Is SYM dying?

The Z · Post by **The Z** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 12:53 pm

Originally posted by RandomThug
Oh @Z there is NEVER a time in which one can not use the song "blame canada" for it is canadas fault in everything wronging that appears on this globe. The plauge that is canada is a horrid horrid thing.

But doesn't "Blame the States" have so much more assonance?

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 12:55 pm

@Thug,

I think that beginning new threads is a good idea

The reason I began this topic though is I that I felt an open (and hopefully non-confrontational) discussion of the mood in SYM might help...

I have always been of the opinion that an honest examination of something that has gone wrong is the best way to initiate healing. It is not unlike a romantic relationship.... If you have problems, an honest consideration of where you each messed up ultimately tends to be far better than shoving things under the carpet in the hope that they go away..

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:00 pm

Well, let's not be singing "Blame the Dwarves" here, okay?

The way I see it, nobody's truly to blame. Maybe something cool will come up and things will become a bit more pleasant and lively. Still, there's the thought that people are moving on bit by bit. Me, I still have quite a ways to go, having just graduated from high school last year and got a job about a month ago. Like I said before, I'm not ready to fade out just yet, and neither is everybody.

Oh, and DW, here's a joke to cheer you up:

What do you get when you have a wet dwarf on a tavern floor?

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:03 pm

@Galuf,
lol! What do you get?

My thought processes are not working so well today, so I am having some trouble figuring it out

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:07 pm

Originally posted by dragon wench
@Galuf,
lol! What do you get? My thought processes are not working so well today, so I am having some trouble figuring it out

A MOP!

I can bet you have alot of spirit and heart, DW. PLENTY of it.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:08 pm

I think there are a few factors, on of the cheif being simply that certain people don't post here anymore. Some members can't post these days due to job, RL, etc... and as a result, the people they interacted with on a daily basis just kinda drift away as a result. Like Fas was talking about with Eery.

As to MSN, I ain't sure I buy that, I spa...er....posted a helluva lot last summer back and forth with AC, and for the most part of it was carrying on a conversation with her over MSN. Same with a bunch of other members.

There are other factors I think, such as some members putting themselves into a sort of self imposed exile because they miss the way SYM used to be. The nature of a fourm dictates that new people are gonna come in, and there will be periods of time when some older posters will either leave or simply not be able to post as much for awhile.

I think a lot of it is we have started as a whole to take everything a bit too seriously lately. Seems like every post has to have a point or it's basically ignored. Which is the kiss of death to anything I post

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:10 pm

Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
A MOP!

I can bet you have alot of spirit and heart, DW. PLENTY of it.

ROFL!

Thanks, I needed that

Hmmm... well maybe I should get into the spirits.... hot rum and whiskey toddies tend to be an effective counter against germ warfare

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:11 pm

Originally posted by dragon wench
I think this is actually quite true... Many people here have now met one another in real life.. and I am wondering if this has, in a way, also caused them to drift from SYM... Because if you see one another regularly, phone one another.. chat on icq/msn.. suddenly the reasons for spamming/chatting/meeting on SYM are perhaps less compelling. For one thing, when you get to know somebody beyond a superficial level, your topics of conversation are not necessarily something appropriate for public viewing.

Or maybe it is just that you can only go so far, and then the social needs of meeting in real life to sustain a friendship become more significant. If this is the case, it is quite depressing from my own perspective because in terms of location I am quite remote from nearly everyone on this board...

Maybe that is one of the reasons new people dont come and visit these forums. I know many of you here are friends and even see eachother in "real life". It could be that the closeness of everyone (well at least the "older" members) here makes newcomers think it has no use comming and posting here. Thinking they wont be accepted because the group is allready to close.
Just my point of view though.........

However, I like SYM and I'm happy to see I could post a problem of mine here, so I would find it a shame to if people stopped posting and visiting here.

