8th Birthday.....

[Tal]

how many 2005 members are left?

 

Wow, has it really been 8 yrs since you all didn't  believe I was a girl poster and branded me a bloke forever more?

I've still seen no proof to the contrary.

Well he drinks like a girl if that's of any help.

Jeez what does that make me?

[smashedagain]

how many 2005 members are left?

 

Wow, has it really been 8 yrs since you all didn't  believe I was a girl poster and branded me a bloke forever more?

I've still seen no proof to the contrary.

Well he drinks like a girl if that's of any help.

Jeez what does that make me?

played the super 50 last night and drank lager for the first time in 20 years. Nearly £4 a pint but luckily I was to pissed for a 4th one

[Tal]

how many 2005 members are left?

 

Wow, has it really been 8 yrs since you all didn't  believe I was a girl poster and branded me a bloke forever more?

I've still seen no proof to the contrary.

Well he drinks like a girl if that's of any help.

Jeez what does that make me?

played the super 50 last night and drank lager for the first time in 20 years. Nearly £4 a pint but luckily I was to pissed for a 4th one

Do you normally drink other stuff or are/were you a fellow teetotaller?

[tikay]

@Tikay, where do you expect the forum to be in 5 years? What % of the top 100 posters atm do you think will be posting in 5 years.

Great great forum.

That is such a great question Patrick. "I don't know" is the real answer.

Social Media changes SO quickly. Twitter only began in 2006, look at that now, & Facebook started 2 years earlier. The world of Online is changing so fast. Between 2005 & 2008, the most visited Social Media platform was MySpace, but that fell off a cliff.

Forums, I don't know, I think they will survive, there will always be a demand for specialist Forums where like-minded people can have a little fun, & relax together.

We have tried to widen blonde, the boom days of poker are over, & that has helped us, but overall there is a long-term decline here & on most or all other poker fora I believe.  We do make a lot of effort to keep the interest levels up with different stuff though. Not all of it goes down well, we can but try. The Advent Calendar was a great example, loads of Views & Posts, but a lot of disaffected folks too, we even lost Members over it. We just have to keep trying these different things.

We might run out of Sponsors soon, too, so we would need to approach that from a different angle. There are plans......think you'd be quite interested in them, actually, right up your street, but they are a long way from agreed or decided yet. 

Where will the Top 100 Regular Posters be in 5 years? I'm not even sure there are many more than 100 "Regulars", I don't really know, but it does not feel so. Maybe a few hundred, tops. Of those, I doubt 20% or 25% will still be here in 5 years. It is a never ending process, just like an Online Poker Site, to replenish the Membership. People move on, do different things, get fed up, whatever.

Thev chance of me being here in 5 years is close to 0%, I can tell you that. Win some, lose some......

Amazing question, had me musing for days.

[pleno1]

I would be willing to bet (not you ofc ) anybody that you would be here in 5 years, and if you weren't here in 5 years then its likely the forum wouldn't be close to what is it.

On the other side we have this status thing, where basically bronze < silver < gold > platinum > diamond and I was looking at "diamond threads" from like 3-4 years ago and almost all of the guys are inactive. Over there its very much a forum of individuals rather than a forum of friends which is probably the reason why I think the "top 100" on Blonde would very much be likely to be here in 3 years compared to perhaps the top 100 on PokerStrategy, although ofc its more likely to get new members over there.

I think blonde is so unique in a sense that on average, in almost every sense (hand evaluation, sports, off topic, poker topics in the rail) the discussions are on such a high level as everybody is really educated and experienced in the topics they are discussing. Rather than say 10 other poker forums, that will generally be just beginner questions and 6 post threads. Even when a beginner does come over, like chelseaboy, they are really greeted well and can turn into better players and better members as they understand the culture a lot quicker. John Black is probably a good one, his blog could have turned out really bad, but now he is a real "Advent Calender" candidate and instantly gets backing/support/friendships. I guess this is why many people were pissed off with the Greekstein situation as he was really a big part of the forum and at times would hold it all together.

[pleno1]

One other thing which makes the forum so good is that you don't let it stay stale. Ironically, I used to be on a consultancy panel giving advice on how to optimize social forums and found it interesting/fascinating. Most of the old really good forums lost their "top 100's" and because the admins had something that worked in 2007-8 they felt they could just keep the same model and expect new arrivals to the forum to understand the culture and to enjoy it when in reality 2013 internet is very different to 2007 internet and people have a lot higher standards and are far less picky.

I often also think about who will have the most posts on a forum in like 25 years, like people could theoretically eventually had over a million posts on a forum, which is just ridiculous

[smashedagain]

Alright Patrick to steady laying it on. You are in for Christmas Eve this year

Some well made points tho.

[tikay]

I would be willing to bet (not you ofc ) anybody that you would be here in 5 years, and if you weren't here in 5 years then its likely the forum wouldn't be close to what is it.

On the other side we have this status thing, where basically bronze < silver < gold > platinum > diamond and I was looking at "diamond threads" from like 3-4 years ago and almost all of the guys are inactive. Over there its very much a forum of individuals rather than a forum of friends which is probably the reason why I think the "top 100" on Blonde would very much be likely to be here in 3 years compared to perhaps the top 100 on PokerStrategy, although ofc its more likely to get new members over there.

I think blonde is so unique in a sense that on average, in almost every sense (hand evaluation, sports, off topic, poker topics in the rail) the discussions are on such a high level as everybody is really educated and experienced in the topics they are discussing. Rather than say 10 other poker forums, that will generally be just beginner questions and 6 post threads. Even when a beginner does come over, like chelseaboy, they are really greeted well and can turn into better players and better members as they understand the culture a lot quicker. John Black is probably a good one, his blog could have turned out really bad, but now he is a real "Advent Calender" candidate and instantly gets backing/support/friendships. I guess this is why many people were pissed off with the Greekstein situation as he was really a big part of the forum and at times would hold it all together.

