GS up for sale again?

[hongkongwargamer]

That hits the nail on the head.

Every other year, there is some new tool that is rated being fancy. FB, Discord, whatever. Are these needed?

Not really. Every new thingy will further the fragmentation up to the point that there's nothing really left because it has become too cumbersome to follow various places to keep an overview.

I skip all that.

None of the new thingies has been close to the resource value of GS (albeit seaching here can only reasonably done using google search). IMHO this is the real value of the forum to the ASL-community and the collective ASL-wisdom here is what is worth to be saved - and would not be saved by merely moving (yet) someplace else.

Eliminating the political section when Randy took over has been one of the best decisions in a long time in my opinion. It's simply not needed in this context. Whether moderation policies have been perfect around here throughout the existence of this forum would probably see different judgements. In the end it is moot, because who owns the site makes the policy.

Any forum will have some sort of natural "drain" of members. So to have a new influx of people (which is more difficult with more and more media around), the bar needs to be low. I doubt that a lot of new people would join if even only $5 were obligatory. Maybe, this would do more to end GS's life rather than to prolong it.

With regard to moderators, I believe these can be found if sought. Usually, moderating does not require real technical knowledge on how to administer the inticacies of the forum but is rather means providing a steady reliable presence and an even tempered mind that can live with the current policy of the forum.

As for paying the price to buy this forum - probably to high to just be paid without blinking by an individual. Maybe a pool of individuals might join to pay it, but that would leave the question of who has the hat on afterwards.

von Marwitz

Meh .. folks go to where they feel most at home, largely by demographics. Just as one can't force you to go to other platforms, others can't be forced to come to GS. It's just a process of natural selection.

Plus it's not a zero sum game. Anyone and everyone can search and take advantage of the resource aspects that GS presents and take the community aspects that other platform presents (no crazies), or vice versa.

To each his own.

 

[Martin Mayers]

So were you referring to "English" as it is spoken in Scotland?

Debatable...

 

[hongkongwargamer]

Debatable...

In a proper Colorado accent

 

[lluis61]

That hits the nail on the head.

Every other year, there is some new tool that is rated being fancy. FB, Discord, whatever. Are these needed?

Not really. Every new thingy will further the fragmentation up to the point that there's nothing really left because it has become too cumbersome to follow various places to keep an overview.

I skip all that.

None of the new thingies has been close to the resource value of GS (albeit seaching here can only reasonably done using google search). IMHO this is the real value of the forum to the ASL-community and the collective ASL-wisdom here is what is worth to be saved - and would not be saved by merely moving (yet) someplace else.

Eliminating the political section when Randy took over has been one of the best decisions in a long time in my opinion. It's simply not needed in this context. Whether moderation policies have been perfect around here throughout the existence of this forum would probably see different judgements. In the end it is moot, because who owns the site makes the policy.

Any forum will have some sort of natural "drain" of members. So to have a new influx of people (which is more difficult with more and more media around), the bar needs to be low. I doubt that a lot of new people would join if even only $5 were obligatory. Maybe, this would do more to end GS's life rather than to prolong it.

With regard to moderators, I believe these can be found if sought. Usually, moderating does not require real technical knowledge on how to administer the inticacies of the forum but is rather means providing a steady reliable presence and an even tempered mind that can live with the current policy of the forum.

As for paying the price to buy this forum - probably to high to just be paid without blinking by an individual. Maybe a pool of individuals might join to pay it, but that would leave the question of who has the hat on afterwards.

von Marwitz

I agree with your views, but if the money problem is the principal, then that solution to us GS users could be the optimal. On the other hand, if the issue is management and moderation, that's another thing. I've never voluntereed as a moderoator because, first, English isn't my first language (and so, some nuances could pass inadvertently by me), and, second, the time zone difference. Moderating with a delay of six or more hours, I don't know if it has the right to be called "moderation" at all. But, if is that what is required, I could step forward.

 

[Robin Reeve]

I am in Europe (GMT+2) and I can clean the forums of 10-15 spam posts a day.
I can spot posts made very late in the USA which are early here, and manage problems upstream.
And there are European posters too.
So moderating from Europe is useful.
Moderators should be from different time zones on an international forum such as GS.

 

[Eagle4ty]

I am in Europe (GMT+2) and I can clean the forums of 10-15 spam posts a day.
I can spot posts made very late in the USA which are early here, and manage problems upstream.
And there are European posters too.
So moderating from Europe is useful.
Moderators should be from different time zones on an international forum such as GS.

AH! So you're the guy that finally got SGT RD!

 

[Vic Provost]

I had not checked, but I was pretty sure it was the case.

But we're not from a country where the constitution is a religious thing (we rewrite it from scratch every 70 years or so) and it doesn't have a freedom-of-speech-no-matter-what amendment. Somehow, it helps

I so wish we could update stuff over here, we are stuck in the 18th century on some stuff which holds us back.

Enough of that, play the game and roll low, Look for Dispatch #52 late this month, Vic.

