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Barbentropy: Where will it all end?

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Phex: Dorset Doom

22:46 / 31.03.04

I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to post a thread like this, I'm definitely sure I'm not the first person to be thinking it, but 'thing is: every day I log onto Barbelith I find that another hundred people have joined. Looking through the members list it looks like 90% of members don't even make it to ten postings, a lot don't post at all. Getting a 4000th member was a pretty big deal in the Conversation forum, but at the rate we're gaining members it looks like we'll be celebrating member 5000 by this time next week, then 6000 a few days later then ten-thousand a day after that.

So, I'm asking: all you new members who entered an E-mail address and a password and made up a funny lil' name for yourself: what exactly have you bought to the table? And for the older and more active members* does it piss you off that people are signing up then dissapearing?

*I'm not exactly a vet', I'm something like 1300th member, but hey, at least I can remember the time when you couldn't print out Barbelith and wave it around at that moustache parade they hold every year

22:50 / 31.03.04

I fail to see how people joining but not posting has any impact whatsoever.

22:55 / 31.03.04

I think its just a prestige thing. Like saying you're part of the Skull and Bones society and then going into politics. We're like that, except the exact oposite.

23:06 / 31.03.04

What have I brought to the table? Size ten loafers and the quiet certanty of my superiority. And Humility, of course.

I wasn't aware that we had to justify our membership th Barbelith. Should an application be required? Ooooh, yeah, we could have background checks, security clearances, a formal tribunal could convene to pass initiation, just like the Masons! A secret handshake so we'd all know who the real 'Lithers are. And a formal ranking system!

23:07 / 31.03.04

Oh, and Barbelith is getting bigger. That's the opposite of entropy.

23:12 / 31.03.04

Nobody likes a smartass!

the correct term as I learned at work is "biggering" (just ask the Once-ler. He Knows)

Phex: Dorset Doom

23:15 / 31.03.04

Okay, you're right about the Entropy thing, and maybe I am being a little elitist or whatever. I just can't see why people are joining when the majority don't actually post.

Phex: Dorset Doom

23:17 / 31.03.04

(a cromulent point Keggers)

23:19 / 31.03.04

cute.

00:10 / 01.04.04

You could probably calculate a Barbentropy figure by looking at the ratio of energy expended on stupid posts in the Convo (and other places, it's not like this is the only forum where there's shit) vs energy going towards constructive intelligent threads that Grant Morrison would approve of.

Of course, that would involve lots of snobbish and contentious value judgements, and would certainly raise the Barbentropy figure on its own. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Pointless argumentative elitism is what made the Internet.

00:25 / 01.04.04

No it didn't.

gotham island fae

00:32 / 01.04.04

Phex, we joined at about the same time, you and I. Back then, people joined like thrice every two days. Today, I'm guessin' that close to seventy-five dropped their info in less than the landed world's workday.

Barbelith is HOTT. Period. And it endures.

The Audience is part of that.

06:36 / 01.04.04

I just hope that 1000 of them aren't Knodge suits. Seems a shame when people don't get stuck in but it was ever thus.

07:30 / 01.04.04

Maybe they're all doing what Tom thought of making them doing and holding back, learning about the place and reading old threads before getting in to it?

At least they're not all starting really stupid threads...

07:58 / 01.04.04

Indeed - it's exciting that there are new members - and if they decide to stay, it will be great to hear new ideas and everything else!

Pointless argumentative elitism is what made the Internet. I thought that was porn fridge!

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:15 / 01.04.04

Porn fridge? Is that a fridge for porn or a fridge which shows porn?

Oh, and Barbelith is getting bigger. That's the opposite of entropy.

Way-ull. Entropy is the term for the amount of disorder in a closed system, that is the amount of thermal energy that cannot be converted into mechanical energy. It's not really about *size* per se.

I dont see a huge problem here. Some people might just want to contribute once when they feel they really should say something. Others might do the same thing a few times, but not really want to hang out. Others have moved on to other boards or stopped going to BBSes and so on and so forth...

On the other hand, if every one of those 4000+ members posted constantly, I think it would be quite hard to maintain the board as it currently exsts...

We're The Great Old Ones Now

12:13 / 01.04.04

Following the logic, does that mean Barbelith is largely composed of, er, Dark Members?

ONLY NICE THINGS

12:16 / 01.04.04

Possibly dark youropiniondoesn't matter. Or bozons.

12:21 / 01.04.04

Bloated and inactive members sounds like a social disease to me. It'll be due to all the drugs they take.

Tryphena Absent

12:28 / 01.04.04

Let's go a-poachin'! First person to kill ten new members get's a stick of rock from Teignmouth.

