Apologies in advance for what will no doubt become a rant, but is it just me, or has there been a big increase in 4chan/ebaums style memes being ressurected on the boards? Off the top of my head we've got falcon punch, over 9,000, a general "funny pictures" thread which in itself ressurected an untold numbers of memes. While there is nothing wrong with this type of humour or fielding it here per se, but /b/ itself admits there is no original material there any more.Captinchunk said:
What's saddening is the increase in very generic posting and threads on what I previously saw as a welcoming and relatively intelligent forum, where the age old forum games and debates were very rarely played out. I still see this within the forum, but perhaps not as frequently or as supported by us as I'd prefer. Typically, there was a focus on topical gaming news, world news or whatever happened to be on people's minds. I think the decisive shift was moving from "This is what I think, discuss" opening posts to "Question. No elaboration upon that, discuss".
Another home truth is that we post on the forums of some dedicated, passionate journalists and entertainers (I apologise to all of you I just put into that bracket, I hate the phrase) who provide quality material on a monthly, weekly, even daily basis, and put a lot of time into this forum community. It isn't their responsibility to quality control what's discussed here, nor is the fault of the moderators when threads such as "Do you count your thumb as a finger" rear their ugly heads.
Look, let's face facts, we're not special, we're members of an internet forum, and are guilty of the same foibles as all other communities: delusions of grandeur, flaming, ignorance, ranting, bitter irony, yet we also have the advantage of a well run and interesting forum with various annual events, extensive staff support and discussion, a communtiy that willingly and helpfully provides feedback...before it seems I'm snapping off a teary eyed salute to the flag, I should say this:
We all, collectively, let ourselves down during March Madness with the flaming that ensued with the Turbine guys. I came here because of ZP like many of you, and if it's supporting Turbine here for them, so be it. I liked the arguements some of them had for their support of the developer, despite a continued stream of vitriol, and their presence is no less valid than mine or anybody elses.
I know I've droned on forever here but thankyou if you've made it this far. We're never going to set the world on fire here but let's get topical, back to the cutting edge of gaming discussion, we've got all the resources. You don't need a doctorate in literature to make a point, but you also don't need one to know that the quotes at the top of this page aren't really saying anything at all, sorry to single you out guys.
Maybe I'm being unrealistic and holed up in my ivory tower but you've all got opinions, and I for one would love to hear the more interesting ones, I say this because my belief that Half-Baked Ben and Jerry's is among the greatest things in the Universe may be counter-productive to the point I've spent two pages trying to make.
With this in our hearts, we can move forward as one, towards ponyosity...
Oh Susan Arendt, you and your memes...