 

[hongkongwargamer]

I so wish we could update stuff over here, we are stuck in the 18th century on some stuff which holds us back.

Enough of that, play the game and roll low, Look for Dispatch #52 late this month, Vic.

Now I remember why I am here. I am here to watch for Vic's new Dispatch issues!!

 

[Robin Reeve]

AH! So you're the guy that finally got SGT RD!

I think that he managed to shoot himself without anybody helping him.

 

[Nineteen Kilo]

AH! So you're the guy that finally got SGT RD!

Careful. It is my understanding if you invoke his name 3 times, he will appear.

 

[footsteps]

I think that he managed to shoot himself without anybody helping him.

How many times?

 

[agoldin]

In the “for what it’s worth” department, Gamesquad is still my go-to forum for ASL information and rules clarifications because I always get very timely and correct replies.

I gave up Facebook a while ago because it’s too political and I grew weary of supporting a business which harvests my personal information as it’s business model.

I don’t have a problem with talking politics so long as it’s in a thread designated for it.

I choose to believe that the best use of a moderator is to clean up spam and recategorize the occasional mis-posted thread. Policing content seems a bit heavy handed in my opinion. But then again I have a thick skin.

 

[Matt Book]

That's hardly a 1st amendment issue, though. Moderation, yes, but it was a clear and unambiguous decision which is generally desirable in a moderator, though some may have disagreed with that decision.

It's very much a free speech issue because it's about contributing to discourse control myopic monopoly. It's not a coincidence that GS, BGS, and all the other big tech decided to prevent criticism and feedback in 2020 having seen the outcome of 2016. Legally, no it's not a violation, because it's privately owned website where you can choose your structure, rules, and process. Buy up most or all the street corners privately in Athens where audiences aren't allowed to loiter and no one knows who Socrates is....

The political forum, like the other sub-forums are just that, you don't know what's in them unless you go in them, no one forces anyone to peruse it. There are sub-forums here on GS I haven't even looked at. Any argument you can make about a non-game related forum you can apply to all non-game related forums. ASL players are the smartest people I know, they have keen insights on intellectual matters because of the way their OCD schematics work, which is why I preferred the GS political forum here compared to others. Aside from the annoying bomb throwers, it was worth navigating through them to find substance, which for many years was available.

 

[Robin Reeve]

A political folder has nothing to do with a game.
No more than an Indian cooking, patchwork embroidering or a motorcycle race one.
You indeed didn't have to go into it, but that didn't make it relevant.

 

[21Z5M]

A political folder has nothing to do with a game.
No more than an Indian cooking, patchwork embroidering or a motorcycle race one.
You indeed didn't have to go into it, but that didn't make it relevant.

To me the folder goes to the greater sense of community where people can speak about anything. I don’t agree if one person deliberately follows around another to harass on every point.

 

[JimWhite]

A political folder has nothing to do with a game.

Neither does music, television or sports.

Yet here we are...

 

[hongkongwargamer]

Neither does music, television or sports.

Yet here we are...

Are we adding forums for music, television or sports?

 

[hongkongwargamer]

I would think the need for a political forum is so dire within the ASL community, some of us would have taken on the opportunity to set one up already, and quite successfully so.

Otherwise, aren't there tons of forums on the internet that allows people to "freely" express their political views? Oh wait ...

 

[GeorgeBates]

It takes intellectual rigor, courage and interactive effort to engage with one's community on a soapbox at Speaker's Corner, in a public meeting or as a candidate for political office. None of these qualities are required to spew garbage across the internet.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

t GS, BGS, and all the other big tech

GS isn't "big tech", you may be confused about how it is owned and operated. My understanding is Cary paid for it out of pocket and decided he didn't like the harsh tone of the political discussions.

Legally, no it's not a violation, because it's privately owned website where you can choose your structure, rules, and process.

I do agree with you on the monopoly Facebook, YouTube and the actual "big tech' has on what is acceptable content. German Army reenactors, for example, routinely have their FB groups deleted because the algorithm there identifies swastikas (even tiny ones on uniforms) as hate speech. Conservative voices are demonetized on large platforms, which is a real concern. But it doesn't compare to what happened here, as all voices were told to take their political views elsewhere.

The political forum, like the other sub-forums are just that, you don't know what's in them unless you go in them, no one forces anyone to peruse it.

They added no value to the game discussions in the way, say, a military history or what are you reading discussion does. But see my next post - music, sports, all that cultural stuff tends to bring people together, even if they don't agree. Politics, on the other hand, drives people apart in ways that no disagreement on music or football can.

ASL players are the smartest people I know, they have keen insights on intellectual matters because of the way their OCD schematics work, which is why I preferred the GS political forum here compared to others.

You may be too easily impressed. This community has a cross-section of talents, experiences, outlooks and even intelligence but it's no different than any other community. I know Americans are taken in by the notion of Exceptionalism, as a Canadian I don't believe in American Exceptionalism any more than I do ASL Exceptionalism. It really is okay just to be like everyone else.