Social Experiment Forum
 

http://www.conceptanarchy.com

Here's the idea: Simple internet forum. Random topics. Users give and take reputation based on what they like or don't like. There are no incumbent moderators.

Every few hours, reputation is tallied. The top 3% of the active population are given administrative rights. The top 7% are given moderation rights.

Steal this forum.

Here's what I need from you: If it interests you to see where this goes, please sign up and participate. If you have a blog or another forum, tell your people about this. This will be another no-profit deal, so if money or ads are ever solicited, it will be in the spirit of survival. I really just want to see what happens when we get people.


Status - 01/28 8:30pm EST
- Board is up and running, however the administration algorithm isn't yet active. ETA - 3 hours.

I signed up...but Im not sure I understand what it is you're wanting us to do? Could you possibly explain another way?

If I understand it correctly, you judge the posts of others and they get points on that. The people with the highest rankings in a given period become the mods and admins on the site.

Basically, it sounds like he's letting the inmates run the asylum. :D

1) just post.. you can use it like anything.. the nonsense forum, the sports forum, the news forum, the image forum, the shit piss and moan forum.. whatever it is, you'll have an audience.

2) rate others.. every post has a "reputation" button. Use it to weigh your opinions. The users with the highest reputation during a given period will be given administrative and moderator privileges.

oh..um ok

well the one post thats there isnt even a post...so Im supposed to give it points anyway?

Do what you like.

Can I take pictures of my penis wrapped in duct tape yet? Or is it all about words? Just wondering. Also, I've joined.

well crap the rep system is set up where i cant give rep points to the same person more than once even on a dif post

That may change.. the system is set up very close to default.. lots of customization to go, once I start the rep calculations.

okay, I'm in.

I've made some changes to the reputation system. It still requires more participation to be noticed. Need more participants.

Still a couple hours until the first reputation tally.

It also helps to be giving people rep points. I've been giving them like a mad dog.

It tells me "ratbastid" is already in use, although I don't see it on the members list...

members list only shows those with 1 or more posts

I dont get it. Arent you just driving traffic away from TFP at a time you are trying to build more active discussions here?

It's not a substitute for the TFP by any means... I have a feeling that the "real" discussion will still take place over here, where there are rules. :)

...and I'll be in soon. :)

I'm not trying to dampen the experiment, but I hope your "feeling" is right and people dont divide their finite forum time between the two.

But I'll just go back to hanging out in the political forum.

Carry on and enjoy the anarchy :)

Heh, if I wanted to drive traffic away from TFP, I'd turn the entire forum into a link to this.

No, I'm just curious what will happen.

I'll give it a shot.

I'm under the handle "Paint".

I am too, now.

And I'm strangely excited.

And.. nothing will happen if nobody gets the word out.

I'll go elsewhere, thanks.

Sounds like some kind of popularity contest. I only checked it out once... not convinced enough to stay, though. We'll see.

This should be interesting. We learn by doing.

Having used this system on a different forum I used to be a member of, I can tell you that unless everyone participates on a completely neutral basis, it will only turn out to be a popularity contest.

I joined last night...could be fun.

I'll take a look. Sounds interesting.

I wonder through. Much as people claim that they hate rules, I generally find that when they have none, they are pissed that there's nobody to look out for them when the "big kids on bikes" come and tear up their playground.

We shall see.

I signed up and had typed out a post theorizing how the forum could run most smoothly and effectively. Then I thought about the social cliques that have formed on TFP and other forums, lost interest and closed it.

Why are you telling us this?

Its also funny to observe those who dismiss the idea before seeing it through.

I'll keep watching.

If I read it correctly, someone has allready started a pissing war which has heaped invective on various other users.

Sad that the ultimate open forum encourages people to hide behind their anonymity to flame strangers, rather than use their time to find out about themselves and the rest of the world.

Score one for insularity and navel gazing.

Come on folks, help up the average IQ on the net, and post to this brave new utopia, lest it bocome another toxic dystopia.

Having spent considerable time there over the past 20 hours, I have to say I'm unsure what will become of C:A. It's turning into a bit of a madhouse. Maybe all forums start that way. Maybe TFP did, I don't know. Maybe, CA will evolve into a quality forum like the TFP over time, without the presence of a policing body as quality control. But I don't think it will, at this point, because there's too many inmates running the asylum. Can order come from chaos? It remains to be seen.

