of zealots of every stripe in their multiple posts and threads, and the increasingly offensive (not to mention unimaginative and mindless) invective that gradually took over most sections. Along with that the language (and the ideas expressed) became increasingly offensive and often quite stupid.
On the other hand, Abuzz had a liveliness and a somewhat competitive spirit that I found engaging. A2K may need a bit of that. We shouldn't overdo the thought police bit.
george, WELCOME to A2K. There are some forums, especially in Politics and Philosophy, that has the "liveliness and somewhat competitive sprirt" of Abuzz. It just lacks the mindless envictives and unnecessary sexual implications to speak one's mind. c.i.
No moderators, imposters, overrun by politics.
Abuzz is alive and well, but the topics are becoming more insipid and dull.
Cicerone, Thanks, I'll expect the best.
Williamhenry, Perhaps that's because many of the folks with something to say are here.
georgeob1 wrote:On the other hand, Abuzz had a liveliness and a somewhat competitive spirit that I found engaging. A2K may need a bit of that. We shouldn't overdo the thought police bit.
ditto to that georgeob1. I will say that Abuzz still has a liveliness in some threads that isn't here yet. There are a few posters at the digression and the rainforest threads who have chosen to remain with Abuzz, and as long as they are there I will have to stay there as well, as their writing is unbeatable.
c.i.
