My thought (IMPORTANT! READ OR DIE!! >O)

Dear Eden and SG:

The thread got closed before I could read all your cool posts in it, but I would just like to say in respose to your posts: I love you. A lot. :3

Now, if I may offer my suggestion, I think we should bring back everyone’s post count to 0, delete any of the unused accounts at a certain date, and revamp the mods (again) so that for the most part, the rules will be enforced in a timely manner. (Especially the spamming one.)

…But that’s just what I think, I’m just a lowly n00b with under 2000 posts. >>;

BUT, on that note, I would also like to offer this thought: I think one reason that this forum has become “unfun,” as it were, is because so many of us have lost the love. For reals dude. It seems like everyone is just bickering all the time, all, “I hate you,” “I WANT you to leave RIGHT NOW!!” “STUPID N00B!!” “C4mp1ng f4gg07” etc.

I think a LOT of us (myself included) need to get into some PM or AIM or MSN or WHATEVER conversations, talk things out with anyone and EVERYONE we’re having “h8 problems” with, and like, try to be at least neutral so we don’t get so worked up every time somebody posts. Because at this rate, RPGC’s downfall won’t be insufficient funds, or shitty shrines (not that they are >>); it’ll be the elitist, cruel-hearted community. And to be truly honest with you guys, it’s the COMMUNITY that keeps me at RPGC. I don’t read the shrines much anymore, I haven’t read fanfiction in ages, and Macc has disappeared off the face of the planet, so I’ve found other webcomics to read (maybe Online Life should be next on my list >>;). But I’ve made more lifelong friends here than I would’ve ever imagined having in my “real” life, and I like talking to all the diverse people we have here.

This place has really helped me to grow, to expand my thinking, and just BE a better PERSON. And I KNOW I’m not the only one, and I KNOW I’m not the only one who is saddened to see our community deteriorate like this. It’s really depressing, if you think about it. I mean fuck, if things keep going like this, who am I supposed to invite to my great wedding that wouldn’t have been possible without RPGC? (Not that it’s been discussed or anywhere near being planned at this point, don’t start jumpin’ out your shoes now. I’m just sayin’. :P)

So like, I dunno. Just think about what I said. If all ya’ll don’t mind, it’s noon and I haven’t showered yet, so I’ma go do that. I hope to see GOOD THINGS come out of this place when I come back!!

I agree with us having to get into a PM session with people we hate, these boards have downgraded to mostly being hateful. But I don’t know of anyone who has any major beefs with me (except one who MIGHT, but I have reasons to doubt it equally, so I won’t go into it), so I can’t say for sure.

So all of a sudden because some people choose to be jerks this place is “deteriorating”? Who decides this? I know nothing of RPGC’s past, and I was never around but it angers me, as a fairly new person of a year and a half, that I apparently joined in a time and contributed to the shittiness and only the hardcore oldies can make things better.

I dunno if you were implying this, but I’m just saying, because I get that impression from other people.

If everyone’s lost the love, well sitting around in chatrooms isn’t going to do anything. People move on. The message board may fall but that doesn’t mean people have to stop being friends with each other. It’s ridiculous the amount of seriousness that comes out of such a silly topic. And it is silly, I’m inclined to say, this is just a message board, get over it. If it goes, that doesn’t mean everyone has to lose contact. Just…be a grown up and go with it.

That’s just my two cents…

While I agree with your points, I found that Eden was a real bitch to me all the time, for no reason. No-one else has, consistently, but whenever I post on this forum, if Eden reads it, I get a bitchy response. Most people have been pretty good, especially in the Media forum, but in this one it’s there is a lot of hate.

Eva, you’re obviously missing the point. Just because you don’t have any attachment to this place, doesn’t mean others don’t either. You might think it’s silly to take something like a message board seriously, but some of us, myself included, don’t HAVE anything else. Yeah there’s the chat, and yeah there’s all the other ways of communication online, but really, it’s the boards that brings everyone together.

And it’s not just a “few people being jerks.” There’s ongoing feuds, outright WARS going on, and even behind the scenes, in the staff forum (yes, I’ve seen em, bugger off) things seem to be falling apart.

And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems to me that some of the rules just aren’t being enforced, which makes things miserable for those of us who actually care about having a peaceful community.