Here's an X-Files type theory I have about Concept:Anarchy. It's a cleverly devised plan conjured up from the mods of the TFP. Hear me out. Perhaps the Mods got together, had a bit of a pow-wow. They come to the conclusion that they aren't feeling the love from the TFP members. They get an idea; create a forum without rules, without leadership, and watch what happens. Initially there is a sense of freedom. The peons write whatever they're thinking. They swear, they insult, they post pictures of men with sheep in compromising positions. The posters initially enjoy this newfound freedom. Then, slowly, all hell begins to break loose. No order, no rules, no justice. No banning of idiots. The forum suffers. The posts dwindle, or turn into trivial fodder. Slowly but surely, all the members of the new forum (who originally came from TFP looking for all the things they thought they wanted from the TFP but couldn't get) return to their first love, the TFP. They come back to the structure, the rules, the order. Where ignorant or unintelligent posts are quickly shut down. Where ignoramuses are quickly banned. And with a sigh, and a momentary twinge of guilt, they come back into the TFP. Only this time, as they return, they realize something maybe they didn't know before. It's good to have structure. They don't mind the rules because they mean structure. In the end, most sensible forum lovers will take structure and intelligent content over chaos and meaningless banter any day.

That's what the mods or Halx was thinking, wasn't it???? I'm on to you. Just call me Fox Mulder.

TFP isn't my first online love.

It's not even my tenth.

It's a forum.

I like it, but I've been playing this game for so long now that I've seen boards come and go and realised that life goes on.

It's a nice board, and I enjoy reading it and posting to it, but I don't think that anyone needs to draw up conspiracy theories.

That said, I'm probably only saying that because I'm trying to get into the management clique, to deal with the shamefull underrepresentation of overweight Englishmen...

Ok I'll bite. :)

I'm not dismissing it, Halx. I'm watching without registering at this point, because I don't see a point in getting involved in the discussions just yet other than to simply make noise and accumulate points. I'm not a multi-forum person... I like the TFP (yes, it's my first online love), and I am sticking with it for the time being. But I will watch.

I'm also curious why people use TFP names in the new forum. Why not take on something entirely new, to create a new personality? Or is there a desire to "carryover" your TFP personality as well? Interesting patterns.

Isn't this a chance for you to exercise the anonymity you crave?

Yeah, I thought about it, Carno. Maybe later, when things shape up a bit in the other forum, and when people have forgotten all about the threads I've started here.

But in some ways, I started those threads here, under my TFP name, because I am committed to this community. If we aren't having the discussions I want, then I'm going to start them. Running away to be anonymous in some TFP-shadow forum is pretty chicken-shit, if it's done for those reasons. I would feel like a total fake, and a poser as well. I like this place the way it is, for the most part... and any changes to it have to come from within the community, as I see it. Doesn't matter if we are mods here or not.

Anyway, maybe more answer than you wanted. I'm just not sold on joining up C:A yet... even reading the threads there (at least, the ones in existence) is not really worth anyone's time, yet.

my biggest concern is that too many of the TFP members will want to force the TFP paradigm on that board, making it the Son of TFP. I honestly don't think that was the intent at all.

Sure, a lot of the people registered there came from here and it seems somewhat natural to attempt to force it into some extension of this place, but we already have TFP.

I enjoy TFP for the moderation that exists here, likewise, I'm able to appreciate Anarchy for what it is. Anarchy is more than a squiggly A on a t-shirt bought at Hot Topic. I could be entirely wrong, but I think if it was meant to be structured, it'd be called Concept: Structure. If everyone behaved the exact same way that they did on TFP, then it wouldn't be much of an experiment.

I thought it was interesting that you posted the above, and also this:

Perhaps it is a testament to the fact that perhaps people's TFP personas are who they really are, so it didn't occur to them to create new ones? It's a bit like if you go to a really wild nightclub, and you're made up differently and you behave differently than you would in the office, but you're not attempting to disguise yourself as such.

It didn't even cross my mind to be honest, which is possibility interesting.

I hear your point, JJ, but at the same time... I'm not particularly interested in acting any other way than who I am on TFP, on the new forum or otherwise. It's a waste of time for me to invent a new personality or set of behaviors. This is who I am, now and in real life, at least as much as I can manage. It's tempting to be anonymous, but it's also pretty disingenuous when I already know most of the community... which is why my commitment remains here.

Well, the first quote was a personal reflection. For me to run away and be anonymous would be chicken-shit move, as judged by me. The second quote is because I am intrigued, as an outsider, that more people are not creating new personas over there... because humans love to reinvent themselves and "start anew." I am just saying that, given human behavior, I am surprised that the new place looks so much like the old. That's all.

With the quick browsing I did, I noticed conceptanarchy reminds me of the consumption junction forum. I hate that forum.

I also hear what you're saying and I can understand where there are those who don't feel the need to behave differently in another forum.

