The quality of ATOT...

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: fisher

Originally posted by: SampSon
Threads like this pop up a couple times a year, nothing to see here, move along.

Remember AT was born when PC's were still up and coming in power and experimentation to get them stable.

Now PC's have more power than the Apps can possibly use and stable to the point of Government/Microsoft Intel/AMD looking to take them over.

In other words they control every aspect of YOUR machine. It no longer would belong to you. The PC actually belongs to the Government/Microsoft Intel/AMD platform called "Trusted Computing Alliance".

Between that and the Government/Corporations (see Internet Nuetrality) looking to completely take over the Internet to control the flow of the Internet and Information, the Internet is on the edge of becoming extinct in the U.S. as we once knew it.

Yes, that means AT also on the edge of becoming extinct as well.

Enjoy

BBSes were founded when PCs were "up and coming", AT's creation represents the early stages of mainstream acceptance of computers, no where close to "old school".

Do you take off your tinfoil hat when you get a hair cut, or do they just keep it on and give you the classic "bowl" cut?

i had to breath deeply twice and tell myself "remember he's just a raving lunatic with no sense left whatsoever" to avoid replying to dave's bait. the idea that AT was born when PCs weren't yet stable is so laughable it sorta hurts to think about.

You call Windows 98 BSOD stable???

1) more likely windows 95. or nt 4. and 2) you obviously have a warped definition of stable. but that's to be expected considering you are still trying to carry the cross for something that was your fault and happened many years ago.

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: fisher

Originally posted by: AdamK47 3DS

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Platypus

Is it really as bad as everyone is making it out to be?

Yes, hasn't been the same since 02 and most of the good, older members are long gone.

Remember AT was born when PC's were still up and coming in power and experimentation to get them stable.

Now PC's have more power than the Apps can possibly use and stable to the point of Government/Microsoft Intel/AMD looking to take them over.

In other words they control every aspect of YOUR machine. It no longer would belong to you. The PC actually belongs to the Government/Microsoft Intel/AMD platform called "Trusted Computing Alliance".

Between that and the Government/Corporations (see Internet Nuetrality) looking to completely take over the Internet to control the flow of the Internet and Information, the Internet is on the edge of becoming extinct in the U.S. as we once knew it.

Yes, that means AT also on the edge of becoming extinct as well.

Enjoy

The government should use all of that unused power for running distributed clients. If only there was a person that could help out with all the installations.

can laughing lead to a heart attack? because if it can i'm suing you dude. hilarious.

You think all the PC's the Government is running E-mail, Word, Excel and sit idle for most of the time instead of working on a cure for cancer is funny???

those aren't your PCs to make that kind of decision about, but i guess you learned that already... errr, no wait, you're still blaming george bush. nevermind.

 

[shortylickens]

It would seem that there really isnt anything new to talk about so we keep rehashing the old stuff. Its pretty difficult to stimulate serious conversation when its all been done before.
Interestingly enough, the point I just made had also been rehashed a number of times.


GOOD NEWS PEOPLE!


We had a newb with the black male avatar make a new thread with his first post and it was NOT for spam.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=1880290

EDIT: I do agree with the OP. Things have gone down a little since I joined. Of course, for the first year of my membership I never even looked at OT. Maybe things have improved overall.
Heck I wont lie, that brief period JLGatsby graced us with his presence I turned into one of the assholes. Then I made a rule to only visit OT once in a while and post once in a blue moon.
Unlike the other sections, I dont think I've ever gotten any real advice or learned anything new in Off Topic.
The OS and Software forums have been a wealth of good tips, and I can usually be helpful in the peripherals and general hardware sections.
But OT just gets me mad and other people mad and mods mad and it normally isnt worth the hate and discontent.

 

[733SHiFTY]

Honestly, I think that ATOT hit a new low around the beginning of last summer...

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: 733SHiFTY
Honestly, I think that ATOT hit a new low around the beginning of last summer...

LOL the same thing was said in 2000, 2001, etc.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: 733SHiFTY
Honestly, I think that ATOT hit a new low around the beginning of last summer...

LOL the same thing was said in 2000, 2001, etc.

except each time, wouldn't the low be lower?

 

[bleeb]

I think it all started downhill after the infamous "0.9999.... != 1" thread.

 

[snow patrol]

it's not as good as it used to be! Paulson / Dennilfloss (am i even allowed to utter his name??), Russ et all...sorry, getting nostalgic.

 

[Trader05]

I think it all started downhill after the infamous "0.9999.... != 1" thread

i agree

 

[Trader05]

Correction:

I think it all went downhill after this thread
"The Quality of ATOT..."