And I’m most certainly not blaming ANYONE for all of this. You’re right on that it’s something that’s bound to happen, but that’s no reason to just let this negativity thrive. And if I may be frank, you’re just adding to it with comments like “who cares, get over it.” Because I DO care. A LOT. Just because it’s the internet doesn’t make it silly or trivial. Things do change, and one huge change for the entire world is that the internet is becoming a very REAL, and a very IMPORTANT part of it. Seriously, can you imagine what today’s world would be like without it? What about all the people and experiences you’d be missing out on, and all the cool things you’ve seen online? And you wouldn’t have any idea that any of it was possible. So don’t go around naysaying, “it’s just the internet.”

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And it’s not just a “few people being jerks.” There’s ongoing feuds, outright WARS going on, and even behind the scenes, in the staff forum (yes, I’ve seen em, bugger off) things seem to be falling apart.

Well that’s what we call being human I guess. Not everyone is going to get along.

And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems to me that some of the rules just aren’t being enforced, which makes things miserable for those of us who actually care about having a peaceful community.

What rules?

And I’m most certainly not blaming ANYONE for all of this. You’re right on that it’s something that’s bound to happen, but that’s no reason to just let this negativity thrive. And if I may be frank, you’re just adding to it with comments like “who cares, get over it.” Because I DO care. A LOT. Just because it’s the internet doesn’t make it silly or trivial.

I care about rpgc a lot too. It’s fun. But the fact that’s ON the internet does make it silly or trivial. We’re behind a screen. All of us feel comfortable saying or doing whatever. If this was a large group in some big place or whatever, a lot of things wouldn’t be said or wouldn’t have happened because of that thing called being face to face. it just wouldn’t. I’m not saying that a relationship, whatever kind it may be, formed on the net is trivial and silly, I’m saying that a lot of these issues are just net related issues. Remember when Hades and Charlemagne ganged up on you (or something like that, I don’t really know what happened)? That wouldn’t have happened in person, I gaurantee it. Everyone is behind a screen and secure and that gives them the bravado to say and do things we normally wouldn’t say or do in public or in person.

Things do change, and one huge change for the entire world is that the internet is becoming a very REAL, and a very IMPORTANT part of it. Seriously, can you imagine what today’s world would be like without it? What about all the people and experiences you’d be missing out on, and all the cool things you’ve seen online? And you wouldn’t have any idea that any of it was possible. So don’t go around naysaying, “it’s just the internet.”

I’m quite aware of that, moreso than anyone can imagine. What I meant was that, these internet related issues are trivial when you think about it. I’m sure a sucessful, mature adult out there in the world, who frequents the net a lot, is not sitting at his desk thinking “oh gods I wonder what’s happening in my star craft game and if those guys will let me back in” or “I hope FJEU isn’t mad at me because I blocked him from chat last night”. Just think about some of the stuff you’re saying. Well not really you, but just any one, when they bring a problem up like this and obsess over it. Threads like these are just giving people a chance to talk.

I can kinda agree with what Nessie is saying…to me, this place is more than just a message board. I’ve been here for almost two years, and I’ve come to love this place very much. I’ve had lotsa good times, and made quite a few friends here.

It really IS the community that makes this place.

I wish I had smething more to add to this conversasion, but I just needed to say that.

And on another note, LoL@TD.

We discuss this every four days. Let’s move on, people :stuck_out_tongue:

TD: I love you because it’s so true, yet hate you because I’m on 56k. :stuck_out_tongue:

What rules?

From what I’ve noticed anyway, mainly the spamming and trolling. I’m not saying they’re not being enforced at all, just not nearly as well as they ought to be.

Remember when Hades and Charlemagne ganged up on you (or something like that, I don’t really know what happened)? That wouldn’t have happened in person, I gaurantee it.

I remember when Hades picked on me, yeah. But Charlemagne is still on his major hate case, despite all the good things he ought to be concentrating on coughjingcough, and believe it or not, that STARTED in person. So, yeah, it would’ve happened in person, with at least one of these people, because it DID.

And it’s not so much about little things that happen every now and then, that’ll happen. It’s about how all this stuff happening now is affecting the community as a whole. What if something like this happened with a church group, or a club at school, or just your group of friends? It’s pretty much the same thing, and I’m just saying, that those of us who care enough about the community need to work together to make RPGC a fun place to be again.

So, yeah, it would’ve happened in person, with at least one of these people, because it DID.

Oh ok. There’s little details floating around about this incident so I’m sorry for the mistake.

