Bye Pointless Ann...

I read it the same way Borla Are those whom are responsible for the financial viability of TFP the final arbiters in all matters of content? If so, then this thread is moot. Or possibly it should be posted in a Donators Only forum where all donators and only donators can express themselves on the operation of TFP.

 

I think we're getting off the path here. The crux of the issue seems to be whether PA is good for this site as a whole - whether it takes the place of more in depth discussion and sets a standard for the site that gives people the impression that PA banter is what we're all about.

Personally, I think both of those are true but I am not sure that eliminating the PA thread completely is the right way to go. I understand the folks who say that that sort of interaction is all they have time for. But I also know that at least one of the folks who is coming from that angle has been an active and popular member here since long before I showed up so obviously ( yes, Craven Morehead ) he got along and managed to be visible before the PA thread was created. I think the main point is that we need to start more threads to discuss things. PA-type exchanges will happen in discussion threads (as they always have) - and not everyone who posts is going to write a frigging thesis - but having a thread that is so disproportionately popular and dedicated solely to chit-chat definitely robs other threads of content...and the feeling of a wider community that we used to have here.

All that said, I hate to be labeled as a nostalgic. I think that minimizes what is a very valid point. I'm not looking at the past, I'm looking at the future. A handful of people trading jokes all day is not going to sustain this site.

 

So. This is the first time I've logged on to TFP in over a month. Back in August, I said I wasn't going to sign in unless the most recent thread was NOT PA or a game thread. After a week, I stopped checking. There were other reasons I haven't logged in, but that was the catalyst.

I get that people just want to pop in and say hi. That's fine. But do it on your status. Or move PA to the games side of the site. It was getting increasingly frustrating, for me at least, to try and have an actual discussion on a thread that only got a handful of responses, and watch as something on PA got a page or two of discussion (or a welcome thread for a spammer got several pages of posts, but that's another issue.)

Pointless announcements WAS fun. But people were (are? I don't know, I haven't been here in a month) using it to post EVERYTHING. Videos they found online, songs they were listening to, pictures of their kids, questions about something they wanted advice on, links, et cetera. That was never the point (heh) of the thread, and yes, I think other areas of the site suffered for it.

 

I think this is probably the only reason I post on PA. It's the only thing alive. It's accessible and usually the first thing that pops up. Also, it's usually the only thing I get alerts on when I logon. Threads I started or responded to aren't getting the traffic...and I forget about them. I don't want to blame PA for this.

There seems to be a shift in culture and either PA is feeding the shift or just a symptom of the shift.

Freeze PA for a little while and see what happens. YAY EXPERIMENTS! GeneticShift LOVES them i'm sure and I love data. Let's see what happens for a week. I might actually post elsewhere. Who knows.

This place started as a time waster for me, but I have met some fantastic people and Borla. I don't want to see it going away completely.

 

Maybe discussion in other threads is just what we need, since my life isn't being threatened by ZombieSquirrel!

<3

And I do love experiments! I'm up for trying anything with the thread, honestly. It's nice seeing people participate in other threads.

 

I'm also back after a long, self-imposed hiatus from TFP. What I so loved about the place - meaty discussions on a variety of topics - was waning or so I felt. It started getting too fluffy for my taste. PA was certainly part of it. Right at the top of the pile every time I signed on. Those who participate obviously enjoy it but for me, it was too much like reading random facebook statuses. I see no reason to get rid of PA, though. Free will allows me to pass it by and if others enjoy it, why should they be deprived?

Anyway, I'm going to give TFP another shot, re-involve myself in the forums I liked so much and see where it goes.

 

What I keep seeing is posts that are basically saying, "but I don't have tiiiiiiiiime. Or I don't have anything to say."

Um, guys. This is a discussion forum. Yeah, it sucks when we get busy with our real-time lives and don't have as much time for places like this. But does that mean we lower the quality? "Well, I don't have time to really study, but I still want the degree! Harvard should totally lower their standards so that I can participate!"

