Author Topic: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??  (Read 44179 times)

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Offline DarkShockBro

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What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« on: December 08, 2012, 09:12:41 PM »
Alright, guys. This is something that's been annoying me for awhile, and I really need it to get off my chest.

*Ranting time.*

This site is driving everyone, especially me, nuts. I'm not kidding, EVERYTHING is during into a giant fight. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I'll list why I think this is the case. No one can just drop things, and instead choose to chastise EVERY SINGLE thing that's posted on the site. Is anyone wondering why there aren't many contributing members on this site? I'll tell you why, because no one wants to get yelled at by people on the internet for their opinions or statements.

I could go on for HOURS listing all of the hateful bulls*** I've seen on this site in response to people listing their opinions and statements. And to be honest, I'm sick of it. I'm not going to give any examples, because it's too f***ing prominent for me to cover in one thread. Has this site truly developed into a battlefield where no one wins and everyone lobs grenades at each other? I think it has. Does this sound like a good site to you? No, it doesn't.

My message: think about how YOU look before you post your message about someone else, because if you don't, you'll contribute to this war. Swallow your pride, and let people be content about posting opinions or information, no matter how s***ty you think they are. I'm literally begging you; I'm starting a THREAD to express how I feel. That's how pissed off I am. I have TRIED to let this behavior go, but I just can't do it anymore. Please stop the war.

*Ranting over.*

(takes a deep breath)

Think on that, please. Goodbye.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2012, 09:22:18 PM by DarkShockBro »
Stop the madness.

Offline TheGRVOfLightning

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2012, 09:25:45 PM »
I think we all need to take this on board.
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Offline Prizes

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2012, 10:19:31 PM »
This site is driving everyone, especially me, nuts. I'm not kidding, EVERYTHING is during into a giant fight. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I'll list why I think this is the case. No one can just drop things, and instead choose to chastise EVERY SINGLE thing that's posted on the site. Is anyone wondering why there aren't many contributing members on this site? I'll tell you why, because no one wants to get yelled at by people on the internet for their opinions or statements.

Interesting. I partly agree, but not in full. I tend to think the reverse order of you, but I respect your opinion; which is to say, you have a multitude of contributors leading to site decorum, rather than site decorum leading to site contributors. I actually post quite a bit less here these days because the member quality (no names, it's the site as a majority) is nowhere close to what it was.

My opinion is based from other pages, I've been on/run. When you have instability, members who don't have central enough of a focus tend to argue. On the most basic of levels, the question becomes what the future of the site is. Here, it's (sadly) become: "Do we want to be a game or discussion site?" This also turns to, in TTiR: "Are what Drew, Mike, etc. doing a positive thing for the show?" I personally don't think so, but this means nothing, in the scheme of things. The problem is having weak arguments for most of them, due to the collective intelligence of the site decreasing. So, what's the easy form of insult? The potshot, the insult, of the person. Ultimately, the insult should be of the opinion, not the person, with substantial evidence. When you lack the intelligence to do so, it devolves, and becomes primitive.

I look at my site, where not everyone totally agrees, but, you know what? We present our arguments logically, with precision, and jokes to keep it loose. It's why a site like Invision still works, it's why my site works. You must have intelligence to run a competent site, to have solid discussion, and less of these ad hominem attacks.

This needs to stop. But the way we get to doing this is maintaining the very high quality of standards of posting by its members the site had years ago. Our biggest arguments in 2006 were about Dom friggin' Casual appearing all over the pricing games. A amen font! To do this, what do we have to do? Get rid of the forum games, all of them. Out in Left Field is a discussion place, of other game shows, brief sports mentions, and RELEVANT obits. Not this junk about the best boy in Casablanca passing away, or a page full of forum games that wouldn't have lived a day under the old system. It's total BS. If your opinion isn't good, you don't contribute, you are out. That simple! Quality always comes prior to quantity, and this site held that for a good 6 years. Go back to that.

My message: think about how YOU look before you post your message about someone else, because if you don't, you'll contribute to this war. Swallow your pride, and let people be content about posting opinions or information, no matter how s***ty you think they are.

Again, I partly agree, but not in full. This goes beyond someone else. Look at your potential post about the show, your opinion, etc. Look at your post. Is it supported by evidence, history, etc.? If it looks stupid, don't post it. If you can't tell the difference, or continue to post this garbage, from attacking people, this isn't the site for you, just go away and/or be banned, as this isn't the site for you.

If your opinion (not stuff like the FPG stuff on sideshow, unacceptable on all counts) sucks, I'm going to call it, the opinion out. Attacking the person helps nobody and nothing. This site has and will be better than that. Unfounded or unsourced info is unacceptable. That's asking for lower quality, and why any of us would want this is beyond me. The opinions sucking needs to be with a change in site majority from bad users to good ones. That simple; less to call out.