I equate it this way: I smoke, drink, cuss, have tattoos and piercings. I'm also a teacher. I don't allow my students to see that aspect of my personality because it's not appropriate for them. However, once I get home, I allow myself to indulge in that other aspect of my personality.

For me, TFP is a great place because it allows for intelligent and mature discussion, while Anarchy is equally great because we're not bound by the rules of TFP. Anarchy allows me to indulge in behaviors I would never engage in here. TFP basically reels us in and discourages us from being the asses we might otherwise be elsewhere.

And that is *exactly* why I wasn't able to last long as a high school teacher. :lol: (Although THEY seemed to think I engaged in drunken orgies and crack smoking on a regular basis, which cracked me up.)

I guess I'm really not very good at segregating different parts of my personality... I've always kind of struggled with that. I am who I am who I am. So I guess that's the main reason I'm not terribly interested in working to create another persona elsewhere. Not to say I won't continuing observing the new place... just that I won't participate, not for a while at least.

But thanks for your insight, JJ... I appreciate it.

abaya, just curious - the segregation thing, is that an issue for you because you have trouble compartmentalising different "roles", or is it an issue with you feeling like you're not being honest or authentic when you put on a different hat? I'm asking more out of curiosity than anything else. One of my best friends feels so guilty about lying that she can't even play the card game "Bluff".

I've tried that and it's very hard to do.
No matter what name I use, I am who I am. Some don't care for the bluntness, the shortcomings. Oh well. It's not worth trying to invent a persona, really. At some point, it's lying and it's found out.
There's a difference, I think, in having a professional life and a personal one and in keeping them as seperate entities; I have a friend, a well-respected high ranking person in an international company who is covered in tats, has piercings, engages in an 'alternate lifestyle'(not gay, but 'dfferent'), but his career doesn't mesh/intermingle with his personal life unless he meets someone he's interested in while working.
Of course, the internet is not a career unless you make it so. Since it's not for me, I don't find it necessary to invent; withold information, maybe, but not invent it.

I don't think anyone is "inventing" a new persona for the Anarchy forum, but rather expressing the facets of their personalities that don't fit so well with the TFP. Or maybe they just want to say crazy things and be ridiculous.

Why be different? Why feel that you have to be different?

I'm having fun observing everyone's reaction to it.

Tried to get in there,
And damn it I could not so,
no input for you.

(sir)

I think you are a wise man, Carno.

If one knows they're crazy they're not being ridiculous
If one knows they're being ridiculous, they're not really crazy.

(Sharon, please...)

I never said anything about anyone being crazy or ridiculous, just that they perhaps wanted to say crazy things and act ridiculous.

/threadjack to answer Sharon...

Yeah, you pretty much nailed it with that one. E.g. I would never make it as an actress... not that I don't see a problem with putting on different hats, I just don't have it in me. I also don't have it in me to shift aspects of my personality in different contexts... it feels very awkward when I do so. This is even what makes it hard for me to role-play during sex, in a role that feels in any way inauthentic to me... but that's another story.

As for the professional/personal division... yeah, even that is hard for me, as I mentioned with my teaching. Ideally, I'd like to have a job where I can be who I am without having to fit into some mold or another... and I'm still looking for that job. But I like my place on TFP, where I don't have to fit into anything... I am very comfortable here, for the most part. :)

Maybe I just don't like the anarchy forum, period. That's all.

Wait, why do you feel the need to "put on another hat" just to participate in the Anarchy forum? Many people simply use their TFP screennames.

I certainly don't put on another hat. I may act goofier, but those that know me know I'm just like that naturally. :D

I have a theory - Concept:Anarchy is an experiment to see if people can survive without rules.

The theory is that while people may say (and even think) they want complete freedom, the legalistic nature of the mind means that constraints and structure are what people really desire. Take children for example - they may want to be free to stay up late and throw ice-cream, but there's pretty strong evidence to suggest that the children with permission to do so are severely unhappy. In the end, it is the children who are given structure and boundaries who will turn out to be happier, more productivity members of society. Children at the end of the day want boundaries.

So I'm guessing that CA will prove that people may enjoy anarchy briefly, but after a while even anarchists prefer the long-term stability of some kind of organisation, however loose it is.

Alright, lemme try to explain. As you pointed out, the whole point of the anarchy forum is to be without rules, which by extension means to act somehow differently/crazier/goofier than you would "normally" (in TFP or wherever). I feel like it's the place where everyone "lets down their hair," and in that sense, puts on another hat or becomes a little goofy or just acts somehow different over there.

But for me, there is just no crazier/goofier. If I go over to C:A, under this screenname or another, I'll still act the same way... there's just no other "side" to me that is currently repressed or restrained by TFP, so I see no reason to go to C:A because I don't need the rules to be lifted. I would function the same way with the rules or without the rules.