12:58 / 01.04.04

Speaking as a new memeber I expect the reason why new members aren't posting is directly because they are expected to go back through all the posts for any forum prior to posting (life's waaaay too short), to learn a load of rules that are hidden in that FAQ menu that I can't even find in this new 'rainbow' layout, oh and because they are torn to shreds as soon as they open their mouth - I know I was (not pointing any fingers but count three posts up!)

Tryphena Absent

13:04 / 01.04.04

You are not a new member or new memeber. What you need is a good knock round the head young man. With a kipper.

Regrettable Juvenilia

13:07 / 01.04.04

By "torn to shreds", do you mean disagreed with?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

13:13 / 01.04.04

Disagreed with like only we know how I think is the intent.

I have friends who lurk. They get a great deal out of the board, and they do even contribute by talking to someone who posts (ie me) even when they don't, cos they're shy. (Yes, anything I've ever posted that was remotely cool was probably told me by a lurker.)

Haus is right (again... I'm agreeing with Haus too much these days, and that's WRONG, oi tell 'ee)- if they all DID post, the place would crumble.

This can also be a scary place to post... if it wasn't for the fact that I was drunk when I first stumbled across it, and therefore didn't care that I was making a dick of myself, I'd have just lurked. For ever. Once I'd put my head under water, though, I had to figure out how to get oxygen.

13:13 / 01.04.04

And by "learn a load of rules that are hidden in a FAQ" do you mean "exercise some common sense"?

ONLY NICE THINGS

13:41 / 01.04.04

Actually, my dear dim admiral, I specifically asked others not to play kick the idiot with you, re: Esso. It's hardly my fault if others cannot restrain themselves.

To read the FAQ, which is quite short qand should not be too taxing, try the "get news and help on the Barbelth Wiki" link at the top of the page.

13:42 / 01.04.04

One must learn to be brave, young admiral, one must never be intimidated...

15:02 / 01.04.04

Most boards I go to, I tend to lurk as someone put it earlier. I finally joined this board to ask a question I wanted asked and no one else was asking. When I was not insulted and belittled in the first five minutes, I gained a little courage and began posting more.

I think every community needs growth. Especially one that is built on communication and thinking. If no one new joins, nothing new will be said. True some things may get repeated by the 'newbs', but are you honestly saying that no old member has created a thread that's already been discussed or answered something some one else already did?

And on behalf of all new posters and those who join and are too intimidated to post: "Please don't hurt me." Starting to rant and ramble (and probably repeat someone), but I think some of the older members need to realize that being around longer doesn't make you better. I hate boards where a common response to a post is "I've been here longer, I'm right. I don't care what your argument is" (esp. when half of that persons posts are one line jokes and a smiley icon).

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

15:13 / 01.04.04

Charrellz: Exactly.

Get beyond the fact that we are (we actually are) a self-righteous bunch of fuckers who could ACTUALLY, LITERALLY beak our own arms by patting ourselves on the back (and no, I'm not taking the piss here, we ARE like that- anyone "clique"-ish wanna tell me that's NOT the case, then we'll have that chat) and it's all cool.

Sorry. I forgot what my point was.

I think it was something to do with us being nice people. I'm not sure.

ONLY NICE THINGS

20:45 / 01.04.04

Sorry, Charrelz, I'm confused. You *weren't* humiliated and belittled, yes? So, what precisely is your concern? That everybody else is? Are you complaining that some older members *do* seem to believe that being here longer makes them better, or are you sketching out some horror hypothesis of a parallel universe Barbelith, in which everyone has a goatee?

21:46 / 01.04.04

if you can't find 10 really hilarious things in this thread, you just don't belong.

00:03 / 02.04.04

Starskey: The first part of my post was saying some of the good things about Barbelith, as I have seen forums where new members get blasted for saying something slighty incorrect.

Are you complaining that some older members *do* seem to believe that being here longer makes them better, or are you sketching out some horror hypothesis of a parallel universe Barbelith, in which everyone has a goatee?

I haven't seen much of this here, but I can see how threads like this one and "New members are fucking stupid" could easily lead to such a goateed world. Basically just throwing out my opinion as to why people should be careful not to fall into this mindset.

00:12 / 02.04.04

Yeah, but the 'New members' thread was a joke in response to the 'Old members' thread, which was itself a joke. It might have been the other way around, but still: joke.

This thread? That's another matter. It's a joke, fer sure, but probably wasn't meant that way. Me, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how people *not* posting makes the board bloated.

03:53 / 02.04.04

Unfortunately I don't give anything to the board. But that's my decision. I get information, laughs, and advice from this board though. Is that really bad? I guess you could call it a one-sided relationship, but none of you know of it.
-A Lurker

06:21 / 02.04.04

Starskey: The first part of my post...

There's one pitfall of having new members. They're not gonna know your name isn't Starskey....

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