There's a reason Steve Gavazzi has to belittle people more now, because they just don't get it. I agree about 99.9% of these callings out, because they are necessary. I feel I can safely speak for Steve here when I say that the forum would be much better if we had the types of users we did just 4 years ago.

For those of you who don't speak with proper grammar on a regular basis, throw out random shiite as fact, don't bother to make your point well, contribute nothing, can't run your own show (more than one person here, by the way), go away. That's cold, but I mean it at my core. Here's to a better 2013...though I have no hope of it happening.
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Offline Guint

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2012, 10:43:52 PM »
Jon's post needs to be read a thousand times over by practically everyone who still comes to this site, because he has freaking nailed it.

I joined this site almost two years ago, well after the site went past its prime...even then, despite crap starting to flood the forums, the site was still a better place, namely because you could post 95% of the time without having the fear of getting jumped on with every last thing you say. Now the site is just a dump, with its members taking the junk and throwing at each other. It's like a third world country; nearly an anarchy.

This site can do better. It has done better. But the site is resting on its laurels and its past, and it's sickening. The site needs better expectations, simple as that.

Some of you may have realized the stop signs that are in my avatar, Jon's, and cu2010's, which say "Stop the Madness" in various languages. This is not only aimed at the severe low quality of the show itself, but the site and its members as well. Some of you need to think. If you can't do that competently, then do us all a favor and leave; good riddance.

I know I'm probably putting myself at risk of a ban for this, and you know what? I really don't care. If I get ignored and banned, the site continues on its bad streak, and I wouldn't want to come back anyway. I've said my peace on this. Thank you for reading.

Offline Flerbert419

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2012, 11:14:15 PM »
Look at your potential post about the show, your opinion, etc. Look at your post. Is it supported by evidence, history, etc.? If it looks stupid, don't post it. If you can't tell the difference, or continue to post this garbage, from attacking people, this isn't the site for you, just go away and/or be banned, as this isn't the site for you.

I think this is a good description.  Opinions leading to evidence leading to conclusions makes for coherant postings backed up by facts.

Somebody who I respect in the internet community recently alerted me that Craig Ferguson has three questions you should ask yourself before getting involved in a discussion.

It's also three things you should ask yourself before hitting that "Post" button:
 
Does this need to be said?
Does this need to be said by me?
Does this need to be said by me, now?

Anything else just clutters forums and takes up bandwidth.
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Offline TheTechSGT

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2012, 11:32:58 PM »
I just want to highlight a portion of what prizes22 said:

To do this, what do we have to do? Get rid of the forum games, all of them. Out in Left Field is a discussion place, of other game shows, brief sports mentions, and RELEVANT obits. Not this junk about the best boy in Casablanca passing away, or a page full of forum games that wouldn't have lived a day under the old system. It's total BS.

This.  I'm not one to stifle creativity or discussion, but looking in OILF and trying to pick out the actual topics from all the games is a chore.  Looking at the OILF forum now, I see:  Millionaire Game, Plinko Meets Chain Reaction, Switch Meets Chain Reaction, The Person Below Me, Final Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and three obits for people I've never heard of.  And that's just the first page!  Out of 20 topics, over half of them (11) are way past left field.  Several Whose Line games have already been banned, and there are a few others (like The Random Game) that I'd be happy to never see again.

Clean up OILF and get rid of these games, PLEASE.

(And Seth, if you're out there, maybe we should seriously look at adding an auto-lock function so that when threads reach the 30-day mark, they automatically lock to prevent random bumps like the ones in the First Run section just today.)

Offline vadernader

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2012, 11:35:54 PM »
Well...this is all sort of true but the cursing and yelling isn't quite necessary.

It's why a site like Invision still works

Some would disagree :D (Not necessarily me, though.)

You must have intelligence to run a competent site

Is that a potshot at John/Marc/Seth?

For those of you who don't speak with proper grammar on a regular basis, throw out random shiite as fact, don't bother to make your point well, contribute nothing, can't run your own show (more than one person here, by the way), go away. That's cold, but I mean it at my core. Here's to a better 2013...though I have no hope of it happening.

I agree with most of this, but the "go away" I don't fully agree with, but that's probably neither here nor there.

I think one of the problems here is that everyone thinks they are better than someone else or some others. (This thread for example, everyone thinks they're better than some members elsewhere, etc, heck, I'm guilty too)

I think another problem is that when someone corrects someone else for saying or doing something wrong, they take it as a personal attack and do their damnedest to retaliate. It's like Marc said.

