Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Conversation >

What bought you here? What kept you here?

Page: 1(2)3

15:00 / 24.10.02

Like Exp., I also came here because of Jack and Ephemerat, although if there is a good reason for my staying I can't think of it right now...

15:04 / 24.10.02

Well there's cheese, and sandwiches...

15:07 / 24.10.02

Ghost Doctor recommended the magic. I guess I mostly stayed for the conversation and the atmosphere. And the people, man, the people. It's the best board I've ever found, and I consider it extremely likely that its the best board in existence.

Regrettable Juvenilia

19:41 / 24.10.02

I came for the Conversation and Spectacle, and stayed for the Revolution.

And I want that on my gravestone.

19:52 / 24.10.02

I think it was Mr E who warbled about this great place that had invisibles conversation and magick and stuff (good breath control has Mr E) in my first year at uni. Found the Bomb first was intrigued, but the Nexus was full of cool people who were, yes you guessed it, funnier and cleverer than myself. So I lurked and skirted the event horizon, now I can't leave

.
Meeting people was also very strange, but people were just as cool in a pub as they were on the internet. It all seems to have worked out you know.

Wrecks City-Zen

21:25 / 24.10.02

I'm not sure who the "us" in that quote is, but I assume it refers to Rex's friends rather than Barbelith. Or am I wrong?

Wrong.

I don't know these people...hee hee...

23:14 / 24.10.02

betty woo: I came to Barbelith as part of the "Ray Fawkes Internet Stalking Program".

Tell us more about that program, why don't you?

23:37 / 24.10.02

I came to see what barbelith.com would take me to, clicked on the link to the Nexus, and joined up.

I stay for a lot of reasons. People don't scream and curse at each other, or spell things phonetically, by and large. There's no "hay im an 18 yr old dude ne u hot chix out 2nite?" The flirtation is at least a little more subtle. I stay to read things posted by people who are better read than I am, to discuss non-earth-shaking things in conversation, and there are several people who I'd miss something awful if I couldn't talk to them any longer.

00:14 / 25.10.02

Haven't been here long, but somebody had found something of mine, and others had liked it, so I thought I'd invite myself. Stayed because you have read books, can spell and your conversations don't degenerate into Yank-bashing, trolling for the Tories, or RGM's hay im an 18 yr old dude ne u hot chix out 2nite? (made me laugh).

The Return Of Rothkoid

00:45 / 25.10.02

Come for the freak! Stay for the food!

Well now.

I came here a couple of years ago more because I kinda knew Tom. And I stuck around, though didn't actually register or post until much later, when I decided the place could use my pithy insight, martini mixing skill and rakish fez-wearing.

That'd be it.

I stick around because I'm usually edified by the conversations here - yes, even the bitchy ones - and because there's a higher ration of intelligent bastards here than anywhere else. And because I'm a masochist, and regularly feeling like I'm stupid and haven't read enough is available more readily here than elsewhere.

On top of that, my friends and more are here. So why would you go anywhere else?

As for the Grant aspect: (no, not grant) it doesn't bother me too much. I can take or leave The Invisibles (though I feel that it'll probably make more sense when I can actually read the whole lot in one hit - though now I can't just hang onto KCC's copies... fuh) because I was already kinda aware of some of the stuff in it, but I like the fact that this place is what's sprung off the text - it's not a slavish wank over what Morrison's written.

Well, except for sometimes...

Murray Hamhandler

01:45 / 25.10.02

Subsequent posts here have reminded me of another reason why I stick around: there's a sort of perverse thrill I find in being in the one arena I've found where I feel like the dumb one. It's somewhat comforting to have my suspicions that I'm really not as smart as everyone believes me to be pretty consistently confirmed.

01:58 / 25.10.02

I came here because it was the only messageboard where people could spell and punctuate properly - see? And the grammar is excellent, too.

As long as everyone here can maintain the high standard that's been set, I'll be happy to accompany you.

But the minute I see a post in lower-case only, I'm going to run to the hills, like Bruce Dickinson.

