@taliesin: it's the old reputation. the levels that were there when the function was removed.
@kc: you only have one because you weren't there at the time.
@kc: you only have one because you weren't there at the time.
chat, feelings, and random discussion thread
- Thread starter La Rocque
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King Chaos
Pomeo Osoponeor
Well can't rahvin share some of his?
Is there any benefit of having these powergems or is it just to make people who weren't there at the time feel unwelcome
Is there any benefit of having these powergems or is it just to make people who weren't there at the time feel unwelcome
I know it's the old reputation, but the only people back then I saw with that kind of reputation had it from reputation threads.
I dont quite see how you can receive that much reputation just by people going "Oh, I really like this post, I'll give him good rep for it!", hence why I made the fanclub remark
I dont quite see how you can receive that much reputation just by people going "Oh, I really like this post, I'll give him good rep for it!", hence why I made the fanclub remark
rahvin
keeper of the flame
Taliesin said:
You can't, obviously, and who would like my posts anyway? But the circle of Internet acquaintances that used to consider UM as their home was pretty large in 2004 - most have now gone or seldom post anymore - and, like I said, some of them liked using reputation as a way of saying "Hi" or privately commenting on the post made. I imagine it was tolerable, for a while, but it does mainly serve the purpose of making new people (or people without friends) feel unwelcome and new.
For the record, I'm also against showing the number of posts (although it does have a use for moderators: it's easier to identify spamming accounts when they post a thread about their own Internet store and they have 17 posts) or any other title based on "seniority" or quantity of time spent on UM.
xenophobe
Active Member
Hey Rahvin,
Yeah, I agree with everything you say. There's no good use for post counts being displayed, or reputation... and I was pretty much at the front pushing for both to be removed... well at least I remember pushing heavily for post counts to not show. I think it was Anthrax or Testament Legions where rep was taken so badly that it ended up being removed.
And yes, back in the day UM was a much busier place, lots of good friends and aquaintences that have faded away.... or maybe I just faded away from everyone esle... *shrug*
I've always felt sort of the outsider coming here and posting, even though I had a number of friends who used to post here regularly... it was such a tight nit group back then (and probably is still now)...
I've been stopping by UM a little more regularly the past couple of months and it feels really weird having left here for a couple years and coming back... all the close friends that just drifted...
*waves* @ Calisean, Hilj, Siren and Thanny in alphabetical order. :Spin:
[edit] And every once in a while I stop in here and am overwhelmed by the great big threads here and feel like starting one to say hi to everyone, because if I do so in one of these threads it gets lost easily ( ) but I feel like I'm invading so I don't. 
Yeah, I agree with everything you say. There's no good use for post counts being displayed, or reputation... and I was pretty much at the front pushing for both to be removed... well at least I remember pushing heavily for post counts to not show. I think it was Anthrax or Testament Legions where rep was taken so badly that it ended up being removed.
And yes, back in the day UM was a much busier place, lots of good friends and aquaintences that have faded away.... or maybe I just faded away from everyone esle... *shrug*
I've always felt sort of the outsider coming here and posting, even though I had a number of friends who used to post here regularly... it was such a tight nit group back then (and probably is still now)...
I've been stopping by UM a little more regularly the past couple of months and it feels really weird having left here for a couple years and coming back... all the close friends that just drifted...
*waves* @ Calisean, Hilj, Siren and Thanny in alphabetical order. :Spin:
[edit] And every once in a while I stop in here and am overwhelmed by the great big threads here and feel like starting one to say hi to everyone, because if I do so in one of these threads it gets lost easily (
) but I feel like I'm invading so I don't. 
xenophobe
Active Member
Taliesin said:
Well, see for yourself:
You can see it was also used for non-pm messaging... My last reputation points received:
rahvin
keeper of the flame
Hi Xeno!