Okay, that's a dumb metaphor. Whatever. That's still what it sounds like to me. And I suppose it's kind of irrelevant at this point anyway.

 

Lifestyles, sex and politics talk floats my boat. More of that, maybe less of what's on member's dinner menus.

I have a good 3-4 hours every other night or so that I like to devote online. It's not about time for me. It's about engagement.

 

Change the forum to what you want and the riff raff will leave. Admins have the power.

I really don't think that PA is the only reason for this. I think you need to take a look at the forum as a whole

 

I don't know why this idea that everyone has to participate in every discussion is even being discussed. That's not what we're talking about. Already said your piece on abortion and don't want to weigh in the new one? Perfectly fine. Don't have a new recipe to add? Perfectly fine. Don't want to talk about music? Perfectly fine.

The rule has always been that you're welcome to post wherever you want. I completely reject the notion that all people want from an online forum is LOLcats and dick-and-fart jokes. I mean I'm people (your opinion may vary) and I want more than that. Not that they don't have their place, but we, in spite of all the naysayers, still have spirited discussions on tough topics. Trayvon Martin. Steubenville. Both threads with lots of posts and lots of activity within the last 6 months.

And this thread has 54 posts in 1 day. Not bad.

I still want to burn PA with fire. Then gather up its ashes, stuff them in a cannon and fire them off towards wherever Guccilvr resides these days. But there are alternatives to that, and I'm not arrogant enough (shut up) to think that would be just hunky dorey and everyone will realize that I was right all along, join hands around the e-campfire and sing my name to the tune of "Kumbaya". So we're going to try some experiments. Maybe posts will get deleted outright. Maybe they'll get cut-and-pasted into forced status updates. Maybe they'll get spun into new threads. Maybe there will be completely new threads that have a definite expiration date (This Week's/Day's/Month's Pointless Announcements) with the thread locked after that and a new one started.

But for those of you who think "well, if they close down Pointless Announcements or move it to Posting Games where I have to requalify to post every day, I'm out of here." why are you still here in the first place? If there is nothing else keeping you here, I think that says more about you than the rest of us. I'm all for fun and games - we all know that I'm the first one that's going to mock a spammer publicly and shamelessly - but I also have serious things to say occasionally. Like, you know, right now. If you don't have anything serious to say ever, you should just switch over to lurking the dirty pictures and stop complaining that serious discussions on the internet are a thing of the past.
--- merged: Oct 18, 2013 at 3:26 PM ---
Oh hey, look at that. A new thread culled from Pointless Announcements.

More to come.

 

Thank you Martian. I should have addressed that.

Money plays no role here. I understand why it could elsewhere, but that's not the case here. I wish it were, but that's a different discussion entirely and more of a blue sky idea than anything else.

 

And this is the FIRST I've heard of it....maybe because I don't spend enough time here or in chat (There's never anyone in chat when I visit). I think this is what bothers me the most. It seems so out of the blue for me.

I hate to think what other things people aren't liking that are going to result in a thread where we talk about what are we getting rid of next.

I don't think it's PA that's the toxin. I've seen carefully crafted and interesting threads that get little or no discussion. And I kind of feel like when I do post something that I feel may generate some discussion rarely gets any play, it's like...why do I bother? I don't think getting rid of PA will change anything, but please prove me wrong.

 

And along those lines, seeing activity in PA shouldn't keep people from participating in other threads but it evidently does. We all do our own thing when it comes to the internet. We create our own personal set of rules for engaging whatever we encounter on the web. To say one person's rules aren't right, isn't right.

Should TFP adopt a Laissez-faire attitude about what is posted on TFP or should there be more discipline applied to the content? It is evident that whichever approach is pursued there will be disinterest by some, rejection buy others, and possibly a reduction in overall posts by all.

That's why you admins make the big money, right?