What can we do to bring the spark back to Fluther?

“and since the changes”

I don’t get that part. What changes there have been have not changed anything. TO me. :-)

I think we had a large population of “unique” individuals. No disrespect to the “unique” individuals that are on now.

Some have moved on.

@ChazMaz: You know darned well that after the new sections and rules were introduced, things have changed. I came to like the new system, so I don’t understand why everything has gone haywire.

I think it was more coincidence. :-)

I think that we just need to give it some time. There are cycles on Fluther. Even Astrocuck has posted a couple of times in the last few days.

I think Fluther’s spark is on the way to being regained.

Just go ahead and be funny on general threads like people used to be, as long as there is some substance and/or relevance to your answer. Continue to tease and one-up one another when the opportunity arises. What’s the worst that can happen? You get modded occasionally? So what? Almost everyone here has.

Spark? I threw a Molotov Cocktail yesterday. I’ll be wiping the egg off my face for another month. My ego can’t take that more than once a year or so. Maybe we need a designated “food fight” thread?

@ChazMaz it wasn’t coincidence.
@poofandmook it was “the rules” (that you seem to like), and their strict enforcement.

How can a thinking person with a memory of “how Fluther used to be” deny either of those things?

@stranger_in_a_strange_land – Or a Food Fight button.

Next to Meta. An anything goes section. For some good old fashion bitch slapping. :-)

Needs moar Blingee.

@CyanoticWasp: I think I’ve made my opinion on you and your whining and your insults rather clear in the past about the rules. I asked here if you had any ideas to bring the spark back to Fluther. Your answer has nothing to do with the question; as per usual, you’ve only used it as a soapbox to bitch some more. Please take it elsewhere.

FOOD FIGHT!!!

Ya know Mr. Mook, I don’t disagree with anything you said – but I think we’re at a point now where things are starting to get better.

My best advice is to stop drawing attention to it, ignore the whiny bitches, attention whores and juvenile NSFWers and get on with the business of being Fluther.

Good jellies will rise to the surface, I believe.

@cprevite: I am female. So are the Poof and Mookie, actually ;)

Tesla Coil

@poofandmook anyone with a brain should have been able to infer that “relaxing the stupid rules” would help to bring back the spark.

I apologize that I didn’t make that clearer to you, however.

I was never that thrilled by the site. When The Bag turned sour I ended up here. It’s a default choice. I don’t know of a better one though and it keeps me in touch with a lot of my old AB friends.

@poofandmook: Sorry. Ya know, I’m fairly certain you’ve corrected me on this before. I have no memory.

@CyanoticWasp: I knew what you meant by it. But since the rest of us have accepted the rules while you continue to whine, obviously, your bitchy solution wasn’t a solution at all, and therefore not what I asked.

@cprevite: It happens ;)

@stranger_in_a_strange_land @ChazMaz I agree! A bitch-slappin’ FoodFight button!!!

(you should really click that link. it’s funny.)

@dpworkin pretty cute. I wonder what it feels like.

@dpworkin: That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

and incidentally, har har.

@dpworkin beautiful! (And melodious.)

I would like to see just one day go by that someone didn’t complain about Fluther. Just one.
“I hate fluther, but I’m here everyday.” WTF? Why?

@chyna: Exactly my point. I don’t hate Fluther. I love Fluther. And a lot of other people love Fluther too, but it’s a little shaky right now, and people are still complaining. I was just trying to be proactive and boost it back to what we all love about it.

@poofandmook Agreed and I know you love Fluther, I didn’t mean you at all.
Certain users take every opportunity they can to slam Fluther and I don’t understand that concept. If you don’t like it, stop using it. You won’t be missed.

Orgy.

@ChazMaz Okay!

toga toga toga toga

I say with no offense (you know your my fluddy @poofandmook), but it’s time to stop compaing and start making fluther what we want it to be.

Fluther is a community; it is what the individual members make of it.

I have been here for a long time now, and I have seen really good jellies come and go, and sure I miss some of them at times, but other jellies take there place and fluther goes on. There are times when I am so tired of the drama and the monotony of this place, but I will never make a huff and leave. I just cannot take it that seriously.

@tinyfaery – GA. :-)

Uh, I meant complaining

We need moar zombies.

Nothing a hearty bowl of bran can’t fix.

or a hangover… gawd

Well said @tinyfaery.

Beyond that, I like the idea of a big, key-swappin’, virtual Fluther swingers party.