Blimey, another far-seeing Post.

I'll answer it properly after I have given it some thought.

I will pick up now on what you describe as the "Greekstein situation" though, as I have had a few PM's this week asking my view, & wondering why I have not Posted on his Diary.

None of us at blonde were pleased he disappeared, he has a Diary which gets huge clicks, Posts & views, so his absence hurt us. So blonde has to be better for his return. It did not "just happen" either, a lot of stuff went on under the radar. My last (private) note to Cos, early this week, was very long indeed, & a little sharp in places, but I essentially said "get your arse back here, you know you want to". I never got a reply, (I never asked for one), but we got a result, for better or worse. That was the main thing. I hope he & I remain friends, too. He could stir the pot a bit at times, but he was so helpful to young Reece, more than anyone realises, & he started that "tikay WSOP thread" too which humbled me incredibly. Nothing is ever black or white. His beef was with our Sponsor, not us, so it was so bloody awkward.  

Situations like that are horrendous for people like Tighty & myself, & the other Mods to a degree. Cos had a beef, & I understand that, but we, & I, got caught in the crossfire, in horrendously difficult spots.

We had a similar spot several years ago with Camel, who took his leave of us. But we remained good friends away from blonde, & I kept on his case, & eventually, when he was good & ready, he returned. He has been a revelation too, as expected, & was responsible for what is now, by a country mile, currently the busiest, & most viewed, Thread on blonde.  Things like that are very satisfying indeed to me.

Me still here in 5 years? I'm going on 66.......

I also find some of the Moderation aspects too tiresome these days, & at my age I simply don't want to waste whole mornings, as I do sometimes, often in fact, doing under the radar Moderation with the disaffected. I'll never get that time back, & I'm becoming intolerant of it now, I've had enough.

When we Ban, or Cooler someone, (extremely rare these days) we get all the "Censorship" & "Free Speech" bollox, & we get called from a pig to a dog all over the shop, but when we sit on our hands, & alliow people to dilute the mood & tone of the place, say inappropriate or indelicate things people think we should act.

Andrew Kensaid this of Social-Media platforms acording to Wiki.....


British-American entrepreneur and author Andrew Keen criticizes social media in his book The Cult of the Amateur, writing, "Out of this anarchy, it suddenly became clear that what was governing the infinite monkeys now inputting away on the Internet was the law of digital Darwinism, the survival of the loudest and most opinionated. Under these rules, the only way to intellectually prevail is by infinite filibustering

I think that is an interesting take.......

Your point about the "culture of friendship" here is spot on.

PS - Don't place that bet.


EDIT - Correction. I DID get a reply from Greeky. I have not replied to it. 1-1.

[tikay]

One other thing which makes the forum so good is that you don't let it stay stale. Ironically, I used to be on a consultancy panel giving advice on how to optimize social forums and found it interesting/fascinating. Most of the old really good forums lost their "top 100's" and because the admins had something that worked in 2007-8 they felt they could just keep the same model and expect new arrivals to the forum to understand the culture and to enjoy it when in reality 2013 internet is very different to 2007 internet and people have a lot higher standards and are far less picky.

I often also think about who will have the most posts on a forum in like 25 years, like people could theoretically eventually had over a million posts on a forum, which is just ridiculous

Thank you.

In brief, blonde, or any other Forum, is what it's Members make it. We have a tremendous core of really good Members here. They ARE blonde.

[RED-DOG]

One other thing which makes the forum so good is that you don't let it stay stale. Ironically, I used to be on a consultancy panel giving advice on how to optimize social forums and found it interesting/fascinating. Most of the old really good forums lost their "top 100's" and because the admins had something that worked in 2007-8 they felt they could just keep the same model and expect new arrivals to the forum to understand the culture and to enjoy it when in reality 2013 internet is very different to 2007 internet and people have a lot higher standards and are far less picky.

I often also think about who will have the most posts on a forum in like 25 years, like people could theoretically eventually had over a million posts on a forum, which is just ridiculous

Thank you.

In brief, blonde, or any other Forum, is what it's Members make it. We have a tremendous core of really good Members here. They ARE blonde.

Apart from Vinny, who's bald.

[Doc Bok]

how many 2005 members are left?

Jan 31st 

[Acidmouse]

Blonde is a rather unique forum really. Hence its longevity.

I would guess its had more drama's and problems than most of its size. I have told a few work mates over the years about the grims, fights and dramas and they could not believe it.


As someone who really does not like poker much it offers much more on a variety of subjects it should entertain anyone (just look at the number of guests normally browsing).

Making money from it and how poker is now is kinda yesterdays dream, unless you do something simialr to SomethingAwful (allowing people to become members for $10 to remove adverts and have their own icons etc). Then again Blonde does updates which cost.

The only change I would do it just drop the front website and have a standalone forum.

[smashedagain]

how many 2005 members are left?

 

Wow, has it really been 8 yrs since you all didn't  believe I was a girl poster and branded me a bloke forever more?

I've still seen no proof to the contrary.

Well he drinks like a girl if that's of any help.

Jeez what does that make me?

played the super 50 last night and drank lager for the first time in 20 years. Nearly £4 a pint but luckily I was to pissed for a 4th one

Do you normally drink other stuff or are/were you a fellow teetotaller?

more tee total but never drink tea or coffee. Last decent drink I had was the blonde bash.

[alanc]

Belated birthday greetings Blonde from a forum lurker.

[Jamier-Host]

Wow - i was March 2005.

And stuck with a name that I assume very few people remember the basis of!

So, where's M3Boy these days?!