 

[49erinnc]

For me personally, I don't really mind the bloggish-type posts. I can usually read a topic title and know whether or not it's something I'm gonna have any interest in reading. If not, I don't bother clicking on it. And some of those blog-style posts have allowed me to actually learn something interesting about some of the people that post here. Also keep in mind that occasionally, someone may be struggling with some sort of personal issue, so they created a thread here in hopes of getting some sort of help or feedback. I created a thread about a year ago regarding my marriage falling apart. Sure, I got a bunch of juvenile and irrelevant replies but I also received a lot of great advice, support and common stories. While that type of content may bore some of you to death, it can really help someone else get through a really bad situation.

My biggest gripe with this forum is just quite simply: People who are just complete and total pr1cks with their responses. I have seen so may forum members create a thread, only to have a few dumba$$es here attack them. To me, that type of input is completely uncalled for. I'm not saying everyone here should live in a constant state of group hugging but you don't have to be so rude with sophomoric one-liners that contribute nothing worthwhile to the thread.

/rant

 

[Lord Evermore]

Originally posted by: HamburgerBoy
Meh, people will mostly ignore this post as I am merely a 2004 member but this is complained about in every forum. Wasn't it 2003 or earlier that Adul got the custom title "Queen of Nef"? Not to say that Adul is on the same scale as JDrake but I really don't think the forums have changed so much since 2003.

Neffing in the old days and jacking up postcount was a fun thing. Nef posts were lighthearted, often amusing, just fooling around, and that was okay. Now there's too many people for it to be okay because it simply floods the forums, and the solution the staff came up with was to be draconian about it. Unfortunate since there are still some old-school nef posts in with the true garbage. Postcount also was just a buddy-buddy friendly rivalry, not something people attacked with a goal in mind. People post so much now that it doesn't even mean anything. I think the most I hit was like 30 posts a day years ago, and that was when I had hours of free time at work to read the forums (and could read every single thread there was), and then had hours of time when I got home.

One other thing I just thought of, is that it used to be that OT was a sideline forum, just a place to go to post some random stuff because it didn't fit with the primary reason of being on the forums, the hardware and software stuff. Hard to remember, but I think the balance of threads between the forums was way more even. OT now has almost 4 times as many threads as the next nearest forum (FS/FT). It really has become just a blog, which I guess is okay, if it wasn't so much that was just asinine.

When I think of a forum, I think of it mostly being as a place to go to discuss things. You post something that you want to talk about with other people. Too many of the threads are more along the lines of "post this and watch what people respond with". Some of that is okay, but not too much. That's what ought to go in a blog, but of course a blog gets less of a variety of people reading it, since people specifically have to go and look for it.

 

[pontifex]

do you think removing post count might stop some of the extra nef/stupid threads?
i'd like to think it would but i doubt it. like other people have said, i don't mind those so much as i do the people being assholes just because they can.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Originally posted by: pontifex
do you think removing post count might stop some of the extra nef/stupid threads?
i'd like to think it would but i doubt it. like other people have said, i don't mind those so much as i do the people being assholes just because they can.

It wouldn't stop it. A lot of it is just due to wanting attention. It might cut down slightly on the posts people make as they get nearer to one of the thresholds to a new title. I think postcounts are still something nice to have, it's just unfortunate that they cause issues.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: MartyMcFly3

Originally posted by: iamaelephant
Okay people, it's only a message forum. If your life is this wrapped up in ATOT, it's time to leave.

Your life doesnt have to be "wrapped up" in ATOT to notice that its slightly deteriorated in the past few years.

All forums I have been on in general have deteriorated... more and more immature 12-year old script kiddies being emo.

 

[Kilgor]

I've been coming here a long time, and if I remember it right the OT forum was created for the stupid threads. Actually I think this place was just as stupid but a lot meaner in the old days. There were just as many a$$holes just higher quality a$$holes. Trust me JLGatsby dosen't even touch the a$$holishness of some the past a$$munches . I mean get real people there was a thread about butter with about a billion posts, I'm not even going to start on the WMC.

 

[spaceghost21]

I think you bring forth some valid points, however, I can honestly say, that almost every forum I have ever posted in, has collectively missed the way the forum "used to be in the good ol' days." There are a lot of reasons why this could be, most of which have already been brought up.


PS:

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Anantech Moderator
[/b]

I think your at the wrong forum, Mr. Anantech Moderator.

 

[montanafan]

I also remember the "good old days" with fondness, but I don't think you can blame the differences between then and now on the way the board is moderated. The changes have come from the sheer numbers of posters and the reasons they come here.