Basically I have never really had a problem with the SOP here, so I don't feel a need to go "let loose" elsewhere. I see no benefit to participating in C:A.

I'm with you on acting the same. I am the same way. And I can sympathize that I haven't created much of a reason to participate over there as opposed to over here. The benefit in posting there is simply to help get the concept off the ground.

Ah, there is that. Well, I'll think about it. Mostly I just see a bunch of goofing off and slandering over in C:A, so I'm going to wait until it "matures" a bit to see how I feel about joining. Not really worth my time at the moment, sorry Halx. I prefer to spend time here.

I do post occasionally on the "IndieBride" forum (hey, I needed somewhere to post wedding crap--be glad for that, TFP!), and incidentally, they haven't had any mods for a long time. So it's actually pretty anarchical... but since "anarchy" isn't mentioned blatantly anywhere, people run themselves pretty much according to whatever rules they have in their heads for participating in a forum. Which means it's pretty civilized, and most posts are of high quality. Then again, 99% of the members are women, which I think does make a difference in some inexplicable way.

I'll have none of that "women are naturally civilized" crap. :p

The thing is that people are comparing C:A to TFP. It's a different place and although it's anarchy it's with rules...just not as strict. I think that people do act differently in different situations. To say that you don't is quite odd. For example, you are telling me that people act the same way at a wedding as they do at a funeral. That people act the same way around their family as they do with their friends.

I can see this in kids. They will come to school and act completely different than they do at home. Is it because there are no rules for these places? No, it's because people are not 1 'mood' or wearing 1 'hat'. If a person is the same in every situation, then it would be found appropriate somewhere. You can't act like you are at a funeral all the time...that's just a downer.

I don't think people are putting on a show, I think they are taking advantage of another outlet to express themselves in a way they would in that type of environment. Now that isn't for everyone and that is ok. I, myself, struggle with a lot of the nonsense and flaming. I got told that I was too serious. I then follow the lead of others and state my opinions more harshly and get told that it is innappropriate. *shrug* can't please everyone. Different place, different mood, different facets of personality must be used.

I have never seen the point in pretending to be someone else no matter where I am....I signed up and was myself and sat and watched other people have fun in their own way as well....not my bag and this thread

In this thread we flame those above us

among some others is exactly why I wont participate further.

several people are running around there acting like they have been left at home alone for the first weekend when they were teenagers

Im sure it serves as an outlet for people that might feel stifled, and want to experiment...I dont need that.

Unfortunately I've lost some respect for some people that are over there showing a different side than I've seen before. I could never insult other people just for the "fun" of it. I dont see what that accomplishes

I haven't spent a lot of time over there and I haven't noticed anyone I know of here behaving abominably. Although I have noticed a rougher edge on some people. There are several people acting like twelve year old ADHD kids who forgot their ritalin. And are almost as smart! I don't know who they are, but they don't act like tfper's. Which kind of makes me wonder about the origin and nature of this new board...something seems a little fishy.

i have looked at the new board a few times.
i dont get it.

i dont see any particular social experiment going on there: the space seems mostly about the notion that there are no rules--but there are rules--there are obviously rules--there are rules in the hierarchy that administers it; there are assumed rules in the divisions between forums; there are rules that shape how and what people write.
there are always rules.
the political question is not rules yes/no, but what kind of rules and who is going to be able to shape them.

the problem seems to me that "anarchism"--direct democracy--has been confused with anarchy (no rules) in a particularly bourgeois way--the assumption seems to be that the absence of top-down hierarchy (the way americans in fact have their lives run, even as they like to pretend that things are otherwise) means that there are no rules at all. in the absence of rules, people get to trot out their inner bonehead. they feel all trangressive and even (bizarrely) liberated because they can be stupid in a freer way. that they reproduce cliche after clilche, social type upon social type in their free expression of whatever seems not to cross anyone's mind. so it's "woo hoo, i can tell x to fuck themselves: the revolution is surely upon us all."

if there is a demonstration/experiment happening, the point of it appears to be to show that folk cannot govern themselves. well, that's one of them: the other appears to be to provide other folk the oppotunity to laugh as they demonstrate that they cannot govern themselves.
but the set-up is such that this is the outcome you want.
"here is a little experiment. there are no rules."
well, if there really are no rules, then there is no experiment.
how do you define an experiment without rules?


direct democracy is about the ability of a collective to directly shape all aspects of their social world. the collective decides what the rules will be, how they will be implemented, what will happen to those who violate them, and most importantly when and how these rules will change. if you want to go that route, then make the structure and origin of the board explicit and set up mechanisms so that folk who participate can access mod positions and enact structures collectively.