T'lainya · Post by **T'lainya** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:17 pm

I rather think SYM is going through some changes, not dying. It's happened before and will happen again. Just as in a real life neighborhood, people move or change their interests, habits and commitments. SYM is defined by the personalities of the entire community, when someone leaves or arrives it changes everyone a little, whether it be the gaining of knowledge or a laugh or sadness from the departure of a friend. Speaking for myself, I'm a cyclic spammer...I spam a lot briefly and then fade out for a time as my real life commitments change. It's not related to the type of threads or the age of posters although for some it might be those reasons. I'm not sure that we need a separate forum for debates as it seems that any thread can turn into a discussion as rapidly as it can turn to spam. I do think that everyone should take the opportunity to reflect on some things though. One is posting while your emotions are high...I know that some of the issues are very sensitive but it does no one any good to post while fuming. Another issue is the lack of visual/voice cues. It's not always easy to distinguish joking from seriousness, if there's any question on how someone meant a post, communicate with that person. (My plea for peace

)
At any rate I doubt SYM is dying, I think it's readjusting

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:20 pm

Originally posted by dragon wench
ROFL! Thanks, I needed that

Hmmm... well maybe I should get into the spirits.... hot rum and whiskey toddies tend to be an effective counter against germ warfare

Errrr... I meant spirit, not SPIRITS.

Of course, the jokes and all are part of my charming lady's man inside me. Maybe I'm meant to help women.

Besides, I be quite charismatic for a dwarf, aren't I?

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:25 pm

Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
Errrr... I meant spirit, not SPIRITS.

Of course, the jokes and all are part of my charming lady's man inside me. Maybe I'm meant to help women.

Besides, I be quite charismatic for a dwarf, aren't I?

lmao! I know you did!

Though I always thought it was natural to associate dwarves with percentage signs

*grins* You are indeed charming

Gwalchmai · Post by **Gwalchmai** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:32 pm

I really think its the chat programs like MSN or ICQ. For me, ICQ was discovered about a year ago, and I started chatting with a few of the DFers. I noticed right off that I was posting things in ICQ that I normally would have posted in a pub thread, where I used to have those sorts of conversations. Consequently, those pub threads suffered (not just because I wasn't posting in them [I'm not that full of myself], but because several people weren't posting in them while they chatted on ICQ). This had a couple of effects:

Spam in SYM decreased as spam in chat programs increased,
Others not involved in the chat group spams could not follow along with the jokes,
and Many people were left out of the spam (spam is where much personal information is conveyed and friendships formed).

So, as spam decreases in SYM, the serious threads increased. People who came to SYM to just hang out were faced with "every post has to have a point" and they lost interest. They were also faced with the MSN/ICQ cliques that made it difficult to feel accepted very quickly. [Mind you - cliques in SYM existed before the MSN/ICQ phenomenon, but now the problem is compounded.] Its a small wonder that participation is down and that there is an over-riding feeling of seriousness out there.

Personally, I've been feeling very left out these days because most people have abandoned ICQ and have gone over to MSN. Even my closest friends are distant to me, and potential new close friends are unreachable. That whole AC as Sex-Goddess thing was a major in-joke that I was left out of (don't you think that would have been right up my alley?

). I hesitate to load up MSN because my main spam time is at work and I don't know how 'detectible' it is.

Where SYM used to be 'one-stop-shopping' for both light and heavy conversations, it is now necessary to check in on SYM, several other forums, and chat programs just to keep up. Vacationing in England seems to be a good way to keep in touch as well.

There used to be occasional threads called "Is anyone on-line?" but these are no longer necessary because we can just check out MSN to see if there is anyone we really want to talk to. But with MSN conversations being closed to other observers, new people (or old) cannot join in, can they? Thus the SYM community dies.

frogus · Post by **frogus** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:41 pm

I don't think SYM's dying...I agree with DW - it's like a marriage

Enamoured as you first feel, if there are not new people around to entertain you, you will feel bored of the boards after a while, like when you first get bored of your marriage. (Launches pre-emptive strike on Fable's explanation of how nice his marriage still is

)

I think that moaning about the state of things is probably like a second honeymoon...it's not gonna work

But, it depends how much you want - if you are not that interested in SYM, there is no legal contract...but if you want some more out of it, you can put a bit more in.

When you start to make some new threads and get involved more, SYM looks your direction, and you will enjoy it more

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:43 pm

Originally posted by Gwalchmai
I really think its the chat programs like MSN or ICQ. For me, ICQ was discovered about a year ago, and I started chatting with a few of the DFers. I noticed right off that I was posting things in ICQ that I normally would have posted in a pub thread, where I used to have those sorts of conversations. Consequently, those pub threads suffered (not just because I wasn't posting in them [I'm not that full of myself], but because several people weren't posting in them while they chatted on ICQ). This had a couple of effects:

Spam in SYM decreased as spam in chat programs increased,

Others not involved in the chat group spams could not follow along with the jokes,

and Many people were left out of the spam (spam is where much personal information is conveyed and friendships formed).