“a big, key-swappin’, virtual Fluther swingers party.”

That is what Second Life is for.

@tinyfaery GA, well said.

@tinyfaery: Well yeah, I’ve been trying to post questions and whatever, but I don’t want to have to think of something to ask; we all know Fluther can tell when you’re trying too hard. I’m only one person… lol… that’s why I asked this question… so maybe everyone can bring it back together.

Maybe we could all use a kick in the butt.

I just read another stupid bitchy whiny thread that’s been archived recently… and after I got rid of the urge to gouge my own eyes out with a spoon, I asked this question. I miss Fluther.

@poofandmook but Fluther is here. What do you miss?

I like the party hat and the treasure chest! They’re cute!

I think this is the only place where I can comment on the little logo thingies. I don’t want to create a question just for that.

@ChazMaz Inquiring minds need to know—
I left my second life avatar sitting on a bench in a plaza after being greeted in the meadow and crossing a bridge and finding the plaza. He/I fell off a pier once, got out again and walked over to the bench to rest. He/I thought I would set a spell and rest my weary half-drowned avatar. He’s/I’ve been there on that bench for four years. Do the Second Life police arrest him/me for loitering and condemn him/me to death? Or if I went back, would he get off the bench and continue on?

@poofandmook I’m doing my part by trying to provide the best possible/most informative answers I can to the general section. Otherwise, I don’t really notice a difference from before.

@aprilsimnel I was going to say the new icons by the categories are pretty sparky. :)

@poofandmook Maybe if you don’t read those whiny threads, you’ll have an easier time seeing Fluther’s spark!

Anyway, now we know for sure: faecal vomit.

Redesign it again?

@dpworkin Between you, me and faecal vomit, what more could Fluther want?

@janbb: Every Fluther needs a poofy cat in a box :x

In addition to faecal vomit or instead of it?

@janbb I’m reminded of H.L. Mencken’s statement that “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve it, good and hard.”

I’ll just be—falsely—accused of whining and complaining again. But it’s fun to see people bitch about the effect of the bad rules they love so much enforced so rigidly—and blame it on me and the few others left here like me.

Just be your charming, sparky selves :)

@CyanoticWasp I like your Homer avatar up close—hard to see on threads.
@dpworkin thank you for pointing the way to the bloody stools—always full of surprises, you are.
BTW RE faecal vomit—Brits ought to revive the older Latinate spelling with combined letter forms as in
“fœtid fæcal matter found in fœtal hæmorrhoids”
@poofandmook yes, every fluther needs a poofy cat in a box

@janbb: Um, instead of it. lol

I pretty much feel the same as @evandad.

When The Bag implemented massive changes, they killed the spirit, and half their most prolific user base abdicated. Most came here to Fluther. To AB’s credit, they had (and still have) reasonable moderators that remove spam and personal attacks, but otherwise let people ask any question, post any answer, and say whatever they want to say in comments.

Fluther suffers from moderators who think they’re helping “the community” by protecting us from each other; but in reality, they’re just drunk on their petty power trips without even realizing it. Unfortunately, as Q&A sites go, Fluther is the best of the lot, and all the others have even worse issues (not necessarily pertaining to heavy-handed moderation, but just the way the sites are organized: not easy to use nor easy to follow a conversation. At least the latter is something that Fluther excels at).

@HungryGuy As a mod, I’d just like to point out that we are only following the wishes of the site’s founders. The guidelines are pretty clear, and we’re just enforcing them. I find your ‘petty power trip’ comment pretty offensive.

@HungryGuy As a user, I find your comment that the mods are on a “petty power trip” offensive. They are all good people, just doing their jobs, for free.

@HungryGuy it’s the owners’ petty power trips that the mods are enforcing. Wrong target, dude. Otherwise… GA.

RE this Q: for starters we can stop assuming it’s gone. Talk like that begins a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[at least @dpworkin keeps the outrageous spirit alive.]

We old ABers have to remember that Fluther has a completely different culture than we were used to. I think we dragged in a lot of the anarchy with us in the mass exodus last December. On AB it was fight or flee, the CLs and owners really didn’t give a shit. We must have seemed like an invasion of barbarians to the old-timers here. It’s up to us to adapt to the new standards.Yup, this is coming from the same idiot that was standing on a soapbox waving a red banner a few days ago. I’m amazed how tolerant the mods were. Still wiping egg off my face.

@poofandmook I hear ya. I hear ya.

