The Escapist to me. (and its evolution)
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That's kind of what I'm going through now. I like Furb and Hub, but I cannot be like them. I can be silly, but not all the time. Thats not me. I don't like being sucked up to becuase I have too many posts. It annoys me beyond comprehension. Especially people that add me and don't even send a message. I've done absolutely nothing but post my random musings for the better part of 16 months.xmetatr0nx said:
The best part is when people say that they respect high post counts for not running into mod wrath, the irony is just delicious. I wish I could print out my ban history and just randomly send it to them.
Regardless, all I want is to go back to the days that I could be brutally honest, without people asking me if my cat was run over and if thats why I am in such a bad mood.
I recognize your name...from somewhere. Can't remember what thread.UnusualStranger said:
I do like your point about the site being like WOW. I'd never thought about it in that way before, but it really is a lot like that. You might just see somebody once, or you could talk to them and become friends. Or, you could never see somebody but just hear about that thing they got or how many people they killed...or whatever (I don't play WOW, so all of this is kind of just pulled from thin air.) And I suppose there could be somebody who you don't know exists, that you'll never meet. But we're all still part of the community.
That's what makes these forums so interesting to me: the ever-changing community. Human beings fascinate me. I love reading threads like these and seeing what everybody else has to say. It's not like talking to people in school, where you hear what your friends have to say. Here, we don't have to be friends to have a conversation, to have an exchange. We just put our opinion out there. I love that.
Man, I sound really weird. And off-topic. I'm sorry. (About the off-topic, not the weird. If you don't like that I'm weird, deal with it.)
My word, I said nearly exactly the same thing in a PM to someone earlier.LordCuthberton said:
Who was it?
OT: Since I've joined the escapist, it's become larger, it's gotten more members, and the community has become a lot more... Communal.
But there are ways in which I have become more private and secluded.
Right now, I think that yesterday was the best day the escapist had, and now it's going to be just as good, but there will be people who think they're beter than others just because they payed money, and those people will be scum to me.
Everyone else will be fine, and just the same though.
Huh, did not think I was even worth remembering. Surprise to me, huh?Marble Dragon said:
Anyway, I have not played WOW either, so your air grabbing is about as accurate as mine.
However, you do seem to know exactly where I was going with that long winded paragraph. People are fascinating. As soon as you start to see everyone here as less than a person, you are looking at it too deeply. We humans are not as unique as we all like to think we are...but we are still unique.
However, I think I need to toss something a bit more OT, so let me just say this.
What I just did here is exactly how this community has always run. Sometimes, you find someone who quotes you, or messages you, or just rubs you the right damned way, and perhaps you become friends, or allies on the thread you are in. Then, you take it from there.
This whole....membership thing? Just another aesthetic change, like the video format. Will it come up from time to time? Of course, as everything does everywhere. But it isn't something that should break a site to pieces. It has been said that people who don't join it get to keep what they have, and that is good enough for me.
Some times this site can be uptight. I've told a joke, and been put on Suspension for long periods of time. I'm all for it being a relatively less trollish environment, just so discussion can occur, but there shouldn't be some Alert status Red Foxtrot whatever when someone calls an idiot an idiot.xmetatr0nx said:
You probably said something interesting. When someone does, I look at their avatar and name. Also, post count, but that matters less. Then, when I see them again and connect all of these things, I can think, "oh, hey, it's that guy. And they're saying something interesting again." And, sometimes, "This person won't stab me if I talk to them. I'll respond to them." Like now. For what it's worth, I'll definitely remember you now...UnusualStranger said:
How fitting your username is. You are an unusual person, compared to what I have seen on the forums as of yet, and I do not know you well. Hmm. I don't see that often.
I didn't mention membership yet! I will, since I'm making a point of talking. I don't mind it at all.
1. It's not expensive, compared with other stuff.
2. It supports something I care about.
3. As you said, it doesn't make drastic changes. Not like I care about ads, anyway.
Huh. Me saying something interesting, and being remembered only slightly for it.Marble Dragon said:
Yeah, I do match my username. I chose it for a reason. The one time I was asked to describe what I was, that is what came to mind. Since then, nothing else.
I appreciate being remembered, just as you may possibly appreciate me remembering you. Perhaps I will see you roaming another time....
However, I do need to once again stress a point I somewhat mentioned earlier. This new separation WILL be noticed by some. Some will feel superior to others, and likely flaunt it. I have seen this system in place before, and seen it happen. However, as long as things stay as they are at the moment, with those special members getting some perks, but those not signed up not having it rubbed in their faces by the site itself, then things should go smoothly.
I am willing to bet the business department of The Escapist has already planned out much of this, and already ran the numbers on who would leave. Its what they do, and I do it too if I care enough. And I think they did a very good job with it.
