I am not here to drudge up the past or get caught up in other minutia, this is just a straightforward, honest, official observation from a former forum regular. I am not going to directly reply in the open to however people react to this post nor am I going to spend any length of time here.
(Fair Warning: This post will not be made to go into the internet ether. Trust me.)The people still left in charge of this forum after all these years really do not understand how their
ad nauseam favoritism refrain under the guise of "but they make (alleged) contributions" and clearly calculated, personal biases carried out under a perverted point of view regarding "goodly manners" and "fairness" have gone a very long way to run off otherwise solid, true members of this community. "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" would be the perfect phrase to describe the last five-ish years of EGF.
There was a time I thought all such tomfoolery was all based on narcissism and some perpetual, unconscious, unresolved adolescent-level need for vengeance for a prior disenchantment of a time when the people in charge of this forum were the outsiders of a clique/group envious of
the clique/insiders that to which they finally have become themselves and never want to give up this power they have lusted after for so long. Those things are certainly in play but are only mild quirks that smarter people could learn to stifle. However, I now sincerely believe, with what little respect I can muster without choking back tears of laughter and disappointment, that like the Wizard from
The Wizard of Oz, the so-called management really has no idea what they are doing and are constantly trying to cover their collective competency deficit up to no avail. To paraphrase in more familiar words, the admins/mods have no bloody clue and they cannot stop fanwanking everyone and everything they come into contact with to death. As such, I have no desire or intention to slowly tear through all the bone-headed decisions that have been made over the years, if only because I do not believe anything I or anyone else posts or demonstrates will make anything or anyone here change. There are, however, a few recent moments that stunningly demonstrate how dumb and insular the management are that I would be re-missed to not mention.
The depressed in charge here have gone so far as to chase off once "favored" (mostly) reasonable people like Reichu and Ursus. Even though I usually never agreed with her and by all accounts she personally loathed me, Reichu was and will forever be the unsung hero and original backbone of this forum and she was essentially browbeaten away from here in some twisted, big-time "cool kids" fit by the management. The management can attempt to make use of every PR / spin tactic that Edward Bernays ever conceived of, but it is clear in the tone that both Reichu and Ursus posted towards the end that everything that went down was not 100% their respective decision. The fact that a certain wiki of ill repute has had a page for this forum for the last two years tells you what kind of reputation this place has earned, and rightfully so I'm afraid to admit.
At one point circa 2011-2012, I wanted this place to receive a DDoS from which it would never come back. At this point though, October 21, 2015, I am just sad, or "son I am disappoint" as we used to say around here. Remember that kind of humor? It would be wonderful to go have this forum return to its hey-day as “Eva Monkey Forum” circa 2008ish-mid 2010, but the people who made that magical, near-mythical time possible have been all but erased from existence and those still left are but ghoulish apparitions. I sincerely wish this place would make a roaring comeback, but it is 100% clear that the thrill is gone forever. I also hope this place serves as a good lesson to anyone who knows about it for how to not build and manage a community, internet-based or otherwise.
Oh, and on
a happier fourth-dimensional note,
Happy Back to the Future Day to those here who still have something close to joy in their heart.
- TEH Fabulous Hal E. Burton 9000
P.S. For those wanting to discuss a matter with yours truly not pertaining to the general topic at hand, PM me. Please and thank you.