Originally posted by DigiAsian chick who did my hair today gave me them digits.
If anyone else wants to believe that this thread, or the GDF in general, is a throwaway excuse to wantonly ignore the PG-13 limits of this website, I'll be happy to continue the warnings and bans that have come out of this thread today. Obviously this thread is more relaxed in terms of content than some, but there are still clear lines in the rules that veteran posters should know not to cross.Thanks.
I'd like to say a few words before I go.
When I joined KMC first, in October 2007, it was just so I could discuss Star Wars with other like-minded people. And for a while, I did just that. But then I discovered the crowning jewel of this online community: The Off-Topic Forum. And sure, the entry into such a close-knit community was a bit difficult, but by God, once I was in, I was hooked.
Sure was entertaining, come to think of it. Having lengthy debates over stupid issues. More gags and forum traditions than I can count. Getting that really weird, creepy feeling that you know someone you've just talked to online. Even indulging in some good old-fashioned Internet pervertedness. All of it, for a long time.
But then I left. I told you all that why I was leaving was "classified", but now I'm telling you the truth. I started to find better things to do on the computer: Facebook, online games, so on. So I left, and I didn't look back for a long time. But slowly, I realized that when you talk to your friends all day, you don't have that safety net of "if you say something too weird, who cares, you don't actually know these people" that an online forum provides.
And so I arrive back, to find what? The forum deserted. One post every hour or so. The millionth post thread closed. Some of my favourite members banned. Tens of others gone without a trace. I have no idea what happened. I really don't. And by the sounds of it, none of you do either.
I'd like to help revitalize KMC, I really would. Truth be told though, I don't think it's possible. Contrary to what you hear on the news every day, the Internet community is not growing exponentially. It's getting smaller, more centralized. Looking for information? Wikipedia. Looking for social interactions? Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and a thousand others. And in this new Internet world, the former stalwart online standby, the discussion forum, the Internet message board, is falling by the wayside.
This forum has become a relic, a shell, a mere vessel of what it once was. I see very little reason to stay, for all I can see that is happening is declining usership, deteriorating post quality, and the slow erosion via bans (many of which, I admit, are probably long overdue for what's gone on in the good ol' OTF) of the most veteran members of our little niche of the Internet.
I will, of course, check back every once in a while to see if, by some heaven-sent miracle, this forum becomes what it was in its heyday. I encourage all of you reading this to take a long, hard think about the future of this message board. I know you all swapped email, MSN, other social networking information with other users back in the day. So I encourage you now. Contact these people. Convince them to come back, and convince them to convince others to come back. And maybe, just maybe, we can have a forum again. A true Off-Topic Forum.
Respectfully signing off for what may be the last time,
Agent White
Ô Mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps! Levons l'ancre!
Ce pays nous ennuie, ô Mort! Appareillons!
Si le ciel et la mer sont noirs comme de l'encre,
Nos coeurs que tu connais sont remplis de rayons!
"I have no idea what happened. I really don't."
But...you just said yourself that you left KMC because you found other things to do. The same thing happened with a ton of other people. There's your answer.
Not to mention a bunch of people ran off after getting butt hurt that they were getting in trouble for bashing and insulting others. Then the friends of those getting in trouble left...because they encouraged the bashing and got pissed off when the consequences were laid down.
Originally posted by Agent White
Peach: Isn't. It. Just.RJ: You tell me if you're up for it.
LanceWindu: Idk, so many people that were on here never seemed to have outside lives that they could leave KMC to go too...plus bashing is an integral part of the Internet experience.
People get lives. It happens. The old regulars left for various reason, the ones I posted and the ones you posted (Facebook, etc.).
Because of the new services, the growth of forums is at a standstill all over the internet. I don't think we're going to get the rush we used to have when new blockbusters come out.
Originally posted by LanceWindu
"I have no idea what happened. I really don't."But...you just said yourself that you left KMC because you found other things to do. The same thing happened with a ton of other people. There's your answer.
Not to mention a bunch of people ran off after getting butt hurt that they were getting in trouble for bashing and insulting others. Then the friends of those getting in trouble left...because they encouraged the bashing and got pissed off when the consequences were laid down.
Pretty much all of this.
Originally posted by Agent White
Peach: Isn't. It. Just.RJ: You tell me if you're up for it.
LanceWindu: Idk, so many people that were on here never seemed to have outside lives that they could leave KMC to go too...plus bashing is an integral part of the Internet experience.
It annoys me when people make a big deal out of leaving...and then not even do so. I don't even have a clue who you are.
And a lot of people here have lives outside of KMC, or get bored with it, or move on. At this point I stick around because I'm a global mod, and because of the RPs. The people I care to keep in touch with I do so outside of the forums. And despite the fact that I am on here frequently, I certainly have an outside life - I go to school full-time, I work two jobs, and I have a ton of other things taking up my time (including wedding pondering - eep!). A lot of people are the same way. Different priorities and all that.
And no, bashing is not an 'integral part of the internet experience'. That's just ridiculous.
Originally posted by Peach
Pretty much all of this.It annoys me when people make a big deal out of leaving...and then not even do so. I don't even have a clue who you are.
And a lot of people here have lives outside of KMC, or get bored with it, or move on. At this point I stick around because I'm a global mod, and because of the RPs. The people I care to keep in touch with I do so outside of the forums. And despite the fact that I am on here frequently, I certainly have an outside life - I go to school full-time, I work two jobs, and I have a ton of other things taking up my time (including wedding pondering - eep!). A lot of people are the same way. Different priorities and all that.
And no, bashing is not an 'integral part of the internet experience'. That's just ridiculous.
I've been in the OTF on and off for about a year now, used to be on pretty much every day before that...either way I'm sticking around until I get bored and fall asleep, and then that's that for Agent White.
I know, it's exactly what happened to me. I found other things to do. Except I came back, albeit briefly.
Oh man, I could dig up so many quotes about the Internet I'd break my keyboard just typing them all. The general consensus, though, is that the point of the Internet is being able to be who you want to be, without being restrained by who you're already known to be, and without restraint from social repercussions of your actions. So, bashing comes down to it. On the Internet, people can bash each other just to take out frustration, and get on with it. They might not even ever come into contact with one another again. Whereas doing that in real life will sour a relationship, possibly forever. So that's my opinion on where bashing comes in.
Originally posted by PeachCan I go to the bathroom?
Pretty much all of this.It annoys me when people make a big deal out of leaving...and then not even do so. I don't even have a clue who you are.
And a lot of people here have lives outside of KMC, or get bored with it, or move on. At this point I stick around because I'm a global mod, and because of the RPs. The people I care to keep in touch with I do so outside of the forums. And despite the fact that I am on here frequently, I certainly have an outside life - I go to school full-time, I work two jobs, and I have a ton of other things taking up my time (including wedding pondering - eep!). A lot of people are the same way. Different priorities and all that.
And no, bashing is not an 'integral part of the internet experience'. That's just ridiculous.