Doubt any mods will notice this, but I'm damn proud of the job you guys do. I know a lot of people are pains in the ass around here, and that sometimes you don't get the credit you deserve, especially when stuff like this happens. But, I'm certain they already know this as well, and things will continue to be kick ass on this site, just as they have been.
Some content like Game Dogs and I hit it with my axe is just all bad all the time.
But I still enjoy watching Zero Punctuation, unskippable and Enn so I will not leave the site until they stop showing them .
And btw I am not a big fan of this membership thing coming out, becuase I don't work yet and have no money so it is something that I can not have.
But I still enjoy watching Zero Punctuation, unskippable and Enn so I will not leave the site until they stop showing them .
And btw I am not a big fan of this membership thing coming out, becuase I don't work yet and have no money so it is something that I can not have.
A good point, but the problem I'm seeing now is that moderation policies and the continuous influx of new members conspire to frustrate any attempt to educate or engage new members in meaningful conversation. If they don't bring it in with them, odds are it doesn't show up in their posts at all. The community thread is huge, but can you honestly tell me that MORE community-style posting suggestions or properly-arranged debate topics would IMPROVE the situation? All I see is a lot of wasted effort and mindless flaming happening with that.Irridium said:
Probably the biggest issue for me was when The Escapist's greatest debater was banned over a minor infraction, simply because he "had too many strikes." What, invisible tally marks that don't show up on your moderation history (maybe mods can see them, but ordinary posters can't)? Strike three and you're out? Doesn't that by it's VERY NATURE discourage intense debate? The Escapist moderation policies are very flexible. Extremely flexible. They are not set in stone at all. How do you know where the line is? Is it fair that the room for error gets smaller and less forgiving the more time you spend posting? How does that encourage meaningful debate?
We'd see a lot more genuinely unique and interesting people debating more controversial yet intelligent topics if the smart posters hadn't long ago figured out how low of a profile you have to keep around here to not get banned over any little thing. As for the new kids with debate skills, it's just a matter of time.
It's easy to point to the community, but a community can only do what it can do with what it's given to work with. If moderators are not only not trying to resolve conflict with older, veteran debaters, but are actively gunning for them (from what I've heard I've come to believe that may have been the case in a couple instances), how is it possible to keep a proper debate going with intelligent and unique posters?
Long story short, I no longer have any intention of putting in effort when I feel like the slightest slip-up will mark me with a permanent "Escapist scar" I will carry until the day I finally collapse, world-weary and tired of fighting the oppressive weight of my predestined, permabanned fate. In other websites I feel like I can just be me and my polite self will be enough to prevent a banning. Here, who knows where the lines are? Even the guidelines are fallacious, since you can be moderated or banned for doing things which aren't on the guidelines specifically. It even says as much. And you can NOT be moderated for breaking rules, too.
Then there's the whole ego problem. And if regular posters have an ego issue in general (they might), it follows some others might have such problems as well. The son follows the way of the father.
Alright I am going to be a jerk and say that people and places don't evolve, populations evolve, people can change, they can change for the better, however the allele frequency of the escapist has not changed, one could argue that the allele frequencies of the escapist community has changed and that it might have gotten dumber, but the site. No the site has only changed. Yay for semantics.
I don't mean to provoke anyone here (although the question will by nature probably offend, my apologies in advance), but could you please explain the difference between wanting a lot of money because one is greedy and wanting a lot of money because one is a businessman? Isn't the end result exactly the same anyway? Is there such a great difference in motivation?xmetatr0nx said:
Bad is irrelevant because it's a completely subjective term in relation to the subject at hand.
Not to offend the creator of the topic but... this again?
Seriously?
Yes, this forum is not in the Golden Age. Yes, many people who were the core of these forums are gone.
So? Is that an issue? Do you fail to find intelligent discussion here because of it?
I know I don't. And I find it with the people who Pimp so nicely called "carbon copies" of each other.
If you think the site changed dramatically, if you don't feel that you are interested in it anymore, leave. Or don't post in the forums and do your own thing.
Oh, and another thing. I've lurked around and I've seen what the now banned or gone people from the Golden Age had to say. I don't see anything different.
Seriously?
Yes, this forum is not in the Golden Age. Yes, many people who were the core of these forums are gone.
So? Is that an issue? Do you fail to find intelligent discussion here because of it?
I know I don't. And I find it with the people who Pimp so nicely called "carbon copies" of each other.
If you think the site changed dramatically, if you don't feel that you are interested in it anymore, leave. Or don't post in the forums and do your own thing.
Oh, and another thing. I've lurked around and I've seen what the now banned or gone people from the Golden Age had to say. I don't see anything different.
Meh, I got premium and I'll prolly keep it for this year. IMO, Whats 10 bucks to a website that gives me hours of entertainment. Ever since youtube got the new layout that makes my eyes bleed, Ive spent a considerable amount of time here. I think there should be a rule somewhere that sites need to stop redesigning :S. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, I LOVE YOU ESCAPIST! Don't ever change 
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