i have been doing improvised music for many years now. often folk think that improvisaton means no rules. that isn't at all true--there are always rules--you reproduce them continually, in your style, in your note selection, in the phrasing, in allusions, in your compostional logic. what improvisation does is puts you in a position of being able to tamper with/change your relation to these rules. but you can be sure that you wont tamper with or change much of anything if you are not aware of what it is that you are doing before, during and after you perform--at the more or less political level. the trick is to combine this self-awareness with a radical openness in the space of the performance.

so far, what i see happening in the anarchy space is a version of what raymond queneau criticized about surrealism:

they trade enslavement to a set of rules they knew about for enslavement to a set of rules they didn't know about.

i dont see much of interest in watching that be performed.
i find it depressing.

You have totally over-thought the entire process.

It is the same in dance. I perform mostly improvisational raks orientale (belly dance) and dance fusion, and it doesn't mean I act out a physical form of Turette's Syndrome, it means I'm aware of *all* the "rules" of *all* the forms, and perform accordingly.

I have no problem with emphasizing certain aspects of my personality or psyche in different places as appropriate--sexy characture on stage when doing burly, serene when doing Egyptian-style dance, etc. Even being silly when out drinking with friends. But there needs to be a payback, and I don't see that happening there.

I'm also big on structure. That's what get's me going, motivates me--bringing order to chaos. There's enough lacking structure in day-to-day life that I don't find it attractive to go out of my way to even marginally participate. Not knocking the experiment per se, just explaining why it doesn't appeal to me, and why I won't be participating.

Well put. As to the notion of a few who have concerns about it being a 'popularity' contest and becoming 'cliqueish', the results are in...it is that, thus far. (You wanna see something really funny, you should see the flood of 'infractions' I got from one person.:lol:)
By accumulating these 'infractions', your 'rep' takes a nosedive, thusly preventing you from climbing up the status ladder. So far, it's working in a sense that the 'social experiment' aspect of it is revealing a true nature of mob behavior, cliqueish attitudes and the need to jump on whatever the bandwagon is that day-this incessant need to 'belong'. And once the 'rep' gives someone a 'power', they use it as they see fit, including delving into the inner workings of the site itself if they know how, announcing what 'power' they now have 'OOO, I can ban you now!!' and generally, as you stated, act like ADHD kids sans their meds.
People are dropping like flies out of disgust....
With no boundaries, no rules of decorum, some are simply woe to use responsibilty. Logical action takes a holiday in favor of self-gratifying moments of negative action. Smackdowns beget defense, defense begets mob attack, mob attack beget...well, whatever would follow-retreat or more defense. I am not innocent of this, but I used the 'anarchy' not as a chaotic, dance-nekkid, whoo-hoo, ,the parents are gone factor. In anarchy, the true base nature of a person comes out. There were no surprises at all there, except perhaps that what we've perceived in some is magnified and generally negatively. I'm sure you've seen classrooms where, as soon as the teacher steps out, kids start behaving differently. Some will just go nuts, get up, run, make noise, others just sit, perhaps scared, while still others take the opportunity to do something constructive. It is unfortunate but a fact of life that those who do the most noise-making are the ones that get the kudos, the attention, regardless of whether that noise is a positive one or a negative. And when you think about it, how many of the more negative ones from school do you remember even now?

*hammer slams head of the nail*



Re: diverting attention away from TFP/wearing different 'hats'

You can't announce that there is another playground with another set of rules next door and then expect this playground to stay the same in terms of quality of interaction and quantity of playmates.

I think the mere existence of this other forum in the context of being publicized here is damaging to the level of interactions here. I know that my level of interactions here has changed (more than once) as a direct consequence of having interacted with members of this forum in another context (in those cases, IRL). Creating this 'anarchy' bit and then endorsing it here on TFP does nothing to add to this community. It may be creating some form of change, but I would not call evolution.

(bolding is mine)... yes, I think you've hit on another nail here, SC. If the new forum had not been advertised here, and had simply been another new forum on the internet where people randomly found themselves through browsing, I think the results could be different.

But because it is being "advertised" here as being a place of anarchy, then we are getting a far different response to it than we would otherwise. People are drawn to it as a foil of TFP, and specifically for that purpose. Which means the sample is skewed. It's not going to have the chance to develop independently of TFP precisely because it's NOT independent of TFP, mostly because of this thread.

Wow, roach... true dat!

I am bewildered by the reasons given for trying to "keep things separate." Isn't that a rule being imposed? How the heck are we, as human beings, supposed to act in any way without imposing some kind of order on things, even if it is just in the way we perceive them!?