In the early days, most of the members came here to discuss and learn about computers and other tech stuff. The atmosphere was more one of giving and receiving help and information which lends itself to a more congenial community. And it was more of a community in that it was small enough so that most people felt that they knew a little about each other and they had helped or been helped by one another at times.

Off Topic contained the P&N type threads back then and they could get pretty heated at times, but they stayed pretty much on the topic and most people only posted in them if they had something worthwhile to contribute because these were people that you knew and respected to some extent and there was nothing to gain by making yourself look like an idiot. The same was true for the silly threads. They were more lighthearted kidding around and razzing one another as friends would do for the same reasons.

Now you have people coming here just to have somewhere to say something, just anything. They come here out of boredom, or for attention, or to have an e-personality that they want to use to appear to be someone they're not. The whole blogging trend has contributed to the numbers of people who think that any and all forums, or any place you can type in a few words, are there for those purposes. And the sheer numbers of people coming here means you're going to have a much larger percentage of the worst of those types of people as time goes by.

I don't mind most of the blog type threads. Some of them are interesting, or informative, or entertaining, or give you a chance to help someone with a problem. I like looking at people's photos of their vacations or their pets. I like trying to give someone a different perspective on a family or job or relationship problem, and I like to see what others have to offer as well. The only problem with those threads are the e-thugs and other jerks just posting for attention or to try to be something in anomymity that they're not in real life.

I don't think there's much more the mods can do about that than what they already are. I think they have tried to bring about a "change of culture" in the last several months and have done a pretty good job of it. Things were deteriorating to a really viscious level before that and have improved quite a bit since. I think the thing about it that bugs some people is that they can no longer slap the idiots down on their own for fear of breaking the rules and paying the consequences themselves. And I can understand that. I've had to bite my tongue, or rather hold my typing, at times rather than give into the short-lived satisfaction of telling some of the worse offenders exactly what I think of them.

All in all, I still the like the place. There are good people here and all you have to do is look at the poster to know whether the thread is worth clicking on or not. When one of the thread crappers jumps in, I just try to ignore them and go on. I still get help here. I still try to help when I can. I still find entertainment, useful information, and interesting debates. It may not be "the good old days", but I still have good days here.

 

[iskim86]

i think it's the people that make ATOT a "bad place"

 

[Michael]

"Trust me, a lot has changed since 2000 or so. There are very, very few people who actually stuck around since then"

I've been here since then and it doesn;t really look all that different. Maybe some different people, but the posts and topics are around the same. It was no better then and no worse now.

Michael

 

[Kyteland]

Originally posted by: bleeb
I think it all started downhill after the infamous "0.9999.... != 1" thread.

Surely you jest. :Q

 

[Molondo]

This is one of the best forums i have been to.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Kilgor
I've been coming here a long time, and if I remember it right the OT forum was created for the stupid threads. Actually I think this place was just as stupid but a lot meaner in the old days. There were just as many a$$holes just higher quality a$$holes. Trust me JLGatsby dosen't even touch the a$$holishness of some the past a$$munches . I mean get real people there was a thread about butter with about a billion posts, I'm not even going to start on the WMC.

As a card carrying member of the wounded monitor children, I can say with all certainty that that fiasco has yet to be topped as the prime example of the internet gone completely and utterly wrong.

Nowadays, you regularly have 200 post threads of one line response jabbing, whining, crying etc, over any small topic. The WMC was a long ass thread of intense, articulated, page long whining, crying, abhorrent self-justification, and blatant hypocrisy.

Sigh...the internet bubble days of hot deals that were REALLY hot deals will always be remember...Value America is and forever will be the hottest deal that has ever graced the internet...a free for all of such massive proportions that I'm surprised it didn't cripple the entire world economy.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Michael
"Trust me, a lot has changed since 2000 or so. There are very, very few people who actually stuck around since then"

I've been here since then and it doesn;t really look all that different. Maybe some different people, but the posts and topics are around the same. It was no better then and no worse now.

Michael

The attitudes have mostly stayed the same, but the willingness to voice them eloquently has severly been diminished by the least common denominator factor.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: Michael
"Trust me, a lot has changed since 2000 or so. There are very, very few people who actually stuck around since then"

I've been here since then and it doesn;t really look all that different. Maybe some different people, but the posts and topics are around the same. It was no better then and no worse now.

Michael

The attitudes have mostly stayed the same, but the willingness to voice them eloquently has severly been diminished by the least common denominator factor.

Agreed. Also, as time moves on and more noobs get online, spelling and grammer deteriorates, resulting in nonsensical posts and moronic sentences.