Nice to have you back. It's weird how much the approach to on line discussion boards has changed in just two years, at least for me. It's not only that they're not my main playground anymore, but they actually feel different in terms of scope and interaction with other human beings. I do think back with a certain sweetness of both the times and the people we seemed to be so "intimate" with, even though I don't much mind the drifting apart. I suppose we've all grown a bit, in respect to how we use this specific medium and the Internet in general, which is to be expected with such a rapidly changing reality. Although I'm sure you've noticed that the "magic" is gone (if it ever was more than a myth), I'm glad if you drop by here when you feel like posting on UM.
Nice to have you back. It's weird how much the approach to on line discussion boards has changed in just two years, at least for me. It's not only that they're not my main playground anymore, but they actually feel different in terms of scope and interaction with other human beings. I do think back with a certain sweetness of both the times and the people we seemed to be so "intimate" with, even though I don't much mind the drifting apart. I suppose we've all grown a bit, in respect to how we use this specific medium and the Internet in general, which is to be expected with such a rapidly changing reality. Although I'm sure you've noticed that the "magic" is gone (if it ever was more than a myth), I'm glad if you drop by here when you feel like posting on UM.
Kovenant84
T-369 days
Man, I fuckin leave for a weekend and rep comes back. Whoopee.
Edit: I agree, Rahv. We've lost quite a few good people simply through time. Although, if you really want us to go back to the days of 'intimacy', I could resurrect my relationships thread
~kov.
Edit: I agree, Rahv. We've lost quite a few good people simply through time. Although, if you really want us to go back to the days of 'intimacy', I could resurrect my relationships thread
~kov.
RampageSword
AWARE! BEWARE! WAR!
Rep is new to me, and I have to agree with everyone, looks like it is a first-class contestant for the "UM's worst idea" trophy.
@Xeno, rahvin and most of the old-timers : Will you guys quit it with the "those were the days" nostalgia? Not that I think you should forget about it but hey, everytime you start talking about how great it was back then and you say stuff like "the magic is gone" I really feel like I came here too late. I mean, I missed the party didn't I?
@Xeno, rahvin and most of the old-timers : Will you guys quit it with the "those were the days" nostalgia? Not that I think you should forget about it but hey, everytime you start talking about how great it was back then and you say stuff like "the magic is gone" I really feel like I came here too late. I mean, I missed the party didn't I?
Taliesin said:
This is a normal behavior from people, for some reason they seem to think
that if they are nice to everyone, everyone will be nice to them in the future.
It's about greed, they may want something from him at some point, so can't
tell them the truth, cos they might remember that later.
rahvin
keeper of the flame
eRraZib_ENo said:
I feel like I'm quite anti-nostalgia as it is: for me, it's really more myth than truth the fact there even was a golden age. I imagine everyone will at some point look back to certain years in their youth in a slightly jaded way, just because they're not there anymore. Which, I believe, is what we sometimes do. Your party might be just begun, in my opinion, but I guess it's mine that's done by now.
Kovenant84
T-369 days
I think thats one of the things about talking about a forum's golden age. Especially one that has a search function. We all exaggerate it to be something it really probably wasn't. I wouldn't say there really was even a 'golden age' persay.
From my point of view (although, this of course could be skewed, as I'm not always around), the life of this forum has always seemed to be rather cyclic. It has its downtimes and its upswings, but each has its own merits, and if you happen to join during a downtime, it's quite probable people are just talking about the last time a lot of people came back and decided to check on the boards all at once while there was also an influx of new blood, the sum of which revitalized the boards for a few months. Be assured that it's happened before, and it'll happen again.
And to be quite honest, I think I was being misleading in my last post, talking about 'lost times'. I think that the majority of times, when people here think nostalgically (I've all but given up on spelling things right at 9 in the morning) about times past on these boards, its more about the people they don't see around anymore. I know I've found it rather tough when I think about the people I just don't see around here anymore, because I'm not (as people here can attest to) a great guy to talk to 'live' online. I tend to be a great fire-and-forget poster (great from my own comfort with it), and I'm fine with people asking my advice on things in a 'live' setting, but I have real troubles with extended human contact. I really don't know what it is, and its a bit strange this is the turn my post took, but in any case, I just don't wind up following up with the few people who's contact info I have and who fade off the boards.
