Maggots and Tacos - Will history repeat itself?

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Messages 1 - 15 of total 15 in this topic
i'm gumby dammit

Sport climber
da ow
Topic Author's Original Post - May 21, 2015 - 10:11am PT
People have been saying the end is nigh for nigh on a year now.
Others have said it can't happen. People will always gather to talk about climbing.

It HAS happened before. Are you familiar with maggots?
If you go here you can see an archive of the Powdermag.com forums.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010604142747/forum.powdermag.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro
Those of you that spend time on the TGR forums will recognize most of the usernames there. How did they get from one to the other? How come members on TGR refer to each other as maggots?
In the early 2000s the Powder Magazine forums were by far the most popular forums within the skiing community. Located on powdermag.com, they referred to themselves as powdermaggots. It was a self moderated forum and if you screwed up (or were new) people would hammer you.
In 2003 the owners decided it was time to make a change and they brought in a moderator (Daniel). He began banning people and removing their content. The masses revolted. They moved to TGR. Powdermag forums no longer exist. There are right now (on a Thursday morning) over 1300 members viewing the TGR forums.

Interestingly, TGR has recently added a climbing forum.
Grippa

Trad climber
Salt Lake City, UT
May 21, 2015 - 10:18am PT
yea f*#k this place.
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
May 21, 2015 - 10:19am PT
It's Armageddon all over again!
Splater

climber
Grey Matter
May 21, 2015 - 10:24am PT
now if only the same thing would happen to Facebook.

changing some words:
In 20xx the owners decided it was time to make a change and they brought in big money interests. They began adding more and more sponsored content. The masses revolted. They moved to xxx. Facebook no longer exists.
Trashman

Trad climber
SLC
May 21, 2015 - 10:37am PT
Rec.climbing, rockclimbing.com, bouldering.com, and boldering.com, around and around we go. I think a lot of people saying it won't happen mean exactly the phenomenon you're describing, if not here, somewhere similar.

In the beginning this place wasnt Camp 4, it was the online deli/deck. Realtime posting of speed records, trade route beta for Euros and the occasional Valley neophyte. The change into the Old Climbers home is a relatively recent (4-7 yrs)phenomenon.

Frankly, with more of the original monkeys dropping every day, I think pulling the plug is only fitting. In the mean time it's been nice to pull up a chair and watch the vandals run screaming from a fire they created.

TL:DR. If your "home" is owned by a corporate entity, this is always a risk. If you want a free for all to say and do as you please, host your own forum.
goatboy smellz

climber
लघिमा
May 21, 2015 - 10:43am PT
PM Rontele.
jonnyrig

climber
May 21, 2015 - 10:48am PT
Nah, it's going to be around forever. It will simply be run by the PC crowd. The only place you'll be allowed to tell someone to f*#k off will be if the conversation turns to bolted cracks and/or whether bouldering and pink-pointing constitute real climbing. Even then, you'll get a reprimand if someone takes offense.

On the plus side, when you DO get the boot, all your commentary will evaporate, leaving the other portions of conversation there to look like schizophrenic commentary to their better selves.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
May 21, 2015 - 11:25am PT
The only place you'll be allowed to tell someone to f*#k off will be if the conversation turns to bolted cracks

Bolted cracks? Did someone say BOLTED CRACKS!!!!!!!

fear

Ice climber
hartford, ct
May 21, 2015 - 11:27am PT
All forums have a limited lifespan. Overmoderation is a small part of it. I think more has to do with changing technology/boredom/etc.

Also the concept that a "climbing" forum be only about climbing related topics is a short-sighted one. There are only so many ways to rehash the same mostly-dry "climbing" material. People participate in forums to interact with each other's personalities and explore other common interests.

Those interests might be base-jumping, firearms, photography, politics, etc....

And it takes about 20 seconds to create a new ID through a proxy. I never understood how "banning" would be technically effective.
i'm gumby dammit

Sport climber
da ow
Topic Author's Reply - May 21, 2015 - 02:13pm PT
Besides that, someone like Ron would be pretty hard to miss with his elegant flair for the written word.
RRad

Trad climber
Escondido, CA
May 21, 2015 - 04:31pm PT
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

A lot of talk about moving on to greener pastures or whatever, there are some things that will not move on, things that will stay here, things that a long time lurker like me have been greatly inspired and touched by for the last 13 years or so.

You probably know what I mean and I don't want to give a lot of examples since it could be painful and perhaps considered poor taste. But here is one example:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/TR-I-Love-the-Desert/t147n.html

If supertopo actually closed down, what would happen with all the posts from people who only exist in our collective memory? What does that mean to you?

All those memorials posted over the years, I guess by the nature of the internet they will be ephemeral, not sure why that would surprise me, but surprised I am, and a little saddened by the idea.
ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber
extraordinaire
May 22, 2015 - 10:28pm PT
I'll admit I bookmarked a gold panning forum the other day.
Capt.

climber
some eastside hovel
May 23, 2015 - 12:30am PT
I will say,a lot of the "spice" here is disappearing.People wanting to cleanse this whole rig are getting their way,and it's not for the better.
It's turning Rated G (minus).
coolrockclimberguy69

climber
May 23, 2015 - 01:13am PT
Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the site

survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
May 23, 2015 - 01:22am PT
Supertopo is not done, and has outlasted a lot of digital campfires already.

It's not over moderated by a long shot.

Besides, it's not as though Ron were the heart and soul of supertopo, possibly just the loudest member.

If you went to the trouble to list all the quality members still here, it would be extensive.
Messages 1 - 15 of total 15 in this topic
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