A special message for BBS members who "miss the good old days".

[John Shaw]

If you want compelling and interesting content on the BBS, stop complaining and post some.

You can blame it on the trolls, but there were always trolls. Most of them are gone now.

You can blame it on the lack of trolls, but you'd be wrong.

You can blame it on the Ancaps, but there were always ancaps.

You can blame it on the minarchists, but there were always minarchists.

You can blame it on individual members, but you have the ability to control your own threads.

You can blame it on "All the cool people moving to greener pastures", but gee, no one has shown me these greener pastures everyone talks about.

If you want compelling and interesting, be compelling and interesting.

Now all ya'll quitcher bitchin'.

[Diogenes The Cynic]

Who stuck their finger up your ass?

[ForumTroll]

Obviously we need Taors and Aquabanianskakid and Cyro and Janepuke to come back.

[Harry Tuttle]

I've only been around the bbs since '08. I'm not sure what golden age everyone seems to be pining for, but nothing seems especially different now.

[anarchir]

Dont you guys watch Penn and Teller? Nostalgia is Bullshit.

[One two three]

Free Keene Forum is a lot better but this is a nice distraction.

[anarchir]

Free Keene Forum is a lot better but this is a nice distraction.

I plan on dividing my time between here and there once I have a more defined timescale of my transfer to the Free State.

[Bill Brasky]

I think the phenomenon is a lot more simple and obvious than people realize, and they want to harp and bitch and blame it on people they dislike.

Fact is, I believe the fascination of message-boarding has peaked - or at least plateaued - and now theres a lot more places for them to go.  A few years ago, I remember being really jazzed when I "found" a place where I might enjoy spending time, making some "friends" in the community.  Now I surf more and join less, and comment less. 

The world is not the same as it was in 2006.  Everyone's webspace was coming online, and now its very common.  Back then, it wasn't.  Some people were still on dial-up.  A few years prior, everyone was on dial-up.  So there was a big explosion of people getting on-line, like a wave, from about 2000 to 2005, and then a massive rush of hyper-speed when DSL hit. 

That caused every asshole on the planet to freak the fuck out, and now they're more used to it.  The big OMFGZ I can bug everyone!!  is over.  Their maturity has kicked in a little bit.  It gave everyone that kid-rush, and I mean everyone.  The internet changed the world, and that big splash had a lot of perverse effects.  But like everything, people get used to stuff, and it stops being so much fun. 

I'll betcha you could go to lots of really big communities, like Fark or even YouTube, and their admins will probly tell you the same thing, reportable offenses are down. 

Al Gore can relax, his invention has not ruined the world.  We got ourselves under control. 

[anarchir]

Am I a nerd for thinking about how anarcho-capitalism applies to the internet when I read your post?

All the chaos happened at first, but once people settled in order prevailed and there was a place for everyone.

[Cognitive Dissident]

Obviously we need Taors and Aquabanianskakid and Cyro and Janepuke to come back.

<gasp>

[Lindsey]

Obviously we need Taors and Aquabanianskakid and Cyro and Janepuke to come back.

<gasp>

No.

[sillyperson]

1) I miss Taors. Everyone needs someone that is more fucked up than themselves
2) Facebook. Much of the idle jibba-jabba went there
3) When I was a kid, parents let their kids play unrestrained in the car -- no seat belts. Can you believe that shit?

[Bill Brasky]

Am I a nerd for thinking about how anarcho-capitalism applies to the internet when I read your post?

Probably, because people are arrested for fraud every day, and stand the risk of being vanned for certain activities. 

People got their behaviors under control in the general sense.  That doesn't mean nobody does bad shit. 

Much like IRL.  Special interest groups and reputation ratings don't discourage me from certain unacceptable behaviors.  Being thrown into prison for several years does. 

[sillyperson]

Special interest groups and reputation ratings don't discourage me from certain unacceptable behaviors.  Being thrown into prison for several years does. 

I'd happily pay for men to round up certain Bad People and imprison them. Maybe even in work camps. For habitual robbers, people who commit rape, murder, etc

The beautiful thing about an ancap society is that my idea of when people should be hauled off to the gulag doesn't have to match Ian's

[Cognitive Dissident]

Special interest groups and reputation ratings don't discourage me from certain unacceptable behaviors.  Being thrown into prison for several years does. 

I'd happily pay for men to round up certain Bad People and imprison them. Maybe even in work camps. For habitual robbers, people who commit rape, murder, etc

The beautiful thing about an ancap society is that my idea of when people should be hauled off to the gulag doesn't have to match Ian's

This, and I think the market will hold justice-seekers more accountable than government thugs (possibly a huge understatement.)  Therefore, you and I will probably have to keep our desire for justice in check with reality, and not:

• throw someone in a rape cage for "harassment," etc.
• ruin the life of someone we think harmed us.  I'm thinking this will become slightly more common, at least initially, in a free society, but will level off when people find themselves held responsible for their tirades in response to perceived injustice.  Take, for example, the asshole who made the big fuss at the Libertarian convention.  His youtube tirade would probably make it into his "reputation file."  He'd probably be encouraged to "talk it over" with the "offender," and might be able to get a trifle like this "expunged" by most of the reputation agencies.