The Natural Way

07:26 / 25.10.02

Plums: I did wear the mantle of Bruce for a little while, but I didn't even know you when Frerely and co. lived on Western Rd. First met you at the House of Hollingdean.

Look, I'm not the boring fuker, alright?

Well, ummm, possibly I am, but anyway.....

10:49 / 25.10.02

I stumbled in whilst looking for stuff about The Invisibles and stayed because every single time I visit, I learn something new.
Can't be a bad thing can it?

15:26 / 25.10.02

I came for the pie, and stayed for the fun...

Strange Machine Vs The Virus with Shoes

18:44 / 25.10.02

Came through the bomb.

Barbeliths potential.

19:38 / 25.10.02

Yeah, we've been here before, but it gives me a chance to slag off the Diva Blue Room, where I was hanging about and dying of boredom and frustration, lesbians suddenly having had a collective dose of stupidity and apathy, met Cholister there and she told me to come here and stop banging my head against a brick wall.

I've stayed because there probably isn't anywhere better to discuss stuff online. And I like the whole idea of the place, though I'm no fan of Grant Morrison. And I've met some people I hugely like and respect. Even made some friends - finally realised how much I like some folk, now that I've just moved 300 miles away from 'em.

20:08 / 27.10.02

... saw GM on DisinfonationTV. It was the first time I'd heard of the Invisibles [but had a copy of Arkham from way back] and his Pop Magick [been practising Norse-style for years], so decided to check the web.
Lurked here for a bit, started buying the paperbacks... this was during the "no new members" phase, but a couple of unsolicited e-mail contributions to Grant and an application to join the infant M.O.B. paid off at the same time. I was in.

I stay because the place really works. Thesis and antithesis coexist, the site is a valuable archive and resource for diverse fields of thought and experience... and you are all so cool and smart, I am constantly reminded of why I wanted to join in the first place.

22:02 / 27.10.02

i just joined recently, but i've been lurking for a while.

i found it through an online acquaintance at livejournal.com, and i've been popping in to see things pretty frequently ever since.

it's just a high-quality discussion area with really smart, really cool people who don't look at you like you have three heads if you start talking about reality as a subjective experience, or CIA psychedelic mindcontrol experiments, or Japanese noise music, or whatever, while at the same time don't take this forum as an opportunity to flaunt the size of their countercultural/magickal/PoMo/etc phalluses. it's a rare balance.

23:54 / 27.10.02

...told me to come here and stop banging my head against a brick wall.

That part hasn't really worked out, has it? Sorry.

Me? I came for the beautiful bisexual models and stayed in hopes that the beautiful bisexual models would really show up one day.

00:18 / 28.10.02

And I get to say "wery". And "huggles". Without being beaten or eaten.

I can assure you, Haus, that if my fists or teeth could go down a modem they would do so for this, frankly, nauseating babytalk.

02:46 / 28.10.02

I showed up on the doorstep during the "no new members phase" and snuck in anyway... I'd seen the Grant Morrison interview at disinfo.com, found The Bomb and The Underground through various search engines, and got completely sucked in. (in part, because of the "ghetto" that is the Magick...)

I stay because I want to (honestly, I could quit any time!) and I feel like I can occasionally contribute a little something to the discussions. And when I can't, I get educated...

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

03:20 / 28.10.02

A pointer from Jay Babcock's original annotations led me to The Nexus. The Invisibles kept me here until I realized that the rest of the site even way back when, was pretty cool as well. And yes, the only thing that has kept me coming back through all the petty dramas, bickering, intellectual cockfighting, and occasional not-so petty dramas was the Magick Forum.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great place, and I'm glad to be here; but the thing that has always brought me back, even when the board seemed dominated by dueling egos and trolls, was the Magick*. It, and the rest of the board, provide content and discourse that I've found nowhere else.

I love you guys. *sniffle*

*And By The Magick, I mean both the forum, and the really amazing people that frequent and have frequented that little slice of ideaspace over the years.

03:41 / 28.10.02

So I was walking outside when Christopher Walken came up and punched me in the head. I awoke to find myself here and haven't been able to leave ever since.