And it’s not so much about little things that happen every now and then, that’ll happen. It’s about how all this stuff happening now is affecting the community as a whole. What if something like this happened with a church group, or a club at school, or just your group of friends? It’s pretty much the same thing, and I’m just saying, that those of us who care enough about the community need to work together to make RPGC a fun place to be again

Yeah, I totally get what you mean. But most of us are thousands of miles away from each other and most of us have at least a couple good friends and people to talk to from RPGC. Despite the distance, everyone’s gotten close. Even if RPGC closed down, I can’t see it threatening any one. Yes, it would dampen everyone’s spirits maybe, or maybe I just have too much faith in people. I’ve noticed that the RPGC community is quite close, it doesn’t take a genius to see that. I just can’t believe that everyone would crumble in the ruins of a forum, if everyone is as close-knit as you claim.

The only thing that really irks me and that I don’t agree with now, is the “fun place to be statement”. For some, this is already a fun place to be, and a lot of us are out of the loop when it comes to grudges and fueds and whatnot. So what I’m saying is that some may get a bit offended by that statement.

The problem is that on the internet, some people develop a serious case of “Biggus Dickus.” In doing so they become a hgue asshole to make themselves seem superior. Afterall, nobody knows where they live and will probably never meet the person in real life, so they don’t care if they develp enemies. A lot of behavior on the internet would never pass in real life. You don’t jsut go around yelling and insulting people in real life…at least I certainly hope not. This just adjitates these sort of problems. After being to some of the RPGC meetings I see that we are all very different people, however, we still get along fantastically, partly because everyone is nice. The meets would be pretty miserable if some people brought an internet personality of insulting everyone and yelling at everyone. Also, one of the things that seperates RPGC from many places is that there are generally few assholes here like at many other laces online. I’ve seen increasing and declining quality of the site. One of the things that first attracted me to the site was that I could post something and not feel stupid or watch my back. However, we have grown our own trolls here that it has really decliend the quality lately. Hell, I hate having people on my ignore lists, but it seems to be the only way I can really help keep some of the peace. Witht hese new trolls, some of what made RPGC so special is leaving. Hell, there are a couple of times that if I hadn’t met some of the wonderful people here I would have left. Such as the time before I went to my training this summer when everyone was just getting on my case or insulting me. I would have left if I didn’t knwo that there are some really cool people here that i like to chill with. Afterall, why should we subject ourselves to that sort of abuse? If RPGC loses its great community, what is to seperate the site froma place like IGN ro GameFAQs? The only thing I can think of would be the number of members.

Biggus dickus haha. Ok let me refresh then. Well that’s what we call being normal on the internet I guess.

Maybe it is being discussed since it is still a problem. The first step in solving a problem is to admit/acknowledge it.

Maybe there are a few people who think the boards are still fun now, but I can’t name a single one. But I know for a fact, I’ve seen multiple people say it, here and in the chat, that many, if not most people feel that the place just isn’t enjoyable anymore. I’ll say it again, all I want is to try to change that.

Well it’s better than hearing some one piss and moan and do jack shit about it.

Exactly. :stuck_out_tongue:

Not at RPGC though and that is the point. RPGC never really had too much of a problem with it until lately. There have been a couple every now and then, but they were taken care of and it wasn’t so many at a time. If I want to be flamed I’ll go to GameFAQs and ask a simple question on a game. RPGC isn’t that way…normally or historically. “Normal” internet behavior of being a big dick to make yourself seem cool and tough is stupid. I think that those that are the biggest dicks on the internet are probably nerdy little guys. They act like bully and do it online since they know that no one can hurt them. There is no way in hell they’d act liek that in real life since they’d get the shit ebt out of them adn then in mroe trouble for startign a fight or soemthing.

EDIT: This may sound corny, but I think that this site could benefit from people follwing the saying “If you don’t have somethign ncie to say, don’t say anythign at all.” I admit I don’t always follow this and I retaliate at people a bit too easily or much at times too, so I’m not saying just you guys. It applies to all of us.

EDIT2: More on Biggus Dickus. It is sort of like when people buy big things, in particular guys, and they say that the person must be compensating for something. Being an asshole is the same thing.

Yeah, we have the first step down, really good. I think we’ve acoomplished the first step about a dozen times by now. That’s why I think we should move on, by either going to a step two, or by shutting up about it and just trying to be generally more pleasant.

It doesn’t seem like the problem is being fully acknowledged since some people want some to just shut up about it. As for step two, it really is sor tof hard to do without a larger amount of people acknoledging the problem. If people acknowledge the problem, they might be more cautious or courteous when they post. If not, people will jsut contiue to follow their mean tendencies.