Trance on 4/8/2014 at 12:09
I wrote a long post in response, but then I realized that I have very little presence here and most people would look at it and think, "Who the fuck is this asshole and why does he care so much?".
The gist of it was, no, this place is nowhere near as bad as you claim (though I don't deny it's gotten meaner over the years), yes, it is your fault to a significant degree, and we'll just have to wait and see whether or not TTLG will recover (I think it will).
I honestly don't know why you seemingly liked me. You added me to your Steam friends at one point, and inquired about me when I didn't post for a while. I saw that, and I want you to know that I tried really hard to like you. I thought that maybe if I gave it time I'd see the light that everyone else was seeing you in. I never did.
Make no mistake, you weren't just someone who "was vocal with your opinions and didn't put up with any shit". You were a dick. And you still are. Your character flaws have been pointed out to you on numerous occasions, and you've embraced them instead of working to improve yourself. You actively STARTED shit where it wasn't necessary, you worked to ensure nobody who made a bad post or said something stupid would ever live it down, and you made TTLG exhausting to even browse, let alone post in. I have strong suspicions that several prominent and memorable users have left TTLG behind them because of what you did to the environment here. They may or may not come back with you gone, I don't know. But I think we ought to try.
I have one piece of parting advice for you: learn what an argument is. You've never once had a proper argument with anyone. You've only ever had statements of opinion defended by escalating expressions of anger and florid strings of obscenities. Until you learn how to argue, you are stuck in a holding pattern.
(This may have seemed like a long post, but I assure you, the original version was much longer and more meticulous in detail.)
---
Infrequently as I may post, I still care about TTLG as much as you guys do. I'm content, most of the time, to just read discussions when I don't have anything to contribute to them. The result of this is you all may not know who I am, but I know who you guys are, and for most of you, I appreciate and enjoy your participation here. I'm sure I'm not the only one like this, either.
Maybe, ultimately, dethtoll is proven right and TTLG is doomed to die slowly. I mean, it's a community forum based around a game company that's been defunct for over a decade. It stands to reason, doesn't it? But it's evolved beyond that over time, and become a regular ol' community of just people. A community with a common interest of video games, and therefore a community that can grow. TTLG is still a beautiful thing, and I doubt it's going to die the slow death we fear it will. It still has the power to attract users through their discovery of LGS's work, and the people here are what will make them stay.
faetal on 4/8/2014 at 12:15
Forums live and die by new blood. As the people who signed up ten or more years ago get older, start having families or their priorities move elsewhere, then yeah, the crowd starts to thin. Because we're based around old games with niche cult appeal at best to a young crowd, then the forum is destined to dwindle, leaving just a few people popping back in from time to time to see what's up.
However, having said that, the who's online part of the site tells me this:
15 members and 222 guests
Most users ever online was 1354, 26th Sep 2012 at 12:55.
Whether this is mostly spam bot activity, I'm not sure, but it seems to suggest a fair few lurkers. That, and the thief forums, despite being a hall of mirrors for the depths of the human psyche, remain pretty damned active.
Scots Taffer on 4/8/2014 at 12:55
smell you later
nickie on 4/8/2014 at 13:29
Quote Posted by faetal
However, having said that, the who's online part of the site tells me this:
15 members and 222 guests
Most users ever online was 1354, 26th Sep 2012 at 12:55.Whether this is mostly spam bot activity, I'm not sure, but it seems to suggest a fair few lurkers. That, and the thief forums, despite being a hall of mirrors for the depths of the human psyche, remain pretty damned active.
17 spam bots. There are currently 20 members. In comparison, in the whole of Eidos there are 11 (a lot more guests though). It's not bad for a small but beautifully marked forum. And it's always quieter in the summer.
driver on 4/8/2014 at 13:53
I was gong to write a long(ish) post too, but Trance pretty much nailed it. There's being a bit of a character and adding colour to a forum, and there's being a dick. Getting called on that doesn't mean you're being excluded from the TTLG elite cru, it means people are getting bored because whatever amusement can be had from it was always going to be short lived.
If you're hoping that everyone will ask you to stay, I think you're out of luck. There's only so many times you can say 'Fuck you I'm leaving' before people will just shrug and carry on.
Tony_Tarantula on 4/8/2014 at 14:47
Quote Posted by Renzatic
None of you have to agree with anything anyone says around here. Hell, you don't necessarily even have to be nice with your disagreement, so long as you're actually saying something worthwhile in response. What we're seeing here is nothing more than baiting, bullying, and base harassment. Small though we may be these days, it's still something that shouldn't be tolerated.
Well, that's the thing....most people(anywhere, not just on TTLG) are more interested in trying to beat down opposition than actually debate. They're not really interested in discussion. They just want to silence any dissenting views.
faetal on 4/8/2014 at 14:55
Or point out that opposing views are spuriously sourced, which isn't the same thing.
Tony_Tarantula on 4/8/2014 at 15:04
Quote Posted by faetal
Or point out that opposing views are spuriously sourced, which isn't the same thing.
Wasn't talking about you bubba.......although that long, obscenity laced rant about "who the fuck are you to judge me" both fits and isn't "pointing out that oppositing views are spuriously sourced".
Tony_Tarantula on 4/8/2014 at 15:08
Quote Posted by Trance
I thought that maybe if I gave it time I'd see the light that everyone else was seeing you in. I never did.
That "light" is easily explained. Dethtoll did a good job of appealing to what I call "Ivory Tower Narcissism", where as Dethtoll put it: He was the best at "screaming at each other over how smart we think we are"
Gryzemuis on 4/8/2014 at 15:29
I've been lurking here on and off since 1999. I sometimes come back to reading these forums, because I know I can read opinions about games from like-minded gamers. After all, we all come from a background of Thief and System Shock. Sometimes I check these forums daily, for a few months. Sometimes I don't come back here for half a year.
But I hardly ever post.
Because I'm done with that. It's not a pleasant experience. And mostly because of Deathtol.
Even though I had him on ignore for years, you still feel the poison drip from these pages.
It's not that he disagrees with me or others. It's the fact that 9 out of 10 times he starts yelling that the subject we are discussing is not worth discussing. That we're all idiots because we talk about something he doesn't think we should be talking about. That both sides of a discussion are idiots. Deathtol has a talent for killing conversations between other people in dozens of different ways. But usually he uses the method "yell to everyone that they are an idiot". It gets old very quickly. He also seem to enjoy yelling at the new people. And that drives away any new member, except the most flameproof ones. Moderators have allowed him to do that for years. I never understood why.
TTLG has survived a lot longer than you would expect. A lot longer than other popular forums and websites. Will it survive another 15 years ? I don't know. But even if TTLG will grow, it will take a while. The place needs a little de-toxification before new people will step their foot in here.
