I was sick one morning with hellacious brainfog and there was a small detail in a pic Frauenfelder posted that his post hinged on (but of course he didn’t explicitly point out that detail.) I got irritable about this and posted, which is how I made the “People Dissatisfied With BB” list 
7 Likes
I’m embarrassed over the sheer amount of times i got moderated because i was irritable 
9 Likes
How worried should we be about this? And do they scrape the Clubhouse level, or only the entry level?
4 Likes
by design they should not be able to access the clubhouse level.
7 Likes
I think my preference would lean more toward articles getting their own threads but that may be because i’m still conditioned to expect that from BB. This may be controversial but i like the idea of a category that allows a space for articles to be mirrored from BB for people to discuss them, not copied wholesale but those that people feel worthy to comment on. I’m thinking in particular of Rob’s posts which i usually found engaging.
I think this is a really important point that should be addressed, any space requires new blood from time to time to thrive. I’m really not sure how to go about achieving that though, it’s not a closed forum with invite only access but it doesn’t have the visibility that BB did so will require careful consideration about bringing people in.
7 Likes
I don’t know either but this has also been on my mind. I presume people we befriend online that might be a good fit could be considered, but seeing it from the other end: What could this space offer people wholly new to the community? (no answer needed, just food for thought. As i think the eventual answer(s) could be the solution)
5 Likes
They only scrape what’s available without logging in. It’s nothing new, I was just explaining what that other peak was due to in order to avoid confusion. This site has been scraped for all seven years it’s been operating, and the only things I know that have come of it are one new arrival that seemed like a scammer once, and I mentioned that one of my pinball machines was broken and that led to a call from my mother-in-law on behalf of my father-in-law (Hi!)
Here’s my position on this, which is not an official policy: If you find an article that you would like to discuss here (even at BB), then feel free to create a thread or link it in another thread, and feel free to pull excerpts as necessary. I don’t want to wholesale link to any website without the explicit consent of that website’s owners. I don’t think we should become NeoGAF, in any of its forms.
This is the truth, but I’ve never figured out the answer to it either. BB has probably run out of chances to alienate any more of their audience that might be interested in coming over here, as an example.
Absolutely. Additionally, since there is little or no history/baggage, that should result in less prior restraint.
7 Likes
Well, my only internet presence previously was TOP, and now is here. So, not a danger from me!
12 Likes
For whatever it’s worth, this place has survived (and thrived) for seven years without, as far as I know, any particular coordinated effort to recruit fresh blood. Maybe it’ll eventually need that. Or maybe it’ll only exist as long as it serves its current purpose.
I myself don’t worry about it at all, though I do understand why some might. After all, a lot of people are just now discovering that this place, with this particular population, exists, to their immense relief. There’s huge value in that, but if the BB community is well and truly dead in its previous BB-hosted form (long live Elsewhere!), then I don’t know of another community for which this place serves as an under-the-radar lifeboat that can salvage such an unfortunately-grenaded community.
10 Likes
Except for, say, the Random Silly Grins thread - then you absolutely must read everything.
Puzzling Evidence also! (Note that Elsewhere’s insurance coverage specifically excludes head explosions.)
7 Likes
Having helped moderate/admin a Team Fortress 2 community (aaaages ago) with about 12 servers and a lively forum/site, i would politely give my recommendation that branching out is not necessarily a priority but quite important. Having fresh people would be awkward and sometimes disruptive, but it’s a good thing in the long run. And i wish that old community had branched out beyond just TF2, it would’ve allowed it to survive once Valve made some awful choices that hurt the scene.
I don’t know what “branching out” looks like here specifically, i have some brewing vague ideas in my head but i need time to think about it.
8 Likes
Way back at the start of this thing there was a conversation about building an associated blog, not too terribly dissimilar to what The Old Place was when it first attracted us all to it. Not only would it be fun and interesting and a creative outlet for those of us who felt the urge to contribute, but there was the idea that it could serve as a Hoopy Frood attractant of new users as well, for long term Elsewhere viability. But it didn’t end up coalescing into an actual thing at the time. But maybe now we’ve reached the necessary critical mass…?
13 Likes
I think you would find all sorts of folks here willing to try authoring a proper article.
Sadly - my expertise is limited to rock climbing, hockey, B-movies, and healthcare technology. Not exactly the kind of things that provoke meaningful discussion. 
Ps - how does one get a cool byline/title? Mine would be ‘power newb’ in this case….
7 Likes
Honestly @politeruin there is nothing more insufferable than listening to climbers spin yarns about all the hardships they face. And this is coming from someone who dabbled in the pro level and has friends who still make a living in that space.
Your average person holding down 3 jobs while raising a family solo is, to me, far more inspiring than any of these folks that The North Face sends on expeditions to conquer the impossible.
That said - more than happy to spill beans on how the sausage is made, which these days mostly goes to selling outerwear to weekend warriors (which I now consider myself).
8 Likes
Well i enjoy a bit of climbing up various geological deposits myself so i’d have a keen interest in reading such tales and i think articles should range far and wide.
7 Likes
I’ve been known to be adventurous myself. I tripped over a sidewalk ledge one time, saw the face of death for a second there but thankfully i caught myself.
13 Likes
Sidewalks are no joke @Grey_Devil .
I’ll percolate some ideas and wait to see where the site wants to go @politeruin.
Happy to decode the various achievements of the insta crowd, explain the technicalities of the various climbing disciplines, how to improve, when to quit, what to buy…really anything at all.
7 Likes
Also circling back to this post. This was somewhat along the lines of what i was mulling over, this place can be like a digital makerspace and we can share our creativity, passions, and hopefully encourage others. People can learn from others to write creatively, for research, for reporting, etc. Or pick up tips on painting/drawing, etc. Just a thought.
My skills aren’t specialized unfortunately, i’m a generalist. But i’m a project manager so i spend a lot of time problem solving and thinking about things so i’m willing to help wherever i can should the need appear. I also hope to reignite my creativity, i’ve been struggling with that for a long time and i really want to break out of it. I want to get back to drawing, and maybe dabble with creative writing, among other things 
5 Likes
I dunno. Those may not be traditionally creative, but they are definitely specialized skills.
7 Likes