Sharpies can still be scrubbed off walls. I say spell it with gasoline into the lawn of Arlington Cemetary if you want attention. Getting people here is one thing. The trick is keeping them around. Obviously this place is entertaining/hilarious to some or we wouldn't have lurkers. But our best rules are the No Politics and No Flame Wars rule and it seems on other social media sites that is the go-to for virtually anybody. I'd love to have a fresh flood of members in here as much as most people here no doubt would, but I also don't want TiB to become a juvenile, abbreviation and colour text-stained shitshow just to accommodate those people who like taking selfies and talking about how many asses they could kick if you messed with them.
We need someone to get arrested for masturbating in a library. Or to kill themselves. Or to kill someone else. Come on people, I've done my part... now it's time for you to do yours! Go do something famous to help put us on the map! The Red Power Ranger has the right idea... Arrested For Murder By Sword
You bring up a good point: What percentage of the Internet, do you think, wants to actually engage in "intelligent discourse"? From my non-educated guess, most of them -- who comprise of that "fresh meat" -- are not necessarily interested, or qualified, to engage in the type of conversation TiB expects as a minimum bar. And if that is correct, then do we lower our bar IQ-wise for expectations of discourse, or do we accept a lower membership?
No, we don't lower it. At all. We find other like-minded individuals to bring into the fold. We're not out to just get more people for the sake of getting more people, we're looking for quality. That is exactly the problem other popular sites like Reddit are going through... they're getting saturated by fucktards, and it's driving the non-fucktards away, for the most part. If we get a ton of people showing up, and we drive 95% of them away because they don't bring anything, that's 100% OK with me. Even if we get one new person to counter Crown's Dennis Miller-esque diatribes, I'll be a happy camper.
I know this is a reach, but you miss every shot you don't take so here it goes... I've heard a lot of opinions on here, I've become educated on a lot of subjects, and in some cases my personal opinion has been changed because of what I read on here... So when that happens, I personally pledge to E-mail the main-stream-media author with a link to here with the opinion that educated me/changed my opinion. I know it's just a drop in the bucket, but hey, drops add up. Pay or play.
I post under my real name on most boards, a la BC Woods, but when I created my account on the TM board in early 2006 I was going through the hiring process for a civilian position in law enforcement, a job I'm still at 8 1/2 years later. With my background investigator (who I now work with, strangely enough) presumably poking around publicly accessible information on me I thought some stealth/discretion was in order. I nixed my last name in favor of the TJMax handle, naming myself after one of the most boring retailers in existence. Today, it's really not a big deal. If anything, I should be a lot more concerned about you folks finding out what a godass boring stick in the mud I am, as opposed to anyone in my meatspace life knowing that I hang out here. Focus: Let me see what I can do as far as recruitment...
Is there a way to post anonymously that isn't publicly accessible? Something like this: Post in the Rant/Rave thread, but have no username attached to it, but where the PMs would still go to the poster. That might cover some of the others' concern about bringing in people they know in real life. Either that, or a way to change who can see what you have posted perhaps. Facebook has something like this where you can hide your post from people or groups. Another possibility would be to relax the requirements for a person having multiple accounts if there are any now. Use one account for the friends to see and the other to talk about things you don't want your friends knowing about.
There's no easy way to do that. Personally, I think if you want that kind of duality, just create a second account.
I think the viciousness of the members here has toned down quite a bit over the years. I have not been called a retard or mouth breather or asshat, anything like that since I returned. Seriously, you're all about as mean as a bunch of kittens lying in a basket lined with fresh linens, so adorable. What's it called when we go onto other people's forums and ridicule them? I think we should do more of that... it will drum up some publicity, attract new members and the consistent challenge of not letting an insult go unsaid will keep our wits sharp.
That's a Wahoo. We tried it once on here but it happened at the exact same time as the Sandy Hook horror and that took the wind out of the particpants' sails.
FYI, Binary has offered to get the board properly SEO'd (Search Engine Optimized) to help get us more traffic. It'll probably happen sometime next week. Thanks to him for doing this.... especially since it's something I have no clue about.
Thanks Binary! Maybe something alongside this could be a primer on things to post that can boost the search rankings/results?
Right now I'm trying to find sites where you can recommend Message Boards for people to try but in order to qualify your board has to have 500,000 to 1,000,000 posts. I think doing what we can to bring members in is good, they'll either like this place or they won't and feel free to leave. This board's shtick and set of rules will either be relief to people sick of the ROFLZ-style forums or they'll hate it because they prefer boards that are idiotic.
Posted over in the Twitter thread: I agree full on with this. I hear a lot of times that the way to distinguish yourself from other companies / restaurants / venues / whatever, when you have a niche, is to focus on (and market) what makes you different. Keeping the "no politics" thing intact and "running off the retards" is #1 for me. I gladly welcome lots more new members, but would likely check out if those things aren't still important. I'm always lousy at trying to convey my point, so as a couple examples: - I cannot stand Twitter / text speak with all that UR TOTES MY BAE shit. It delights me to no end when somebody posts something like that and they are quickly criticized. But, also told all opinions are welcome - follow the format and you're welcome to stay. - We've had a few threads, like the race thread, where politics can't help but creep in, but the limitations keep in amazingly civil. I am bad at trying to make points, so instead of posting and getting curb stomped, I usually read along and try to at least get enlightened. (But, all the while, calling some of you a bunch of idiots in my head . . .) - It is quite clear that there are different political & cultural opinions here, such as the recent organ donation thread. But, when I read someone else's comments there, knowing full well we're never going to agree, it doesn't infuriate me the way it does during other discussions I may have irl or read. I have a degree in Physics and another one in Engineering, and I'm one of the dumbest people on this board. That is NOT the norm. Whenever I read articles online that allow comment via Facebook or make the mistake of reading through some YouTube comments, I want to stab myself in the eye. TiB is different from most of the rest of the internet, and I hope it stays that way even if the membership grows. Also, and most importantly, I would like to support any campaign that creates more posting in the boobie thread.