Quote from: Marc
1. Do not flame or belittle someone for his or her opinions. We all think differently and may not agree with other's opinions. With that said, tasteful debate is encouraged! If you disagree with someone, please disagree with a little bit of “class”. DO NOT get personal with someone regarding an opinion that you may not agree with.

Tasteful debate is encouraged, tasteful being the key word.

Then there are the numerous forum games....this is a tough topic. Some are good and fun and get some participation, but some turn into places for 3 members to constantly post nonstop back and forth and raise their post-count exponentially each day. There's a reason "The Random Game" was Locked. Each OILF Game should be looked at to see if there are a good number of members posting regularly or if it is just 1 2 or 3 of the exact same people posting back and forth back and forth.

I think everyone just needs to calm down and realize that not everyone who quotes your post and says something contrary to your opinion is out to get you / personally attack you and if you think they are the best thing to do is report the post - not reply back with an attack of your own. Also, when one member is out of line, it is not the time to gang up on them in subsequent threads (See DJTorgo as a recent example, yes, his Signature was horrid, yes, the first post was pretty bad, and yes, the second post was really bad, but the discussion was supposed to be over.)

Taking potshots at members after they are banned in other threads or in the thread itself is of no use and serves no purpose whatsoever.

In summary, I think a lot of members are full of themselves (myself included, don't get me wrong here...) and need to rethink some posts (again myself included) in the future.

There's a huge difference between tasteful debates over TPiR related things and pissing contests over who did or said what.

Edit: Holy crap, Flerbert hit the nail on the head!

It's also three things you should ask yourself before hitting that "Post" button:
 
Does this need to be said?
Does this need to be said by me?
Does this need to be said by me, now?

Anything else just clutters forums and takes up bandwidth.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2012, 11:38:48 PM by vadernader »
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Offline Punchboard91

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2012, 11:45:54 PM »
(And Seth, if you're out there, maybe we should seriously look at adding an auto-lock function so that when threads reach the 30-day mark, they automatically lock to prevent random bumps like the ones in the First Run section just today.)

The problem with this, though, is when people actually do have relevant information to post...I'll admit, though, I prefer the recaps all in the same area, so I can easily access ones near each other when I need to.

I will admit, since the topic was brought up, it seems like some members post simply to get their post count up....I don't think at all that this function should be disabled, but we do need to remember that quality, not quantity, should determine a person's posting status.

Offline rodroddyfan

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2012, 11:51:55 PM »
I do know marc posted in a thread before the 4th of july that he has no intentions of steering this site back to what it used to be and did say that if it had not been for what has gone into developing this site, it would have been gone a long time ago. 

Offline TheTechSGT

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2012, 12:02:13 AM »
@Punchboard:  I agree with you about the recaps, but the key phrase is "relevant information."  The last few times I've seen a recap thread bumped past the 30-day mark, it was for something like "Rerun today!" or "Happy Halloween," or for something equally pointless.  I lurked around here for several years before joining up, and offhand I can't think of any recap bump past the 30-day mark that was relevant, and a whole mess of them that were so far past "irrelevant" it was sad.

GRN's problems aren't going to go away overnight.  But it looks like Seth himself is starting to take a firmer hand when it comes to the disruptive elements around here, and I think that's a good thing.  Invision really doesn't work because their moderation is a joke, and the same can be said for the official PiR boards.

And I want to get this off my chest as long as the floor is open.  I know this is an Internet forum and not everyone is going to express themselves like they're writing a college essay.  I don't think we should demand that from everyone who posts here.  But at the same time, there are some users here That Randomly capitalize their Posts, use "IM lingo" ("u" instead of "you," for example, or throw in "lol" to everything), or never use any kind of punctuation, making their posts basically long run-on sentences.  I can't be the only one that finds this kind of thing irritating.  Whatever the middle ground is between people being allowed to post like that, and the rest of us using the Ignore feature (I've got quite a few people on my Ignore list for precisely this reason, their posts are atrocious and VERY difficult to read), I think we should come up with some typographical standards.  I'm not saying ban anyone who says "lol" or uses a period instead of a question mark, since anyone can make a mistake, but at the same time there's no reason for some of the atrocious writing styles we have around here.

EDIT:  @RRF:  just because Marc doesn't want to reclaim past glory doesn't mean this site should wind up an intellectual wasteland like ATGS or Invision or the official boards.  Those are sites that just lost the will to moderate and whose members don't really moderate themselves, and we see where that can lead.  I have a hard time believing Marc wants this site to go down that road, and I also have a hard time accepting that anyone here does either.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2012, 12:05:56 AM by TheTechSGT »

Offline Chelsea

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2012, 12:10:32 AM »
Just FWIW, I've been reading the thread and am noting and reflecting on what everyone is saying. I may have some comments of my own later on.   In the interest of having a sincere discussion on this issue - as it's been bubbling under the surface for a while now - as far as I go I'm OK with leaving this thread (and this thread only) as a relatively open floor. Because, at least at the moment, this seems to be a discussion a lot of folks want/need to have. 

