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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

Are we old fuddy duddies?

In defense of the OT thread, even though I know nobody is really attacking it...

I'm usually busy at work and the OT thread allows me to write a quick quip or two. I like reading BL at work but rarely have time to put alot of thought into a long, detailed post.

I like the "what are you reading?" threads and the music threads as well, as I genuinely am interested in what people are reading/listening to.

I don't really get the smile/frown threads. They just seem like two extra OT threads to me.
 
Just to clarify, why I dont personally see benefit in the various smile/frown/eating threads Im sure others do enjoy them and I dont think we should get rid of them.

What would be welcomed though is more discussion topics where people can discuss and share their opinions on various things.

So rather than have this become an 'I hate this and that' thread, lets consider what you do want to see more or less of. What do you think would make Aus Social more enjoyable to you etc etc
 
Personally, I find the smile thread somewhere to express a small amount of positivity on a bad day, and the frown thread is somewhere to get a little support from other bluelighters when something goes wrong. The few times I've posted something really horrible there it really has made a difference when other bluelighters post something consoling, and I don't see how it would be appropriate in other thread. I mean a "My aunty's lung cancer has spread to her brain" thread is hardly going to generate interesting discussion.
 
MazDan said:
A lot comes back to the way the forum is run and whats seen as acceptable.

So often new blood will come in but pss off quick cos there lolwuts were not appreciated and hence the presiding majority maintains control.

Absolutely.
 
vanth said:
Personally, I find the smile thread somewhere to express a small amount of positivity on a bad day, and the frown thread is somewhere to get a little support from other bluelighters when something goes wrong. The few times I've posted something really horrible there it really has made a difference when other bluelighters post something consoling, and I don't see how it would be appropriate in other thread. I mean a "My aunty's lung cancer has spread to her brain" thread is hardly going to generate interesting discussion.

You're missing their point. They're not saying the frown thread should be gone forever, they're saying more variety needs to be brought into the equation. So yes, i agree that it is indeed good to get things off your chest and seek support, because even just a few kind words can go a long way - i agree. But people who post their daily smile and their daily frown need to also try and strike up some new conversations as well.
 
No, eggman said he personally did not see the benefit of the smile or frown thread and I was sharing the benefits I personally found. I understand perfectly what eggman and MazDan are saying and I do not need you to explain it to me.
 
vanth said:
No, eggman said he personally did not see the benefit of the smile or frown thread and I was sharing the benefits I personally found. I understand perfectly what eggman and MazDan are saying and I do not need you to explain it to me.

And someone else was saying that the frown and smile threads are just like slight variations on the off topic thread.

Basically what is being said here, is not that we need to get rid of those "what are you doing now" threads, but instead to complement them with some other, possibly more meaty threads, like the one you are reading now.
 
eggman88888 said:
Just to clarify, why I dont personally see benefit in the various smile/frown/eating threads Im sure others do enjoy them and I dont think we should get rid of them.

What would be welcomed though is more discussion topics where people can discuss and share their opinions on various things.

So rather than have this become an 'I hate this and that' thread, lets consider what you do want to see more or less of. What do you think would make Aus Social more enjoyable to you etc etc

Quoted for clarification. No one thinks the threads should be taken away.

This place needs some spark though, simple as that.

And it's not hard either! Thinking up original thread ideas isn't as hard as people may think it is. It's all about looking outside the square, and also putting aside whatever paranoia's people may have related to posting threads. Fuck, just do it and see what happens. If people laugh at you, so be it. If people flame you, fuck it! It's just the internet. If the thread dies a tragic death then at least you tried and contributed more than half of the people around here.
 
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the reason why people have stopped posting threads is because everyone is of the same mindset and opposing points of view are immediately squashed.

it's why the whatmadeyousmile/frown/trackofthemoment threads are Bluelight mainstays; because they don't require any conversation whatsoever. you make your post, feel like you have contributed and then you disappear into ether. snack sized shitty posts that will either be replied to as cool/bummer/ignored. it doesn't foster conversation.

this isn't the fault of the admins per se, but a more relaxed attitude needs to be adopted and limits need to be reassessed as i've seen way too many potentially good threads die off fast due to an admin pre-emptively killing a conversation in fear of what it may develop into.
 
MazDan said:
Hoptis compared to a few months ago. Not years ago.

And your own mods agree its dieing.

The comparison was against a couple of years ago. July 06 to Feb 08, and as I said, other forums have lost more ground and overall the forum has kept the same level of activity relative to the rest of Bluelight.

eggman88888 said:
This place is as stale as 2 week old bread. Unfortunately it seems as though threads like this one here are all too rare. We are forever bombarded with hollow statements with regards to what made you smile, what made you frown, what are you eating and on and on it goes. I mean who gives a fuck seriously.

Maybe the people who post and contribute to such threads? It's a bit of stretch don't you think to say that the sentiments expressed in them are hollow? I would say they're as genuine as people want them to be, and I don't have a problem if the tone overall is polite if it reflects the way people interact with each other.

You have to remember that a lot of the regulars of such threads also know each other from real life, so when people express condolences for someone else's personal loss or suffering, I would hardly call that "hollow".

I understand if such interaction is a little tame for some people but we have to balance the tone of the forum, what is acceptable for some people can be hostile and distressing to others. Just as in any society, if the loudest and most direct people controlled how debate was conducted, a lot of the quieter and more sensitive types would be offended.

eggman88888 said:
What would be welcomed though is more discussion topics where people can discuss and share their opinions on various things.

...

The more threads we can get that are thought provoking the better. In a way these threads provide users with an opportunity to hear another person’s point of view on a range of topics and to perhaps even, god forbid, learn something.

