^Done (at least for my post), sir.
I joined the site on May 27, 2011 due to having pertinent, relevant, and helpful information on a topic regarding the Hole In One "$500 sign/flag" changes, but had regularly visited for quite some time beforehand. I quickly became a regular poster, and have attempted to keep a high amount of quality posts. The only times I have ever entirely "bashed" an opinion, I do believe, are when the opinion is unjustifiable (such as thinking that lots of shoes were more exciting than a car) or when it is clear the poster in question is a troll and on their way to Banville.
While yes, there have been plenty of instances where I insert snarky comments into a thread, they were never meant to distract from the discussion and I do not believe it ever has (at least as far as my posts are concerned; I cannot, and shall not, speak for others). I would liken myself to Mr. Gavazzi in regard to pointing out idiocy.
In general, however, I have noticed that there has been considerably more fighting, arguments, and quite a few new members who come on here and think they can just ignore all laws of the English language (assuming their first language is English; obviously, you let them slide otherwise) over the eighteen months I have been a member.
In regard to other users, I have tried to be courteous (barring the aforementioned "shoes >>> car") and gently correct them if need be, one example being when I tried (but ultimately failed) to stop TheGRVOfLightning from quitting his first HYO show, then attempted to continue the show only to find that there was very little in the way of script.
For trolls and the like, my first post or two in response always goes the "diplomatic" route -- attempting to calm them down and see why they were acting as they were. Almost always, this was meant with a slew of profanity or other such terms, which generally led me to making snark-based remarks and/or a "Three Strikes" style of pointing out their idiocies (this was when I was reasonably certain they were going to Banville).
Regardless of all this, and unlike quite a few members, my Ignore list is empty as I have found no reason to use it. Inversely, I apologize if I am, or have ever been, such that I have ended up on anyone's Ignore list...although if posts from others regarding me are any indication, I have little to worry about in this regard.
And now, to respond to some other comments...
====
As for the OILF games, I agree with Marc. They're a nice distraction for some folks and while wadding through them is certainly a chore, it doesn't bother me that much. Heck, I've participated in some of them
Seconded, and so have I, as they are a good flexing of the mental muscles. They are also rather popular; looking at the current "rotation", as it were...
* "Plinko meets
Chain Reaction?" is the oldest of the current group, debuting January 22, 2009. It is also by far the most popular
and the largest OILF thread, with over 10,000 posts and
316,000 views.
* "Switch? Meets
Chain Reaction" has been played since April 11, 2009, with over 6,900 posts and 198,000 views.
* "The Person Below Me Game" (not exactly a game) was created on April 21, 2010 so members could learn a little about each other. It has over 3,600 posts and 141,000 views.
* "
Wheel of Fortune Game" has run since March 16, 2011, with over 3,100 posts and 91,000 views.
* "
Millionaire Game" debuted on June 7, 2012 yet has amassed over 600 posts and 13,000 views, becoming the fifteenth-largest OILF thread in slightly over six months.
...which all means they must be doing something right. Indeed,
the nine largest OILF topics are games -- the aforementioned are #1, 2, 4, and 6, the others being "
TPIR Caption Game" (February 15, 2009 - September 9, 2012), "
TPIR Mystery Pic" (March 2, 2010 - May 7, 2012), "What Song Are You Listening To?/Is It On Your iPod?" (May 4, 2008 - April 23, 2011), "Ask A Stupid Question, Get A Stupid Answer" (June 8 - October 9, 2009), and "Two Choices Game" (June 21, 2011 - May 31, 2012).
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.
Perhaps I am confusing something, but I thought Marc said this in regard to having an open relationship with the
Price staff after Roger was fired and the disastrous meal Marc and John had with Drew (as was remarked on an episode of
Stu's Show, Drew talked at considerable length about
Second Life).
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.
See my prior response.
Because of Roger's clearly very evident love for the show, and his connection with the site, a lot of people reacted very, VERY strongly to his departure from the show what were far from ideal circumstances.
...
But an awful lot of people were SO vocally anti-Richards and anti-Drew (Any willingness to cut Drew slack went right out the window when Roger departed) that mountains of criticism emerged.
And their voices only got louder, and the cutting-of-slack essentially dropped, when the Perfect Showcase Bid happened. Drew's actions during the big moment, how the staff reacted to it, and the fallout from afterward (which remains even four years later) not only made things considerably worse but may indicate that the new regime was specifically looking for some way to sever any remaining ties with this site.
I remember reading several years ago a speculation by someone (forgot the name; apologies) that Fremantle and its predecessors, All-American and Pearson, were no more than real-life trolls with millions (AND MILLIONS!) of dollars who cackled in glee when the game show fanbase got angry at yet another botched revival or yet another nonsensical decision. Whether this is actually the case, I do not know, as (for example) not every revival was botched and
Family Feud turned itself around in 2003.
I am a FIRM believer in quality over quantity.
Seconded, and very much so. Not just in general, but regarding "post-for-access" thresholds. In fairness, such a measure is far better than paying to access the forums as is the case with (I do believe) Something Awful.
