Someone tell me this.

[SFG75]

Well, you have to admit, the place has taken off pretty fast. A lot of members have signed up during the last two months. Yes, this section of the forum has its fair share of ass-pinching and that kind of thing, but there are threads out there regarding books and what not. The problem is, they don't get the largest response from members, and I know because I've started a few of them myself. The non-fiction subforum is truly a sad thing. If it weren't for the bible threads, it would be practically deserted.

I agree that we all could talk about books in a better fasion, though people love *asspinching* posts about one another-I participate just as much as anyone else in that, though I think that if we aren't trying to be a part of the solution. . . . . . . . Along with that, in order to have in-depth conversation, you have to have something of contention(in most cases) Since that isn't what this board is about, we are kind of limited when it comes to those kinds of things.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

It's the atmosphere. Something changed. Suddenly, this place went from the best place on the net to a place I don't enjoy being at anymore. I know that's simply personal preference, but I have heard from others that they have noticed a change, too, whatever the hell it is.

I appreciate you’re trying hard not to point fingers, but for people who only been here a few months it’s rather difficult to understand what things were like before.

Regards,

K-S

 

[SFG75]

ok...so the vibe has changed..it's not a matter of the spamming or hijacking of threads..for you after being away, well in and out, you come back and the feel of the forum is different? new members mostly or do you see a change in older members?

Excellent point, I've noticed that on some of my hobby boards. You don't post for awhile and you are wondering who in the world are some of the newbies who are posting their tails off. You then crave "the good old days" when there were fewer members and the people who joined around the time that you did, were still there.

 

[Ronny]

Honestly I came here to read about books and I still do, I read a lot of the threads about books and sometimes post in them but not often. To me those have gotten too hostile, I read for fun and enjoy it. I don't want to be torn to shreds because I don't read at the level of other members. Or be cut down because I just said I liked the book and didn't review it. So while I still read about books in the other threads I only post in general chat, as thats where I'm more comfortable.

 

[Martin]

ok...so the vibe has changed..it's not a matter of the spamming or hijacking of threads..for you after being away, well in and out, you come back and the feel of the forum is different? new members mostly or do you see a change in older members?

What older members?

And Kenny, you have a good point there, about new members not knowing what it was like before. A very valid point indeed.

 

[jenn]

i will jump in just for sec to say that the constant reference to ass pinching is singling out a few members who may be feeling uncomfortable at this point thinking, maybe they have done something wrong. feel free to look at my birthday thread from may. not a whole lot different than the current one i am not trying to be pissy, but the foolish threads come and go.
sometimes this place is fun, sometimes it is dull, sometimes there is tension. that is just life. this is general chat. GENERAL!!!!!!!!!! pretty comprehnsive word if you ask me.


general:1 : involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole
2 : involving, relating to, or applicable to every member of a class, kind, or group <the general equation of a straight line>
3 : not confined by specialization or careful limitation
4 : belonging to the common nature of a group of like individuals : GENERIC
5 a : applicable to or characteristic of the majority of individuals involved : PREVALENT b : concerned or dealing with universal rather than particular aspects

i don't see anything about excluding ass pinching or foolish, silly behaviour. perhaps if we all just lightened up a tiny bit, or perhaps we should just pm darren and have him remove the entire general chat area. we seem to have this similar conversation every 2 months.

 

[Martin]

Then by all means, continue - see you in two months.

 

[hay82]

I've been around here for about ten months and can clearly feel a change. People have left and those of them I know say they left because it was to focused on the general chat. When I signed up I had only been interested in reading for about half a year and wanted a place were I could find good books, which means that I wasn't very active in the book threads but tried to post in the thread about the books I had read.

I don't know if the amount of threads about books have gone down but it really seems that way. At some point I was away for a week and came back to 2600 new posts and the vast majority of those where general chat. If you try to ignore general chat and stay to the book sections you quickly notice that there seems to be a lot of hostility there. Having trouble with a sentence, you're an idiot. You like ******* but that's total crap and only idiots read that. This is the way it seems to me and it's not a place you want to post anything.

The fact that most of the forum activity takes place in the general chat probably means that new members sign up to play along there and forget about the rest and those who sign up to discuss books see that this isn't the way the game is played here and leave again.

Don't know if any of it holds up, but it's the way I see things here.

EDIT: I also have my fair amount of spam and it can be fun from time to time.

 

[lies]

i don't see anything about excluding ass pinching or foolish, silly behaviour. perhaps if we all just lightened up a tiny bit, or perhaps we should just pm darren and have him remove the entire general chat area. we seem to have this similar conversation every 2 months.

Sure this is general chat and of course TBF shouldn't become totalitarian, but I stand by what I said earlier. There's a time and place for everything, and while I like a good joke as much as the next person, I'm still in favour of threads that are about something, as opposed to threads that are just... clutter. (Damn, I've been watching too much Clean House.)

Anyway, this forum has a nice PM system, so why not use it when you want to wish someone a good night or ask them something instead of creating a new thread? Or why not use the search function and see if perhaps there isn't a thread that you could use already? I mean... why open a thread that's only relevant to two persons?

(The "you"'s here are universal "you"'s, by the way.)