Honestly, I saw the Invisibles in my local comic book store (Jim Hanley's Universe - Staten Island location) and decided to look it up on the net. Found Jay Babcock's site. Found the Bomb. Stayed around till the Nexus formed. Joined and... well, I'm still here, am I not?

I stayed for the magick and for the old "Information" forum. ANd for the annotations.

And cause my borther was dubbed the leader of the Thuggees.

And, obviously, because I'm Grant Morrison.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

21:14 / 28.10.02

Talking brought me here.

The Invisibles (eventually) brought me here. I stayed for... well, a whole bunch of stuff really. I found the Magick very alluring; it was and still is a great place to get questions answered and fancies tickled. I enjoy the Creation, and the Lab (natch). I lurk in the Headshop, but they don't like it when I eat the paste and talk about my kitten.

What's really kept me coming back, though, is a certain sense of acceptance which I haven't found anywhere else. Despite all the spats and squabbles (and occasionally being made to feel scared shiteless by peeps who didn't happen to agree with me), this is the only place on the web that's made me feel welcome.

10:21 / 29.10.02

hay im an 18yo dood ne u hot chix out 2nite?

a/s/l?

yawn - thing's buddy

09:49 / 20.11.02

invisibles.

invisibles.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

00:51 / 21.11.02

I came here years anbd years ago with the earth was still cooling and I hadn't quite crawled out of the ocean yet to read The Bomb to find out what the Flaming Blue Hell was going on in The Invisibles. I didn't post for a good year after joining because I was so intimidated (and still am to be honest), but I stay because this is the only forum that hits all of my interests (politics, magick, comics and Buffy!) and has intelligent, challenging conversations.

That and the talk of huggles, pie and cute kitties.

Rollo Kim, on location

06:49 / 21.11.02

Came for the Invisibles, hung around for the... erm... oh yeah... cause I met some of the nice Barbelith persons in real life... otherwise I don't think I'd have kept coming back? It's been years and I still feel like a newby!

Wrecks City-Zen

20:56 / 21.11.02

I,of course, stand by my original statement, but hasten to add, what kept me coming here as well in the early years was trying to figure out which poster was Grant Morrison.

Ah, my naive youth.

( By the way,what are the results of this thread? By my calculations of percentages, looks like my original statement which Haus so kindly opened this thread with, is in fact, correct. Or, maybe Im missing something.I'm sure Haus will correct me if I'm wrong. Haus is good like that...)

ONLY NICE THINGS

10:35 / 22.11.02

According to this thread, six or seven people (you, Mr. Illmatic, kevin, Lionheart, Gipsy Lantern and Mordant Carnival, and possibly Invisible Al) came for the Invisibles and stayed for the Magick. Lots of other people came for the Invisibles, and a smaller number didn't come for the Invisibles but did stay for the magic.

So, no. You're not right that most people, on the evidence of this thread, came for the Invisibles and stayed for the Magick. You seem to be doing something I am prone to, which is assuming that everyone is like you. I think the lesson is that people turn up on Barbelith and stay on Barbelith for many different reasons, and that generalising about why people are here, or indeed to assume anything about "most Barbeloids", is a risky enterprise.

11:06 / 22.11.02

i came because i was ordered to, to monitor you for my benefactor.

i stayed because he then tried to terminate me, and now i have come out in the open in an attempt to ally myself with the enemy of my enemy.

i also should say, if this is the ebb of the counterculture, you are all going to need a lot more guns.

14:13 / 22.11.02

I came to engage in stimulating and improving argument about the Great Issues with the erudite and learnèd mekons here.

I stayed to abuse your hospitality with frivolous thread-rotting.

14:19 / 22.11.02

I came for the birds, the booze, the footy and the fighting. And stayed for the enjoyable argument over whether "cunt" is an appropriate swearword.

Oh, no, sorry. That was www.bloke.com.

I came here for the comics and stayed for the comedians.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

22:25 / 23.11.02

i was working on a power point presentation i chose to make about the invisibles, and needed art
So, i found the bombs links page, then i found the nexus, which was very swanky looking to my net virgin eyes, so i posted like mad inbetween boring school classes

Page: 1(2)3