All I ask is that you guys still be respectful towards each other.  Behind each and every username on this site is an actual real live human being, with their own thoughts, and needs, and emotions, and feelings. One of the things I think that's hurt the quality of discussion over the last few years is that a lot of folks - myself even included once or twice - forget that. People become so obsessed with being *right* that somewhere along the way, they forget that they really should also endeavor to not be an ass about it. 

Offline dh027

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2012, 12:10:42 AM »
There are two main reasons I don't frequent the site as much as I used to several years ago.

1)  I have lost interest in the show itself.  I haven't watched an entire episode in over a year.  It has lost that magic that made me a loyal viewer for over thirty years. 

2)  Everything gets turned into a giant urinating contest.  Several strong personalities have taken over and have driven away many of the old timers, so to speak.  I won't name names but I'm sure everyone knows with out me saying (and no, I'm not referring to Steve.  I like Steve's opinionated style even if I may not always agree with him). 

The site just isn't what it once was.  The show just isn't what it once was.  The site is more about OILF and less about the show.  I still check in from time to time to see what is going on, but the thrill is gone.

Offline RCPlanes59

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2012, 12:23:47 AM »
You want to know what I think?

I think we have too many kids (13 and under specifically, but I'd go up to 16 or even 18) on here who don't understand the repercussions of posting random garbage on the Internet. When I was 13 and I joined my first board I thought I was haughty taughty hot s***. I learned that mistake FAST. Just far too many people think they can trample all over something that a lot of people here hold to be very sacred.

Bottom line: If you're under 13 we're not putting up with your s***. If you're over 13 act like it.
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Offline vadernader

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2012, 12:27:30 AM »
dh027 just made me realize something else by hitting the nail on the head.

The site changed a ton when Bob left and Drew took over and Roger left and Mike took over. Lots of the old members here do not care for the new direction the show has taken and therefore have also not cared for posting on this site as much. Another big thing is that Marc & John had more of an insider aspect to the show and knew Roger and visited the show and took pictures and gave everyone knowledge they would have never gotten before from the show. Since Mike and Drew and the rest of the new regime took over it seems like neither Marc & John or Drew & Mike want to extend any olive branch and that's fine and also expected, but that also takes away from one of the great qualities the site used to have and also made some members stop frequenting as much.

Just my two cents.
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“For the premiere of season 30, CBS wanted to do a special primetime show. However, they asked that we also add a gimmick or a twist to make it truly special. I came up with the suggestion of taking the show on the road for the first time in its history." - Roger Dobkowitz

Offline TheTechSGT

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Re: What's Going On @ Golden-Road.Net??
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2012, 12:29:57 AM »
1)  I have lost interest in the show itself.  I haven't watched an entire episode in over a year.  It has lost that magic that made me a loyal viewer for over thirty years.

I think this is something that can get easily overlooked.  Back during the Barker years and Carey's first year, there was plenty of substance to talk about, and most everyone agreed on the fundamentals (i.e. the show works as is, we like it, it's classic, it's familiar, and so on).  I'm going to be careful how I phrase this, but if we're honest with ourselves, the way things have worked at Studio 33 for the last couple of years have created some significant and fundamental differences of opinion.  The same arguments keep playing themselves out in TTiR--the second anyone says they dislike something about the show, it seems like someone else immediately jumps in and accuses them of Drew-bashing, and the whole thing quickly degenerates from there.  Many otherwise worthwhile threads have gotten derailed by people shouting "Drew bashing!", and I think that's something that needs to stop as well.

Some of us are Barker loyalists (count me as one).  Others of us prefer Drew.  Some of us liked Roger's way of doing things, others prefer the Mike Richards approach.  What needs to happen is for everyone to realize that all sides of that discussion have a point, and if I say I prefer the Barker years, it's not automatically a slam against Drew and Mike, no more than saying I prefer the Dawson Feud is a slam against Ray Combs or Richard Karn or any of the other modern-day hosts.  The hardliners like what they like, and they're probably never going to agree with each other--but that's still no reason to shout "BASHING!" as soon as someone criticizes Drew or Mike for something, or comments that something the show does now is better than the Barker days.

Something else that bugs me...there have been several users that made grand "I'm leaving" topics, a number of whom showed back up not long afterwards.  I've been to other boards where posting an "I'm leaving" topic is grounds for an immediate and permanent ban, I've seen it suggested several times here that we do the same and I think that's a good idea as well.  (Exceptions obviously for mods or those who run CSS or FPG, since their absences might impact routine operations.)