I for one don't intend on denying who I am or taking on another persona when posting on C.A. I've heard the arguments about acting differently in different arenas, but I don't buy it....for myself anyway. I'm still the same person. Maybe for me it just comes out more when I post.

I'm still willing to give it a go, but I'm finding it poisonous. There's not a whole lot of effort being put into the posting so far (on the whole).

I don't see you being a different person over there, but damn, some people that I used to actually like and feel warm towards on TFP have revealed an utterly repulsive side of their personality on C:A. I guess that's what's they want to show, though, so the joke's on me for believing that they were being their true selves over here. Makes me feel a bit sad to see it all go down this way, though... it's definitely affecting the way I see things over here, too.

Just read your post again, Shani... and I agree completely.

It's fascinating, isn't it?
I have to admit, I was really pissed at first, but I find it all so ridiculously funny in a sad way. It's a day game, I'm playing to the hilt....why should people, anyone, have that privilege of just being a repulsive basher of others? And some, who are most likely there under different names, think that by hiding under a new nick, it gives them carte blanche to be total assholes.
To think, just to be a pisser, you can hit some little icon over and over and over, come up with some excuse as to why and tadah! you're outta there. Don't need any reason but like or dislike that person. Like'em, make a good mark, don't like'em, make a bad one. And it doesn't take a crowd-one or two with their own agenda can do it as if they think they're sullying some reputation.
The joke is not on you, Abaya...it's on those who think they're playing the joke. They're so far into it, even when hit with the truth, they still attempt to joke it off by being even more repulsive than before. I am guilty of giving audience, though, and fodder, something I truly tried not to do, but the target was so.......huge....
But I do agree, it is showing a not-pleasant side of many who were thought to be decent people when over here. Me? Eh, I'm hardly ever pleasant...no loss there!:lol:

Hey, at least you're consistent. :lol: And I can respect that. :thumbsup:

:lol:


/makes more characters to post

Here's another one who totally agrees with this post.

I admit, sometimes I don't always let every part of who I am show on the TFP. For example I'm not as goofy on TFP as I am in real life. Initially I thought C:A could be a great outlet for goofy posts, or just a place to have fun. I like to have fun, and I wish I took more opportunity to showcase that side of me on TFP. I wanted to have fun on C:A but it wasn't long before I was turning into a grouch because I was annoyed at people who were making ridiculous posts, or giving infractions on every post I made just because they felt like doing it. Stupid stuff.

Theres a difference between having a little fun and being really immature. I think that C:A could thrive with plenty of the former, seasoned with a little bit of the latter. Unfortunately it's being overrun by immaturity and idiocy. Which, I guess, is what you get without any kind of order.

It's really frustrating that much of that some part of that idiocy is coming from current TFP members who are showcasing some completely different, and somewhat discouraging personas on CA than they exhibit here. It's odd.

I'm still sticking around C:A to see if it gets better. I know that many TFPers are bailing out of there because they have found that there is nothing there worth viewing or discussing anymore. And the idiocy is oppressive. I'm hoping for some change.

Daoust, it was really fun with you in the beginning and I thank you for providing that, but now its nothing but a disgusting display of supposed "adults" reverting back to high school behavior, I think Im shocked more than anything else. The "rats" have taken over the sinking ship hon...but if it does change Im sure you'll be one of the reasons

abaya I agree with everything you said too. I got an "infraction" for saying fuck of all things hehehe and some of the comments I read over there today are way more worse than me saying "lighten the fuck up".


lol its like watching a train wreck

So I signed up mainly cause I do whatever Halx tells me to... but after I read this thread and the forum itself... I don't fucking get it. Seems kind of lame to me. But that's just me. And who really listens to me anyway...

The more I see of what's going on over there the more it creeps me out. And to find out that most of the people w/ non-tfp names are actually tfp members, man, that's really dismaying given the juvenile interpretations of what "anarchy" is and the general level of retarded bullshit being dished out by them and others. I'm not in the "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" clique so I don't know who these people are and I don't want to know who they are. It's like finding out that your best friend is in the Klan or something. I just hope it's all worth the animosity you're sure to bring back here with you.

:(

I decided to join because I thought I'd help Halx out with his little experiment, but if I had foreseen that it would disturb TFPers the way I'm reading above, I wouldn't have done.

I'm sorry if anything I said upset anyone.

...sorry for quoting myself!!!!!!!!!

Speaking for myself, I'm not talking about you, Sharon. :)

Why does an anarchy forum have a democratic hierarchy of moderation? That's really confusing.

Nope Sharon, you haven't offended me either. :) No one has said anything to me directly, since I'm not even registered (and therefore not posting). Guess I'm glad we have C:A to bring out people's true colors. Still sad, though.