So, as spam decreases in SYM, the serious threads increased. People who came to SYM to just hang out were faced with "every post has to have a point" and they lost interest. They were also faced with the MSN/ICQ cliques that made it difficult to feel accepted very quickly. [Mind you - cliques in SYM existed before the MSN/ICQ phenomenon, but now the problem is compounded.] Its a small wonder that participation is down and that there is an over-riding feeling of seriousness out there.

Personally, I've been feeling very left out these days because most people have abandoned ICQ and have gone over to MSN. Even my closest friends are distant to me, and potential new close friends are unreachable. That whole AC as Sex-Goddess thing was a major in-joke that I was left out of (don't you think that would have been right up my alley? ). I hesitate to load up MSN because my main spam time is at work and I don't know how 'detectible' it is.

Where SYM used to be 'one-stop-shopping' for both light and heavy conversations, it is now necessary to check in on SYM, several other forums, and chat programs just to keep up. Vacationing in England seems to be a good way to keep in touch as well.

There used to be occasional threads called "Is anyone on-line?" but these are no longer necessary because we can just check out MSN to see if there is anyone we really want to talk to. But with MSN conversations being closed to other observers, new people (or old) cannot join in, can they? Thus the SYM community dies.

You never IM'd me on ICQ...I am offended

I can't speak for everyone about the switch from ICQ to MSN, but for me, ICQ is unstable as hell. It just won't let me stay connected for longer than about 10 minutes. I don't think it's any more detecable than any other messaging program though.

@T....Peace? You'll have to beat it out of me

@Sytze....welcome to the board. I'll offer advice on any subject, but will not assume any liability for said advice

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:45 pm

@Gwally, I think what you say makes a lot of sense....

I know that while I have been engaged in several simultaneous IM conversations I have not posted in the pub threads, simply because there is a limit to my multitasking abilities. Also, if I am involved in a IM conversation I often give it priority over spamming because I don't want to take too long to respond.

I don't know if msn is any more traceable than icq..... Maybe some of the more technically-oriented people here could answer that... I have always viewed the two programmes as very similar. While I prefer icq for a number of reasons, msn tends to be more stable... maybe this is why many people have switched over... I used to basically just have icq up, now I tend to put both up if I am in a chatty mood...

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:47 pm

Originally posted by Bloodstalker

@Sytze....welcome to the board. I'll offer advice on any subject, but will not assume any liability for said advice

Well, im not quite new.....but I allready explained that in my first post under this name.
However, I thank thee for thy offer

@Gwalchmai, I think you have hit the main point. Although this will lower the number of people who visit SYM, I dont hink SYM would die though.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:50 pm

Originally posted by Sytze
Well, im not quite new.....but I allready explained that in my first post under this name.
However, I thank thee for thy offer

@Gwalchmai, I think you have hit the main point. Although this will lower the number of people who visit SYM, I dont hink SYM would die though.

What, you expect me to go out of my way to find out who you are?

T'lainya · Post by **T'lainya** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:53 pm

Originally posted by Bloodstalker

@T....Peace? You'll have to beat it out of me

LOL Anytime

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:53 pm

I think another reasong could be the popularity of invisible status. I know that most of the time when I log on, it looks like no one is one the board. If I were a newwer memeber, I'd likely not post on a board that looked to be as dead as this one appears to be most of the time.

In fact, sometimes I don't post because I think I am the only one online and don't wanna be caufght playing with myself

Most of the time, if I see no names or activity, I leave pretty quick.

Littiz · Post by **Littiz** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:56 pm

I mostly lurk and post only when I have the time, or I find the time when a topic enflames me.
I like light-hearted threads, I read through them but usually don't post in them 'cause I'm not very good at lightening (does this word exist?) the hearts of people...
So I only post here and there and I'm usually very annoying.
I apologize for this.

SYM is a fine place.
I'm far from most people, physically, culturally and everything.
I cannot guess how many people may feel bad at me.
Still I like this place.
I have one (out of few) things to be proud of: I am a honest and a true person.
And I say: I like people here.

I hope posts will go on, I hope Grunt will be allowed to post again, and so on.