But I must say, it’s easier to just post q’s in the social section and sit back and relax. The General is for serious type q’s (although I just saw Matt posting one in Social.

The influx of newbies, young and old, but especially the teens, will change the site and try our patience. But it had to happen.

There’s always chat – where you decide with who to talk to.

And if you want to post a question, like this one, and get people to join in – they will: See.

“I used to be able to sit on Fluther all day and be reading and posting and be completely entertained…”

I was like that too, but lately I’ve just been bored and have posted less and less. Nothing to do with the changes though, they’re fine. I don’t know, I guess that excitement I had when I joined a few months ago has die out. Plus I’ve found other websites that have stolen my Fluther time. Either way, I’m not quite sure how we can bring that spark back. Maybe it’s just me, but the questions just aren’t grabbing me in like they used.

I haven’t really noticed any profound changes on the site.

@HungryGuy I don’t find your comment offensive. Maybe that’s because I think you are entitled to it and I happen to agree with you that moderation is a little over used here. Sometimes I think they should just post fill in the blank questions, that way all the questions and answers will meet the highbrow standards they say they are looking for here.

I agree, I’m just not entertained anymore. And because of this whole thing, some older members aren’t posting as much, or anymore for that matter. I don’t know what to do, and it’s hard watching this site fall apart the way it is.

I did my part and drunk fluthered the other evening. you remember @zenele, right? ;)

@jonsblond And I missed the fun!

@janbb Not really, but I tried. ;)

So we need drunk, naked Fluthering?!

@cprevite O.K. if the women get drunk and the men get naked. (Oh wait, I did have some wine with dinner; maybe I am drunk.)

@cprevite Yes, I think that would bring a spark back. You first. Pants off.

@janbb: You’d have to be drunk to see me naked. But since @chyna asked so nicely…done. Sans pantalons.

Aw – I took the bait and clicked but all I saw was a big chocolate chip cookie!

@janbb: Well it is a big chocolate chip cookie – and I’m happy to see you.

@cprevite :-)

Kids, get a room.

@chyna: Have I mentioned that’s a nice foot? :^)

@chyna have I mentioned that @cprevite has a foot fetish?

@janbb: Now if only that paw print was cookie…

@cprevite Nest time I bake, I’ll bake you some cookie-feet.

@cprevite Thank you. I like a guy with a foot fetish.

Hmmm.

See? Sparky! ;)

I say Monday is sexy avatar day.

Newbies: I’m male. Do not pm me with propositions and phone numbers. This is not me. Thank you for your cooperation on MONDAY NIGHT SEXY AVATAR DAY.

@zenele I’m in. I hope you like white hair. :D

@jonsblond Loves it!

You probably can’t tell, but my bird is nekkid. ;-)

TMI

<——Nekkid foot.

:-)

<< Nekkid cookie.

Nekkid penguin (still reading book, though but it’s a sexy book)

<——Kitten having first naughty thought ever.

Ooh, maybe all the animal avatars should have an orgy today.

<—under all that poof, Poof isn’t wearing any pants in her sexy box.

<——- Going to search for a sexy pic.

@janbb Can we keep the orgy and animal avatar days separate! Thanks for your cooperation.

;-)

What’s with all the sex talk lately?

the Poof is just a big poofy baby. No sex.

@rebbel I’m thinking the avatar I see there is plenty sexy!

@augustlan
Well, thank you very much!
I think i will stop searching then….

Looks like I’m late to this one, but if anyone cares for my two-cents: I was drawn to this site a few months ago b/c I enjoy a good discussion, and rapid-fire wit, and wasn’t getting that on FB despite trying. So I was on here all the time at first. Now I notice in the last week or two I’m less interested. I think it could be because I’ve seen a lot of the same questions, so it takes longer to find an interesting, unique one. A lot of it is just seeing waaay too many questions that are so dumb, simple, or boring that I don’t care to respond or see what anyone else said (unless the question is dumb enough). Another part of it was that once my urge to have a bunch of in-depth discussions was somewhat satisfied (politics, religion, science, etc,,,) I felt less inclined to retype my similar views repeatedly. Thus, while I still enjoy these discussions, I don’t wish to have them as often. Maybe I just get sick of typing in front of a computer too, since the weather is awesome now.

But there’s still good stuff here for me. Today I just looked to see what some folks in my fluther keyed in on, and found those discussions/topics cool (like this one). So to sum up, I’d guess the spark is going to come from influxes of new users, or older users finding something new and interesting to them.