06-23-2020, 02:25 AM
Since it's the cool thing to do, just want to share some "T O S" memories:
I was one of those that are all too common: "been lurking, finally joined!" people. I feel like once I actually joined in 2012 I knew everyone in the place, where to go, what to do, etc. etc. etc.
But I was also a bit of an introvert (looking back now it's shocking...). I had yet to truly realize my ability to generate a cortisol flood by arguing (
) so I tried avoiding anything that may have seemed like an argument.
I posted one "legit" thread about religion (yeah, keeping it simple...) but for the most part just stood in awe of some of the fabulous topics I came to love.
The Slayers, Zaphods, and many others who helped "raise me" while I was in the shadows of ATS became almost godlike because of their knowledge and expertise.
Astro sent me down a rabbit hole, the "earthquake guy" had me thinking Yellowstone was any day now (sorry, can't remember the handle TBH), Zaphod with the Darpa / Skunkworks talk, and man, oh man, Slayer with the g-spot threads that had me up at night looking into the unknown.
And then came Paris. I remember it clearly, I was at a Supercuts to be honest getting my hair cut that night. When the news broke, it seemed like MSM was falling over themselves with BS information, but there was ATS. At the forefront, with a beer in the hand, ATS was everything from an "I'm ok! check on so and so instead", to a breaking news site that had the answers long before your CNN's and NBC's were reporting things. It was epic (and horrible), but it was something to behold when people shared information in real time like that.
But then, shortly after, 2016 hit. I don't have a specific thread in mind, nor can I pinpoint a day. I also can't honestly tell you who sent me the PM to come join "others" at another site. HH was a good relief from the madness that TOS had become, but there was still something missing. I decided to check it out because TOS started to feel more and more unwelcome. I've said before, I have thick skin. But the vitriol was more "in your face" than it seemed before. Maybe the site stayed the same but I changed? I'm open about accepting that. But I can say with 100% certainty there was something brewing.
When RN3 was in her infancy, I found something that I wanted so badly from TOS: that acceptance. It wasn't about who had the most flags, stars, "likes", shares, or years. It was about content and the ability for people old and new to generate and discuss it. And because the site was new and didn't have much, it was like a blank slate. But being populated by some veteran TOS'rs it wasn't like we (they) were all new to my favorite subjects, but instead of "already been posted" cold replies because the search engine at TOS sucked monkey balls, it was like a new discussion being generated all over again (and yes, sometimes it even had members linking to old threads over there - so it's not like we pretended the discussion never happened).
What I do know is nothing will ever replace TOS in my timeline. It played a part, had its place, and now it's on to bigger things. Life got in the way big time on my end and even RN3 became a "once a month" thing on my end. But one thing I always knew, whether it was 2 days or 2 months I could drop a bleeding heart liberal BOMB into RN3 for the heck of it and every single member here would lay down their shields and ask me how I was....(before pummeling into the ground with their Trump batons, but that's another discussion). And it made me realize that getting an email from @guohua on a random Saturday was much more valuable than getting a star on my snide comment. Sharing what scotch is the best, what drink is there waiting, or what solemn melody as a whisper in the night delivers me my sleep, none of that is possible in a business model that allows toxicity. I'm not an owner, nor a genius, but it was toxic at TOS. Still had some of the same great people (albeit less than I remember) but it was different.
My closing statement: I didn't do it, nobody saw me, you can't prove anything.
And to @"guohua" @"Sol" @"gordi" @"BIAD" @"Mystic Wanderer" @"Ninurta" @"Wallfire" @"senona" @"OmegaLogos" and holy shit I'm gonna forget some while writing this (sorry!) you all made this a home for me. You made this what I felt before even registering at TOS, a place to feel at home. A place to post about life, the universe, and everything. A place to imagine, even if for a second, that I was the bowl of petunias:
"Curiously, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias, as it fell, was, "Oh no, not again!" Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly *why* the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now."
I was one of those that are all too common: "been lurking, finally joined!" people. I feel like once I actually joined in 2012 I knew everyone in the place, where to go, what to do, etc. etc. etc.
But I was also a bit of an introvert (looking back now it's shocking...). I had yet to truly realize my ability to generate a cortisol flood by arguing (
) so I tried avoiding anything that may have seemed like an argument. I posted one "legit" thread about religion (yeah, keeping it simple...) but for the most part just stood in awe of some of the fabulous topics I came to love.
The Slayers, Zaphods, and many others who helped "raise me" while I was in the shadows of ATS became almost godlike because of their knowledge and expertise.
Astro sent me down a rabbit hole, the "earthquake guy" had me thinking Yellowstone was any day now (sorry, can't remember the handle TBH), Zaphod with the Darpa / Skunkworks talk, and man, oh man, Slayer with the g-spot threads that had me up at night looking into the unknown.
And then came Paris. I remember it clearly, I was at a Supercuts to be honest getting my hair cut that night. When the news broke, it seemed like MSM was falling over themselves with BS information, but there was ATS. At the forefront, with a beer in the hand, ATS was everything from an "I'm ok! check on so and so instead", to a breaking news site that had the answers long before your CNN's and NBC's were reporting things. It was epic (and horrible), but it was something to behold when people shared information in real time like that.
But then, shortly after, 2016 hit. I don't have a specific thread in mind, nor can I pinpoint a day. I also can't honestly tell you who sent me the PM to come join "others" at another site. HH was a good relief from the madness that TOS had become, but there was still something missing. I decided to check it out because TOS started to feel more and more unwelcome. I've said before, I have thick skin. But the vitriol was more "in your face" than it seemed before. Maybe the site stayed the same but I changed? I'm open about accepting that. But I can say with 100% certainty there was something brewing.
When RN3 was in her infancy, I found something that I wanted so badly from TOS: that acceptance. It wasn't about who had the most flags, stars, "likes", shares, or years. It was about content and the ability for people old and new to generate and discuss it. And because the site was new and didn't have much, it was like a blank slate. But being populated by some veteran TOS'rs it wasn't like we (they) were all new to my favorite subjects, but instead of "already been posted" cold replies because the search engine at TOS sucked monkey balls, it was like a new discussion being generated all over again (and yes, sometimes it even had members linking to old threads over there - so it's not like we pretended the discussion never happened).
What I do know is nothing will ever replace TOS in my timeline. It played a part, had its place, and now it's on to bigger things. Life got in the way big time on my end and even RN3 became a "once a month" thing on my end. But one thing I always knew, whether it was 2 days or 2 months I could drop a bleeding heart liberal BOMB into RN3 for the heck of it and every single member here would lay down their shields and ask me how I was....(before pummeling into the ground with their Trump batons, but that's another discussion). And it made me realize that getting an email from @guohua on a random Saturday was much more valuable than getting a star on my snide comment. Sharing what scotch is the best, what drink is there waiting, or what solemn melody as a whisper in the night delivers me my sleep, none of that is possible in a business model that allows toxicity. I'm not an owner, nor a genius, but it was toxic at TOS. Still had some of the same great people (albeit less than I remember) but it was different.
My closing statement: I didn't do it, nobody saw me, you can't prove anything.
And to @"guohua" @"Sol" @"gordi" @"BIAD" @"Mystic Wanderer" @"Ninurta" @"Wallfire" @"senona" @"OmegaLogos" and holy shit I'm gonna forget some while writing this (sorry!) you all made this a home for me. You made this what I felt before even registering at TOS, a place to feel at home. A place to post about life, the universe, and everything. A place to imagine, even if for a second, that I was the bowl of petunias:
"Curiously, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias, as it fell, was, "Oh no, not again!" Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly *why* the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now."