I'm sure there was a message somewhere in there...
~kov.
From my point of view (although, this of course could be skewed, as I'm not always around), the life of this forum has always seemed to be rather cyclic. It has its downtimes and its upswings, but each has its own merits, and if you happen to join during a downtime, it's quite probable people are just talking about the last time a lot of people came back and decided to check on the boards all at once while there was also an influx of new blood, the sum of which revitalized the boards for a few months. Be assured that it's happened before, and it'll happen again.
And to be quite honest, I think I was being misleading in my last post, talking about 'lost times'. I think that the majority of times, when people here think nostalgically (I've all but given up on spelling things right at 9 in the morning) about times past on these boards, its more about the people they don't see around anymore. I know I've found it rather tough when I think about the people I just don't see around here anymore, because I'm not (as people here can attest to) a great guy to talk to 'live' online. I tend to be a great fire-and-forget poster (great from my own comfort with it), and I'm fine with people asking my advice on things in a 'live' setting, but I have real troubles with extended human contact. I really don't know what it is, and its a bit strange this is the turn my post took, but in any case, I just don't wind up following up with the few people who's contact info I have and who fade off the boards.
I'm sure there was a message somewhere in there...
~kov.
King Chaos
Pomeo Osoponeor
So who do I have to kill to get a reputation? Shouldn't Making the DT forum song and totally random MSpaint pics be enough
JK! 'tis rather fickle this reputation bar thingy. I'd just feel underpressure in each of my posts if I had one, and yet I feel worthless not having one... I guess it's a lose lose situation.
NF: Great. Got 80% on the quiz that I was sure was going to result in 25%. I just studied yesterday and things really started to click. I love it when that happens... which for me is not often, as I either need to learn it, or I just never will get it no matter how hard I try... although second point is proven wrong now.
EDIT: I now understand the point of these reputation things. Damn it. Sounds alot like asskissing to me. And my previous point feels more valid than ever. Without reputation a poster is going to feel pretty worthless, but then striving for reputation points is going to make you look like a whore. Ironically the only people I've wanted to credit since this thing came in are people like that Erik chap who write with a shit loads of distaste for it
JK! 'tis rather fickle this reputation bar thingy. I'd just feel underpressure in each of my posts if I had one, and yet I feel worthless not having one... I guess it's a lose lose situation.
NF: Great. Got 80% on the quiz that I was sure was going to result in 25%. I just studied yesterday and things really started to click. I love it when that happens... which for me is not often, as I either need to learn it, or I just never will get it no matter how hard I try... although second point is proven wrong now
.EDIT: I now understand the point of these reputation things. Damn it. Sounds alot like asskissing to me. And my previous point feels more valid than ever. Without reputation a poster is going to feel pretty worthless, but then striving for reputation points is going to make you look like a whore. Ironically the only people I've wanted to credit since this thing came in are people like that Erik chap who write with a shit loads of distaste for it
RampageSword
AWARE! BEWARE! WAR!
@Kov and rahv: I find myself to be agreeing with the both of you in some ways. rahvin, you say that this feeling is about remembering a time in which you simply aren't anymore and, well, that's pretty much my definition of nostalgia.
However you are also saying that your party is over. This is inconceivable. First, just because you are aging doesn't mean that all good times are over. (some of them are, of course) I'm pretty sure there's more great stuff ahead. However, if you referred specifically to the life on the forum, which I believe you did, well, maybe it's true, the community that was back then will never come back and although there is always a probability that things will become even better than they were, the fact that you have changed since that time and that your very view of internet communities isn't as it was in those days and therefore your attitude towards them isn't the same, well, maybe it's reasonable to assume that your greatest times on the forum are over. In the end all this is somewhat futile anyway, since the definition of "good times" is something to be made individually.
And you Kov, your post was hardly misleading, well not for me at least. My little anti-nostalgia whining was more of a spontaneous reaction in my mind which was based on enunciating a fact (there has been a lot of talk about the good ol' days recently on the board) in a partly sarcastic manner, thus the whining tone of my post. I am perfectly aware that lost times are only seen as such in a subjective and individual manner.
