“…random ‘voicings’…”
“It’s perhaps not as focused… the sense of a public arena is missing… I’d love to have a better way to follow…”
What I loved about the discussions we used to have is that the original topic was so often expanded upon. (Im)Pertinent links led me to stuff I’d never imagined; the combined knowledge and experience of the community (those who took the time and effort to be members) was near the top of internet awesomeness. I haven’t seen anything close to what I’m referring to since this change, the quality of discussion is bland, randomish, unfocussed tripe compared, imho.
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Yeah, for me it’s like having a topic in the main room, and having to go down to the end of the hall to write on the chalkboard before coming back again. That said, I don’t mind it much.
However, people seem to care less about what I say/write than they used to, and I can’t tell if it’s because they don’t like what I have to say, or that they don’t like having to go down the hall to look at the chalkboard.
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You lost me. You’re either a data aggregator emphasising previous points, or mocking - I can’t tell. Please be clear.
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I have to say, I am just not seeing that. One recent example that comes to mind, this discussion of Krull is plenty awesome in my opinion!
I do read every post on BBS (I skim a lot of them, to be fair) and I’ve seen many topics that added significantly to the BB post they were attached to, containing fascinating addendums, observations, and related conversation.
BBS is a substantial change, yes, and as with any substantial change, it will not be to everyone’s taste. But the BB community is very high quality and I believe it is already adapting and embracing this new wing of the mansion – which is still partially under construction!
I’m still here.
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Yeah I’m still quite miffed about the accusations of entitlement and the subtle hints that they don’t like us - the internet hoi polloi - sullying their self-promotion-career platform BB with our comments.
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Hi!
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Hey, there!
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So you’re still here, but where’s Antinous? Looks like he’s not been around for a week and he’s not marked as a Mod any more?
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there are a whole lot of intangibles as to why i feel my interest in BoingBoing has waned, but a big part of it is the whole “do this here, don’t do that there” aspect of the new site and BBS. for a blog that likes to celebrate the “gonzo,” that just doesn’t seem right.
also, as others have mentioned, it often seems like i’m typing into the void. fewer likes – fewer moments of actual discourse through this so-called discourse. and while i applaud your attempt to “build a community,” i have to say that i feel like the sense of community has actually dwindled rather than increased.
i’m trying to adapt – because i really, really loved BoingBoing – but it often seems like i just have better things to do. and that never used to happen.
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Other than lower volume, which is to be expected, and arguably by design...Well, there you go; discussions and community aren't automatic, they're shaped by both content and environment. If discouraging volume of comments and keeping them separate from posts are part of what was intended, that's fine, but it should only be expected that commenters may feel their contributions are less invited and things change accordingly.
For my own part, I don’t think BBS is at all dead, but the disruption people are mentioning is not imaginary and it does make this a less attractive place. I know there are people who slam any new thing that comes by, but if you see any criticism as “new thing bad” you miss your chance to see how are you shaping things.
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Apologies. I only meant to emphasize a couple of things that rang true. “Random voicings” strikes me as a great descriptor for the trend in internet dialogue over the past 10+ years. First the thoughtful and challenging discussions from message boards slowly faded away. Then everyone migrated to Facebook and the quality of in-depth exchanges continued its descent. As you said, discussions are no longer nearly “as focused.”
I don’t buy the career driven decision angle. I think maybe it has more to do with the fine line between journalism and blogging. Growing pains, as it were. That said, BB has been a bastion of fostering the spirit of wonderful conversation that used to be so common, but is now quite rare on the web.
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On the whole career/journalism/comments article, Charlie Brooker talked about this in an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun this week.
I wonder out loud about the entitlement of the internet commenter.
Perhaps we should do away with comments sections? “I can kind of
understand the value of [comments] if you’re writing things to provoke
a conversation or debate,” he muses. “Fair enough, whenever you want
to hear from everyone. Whenever I’m writing things I don’t – I’m not
really interested in it, I’m sort of doing a little routine basically
and I don’t think comments have a place in that. Personally I find
them aesthetically irritating whether they are good or bad. And I get
an easy ride in the comments generally, because I’m not a woman, which
gives you an extra 50% bonus where comments are concerned. And I seem
to get a relatively easy ride.” But he says, “I do still find myself
annoyed.” I say he must get a lot of replies on Twitter. “Well, that
is expected, isn’t it, it’s just a cloud of shit. I think it just
depends on what you’re hoping to achieve when you’re writing an
article. I’m only ever trying to entertain. And it sort of annoys me
that they put comments on the page.
I suspect the editors of BB feel similarly, hence the BBS gulag.
I suspect anyone writing on the web feels that way sometimes. I also suspect Boingers have thick skins.
Thick skins? Very much the opposite, I’d have thought.
I do get it - internet comments are a real cess-pit in most places. RPS being a good example - John Walker in particular has to put up with a lot of moronic drivel because he dares to challenge things like the misogyny in gaming. Reading the comments on Telegraph articles makes me want to euthanize the human race at times.
The sad thing is I don’t think BB was ever like that - presumably down to the aggressive moderation and reduced number of commenters compared to, say, The Verge. Hands down the most rewarding site I ever found for commenting.
Without that (or with this hived-off alternative), I don’t really think BB is any better than a once-a-day mail shot like NextDraft. It was the comments that raised it above a list of interesting links.
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Antinous has resigned. We’re very sorry to see him go and hope to work with him again.
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Aggressive modding is an integral part of making this a great community.
Antinous, parting words?
“…the permalink needs to have the discussion on it.”
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i broke the like button
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