 

[SFG75]

Honestly I came here to read about books and I still do, I read a lot of the threads about books and sometimes post in them but not often. To me those have gotten too hostile, I read for fun and enjoy it. I don't want to be torn to shreds because I don't read at the level of other members. Or be cut down because I just said I liked the book and didn't review it. So while I still read about books in the other threads I only post in general chat, as thats where I'm more comfortable.

I'm sure you aren't the only one who feels this way. Sheesh, you post anything about the works of a given fiction author and someone else just has to blurt out about simplified characters, little to no plot(they review for the New York Times ya know) and you just about want to flame them, but you are having too much of a good time reading someone that you never read before. Heck, I post in the authors sub-forum just to P.O. those people to the best extent that I can.

 

[jenn]

per hay's post:

but then if i read what your saying correctly, general chat is more welcoming and less intimidating and perhaps people read the book posts but stay away because maybe they like, gasp, stephen king or brace yourselves, the davinci code. i always read the book section, i went looking for extremely loud and incredibly close because of shade's review(it was sold out so i got everything is illuminated instead) but, i almost never post in the book section, i don't want to get eaten alive. i am comfortable here, it is friendly and funny.

so maybe general chat is not the problem?

 

[SFG75]

i don't see anything about excluding ass pinching or foolish, silly behaviour. perhaps if we all just lightened up a tiny bit, or perhaps we should just pm darren and have him remove the entire general chat area. we seem to have this similar conversation every 2 months.

Excellent post-there are people here who a few months ago, I just couldn't stand. Once you get to know their posting style and quirky humor, you then come full circle about what they contribute to the forum and you even join in on their posts that you once hated. I know that I've changed a few rash judgments that I've held regarding some members.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Hay82 - Thanks for that post, I can see what you're saying. I'll try and add some of my thoughts about what you've said tomorrow morning.

 

[mr_michel]

jenn the problem is not the existence of "superficial" threads, but the lack of serious threads, and im not saying that thats your fault or ricky's or from any other of the now regular peeps with a taste for spam.
the problem is that a few months ago at some point the general chat area became a place for trolling and personal agendas. some members got tired of this and steped aside (or down), people wouldnt participate anymore on threads started by certain members, or serious looking threads that for sure were to become a platform for flaming, i think thats why the lack of serious threads, newcomers find just spam threads and asume that's the regular atmosphera here, they keep posting in that line, and it became the regular pattern.

 

[ricky]

Honestly I came here to read about books and I still do, I read a lot of the threads about books and sometimes post in them but not often. To me those have gotten too hostile, I read for fun and enjoy it. I don't want to be torn to shreds because I don't read at the level of other members. Or be cut down because I just said I liked the book and didn't review it. So while I still read about books in the other threads I only post in general chat, as thats where I'm more comfortable.

i am with you on that ronny..i love to read and always read the book chat to see what's going on, but find that i can't always participate because i don't always read the level of books that most read....

 

[Ice]

Some valid points have been raised. I definately agree that the atmosphere here has changed and it's not for the better. I spam as much as anyone (well maybe not quite as much though I have done my fair share in the past) It is the tone of the forum that has changed. I fully agree with Hay that they majority of posts are in General Chat and that is all some people seem to join up for. I also agree that sometimes I do just want to read and discuss an escapist book without the need to analyse the writer's style, the fact that they do not read so called 'good' books. I feel it is a shame, but it is what happens unfortunatley. Places change, for better or worse.

Perhaps it’s because they feel there’s no point as the thread will get closed if things become heated, or perhaps it’s some other reason I’ve not thought of.

Very few threads are actually closed. The main reasons being religion, politics and personal insults/slanging matches which shouldn't occur anyway.

 

[lies]

Very few threads are actually closed. The main reasons being religion, politics and personal insults/slanging matches which shouldn't occur anyway.

On a sidenote: Could some more threads be closed though? I mean, if there are already four threads on the same thing, couldn't a moderator just link to the other threads and close the others, so the discussion is centralized? I don't care if it's the older ones or the newer ones that are closed, just as long as they aren't all active at the same time.

 

[hay82]

per hay's post:

but then if i read what your saying correctly, general chat is more welcoming and less intimidating and perhaps people read the book posts but stay away because maybe they like, gasp, stephen king or brace yourselves, the davinci code. i always read the book section, i went looking for extremely loud and incredibly close because of shade's review(it was sold out so i got everything is illuminated instead) but, i almost never post in the book section, i don't want to get eaten alive. i am comfortable here, it is friendly and funny.

so maybe general chat is not the problem?

It is friendly and funny in the general chat but it seems a lot of threads end up in the same. Most of what goes on in the general chat would fit better in a chat room on IRC or something like it. But general chat is a problem in itself to many post about nothing can easily detain people from starting a thread about something which could spark a great discussion or people say what's the point it's just going to go straight to hell anyway. When a thread in general chat is taken of track it goes of track quickly and suddenly you have 3 posts on topic and 179 about the killer ants from mars.
I'm also fairly sure that some people sign up only to be apart of general chat, which is a very bad development. If people don't like books, they shouldn't be at a bookforum....

Easy solution? Rename it to the forum.

 

[jenn]

i guess. i don't know. *sigh*

 

[Martin]

Killer ants from mars. I like that.

Mr Michel and Hay have explained far better than I ever could. Thanks for that, guys.