The Problem With PD is This (serious thread, not stupid attempt at sarcasm):

[BADGE OF HONOR]

Which old ways?  Can you point out the 50 page threads about *stabby stabby* and tequila?  Or the threads about Really Real Discordianism?  Or the spasms of mod abuse, real and accused?  Or perhaps the old way of this board not existing at all, or with three posters dropping in once a month?  Bad as "facebook for weirdos" may be, there is always, always worse, and this board has seen it.  

so....because something could be worse than it is now, that means there's no point in trying to improve it?

Naw.  I'm just saying it gives you a little perspective.  Also the fact that this thread hasn't gone down in flames (yet) is really awesome.

[Doktor Howl]

I think the main problem is that we've gotten used to complaining about problems.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I think the main problem is that we've gotten used to complaining about problems.

How meta, Dok

[Richter]

Stabbings and tequilas are both relevant to my interests.  I may regret asking but tell me more...

[Doktor Howl]

I think the main problem is that we've gotten used to complaining about problems.

How meta, Dok

Sorry I tried to help.

Carry on.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

Stabbings and tequilas are both relevant to my interests.  I may regret asking but tell me more...

Some things are best left to the pleasures of IRL.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I think the main problem is that we've gotten used to complaining about problems.

How meta, Dok

Sorry I tried to help.

Carry on.

I liked it.

[the last yatto]

Which old ways?  Can you point out the 50 page threads about *stabby stabby* and tequila?  Or the threads about Really Real Discordianism?  Or the spasms of mod abuse, real and accused?  Or perhaps the old way of this board not existing at all, or with three posters dropping in once a month?  Bad as "facebook for weirdos" may be, there is always, always worse, and this board has seen it. 

so....because something could be worse than it is now, that means there's no point in trying to improve it?

or she didnt notice i was talking about pre coop
since in pd age: this monkey < badger

[Doktor Howl]

I think the main problem is that we've gotten used to complaining about problems.

How meta, Dok

Sorry I tried to help.

Carry on.

I liked it.

Oh...Sometimes it's hard to tell.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I think the main problem is that we've gotten used to complaining about problems.

How meta, Dok

Sorry I tried to help.

Carry on.

I liked it.

Oh...Sometimes it's hard to tell.

I don't try to piss on people...(sombunal of the time anyway)

[the last yatto]

just dont whistle while doing it

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

just dont whistle while doing it

... Never.

[Captain Utopia]

1.  Each of us, almost all of us, have gotten fat, stupid, and lazy.  We recognized the BIP, so we think we beat it (welcome to your new cell, same as the old cell).  We've put on filters because it's easier than thinking, and we all shout and bellow, but never fucking listen.  We - as a group - cannot even read anymore.  We SEE the words, and we may even KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, but we don't really LISTEN, because we've already decided we know everyfuckingthing and anything we don't know is just commentary.

2.  This isn't facebook for weirdos, it's facebook for REALLY FUCKING HUGE EGOS.  Yeah, I include myself in that.  It's not about discordianism now, it's about "Who's Who on PD".  It's about whining that your posts aren't appreciated, 60 seconds after you shit all over someone else's thread.  It's about screeching incessantly that you're an authority on something.  It's about ME ME ME ME ME.

3.  We've gotten so lazy being mad that we've forgotten how to have fun.  Also, this place is starting to resemble the hell scene from JTHM.  Everyone is desperate to BE SEEN BEING SOMEBODY (whether or not they're really like that makes no difference).  I can only speak for myself, but I'm a little sick and fucking tired of people insisting that people recognize how cool they are, or how they're a fucking expert on one subject or another, or how they're TOO IMPORTANT TO HAVE ANY FUCKING FUN, because it's BENEATH THEIR DIGNITY.  Likewise, in the threads that ARE serious, SHOW A LITTLE COMMON SENSE and DON'T ASSUME THAT YOUR WIT WILL BE FOUND FUNNY BY SOMEONE WHO SPENT AN HOUR OR SO THINKING UP AND WRITING A RANT.

"Faced with information overload, we have no alternative but pattern recognition."
Marshall McLuhan

I see all three of your above points as arising naturally from the volume of material which fills this forum - I'm sure I'm not the only one who faces information overload when trying to keep up with PD.com:

  1) It is an impossibility to read and fully consider every point made in every post, so we pass them through existing pattern recognition filters.

  2 + 3) An ego is essential for keeping your place in the pecking order - if you don't think you're worth listening to, it's harder to convince others that you are.  If you aren't a respected voice, chances are great that whatever you do write will be skimmed over without the same level of consideration. 

That is the root of the problem as I see it.  I think the best solution would be to look at how to tag/rate/categorise forum content rather than reduce the overall volume, but either should work.

[Subtract Eight!]

this place is nuts

ive been here a while relatively

[BadBeast]

This is one of my favourite threads to read when I'm bored. It's cohesive, and doesn't wander much, and there's some seriously deep shit in here from some right clever bastards. I agree with whoever is saying that we need to step back sometimes, before we can focus effectively. If I hadn't actually sat back and read the thing, And absorbed some bits of it, I might be considering something pointless, like bringing up the fluff vs stuff thing or something. And on any other site I probably would. This is a "focus" thread. For me,at any rate. Why would I want to blur anything?

That's why this thread is an exemplary part of what is right with PD. because it's not just threads where the last 2 or 3 posts have any relevance, people read right back, even if they aren't posting, and it's quite grounding. We think of conversations lasting a few minutes at a time, but there are conversations in PD, that have been going on for years. That's the equivelant of a Giant Sequoia to what we usually call conversations. That's why people like it I suppose. Duck out now, before I start wandering.