EDIT: @KC: Good job on your test, mate! Cheers!
However you are also saying that your party is over. This is inconceivable. First, just because you are aging doesn't mean that all good times are over. (some of them are, of course) I'm pretty sure there's more great stuff ahead. However, if you referred specifically to the life on the forum, which I believe you did, well, maybe it's true, the community that was back then will never come back and although there is always a probability that things will become even better than they were, the fact that you have changed since that time and that your very view of internet communities isn't as it was in those days and therefore your attitude towards them isn't the same, well, maybe it's reasonable to assume that your greatest times on the forum are over. In the end all this is somewhat futile anyway, since the definition of "good times" is something to be made individually.
And you Kov, your post was hardly misleading, well not for me at least. My little anti-nostalgia whining was more of a spontaneous reaction in my mind which was based on enunciating a fact (there has been a lot of talk about the good ol' days recently on the board) in a partly sarcastic manner, thus the whining tone of my post. I am perfectly aware that lost times are only seen as such in a subjective and individual manner.
EDIT: @KC: Good job on your test, mate! Cheers!
King Chaos
Pomeo Osoponeor
@erazib: Thanks man. I am pretty proud of myself. In all truth I was just hoping for 70.
And as for the monthly review on the state of the forum... Now reputations are back, Maybe some of the older users will follow xenos lead and return and to do a couple of twirls? Maybe...
May I just ask those of you concerned with this topic of conversation (changing state of the forum/our perceptions of the state of the forum)... how do you actually feel about Dark Tranquillity these days?
And as for the monthly review on the state of the forum... Now reputations are back, Maybe some of the older users will follow xenos lead and return and to do a couple of twirls
? Maybe...May I just ask those of you concerned with this topic of conversation (changing state of the forum/our perceptions of the state of the forum)... how do you actually feel about Dark Tranquillity these days?
RampageSword
AWARE! BEWARE! WAR!
Kovenant84
T-369 days
Well, I've always been of two minds about the band. On their records, its usually pretty hit or miss with me. For example, I loved about half of Damage Done - to the point where I could listen to it again today, and those same songs would evoke the same emotions, to the same extent. To me, that's astounding. Very few other bands have been able to pull that kind of involvement off. On the other hand, there are songs on each album that I've listened to approximately 5 times each. (Probably once a year, just to refresh my memory.) They just don't connect with me. Now, how I feel with them now, as far as recorded content goes... well, I haven't changed much. I still like their style. I'm not so happy that some of the songs are sounding more and more similar, but I'm able to pick up enough of the individual flair of each song that it doesn't bother me as much. I'm much more in tune with the lyrical content (as a wannabe singer) and the emotional content moreso than the actual instrumental bits. It's true, the instrumental parts don't evoke for me the same way they used to, but I'm finding that they're bringing different emotions forward, not really the type of stuff that I used to feel when listening to DT.
In a live setting (the other half of the coin), I am unanimous (with myself?) in being completely overwhelmed by them every time I even hear a live recording. It's actually pretty silly, I think to myself when I'm not currently listening to one or seeing them live. It's to the point now where DT could get up there and play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", and I'd still roar my lungs out. Way back in the day, when I first discovered DT, I had bought TMI and let my friend listen to it. He saw the CD, and thought that the line from Constant was the most egotistical thing he'd ever seen. I had a live recording of theirs, too, which seemed to support that feeling of pretentiousness. (I believe it was Constant as well. Stanne had an intro where he said something to the effect of them making the world better by being awesome in everything that they do.) So I was actually a little afraid until I found my way here, found out that basically there's very little that they, at least Stanne, say without it being, at least a little, tongue-in-cheek. Seeing them live three times has only reaffirmed that feeling - just the humor that they have - especially Stanne wiping his ass on stage with my UM nametag, and him doing little dances while Sundin & co. try to solo. I just find it impossible not to like the band in a live setting.
~kov. (end rant for now...)