Yeah no shit, I was just saying that to ktspktsp. Wouldn't a truly anarchic forum have *no* moderators or admins, period? Just a heap of members posting whatever, without any hierarchy?

And no penalties or infractions or anything like that. I view the infractions as an attempt to police and moderate, but they don't work. They make the place worse. If there were no infractions or points, and people could just write whatever they felt like, it truly would be anarchy. Mind you, it's pretty crazy in there now, but it's more stupid than crazy.

I didn't get a chance to read the whole thread.

I'm left wondering, after recieving a warning for mentioning TFP, what the real point is. If we're going to have a DEMOCRATIC forum, I'm all for that. Mob rule is absolutely fascinating. The thing is, this isn't it. This is anarchy. You rule yourself and no others, and no one rules you.

Support systems are good things. Anarchy wouldn't reduce the birth rate but it would increase the death rate...

Both of which will be affected by the rise in rape.


Just saying...

And I do agree
Royalty I recognize
according to law!

No, it's mean, nasty and dirty. Stupid ended about 8 hours ago....or intensified-hard to tell. I wish Hal would close it.

Heheh. I think it's pretty nice.

I am a firm believer that censorship in any form is a bad idea.

Censorship always retards creativity, true emotion, being true to yourself.

In that aspect I really enjoy the forum, I act how I act around my friends, we dog on each other jokingly, we get mad at each other sometimes and have nasty words.

I have a blast in the "Flame the person above you" thread, it's just funny as hell, a big joke (I've noticed people are taking it much too literal though).

I do think people who dismiss this forum with a 'holier than thou' attitude should take a step down and look at themselves. You're no better than the person calling my mom a fat whore, different probably, but no better. It's all in the mind of who is looking at this type of thing. I laugh when someone dogged on me in that thread, sucked it up and went back at them.

but you are right, it is a game, one that can turn very sinister and it already has somewhat, but that seems to be dying down.

Sinister, yea....
At first it was cathartic, no harm, no foul, but foul is taking over.
I don't think anyone is taking a 'holier than thou' attitude. Some don't want to get blunt or be hurtful; others take great satisfaction in it, revel in it. I think that's a more 'holier than thou' mindset than just walking away.
I want to take a second and make my own apologies for contributing to the demeanor; it seems what started out as a 'let's get real here' took a nosedive into a 'let's sling mud and be hurtful'. Guess sometimes instead of abandoning a worthless hole, against our own better judgement, we dig harder thinking something will come of it. Again, I apologize.

Why would someone apologize for being themselves?

Unless it was all an act, there is no reason for apology. Again, it's Anarchy. It's not Anarchy-but-play-nice. You can do whatever the fuck you want NG and nobody can call you on it, it's not wrong.

The only way to be wrong is to break the rules, which if there are none, you can't possibly have something to apologize for.

I think you should just let loose and have some fun with it.

Seriously, go re-read the thread (you know which one) it's fucking hilarious!

I find myself over there having FUN.....

I post I don't care what others think, I let my humor and words fly.

If you don't like what others are doing there.... stop crying, bitching, complaining, saying Hal needs to close it..... etc. Do the simplest thing on Earth.... don't go in there.

I admit I don't like the fighting and the meanness of some of the posts, I happen to like NG and Sheesus and JJ and it's sad to see some people I like fighting.... but ya know what..... I start reading them, if I find it is upsetting.... I STOP READING THE POST........ I then post try to add some humor... I'm sure someone will be "higly offended by such juvenile behavior" ..... know what GO FUCK YOURSELF......

If you can't make room in life for a little fun, I pity you
If you can't make room in life for a little craziness and absurdity, I feel sorry for you
If you punish others, think less of them, and get pissy because someone else found a way to release and have some fun and you want to spoil it....... I am ashamed for you and I truly feel you must be one miserable person here, there and in real life.

I was having fun. where some thought I was 'pissed', I was laughing as I typed..put in the cutesy little laughing things...
I 'let loose'...and got turned on by people I thought were decent folks. I said I'd leave, I left, got talked into going back and just use another name. Try to explain the name change-didn't matter.
Then those stupid 'infractions'-when you hit it you leave a 'message'-they were not pleasant to say the least. No biggy, neither was I once things got rolling.
Most of the threads were fun, but even there, participants got not-good 'infraction' messages. They left. I stayed on. I'm a big girl, no big deal. If Don Rickles can do it, I can and I know I'm a bitch or can at least play one. Type some more, laugh somewhat evilly...
But it got worse. I gave an audience, took the bait...final straw was the 1,000 word tirade at me by someone that, until then, I had respect for. Every word he said was evil, nasty, untrue and hurtful. It was not meant as satire, biting comedy or even as a defense. The intent was clear. Hope he reads this-he won.
I don't like mud wrestling. I think doing things, even telling the complete honest truth, can be done without evil intent, even humor.
It's funny how, when you have conversations with other people and share a common thought or idea out of noticing actions and one person decides to bring that out into the open, they kill the messenger. I'm a bitch for saying what other people think or whisper; someone else is stupid because they don't like the same food or movie. If I stick up for myself or even others, I'm a 'whiner'. At least six people ran from there in the first 48 hours...are they chickens? Nah, just smarter than me.:D
Yea, Pan.. I left. I didn't care what others thought either, until the thoughts became hurtful words. I stopped laughing. I can take a joke. That ain't it.

