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Is this place deader than ever?
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2,619 posts in this topic

3 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

If you don't agree, you dismiss and ignore. I made a compelling argument about why "like limits" aren't necessary on a board filled with adults, but there you are, throwing what I'm sure you think is a "bone" to the peasants, instead of acknowledging the truth of what I said. What would it cost you to remove the limits entirely? Nothing. Do you think there is going to be a flood of "disruptive" likes? Even if there is, shouldn't your first instinct be to address it if and when it comes, rather than restrict everyone from the outset on the chance that someone might abuse the system? The likes don't DO anything, so why does a limit on them matter?

Again: the  utter non-importance of this issue perfectly illustrates the point. It's an attitude of "I know best, and even if I make the appearance of listening, I'll still end up doing what I think is best."

That attitude is pervasive, and colors everything about these boards. COI thinks you didn't post those other threads to dismiss and diminish...I think you did. I think you're offended that members think and say these things, and so you make sure everyone knows how silly you think they're being posting these types of threads. "More replies" (and I'll take your word for it) doesn't disprove the point. You have a measure of contempt for the people you have power over, and until and if that changes, the reasons why these threads exist will remain. 

Listening to people, admitting where you've been wrong, listening to people, making concessions when it's a hill not worth dying on (even if you don't agree), listening to people, recognizing that even if you're the smartest person in the room, you still don't have all the answers, and listening to people without simply dismissing what they say out of hand, as if you have all the answers, and they have none, is critical for anyone in a leadership role. 

This is always the best answer. It may not always be the RIGHT answer, but it is always the best one.

PS. If you are offended by what I've just said, if your instinct is to dismiss and ignore, or worse, look for more flimsy pretexts to suspend, you have successfully put your finger on the problem.

PPS. I hold little hope that this will change anything. It's been 16 years, after all. But little hope is not no hope. We'll see.

 

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1 hour ago, porcupine48 said:

Don't be a *spoon* and figure it the *spoon* out,for *spoon* sake.

Wow, I learn something here every day. I thought it was short for a Spoon Billed Duck. No wonder I couldn't figure it out.  hm

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7 hours ago, Logan510 said:

I like this place. Sure, I would love it if some of the posters from years past would post again or post more. Plenty of sellers that don't sell here either I would like to buy from again as well.

Life goes on (shrug)

This is such a cool community. I miss it a lot, and I miss buying/selling books and working with dealers. Man, I had a blast doing that stuff and talking with everyone. It was a totally awesome distraction, and a great place to learn.

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2 hours ago, ChiSoxFan said:

Well, I'm still here, for whatever that's worth. (shrug)

I didn't read through all 39 pages, but I skimmed through a little and saw some familiar faces, and other not so-familiar ones.  Logan510's comment kind of hits it on the head for me.  I've been here since 2009, and I lurked for a couple of years before that, so I've seen a lot here -- a lot good, a little bad, a lot of funny, and I've gathered an incredible amount of knowledge about comics and collecting that I couldn't have found anywhere else, and for me, that's made a huge difference.

There was a time where I was on these boards literally every day for hours at a time.  But I changed jobs (starting working a casino job that made the hours I was awake wacky compared to most people), I got sick (I had a mild stroke, was diagonosed with Fibromyalgia, and then sleep apnea -- which is getting worse, and has two of the best sleep specialists in the region baffled as to what's going on) -- so my health, even though I'm in my late 40's, is slowly deteriorating with my physcians unable to come up with any answers to help.  My mother passed away last April, and I haven't recovered from that, and my father had a stroke in September, and his health is shaky at best.  The last two years have been at times a nightmare, and there doesn't seem to be any reprieve coming.

All of that means that the time I spend here has diminished, for no other reason than, as much as I love this place, other life matters have taken priority, and I'm not here as often as I once was.  It's a stark, extreme example as to why there's plenty of reasons why people move on.  A website can change its format.  People move out of the hobby.  People get ill.  People have other priorities take precedent.  There are still new people joining, and barring something out of the ordinary, they still will.  As another example, I used to be a heavy poster on a popular fantasy baseball message board and stopped posting when they changed their format around (and I discovered THIS message board around the same time).  I thought the board was on its death knell then -- much to my surprise, I recently discovered it's still ongoing today, nearly a decade after I stopped frequenting it -- not what I remebered it as, but still something worth going to.  It's a reminder that things inevitably change, and that there's some level of irony in remembering how things "were" here, on a board centered around a hobby based largely on nostalgia.

None of this means that things are perfect here, or that they can't be improved or tweaked for the community's benefit.  It also doesn't mean that, as Logan510 said, I don't miss certain people or wish I saw other people who aren't here as much.  There may be a day, likely sooner than later, when someone here may ask "Whatever happened to that ChiSoxFan guy?" as well, but my disappearance won't mean the end of the world for this site.  The boards have evolved over the years, in both positive and sometimes not-as-postive ways, but that's part of the natural order of things.  For now, I still like hanging around here, and I hope to so as long as I'm able.  For familiar faces I like seeing post, whether it's in the sales forums or the regular forums, I hope I continue to see them.  For new faces, hopefully they can integrate into the community (we were all new here once) and keep it going strong, so that these boards can be as much an attribute to someone new down the road as they once were for me a decade or so ago.

:applause: hope things turn around for you :wishluck:

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