In a live setting (the other half of the coin), I am unanimous (with myself?) in being completely overwhelmed by them every time I even hear a live recording. It's actually pretty silly, I think to myself when I'm not currently listening to one or seeing them live. It's to the point now where DT could get up there and play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", and I'd still roar my lungs out. Way back in the day, when I first discovered DT, I had bought TMI and let my friend listen to it. He saw the CD, and thought that the line from Constant was the most egotistical thing he'd ever seen. I had a live recording of theirs, too, which seemed to support that feeling of pretentiousness. (I believe it was Constant as well. Stanne had an intro where he said something to the effect of them making the world better by being awesome in everything that they do.) So I was actually a little afraid until I found my way here, found out that basically there's very little that they, at least Stanne, say without it being, at least a little, tongue-in-cheek. Seeing them live three times has only reaffirmed that feeling - just the humor that they have - especially Stanne wiping his ass on stage with my UM nametag, and him doing little dances while Sundin & co. try to solo. I just find it impossible not to like the band in a live setting.
~kov. (end rant for now...)
RampageSword
AWARE! BEWARE! WAR!
The band itself?
As individuals I believe they are undeniably a bunch of great guys. Well, off the 20 minutes I could chat with them in total they seemed like so. Damn me and living in Canada for that.
Musically, I could say that I fear the worst because since Haven they have somewhat lost a little bit of personnality. Not that the music is bad, far from it, but their two latest releases have a lot more in common than let's say, Projector and Haven. But thinking that would imply that I am a stuck up "only what they did is good, not what they do" kind of person. I think I'm not. Also, I could say that I feel they are moving slowly towards a level of inspirational depletion but that would imply I don't enjoy static formations and well I'm a big Amon Amarth listener. Maybe they simply found a musical style that they really appreciate and they believe that even after two albums they haven't exploited it's full potential yet.
But, in the end, I think that what is happening is that when I discovered DT, I was 17 and they were undoubtedly my favourite band. Now I'm closing in on 21 and I have changed, my knowledge of the musical scene has changed. During the last three years, I have discovered hundreds of new bands and different sounds and boughts about 150 cds. I cannot deny the fact that it's been about 2 months since the last time I listened to an entire DT album. I learned to enjoy many different spheres of music and now my playlist goes from Infected Mushroom to Behemoth. DT is still one of my top favourite but I have lost the whole "I'm a (insert band name) fan" thing a few years ago.
In short, my opinion about DT is that they probably have a lot more to offer over the next years but I always keep in mind that they already had a 17 years career. And like Kov said, they are an almost unmatched live act.
As individuals I believe they are undeniably a bunch of great guys. Well, off the 20 minutes I could chat with them in total they seemed like so. Damn me and living in Canada for that.
Musically, I could say that I fear the worst because since Haven they have somewhat lost a little bit of personnality. Not that the music is bad, far from it, but their two latest releases have a lot more in common than let's say, Projector and Haven. But thinking that would imply that I am a stuck up "only what they did is good, not what they do" kind of person. I think I'm not. Also, I could say that I feel they are moving slowly towards a level of inspirational depletion but that would imply I don't enjoy static formations and well I'm a big Amon Amarth listener. Maybe they simply found a musical style that they really appreciate and they believe that even after two albums they haven't exploited it's full potential yet.
But, in the end, I think that what is happening is that when I discovered DT, I was 17 and they were undoubtedly my favourite band. Now I'm closing in on 21 and I have changed, my knowledge of the musical scene has changed. During the last three years, I have discovered hundreds of new bands and different sounds and boughts about 150 cds. I cannot deny the fact that it's been about 2 months since the last time I listened to an entire DT album. I learned to enjoy many different spheres of music and now my playlist goes from Infected Mushroom to Behemoth. DT is still one of my top favourite but I have lost the whole "I'm a (insert band name) fan" thing a few years ago.
In short, my opinion about DT is that they probably have a lot more to offer over the next years but I always keep in mind that they already had a 17 years career. And like Kov said, they are an almost unmatched live act.
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