/me waits 4 more weeks for racing to start so I have something actually fun to do.:D

So Anarchy necessarily means that frat boys (or men who still act like frat boys) who think they're soooo fucking funny are free to get their jollies however they like and at whomever's expense they feel like ganging up on that day? And if we don't like it we should go fuck ourselves? :lol:

Well, listen, Babe. If the tripe being tossed back and forth over there were funny, that would be one thing. What I see are a bunch of kids sitting there giggling hilariously at their own comedic brilliance while they type whatever dunderheaded, JUVENILE trash that their other half-wit friends think is funny into a computer and trying to call it anarchy. I realize now, in the internet world, if all are given free reign then the goons who have probably been pushed around all their lives and have chips on their shoulders the size of Mount Rushmore are the ones who will "rise to the top." And I suppose, being a charitable sort of person, you ought to have one place where you feel "special." You guys have fun.

The experiment is working very well, in my opinion. This thread alone has defined aspects of us all that may never have come to light had Anarchy not been created. I see this as an extention of the Larger Experiment we call TFP, and a damn good one at that. It may not be TFP2.0......but only because it is not truly seperated from this place at all, nor should it be.

No if you are going to sit there and complain about it or act like it is juvenile and beneath you..... then why go? My feeling is if you don't like it don't go. If you go just to complain then F* you.

Even got a li'l laughy there to really drive that point home, didn't ya?

If that is what it is then so be it. As you say everyone needs their little place. You don't see me attacking anyone do you?????? Do you see me supporting anyone who does????????

What I see is a group trying to make something and have some fun while playing and enjoying no rules, and another group who wants to turn it into TFP lite and expects the same rules. There it is open and you can explore different sides of yourself.... here it is well moderated and you are expected to act a certain way towards everyone. There it is Wild West... here it is civilization.

To some the appeal is more one way than another... to some they like both. In reality both are only what YOU make them to be. Sad thing is some decide it is not for them, thus they have to talk down to, scold and treat those who like it as if they were the ones who were ignorant.

Look the masses could attack me today.... so be it. If they do will it take away how I feel about the new place? No, because ..... and here is the shocker...... I don't go there for their approval........ I'll ignore it and just do my thing, if they ban me for it, or they try to make me miserable... then they are the ones with the problem. In reality, the ones passing the judgement are the ones who REFUSE to allow fun, for themselves or for others.

If I allow them to make me miserable because of words on a screen.....then I have a feeling I was miserable long before them.

Finally, some here want to act like everyone teams up and it is mob against innocent.... that's not true. In fact I see the vast majority minding their own business over there and just doing their thing finding out if they like it or not.

Don't like it walk away be done with it......... the more you bitch, moan, complain, call names and pass judgement on those there, the more you show everyone else (except that group you want to impress), what a control freak and how judgemental you truly are. And if you do pass judgement, then expect to be judged in return.....

You told us to fuck off and you're not attacking anyone? I'm not attacking anyone by saying exactly what it is. Do I think that kind of behavior is beneath me? Well, yes I do. You don't like it? You want to be showered with approval and best wishes? Sorry, I will speak my mind, just as you are. And apparently I'm sad to say, just as those folks over there are doing. If you guys need rules to not behave like a bunch of children, then fine, whatever. I am far from a control freak but I do pass judgment on adults who choose to act like they never left junior high school. Wear your merit badge proudly, pan, if you like. But don't expect me to be told to fuck off and not speak my mind. That's the point, right? Do what you like and don't care what anyone else thinks about it?

It smells like the death of TFP.

When the social lubrication that we have worked so hard to establish here is stripped away it isn't pretty.

How long before the animosity growing there leaks into here? While it has been "interesting" to see certain people's true colours shining through, it is also disheartening.

Makes me wonder why I spend my time here.

And just for the record, I don't intend to go back. I don't care to have anymore of my illusions dashed. It's really more sad than anything else.