heretic on 18/6/2008 at 21:54
Quote Posted by Stitch
The ignore button is for pussies. I think raph's method is the way to go.
I'd prefer an awakening of awareness, but silence works, too.
Har har, I kid because I love.
Your enthusiasm will build back up over time, it always does.
Tocky on 19/6/2008 at 00:58
Quote Posted by Epos Nix
Well it all started when I was 7 and my mom said I could grow up to be anything I wanted...
SHE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO BE A DINOSAUR, DID SHE???:mad:
For what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't grow up to be a dinosaur. I hate to think of the sexual frustration of the only T Rex unleashed on the world.
Ko0K on 19/6/2008 at 01:51
I'd think whether this place has gotten shallower or if some people's heads have gotten bigger over time is entirely relative. Personally, I believe thinking that one has outgrown something is merely a way of coping with growing increasingly obsolete. What I've found out is that people who become so easily disenchanted with their passions and move on to 'bigger and better things' tend to turn into old farts in no time. Personally, I have a lot more respect for people who stay young. Let the old farts ride their high horses right out of life itself.
Starrfall on 19/6/2008 at 01:58
Last I heard RBJ is buried in work and pussy.
Stitch on 19/6/2008 at 02:37
Quote Posted by Ko0K
I'd think whether this place has gotten shallower or if some people's heads have gotten bigger over time is entirely relative.
In this you are incorrect. All it takes is a stroll through the mid-early 2000's archives to see that (1) political discourse operated at a far higher level and (2) my head was always massive.
Ko0K on 19/6/2008 at 03:54
Quote Posted by Stitch
political discourse operated at a far higher level
It would be tempting to think that, but from the perspective of the relative new-comers, that amounts to little more than nostalgic old farts reminiscing about days long gone before they even got here. This place has been around for more than ten years, and the personality of the community as a whole has evolved. Call it changing of the guards or whatever, but I do believe that some of us are still whistling fossil tunes that fall on deaf ears.
Chimpy Chompy on 19/6/2008 at 08:23
Quote Posted by Stitch
I'll never leave TTLG entirely--at least as long as certain people remain--but I am rethinking my involvement with threads like these.
Dude if the old veterans have left and now you give up it's left to clowns like me to try and carry on. :erg:
And I don't really know much about this Obama chap other than he was good on the Daily Show.
Scots Taffer on 19/6/2008 at 10:10
Quote Posted by elkston
Naah. He's too preppy. I'm more like that computer expert guy from the first Die Hard. (...and later Walker's Texas Ranger's sidekick).
I love that guy.
Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy
And I don't really know much about this Obama chap other than he was good on the Daily Show.
I, for one, like the cut of his terrorist-fist-jabbin' jib.
Stitch on 19/6/2008 at 14:56
Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy
Dude if the old veterans have left and now you give up it's left to clowns like me to try and carry on. :erg:
I'm not pulling up stakes for elsewhere as much as rethinking my approach to threads like these. If I don't have the time or interest it takes to really engage in full political debate here, I probably shouldn't just drop in and belittle someone's argument, however much of a nonstarter it may be.
Jennie&Tim on 19/6/2008 at 16:10
Quote Posted by Stitch
That's a valid question deserving of a real answer.
There was a time when all my internet debates were waged on TTLG. Comm Chat contained a wealth of threads in which issues were discussed at length. There was a lot of crap, sure, but there were plenty of critical thinkers who were talented at cutting through the bullshit and discussing the core issues beneath. I'm talking the likes of Grundy, Jkeats, Agent Monkeysee, and RBJ, to name a few.
Thing is, the first three have dropped off planet TTLG and the fourth has now been AWOL for a month. Not that they were the gatekeepers of quality, but it is representative of a general shallowing of the level of hot topic discourse at TTLG.
I'm not saying that there still aren't valid exchanges of ideas in these threads, but I've generally found that tackling the sheer level of misguided ignorance in
some posts just simply isn't worth my time. That was never my strong suit, anyway, as Monkeysee used to bail me out frequently when the jungle got too thick for my claymore.
Besides, I've found better forums in which to engage in debating these specific topics, anyway, political forums for political junkies from all colors of the spectrum. As such, my attention is elsewhere.
But then what is my role here? As ridiculous and hamfisted as I may find heretic to be, it isn't particularly constructive for me to just engage in hit-and-run namecalling behavior. Stupid comments don't deserve any better, but the cumulative effect isn't really positive for the community in general.
I'll never leave TTLG entirely--at least as long as certain people remain--but I am rethinking my involvement with threads like these.
I miss some of the old-timers too (Kyloe, Stonewall, and Monkeysee in particular), but now you have some newcomers like elkston who is thoughtful and deliberative. And who knows who'll come back to visit? I certainly take long breaks. I also don't think you have some duty to always be constructive. Snark has been one of your strengths, stinging us into a new perspective. The Aristotelian gadfly.
If you are comfortable telling us, where are these forums with intelligent people of all stripes? I find most political forums unsettling because they tend to be extremely partisan. A place where you wouldn't be shut out for not agreeing with the complete party platforms would be interesting. Parties are just conglomerations of people, not religious institutions where you have to agree with all the bases or be excommunicated, but the way some people act you'd never know it.
