10,000
This, my 10,000th post, is a roll call for the departed, the dead and the damned, whom I salute, in no particular order. MovieChat will little note nor long remember what I say here, but it should never forget what they posted here. Hail:
Dazed
MissMargotChanning
Catbookss
Leah of Lothlorian
thewaitress
CharleyKelly
HarvardBarbie
froggyandtoadie
anna1969
pankoeken
Godewey
Top marks to those who are still with us:
twinA
strntz
Amerigirl
TheLovelyAnomly
Otter
Wint3rFir3
sslssg
exatera
[email protected]
Goliard
chrisjdel
minababe
MinaVladamir
I’ve been on message boards for over 20 years. Most of the sites were entertainment-oriented, like MC. They used to be fun and communal. There were lively, courteous and reasonable discussions. The argument “It sucks” was not accepted. I arrived at the Entertainment Weekly site just as Titanic was released and Seinfeld was ending. What a torrent of posts at that time! A new topic could get 100 replies in an hour.
Things gradually deteriorated. The internet started creating its own words, logic and standards of behavior. I noticed that posters who had never met IRL imagined they had close friendships with each other. I even had a woman tell me she’d fallen in love with me online, and we weren’t on a dating site. The internet was becoming ever more filled with people who were socially uncomfortable and who appreciated that the web prevented any real emotional intimacy.
That also meant the web eliminated most repercussions for bad, even hostile, behavior; so the web got nasty. It has become a refuge for people who have real, and in some cases, extreme, emotional issues. The web has become bloated with people who are not fun to be around.
Sadly, that has happed here no less than elsewhere; so posters leave. MC is no worse than anywhere else, and it is no better. I am sad for losing those I’ve named, and glad for those I’ve named who have stayed. I would like to see the Politics section completely eliminated. I don’t see it doing any good at all, and do see it doing a lot of collateral harm. It should not have been ported over from IMDb. It is a cesspool.
Thanks for reading!