If you were a Fluther developer that thought Fluther was dying a slow, painful death, what means would you use to hasten the demise?

We’ve had temporary glitches before, and they’ve never driven people away. So if I wanted to kill the site, I’d fire the moderators and let this place become Yahoo! Answers. The world hardly needs one site like that, let alone two.

No mods. Like wis.dm, where we came from back in march 99i it would just be a big brawl and the last man standing would turn out the light.

Make me a mod.

@zenzen I still miss wis.

- Remove all the guidelines.
– Encourage all flame-bait, personal attacks, spams, trolling, system gaming…
– Allow all role playing anywhere, anytime. which mean I could be a Mafioso forever ~
– Change some source codes to make this site as buggy as possible.
– Maybe scatter some viruses around this site.

If I were a developer and didn’t care for one of my sites anymore why would I go through the trouble to sabotage it? Why not just stop paying for the server and shut down the site?

I agree with @El_Cadejo. Why do anything, just stop paying for the site and it’s done, quickly.

I’d use subtle psychological tactics, like maybe constant references to how the site is in decline and isn’t long for this world. Great morale killer.

Me, I’d use my skills to making it better rather than sabotaging a site that a lot of people enjoy despite its glitches.

If I wanted to kill the site I would just take the servers offline. Why would I want to play with people? It’s costing them money to keep Fluther online so I doubt they would sabotage it only let it die a slightly less slow death.

Youth in Asia

Removing guidelines wouldn’t just cause the demise of the site, but the destruction of the site’s legacy. Rather than fondly remembering what was once a great, warm, welcoming community with great information, all anyone will remember is that Fluther went the way of all the other lousy Q&A sites and went out not with a bang but with a wimper. Why would the developers want that? Though the current sketchy moderation is almost as effective at alienating members and degrading the site as removing the guidelines would be. I agree with those who suggest just shutting it down and being done with it.

^ “I agree with those who suggest just shutting it down and being done with it.”

And yet, it’s comments like yours which – in the end – make a “whimpering” Fluther all the more likely.

@longgone, what? That makes no sense. It is letting what used to be wonderful site degenerate into chaos that will cause it to implode and go out with a sad cry of desperation. Comments like mine merely highlight the obvious and continual decline of a once great site – a reality that old timers are not interested in acknowledging. I am an old timer, the account I closed had over 30,000 lurve, so I understand the sadness attached to seeing this site fall so far so fast.

“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” Neil Young

If I was one if the developers, I would rather see Fluther burn out in a blaze of glory than fade into obscurity riding a wave of mediocrity.

^ I’m sorry Fluther’s state saddens you. I don’t know why and – obviously – don’t feel the same way. I pretty much love Fluther, as far as I can love any part of the internet.

I don’t see how comments like yours are helpful – ever. I think all this talk about Fluther’s death is quite unnecessary. There’s still people who love this place, and most of us don’t appreciate the negativity, I think. For the record: Negativity. Criticism I would be fine with. The negativity, though, actively destroys any “blaze of glory”.

@FlyingWolf It seems ironic to me that you advocate Fluther closing in a singular blaze of glory, though you chose to return after having closed a longstanding account.

Maybe you don’t really want Fluther to be extinguished.

@dappled_leaves and @longgone I check in on Fluther the way one might check in an old friend insisting on traveling a self destructive path: to see if maybe the tide is turning. When I do check in I see it is the same old thing, still heading in the same direction. I have always wanted to stay optimistic about the site and its direction, unfortunately with things continuing on in the same sad way, that is impossible. I guess if it feels better to bury your head in the sand and pretend it is still awesome that is your prerogative, but I’m not going to avoid speaking the truth just to spare people’s feelings. If there is one thing I know about this site, it is that most members don’t pull their punches.

@dappled_leaves I think that Fluther might be coming to a place where it is better to out Dr. J out if his misery and unlike many veteran members I am not afraid to say that out loud.

I’d take one step to the right and create and exact replica of Fluther (that works perfectly and is fully funded, and Modded) then I’d warn everyone to make the move to New Fluther, then I’d push the off button and go eat some nachos. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Having been here over six years myself, I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t a contingent of disaffected members who preferred some previous version of Fluther. Personally, I’ve never found longing for the “good old days” to be at all helpful. Things change, people come and go, and you make the best of what you’ve got.

Users who’ve been here a long time probably remember some particular slice of the Fluther timeline when everything suited them pretty well—users they really liked, a mod staff that ran things according to their taste, etc.—but then things shifted and suddenly Fluther didn’t fit them so well anymore. I remember 5 years ago hearing old members complaining about how Fluther lost its way when it started to shift away from strictly matter-of-fact questions. All changes —the intentional ones and the shifts that just happen with time—are bound to leave some users longing for how it was before.

So I guess that’s human nature. But as a general rule those newer users who are pretty content with the way things are, as well as the older users who are willing to let go of the old and live in the present, aren’t going to want to hear jeremiads about how miserable we ought to be.

@thorninmud Well said.

@thorninmud said it perfectly.

“Fluther didn’t fit them so well anymore.”

Exactly. It’s impossible for Fluther to be what all its users need, because not all its users need the same Fluther.
What’s more, the Fluther I like today may bore me tomorrow. We tend to discount the changes within ourselves, which can make us lament for a different time when really, we want our different self back.

@thorninmud with all due respect – and I have always sincerely respected you – Fluther is in a place it has never been before. The site owners have moved on and clearly no longer have the time or inclination to nurture the site the way they once did. In their place Augustlan did a wonderful job of keeping the mod team together and all moving in the same direction while uplifting the morale of members and mods alike. Now she is also gone. The mod team is rudderless through no fault of their own. Without a clear leader there is really no way to keep them 100% on track – to the clear detriment of the site. The quality has suffered.

I know these are hard truths for vets and newcomers alike to face, but they are truths. There is a difference between facing reality and negativity for its own sake. My posts in this thread are the former.

I’m not unhappy with Fluther in its present state, I’m just concerned that it seems unsustainable. I was also trying to point out the gravity of the most recent ‘glitches’. I’m thankful that ‘questions for you’.

This whole thread is so familiar to me. Askville was ‘improved’ out of existence when they tried to turn it into a site that could fly solo. Some of us kept right at it, trying to prod things in the right direction. Unlike Fluther, the people in charge were unpleasant and abrupt. They dismissed our concerns clear up until the door slammed in our faces. It took a lot of work to reconnect with other members and many of us came here, to Fluther, where we received a generally chilly reception.

I don’t want Fluther to shut down. I’m not concerned about the morale of the current users…I’m concerned about the members that have left and the dwindling membership. I doubt a newbie would even find this question in Meta, and doubt even more that they would understand or be upset about it.

I’d like to see some kind of membership campaign. I wish there was some way to invite new members to join, and some sort of reward for success. A pyramid scheme that strengthens rather than weakens.

I would cry (well not really but be very sad) and keep a complete backup of fluther for all time, hoping to resurrect it)

I would also give all people who’s names started with, oh lets say, X, their lurve amount in cash.

I think Fluther is in fine shape. The smaller it gets the the cheaper it gets to run. I would actually prefer a smaller and more tight-knit community. It isn’t like growth is always a good thing. 30 regulars and you can still have a fun place to kill some time. Sure, you won’t be able to read stuff here all day long but that isn’t a bad thing.

^word Ryan.