Post by mtnme on Feb 13, 2009 20:41:22 GMT -5
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The Direction of GA
I had an interesting pm with one of our fellow board members, and the discussion was about something that has been on Lori and my minds for awhile now. We thought we would throw it out there and start a discussion on what the members of GA think about this.
Over the last year, GA has become more and more Short Track specific. While that has been a nice addition to the board, it has also moved GA away from its' ‘fangirl’ roots. Lori and I are feeling a little guilty about that, as it was never our intent. But it is obvious that the flavor of the forum has changed, and many long time posters have disappeared and are greatly missed. That is partly the nature of forums, people come and go. Truth be told, I don’t miss the occasional board meltdowns and nasty personal attacks either. What I DO miss is the casual banter, verbal sparring and thoughtful posts that were also so much a part of GA. It’s what got me to join in the first place. As Lori said to me, “I feel more like a newscaster instead of a color commentator. Color commentator is a A LOT more fun!" I agree.
GA has become entirely too p.c. – with mostly posting of news and info, instead of opinions and lively discussions. The forum has lost a lot of what I’ve always liked about GA – which is that any opinion can be expressed as long as you do it respectfully without viciously attacking another member. Ditto on being able to post that opinion without finding yourself on the receiving end of a ‘smite fest’, just because someone else doesn’t agree. ( - another block to lively discussion.)
The forum's current evolution may be just the nature of the beast, but Lori and I feel partly to blame. With the introduction of TRF and more of a focus on ST, we felt the need to be a little more serious and ‘clean ourselves up a bit’ (especially since a few skaters and/or their parents check out GA on occasion now). However, it definitely has ‘cramped the style’ of the more fangirly aspects of the site. There are a slew of threads that we have begged others not to post on during ST season, or did a bump campaign to get them back on page 2 because we knew we would be shortly facing the skaters (or more importantly, their parents! YIKES!!!)
EDIT: After re-reading this, I think I have to clarify here. I only asked of favor of one person, one time on the threads. We may have 'hoped' those threads didn't appear for a short time, but apparently peeps chose to 'censor' themselves. But there is no need to do that, and we're gonna fix that ASAP. (I'll explain in a new post later about the when/where and why)
But really, you do have the right to post a picture on Apolo’s sexy ass thread (hey, it is! LOL) if that be your pleasure without some of us doing either of the above.
So what we’re asking is, Do you miss that aspect of the forum – or has everyone gotten past it? (Please voice an opinion on this – if for no other reason so Lori and I can stop feeling guilty about it - or deserve to wallow in it! Your Call! LOL)
If you do miss that aspect of the forum, we had an idea that might make everyone happy. Notice the different modules of the forum. General, Apolo pics, Apolo videos, etc etc. We could ask Lindsey or Christy to make a separate module for the more ST specific aspects of the forum. General can go back to what it always was – Apolo specific and a little less serious. IF that part of the forum is just too silly for you, then you stay away from it (kinda like I do with the fanfic module: I know it exists – I just don’t ‘go there’ because it's not my cup of tea. And that’s my problem, not the peeps who post there…)
(OR you wander over to the Boots and Blades forum , which is all about Short Track)
therockerforum.proboards55.com/index.cgi?
It was never our intent to take away from the social aspect of GA – or replace it. The BB forum was just a better way for us to post tons of info on ALL the skaters that works better on forum threads than on static websites. (and we need H-E-L-P!) We also REALLY didn’t want to take up ALL of GA with that info. Lindsey and Christy have already been more than generous with their site.
The blinking numbers parties will always stay on GA. (Unless we get feedback from others that they would like it there too, say folks from OZ who for one reason or another aren't at GA)
So waddaya think? Do you miss the old GA - or do you prefer the current direction GA has taken?
The Direction of GA
I had an interesting pm with one of our fellow board members, and the discussion was about something that has been on Lori and my minds for awhile now. We thought we would throw it out there and start a discussion on what the members of GA think about this.
