Koki on 22/3/2012 at 06:08
Quote Posted by Shug
dethtoll quoting his own essays - humane attempt to finish TTLG off?
Not the first time that happened either
It's mostly people getting older but the spread of the net also factors in this. Back in my day when I went on the Internet it was once per week, on friday after 10PM because the telephone line was cheapest at that time, with amazing 55.6kbps transfer rates. Getting a fucking patch for Total Annihiliation was a big event.
Nowodays kids just have no respect
Dia on 22/3/2012 at 11:51
I'd like to think that TTLG is just going through a transitional stage (yeah, I'm wearing my rose-colored glasses again). I'm hoping I'll still be stopping by here daily (or almost) in another 5-10 years from now. I honestly don't care for for Reddit; it seems like barely-organized chaos to me. And Facebook, though providing one with more in-depth information about one's friends, reminds me of speed-dating (not that I've ever tried that, mind you). Most of the other forums I've visited for any length of time are either bland and overly censored, or the enter-at-your-own-risk type, but TTLG (for me) is just right.
TTLG is a community: people come and go just like in any other community. And those who stay are worth knowing, imo. Okay, well, there are exceptions.
And Lazarus; wtf? You sound like someone who's just been flamed by Zylon Bane for the first time. Oh well, best wishes anyway.
Chimpy Chompy on 22/3/2012 at 12:08
I've been wondering if forums in general are on their way out. I hope not. Most of this social networking malarkey isn't the right sort of system for discussions, like Muz says. The one that does work is Reddit, but that just looks vast and impersonal.
Stitch on 22/3/2012 at 14:48
Well, unsubscribing to r/atheism and r/aww right off the bat helps (and this is coming from a quasi-atheist who owns two cats).
It isn't that a site like Reddit operates as a substitute for TTLG, for a variety of reasons, but it does replace it as a source of memes/information/humor/whatever. The site is vast and impersonal, yeah, but that does sometimes work to its advantage. Because there is such a massive pile of people contributing and because it is all ranked by the community, some pretty informative/funny/fucked up/fascinating stuff does rise to the top.
But both dethtoll and Kolya immediately followed my post with prime examples of why a forum like TTLG is ultimately irreplaceable, as both responded in ways that built off previous history we've shared. I know them and they know me, at least to the degree that participation in a site like TTLG enables. Kolya's comment, especially, wouldn't have made me smile if it had come from some anonymous Redditor with whom I didn't share some respect and affection.
Something else a forum like TTLG that is that a site like Reddit isn't is work, as it takes a certain amount of energy to engage directly with people as opposed to just skimming the top content off a massive social website. dethtoll touched on this a bit, but there is a certain amount of effort involved in communicating effectively in a medium like online forums, and it can be difficult to find the time and energy when so many instantly gratifying alternatives are out there.
But still: you get out what you put in, which is why participating in an online community like TTLG can be far more enriching.
demagogue on 22/3/2012 at 15:28
The part that comes to mind is if I want to tell something really good, like the best aristocrat ever, or Paul Harvey is a fag-yodel, or making funny pictures of people's nicks, (historically also cosmic tl;dr posts, but fortunately I've toned down on those) then I want to do it here because it won't just go down a blackhole but someone will remember it and connect it with me.
I remember somebody remembering a post I'd made like 6 years ago to shove a point in my face (IIRC, ironically I don't remember exactly what it was now) but I do remember being gobstopped, like it hitting me that I really wasn't a blank name but people really do have an idea of who I am and things I've said, even years ago. It's unique for the online world. Not even Facebook does that. IRL friends are lucky when they can do it. So when I have a good zing or something I want to talk about that's a reason I'd bring it here. That's the part of TTLG that sticks with me.
SubJeff on 22/3/2012 at 18:26
Yeah dema, that about sums it up for me. I comment on a few blogs, I'm on some social networking sites. It's not the same thing as being on a forum where you know people, where they know you.
Mr.Duck on 22/3/2012 at 20:58
Heh....that las bit of SE's made me think of the Cheers theme:
"Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name."
Amen. :)
Briareos H on 22/3/2012 at 21:47
الله أَكْبَر
Goldmoon Dawn on 22/3/2012 at 22:29
Quote Posted by Koki
Back in my day when I went on the Internet it was once per week, on friday after 10PM because the telephone line was cheapest at that time, with amazing 55.6kbps transfer rates.
Oh man, that brings back so many memories. :cheeky:
Forever420 on 23/3/2012 at 03:30
I shall mourn and stream a river of tears in pain of your departure.
