a reply to:
crimsongod21
Okay, I will admit, not every-one who is complaining about this 'old ATS' theme is a radical liberal, that may have been an over-characterization. So
I will stand corrected on this front. My apologies for generalizing. I do think there is some merit in the demographics of the trend, but that isn't
really the point here (so I won't belabor it further). However, there is another issue which I think those lamenting the days of old are missing.
The days of old are just that...days of old. The Internet has changed. And, so too have people changed their on-line habits over the years. I want
to address a key point you made because I think it gets to the heart of what many here are saying without them actually saying it...
...I remember a time when the new thread page would be so active you would have to update it constantly in fear of missing out on new theories,...
Your statement is true, but ATS is not alone in this phenomenon. I am not a member of many forums. In fact, since the Internet became a thing I have
been involved in exactly three (3) forums, all consecutively (in other words, never really more than one at a time). The first one of those was
arguably where discussion boards all began, Compuserve, and that was way back in the early 90's. Yes there were many others, BBS type services before
that, but Compuserve was the first major one. And just to give you an idea, I had a 5 digit registration number on Compuserve, that's how long ago!
Many people have never even seen a 5 digit member ID. Anyway, I can remember exactly the trend you speak of; there was so much activity that if you
walked away even for a moment you would miss something. New posts would roll off the front page in just a couple minutes unless they were earth
shattering. Heck, I can remember having to bump posts just to get a reply at all, just due to the traffic.
Since those years we've seen creations like Failbook, Twatter, Insta-fail, Snap-crap and so many other social media platforms. We've seen the
smartphone explode into the stratosphere. All of these things take users away from traditional forums. We've seen a complete paradigm shift in
on-line behavior, some might even say a complete generation change. Participation has dropped on virtually ALL traditional discussion boards, so ATS
isn't unique in this regard; they've all suffered from this phenomenon.
It would be interesting to do a demographic cross-section of ATS membership. I'd bet the median age here on ATS is probably above 35, and possibly as
high as 45 or even higher. Ever since I've been here (since 2013), ATS has always been an adult oriented forum (and I don't mean this in the X-rated
sense). It's one of the fundamental reasons I even joined ATS, because there were well thought out posts written by people who, for the most part,
weren't kids playing on Mom's computer. The point here is, times change, and the Internet changes along with them. Additionally, the median age on
ATS has always been higher than other platforms, so some of the members who have left may have done so simply due to age.
The bottom line is, at least to me, when I see folks lamenting the 'old days of ATS' I wonder if they aren't really just lamenting the 'old days' in
general. You know..."
when I was a kid, we had to..." For my part, I wish Failbook didn't exist, and I wish smartphones had never been
invented, and you know what...I miss the days of 'old ATS' too. Then again, I miss the 'old days' of the Internet, but the facts is, I can't change
any of those things no matter how much I complain. They are what they are.
Times change.
Best.
edit on 1/26/2020 by Flyingclaydisk because: (no reason given)