That's the thing though, does anyone really ever learn anything from more "exciting" threads? The way I see it, they always follow the typical discourse where people dig into opposing positions and fight it out to the death and no one listens to anyone else.

I take it this is what Mazdan is referring to.

Threads on controversial topics that always follow the same pattern. There are always individuals who will post something inflammtory without any real interest in debating, the same people read it and get butt hurt and respond, typically in the same manner they always do. Everyone digs deep into their entrenched positions, eventually personal attacks are thrown in and the end result is always the same.

I consider that a lot more boring than knowing what made people smile or frown today but maybe not as entertaining for some?

No one is saying they're against new ideas, new threads and new discussions, but if you want something that everyone knows will just end in a fight... well that's neither new or original for those of us who have seen it so many times.

MazDan said:
So often new blood will come in but pss off quick cos there lolwuts were not appreciated and hence the presiding majority maintains control.

Now I know you're not saying you want this place to be like the Lounge. Nothing against it and I enjoy reading and posting there occasionally but I think we all agree we'd like Aus Social to be a place where n00bs feel comfortable posting without fear of assraping and we can have threads that aren't interspersed with 50 picutres of pears saying "lolwut" ;)
 
I agree with hoptis completely, I rarely post in the more strongly emotive topics any more, because it seems like people aren't there to exchange ideas and learn from each other, but rather to single mindedly bludgeon others with their opinion. Also when discussing these type of topics many posters seem to forget the rules of polite discussion and begin to insult and deride others.
 
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preacha said:
the reason why people have stopped posting threads is because everyone is of the same mindset and opposing points of view are immediately squashed.

it's why the whatmadeyousmile/frown/trackofthemoment threads are Bluelight mainstays; because they don't require any conversation whatsoever. you make your post, feel like you have contributed and then you disappear into ether. snack sized shitty posts that will either be replied to as cool/bummer/ignored. it doesn't foster conversation.

this isn't the fault of the admins per se, but a more relaxed attitude needs to be adopted and limits need to be reassessed as i've seen way too many potentially good threads die off fast due to an admin pre-emptively killing a conversation in fear of what it may develop into.

Agreed.

hoptis and vanth, I see what you're saying, but I think your issue is with social retards and hot heads who can't handle an intelligent discussion, not with intelligent discussion itself.

“Conversations mean being able to disagree and still continue the conversation.”
- Dwight Macdonald

“The secret of success in conversation is to be able to disagree without being disagreeable”

“Polite conversation is rarely either.”
- Fran Lebowitz
 
hoptis said:
Maybe the people who post and contribute to such threads? It's a bit of stretch don't you think to say that the sentiments expressed in them are hollow? I would say they're as genuine as people want them to be, and I don't have a problem if the tone overall is polite if it reflects the way people interact with each other.

You have to remember that a lot of the regulars of such threads also know each other from real life, so when people express condolences for someone else's personal loss or suffering, I would hardly call that "hollow".

I conced that the term hollow was a poor choice of words. However, I consider it a stretch for anyone to assume that I would consider someones expression of condolences for another users loss or suffering is hollow. It wasn't a one size fits all statement.

Whether a statement or the content of a thread is hollow or not I am not lampooning for those threads to never see the light of day ever again. I am happy for all of the threads that exist today to stay on into perpetuity, my sentiment towards them is not going to change though. What would be good to see though is something new every now and then.
 
I still like to get on it every now and again. Only on weekends now though hehehe...and I've quit weed too.


BTW....why is Splatt now an ex bluelighter? Something I missed?
 
Of course we don't have anything against intelligent conversation. Well perhaps hoptis does, I can't speak for him ;) Just keep in mind that whatever insults and other bullshit regular users of Aus Soc see, there is actually perhaps 4x times more that we deal with.
 
Can we all agree that we want more threads where we can debate sensibly, yet passionately? I agree certain people take things personally when you disagree with them but if we can get past that we could end up having some great debates in the forum.
 
what you guys need to do is merge Aus Soc & Aus DD. ;)

most of us EADDers find the whole concept of keeping them separate to be quite bizarre. but i realise it'll never happen. :)
 
I think that to have intelligent disscussions about issues people are passionate about we need to establish an informal code of conduct.

Ultimately if you're entering a discussion without the intention of exchanging ideas, but rather to single-mindedly state your own opinion, there's really no point in you participating at all.
 
Hoptis................I accept your point re the forum staying more or less in 5th spot or thereabouts, I also went back and checked.

However surely you would have to agree that if you remove the what made you frown, smile, tip for NRL AFL, listen to and all that garbage, that really could easily fit into any number of other forums...............then Aus Soc is dead set last out of all the forums.


For the past 3-4 weeks i have dropped in here daily to see whats new and its very very rare that anything other than those boring ass 10 year old threads are bumped.


I agree with Vanth 100% that they have a role to play. But i also think its important to understand that they would be just as valid in second opinion or SLR.



I almost got the impression reading your post Hoppy that you are of the opinion that everything in here is peachy cream? Please tell me thats not the case?



I also would like to point out that in various threads i have been involved in, if you were to bother to go back and take a look, you will see that in many instances my position has changed throughout the course of the thread.............I, and I suspect many others, are open to others opinions. Of course some wont be........thats life. Its not a reason to be poo pooing such threads.




Felix............??????????????????????????????

What would be the point of merging two totally different forums????

One is there to provide educational and black and white info of a serious nature.

The other is supposed to be a social forum?



That would be like putting an office in a pub.

I always figured the reason you mix the two is because there is so small ammount of traffic................if thats not the case then your only doing your readers a disservice keeping them together.
 
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