Over the last year, GA has become more and more Short Track specific. While that has been a nice addition to the board, it has also moved GA away from its' ‘fangirl’ roots. Lori and I are feeling a little guilty about that, as it was never our intent. But it is obvious that the flavor of the forum has changed, and many long time posters have disappeared and are greatly missed. That is partly the nature of forums, people come and go. Truth be told, I don’t miss the occasional board meltdowns and nasty personal attacks either. What I DO miss is the casual banter, verbal sparring and thoughtful posts that were also so much a part of GA. It’s what got me to join in the first place. As Lori said to me, “I feel more like a newscaster instead of a color commentator. Color commentator is a A LOT more fun!" I agree.
GA has become entirely too p.c. – with mostly posting of news and info, instead of opinions and lively discussions. The forum has lost a lot of what I’ve always liked about GA – which is that any opinion can be expressed as long as you do it respectfully without viciously attacking another member. Ditto on being able to post that opinion without finding yourself on the receiving end of a ‘smite fest’, just because someone else doesn’t agree. ( - another block to lively discussion.)
The forum's current evolution may be just the nature of the beast, but Lori and I feel partly to blame. With the introduction of TRF and more of a focus on ST, we felt the need to be a little more serious and ‘clean ourselves up a bit’ (especially since a few skaters and/or their parents check out GA on occasion now). However, it definitely has ‘cramped the style’ of the more fangirly aspects of the site. There are a slew of threads that we have begged others not to post on during ST season, or did a bump campaign to get them back on page 2 because we knew we would be shortly facing the skaters (or more importantly, their parents! YIKES!!!)
EDIT: After re-reading this, I think I have to clarify here. I only asked of favor of one person, one time on the threads. We may have 'hoped' those threads didn't appear for a short time, but apparently peeps chose to 'censor' themselves. But there is no need to do that, and we're gonna fix that ASAP. (I'll explain in a new post later about the when/where and why)
But really, you do have the right to post a picture on Apolo’s sexy ass thread (hey, it is! LOL) if that be your pleasure without some of us doing either of the above.
So what we’re asking is, Do you miss that aspect of the forum – or has everyone gotten past it? (Please voice an opinion on this – if for no other reason so Lori and I can stop feeling guilty about it - or deserve to wallow in it! Your Call! LOL)
If you do miss that aspect of the forum, we had an idea that might make everyone happy. Notice the different modules of the forum. General, Apolo pics, Apolo videos, etc etc. We could ask Lindsey or Christy to make a separate module for the more ST specific aspects of the forum. General can go back to what it always was – Apolo specific and a little less serious. IF that part of the forum is just too silly for you, then you stay away from it (kinda like I do with the fanfic module: I know it exists – I just don’t ‘go there’ because it's not my cup of tea. And that’s my problem, not the peeps who post there…)
(OR you wander over to the Boots and Blades forum , which is all about Short Track)
therockerforum.proboards55.com/index.cgi?
It was never our intent to take away from the social aspect of GA – or replace it. The BB forum was just a better way for us to post tons of info on ALL the skaters that works better on forum threads than on static websites. (and we need H-E-L-P!) We also REALLY didn’t want to take up ALL of GA with that info. Lindsey and Christy have already been more than generous with their site.
The blinking numbers parties will always stay on GA. (Unless we get feedback from others that they would like it there too, say folks from OZ who for one reason or another aren't at GA)
So waddaya think? Do you miss the old GA - or do you prefer the current direction GA has taken?
. Honestly, let go of the guilt! Yes, the board is more short track specific from, say two years ago, but I think it is more natural evolution than anything. Let's face it, Apolo "gossip" waned long ago as he is so private there isn't much to speculate on or talk about other than short track. BTW, I agree the respectful disagreement is missed, but the Apolianne drama is long over. The sane fangirls moved on long ago, and with the Julianne/Chuck Wicks coupling, the insane cult has probably died off as well. For those of us who never embraced short track (as I did figure skating), the board became less compelling for me. If it is any consolation, I rarely visit the figure skating boards anymore. 
as soon as i can...
will finish later 
