Welcome to General Deception

[kenisama]

NME seems really butt hurt about something...

This site needs new leadership, without a competent plan to move forward it's dead.

After reading you lengthy post, I realize... you complain a lot. But just where exactly do you want this website to go? You've yet to drive that point home. a-m-v.org does the best at what it does, host amvs and share it with link minded people, everything else after that is just... extra.

[NME]

If you're finished missing my point entirely, I'll reiterate for you:

If things don't change and soon this site is dead and might as well shut down because it's following a dead business model. The redesign does little to deal with the chief fact that it was a change in social policy that got people to leave and go elsewhere - not a functionality issue. Now there is a functionality issue because Youtube does what the org does about a million times better for free.

Kris, it was a nice ride while it lasted and you and Vlad will always have terabytes of obsessively archived videos to watch at your every whim and share with everyone else, but Youtube is too big for you to compete with with a community this strict and elitist.

Too much elitism, too much divide between Youtubers and ORG users. You fucking morons are one and the same. Grow up.

[BasharOfTheAges]

What "social policy" are you talking about?

Note, IIRC Doki's mentioned that the majority of the site's accounts have never posted on or even accessed the forums. So that avenue is certainly not relevant to the discussion when it comes to what the majority of users see or even react to.

What has changed on the site itself in terms of rules or regulations? I've only seen more offered. Hosting in general, commenting, then streaming. Content guidelines have always been there, so they haven't changed at all. What's changed?

Or (complete speculation here) do you not understand the concept of "niche" for some reason?

[inthesto]

IMO The policy on this site has been directly influenced by the new wave of terror in the United states. As surely as the academic institutions and workplaces have adapted to post 9/11 life with new rules and regulations, websites have as well. These rules are not for the protection or preservation of anyone but the person who owns this site and has legal liability. We are afraid and making policy decisions from a place of fear - THIS IS NOT HEALTHY AND WILL NOT PRODUCE GOOD RULES.

Phade or the moderati or puppet boy or whatever herd runs this site now are not capable. If you're offended, too damned bad. I watched the IRC channel go from a lush, vividly coloured rainforest that I helped sow to a barren field of stumps cut down by AD and his strict observance of rules created in a time of war and fear in the world. Then AD turned around and broke most of them on a consistent basis and pulled the dictator card whenever it happened. He must just be more equal than others, just like the sunken modship and the other puppet admins who have the presence and likability of boiled spaghetti. The fact that mods and admins keep changing on this site tells me that there's something going on in the leadership chain. At this point it looks to me like whoever is in charge of ordering the power structure in this community has been fumbling with it since 2003.

This is the funniest thing I've read in months

[NME]

Unfortunately Bashar, you weren't around for the old days of Off Topic so you have very little frame of reference. Social policy is the guidelines with which we conduct ourselves in social groups.

Now, in the wake the legal backlash from the lawyers representing Seether and Evanescence towards the org the social policy of this site changed incredibly around mid-to-late 2003. Phade sees one legal threat and shits himself and puts the org on lockdown. Crucial places to unwind were removed from the community and this spread this need to unwind behaviour into other parts of the community. The journal system sprung up in its place and filled some of the void but the journal system was fucking stupid and worthless as a forum: BUT THE THING IS PEOPLE STARTED USING IT AS ONE BECAUSE THEY WANTED A PLACE TO UNWIND THAT WASN'T SO ANAL ABOUT EVERYTHING AND ALLOWED THEM TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS (WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT HUH?)

Summer of 2004 time I had started an IRC channel along with Jace Tsunami and Taberis because we realized there needed to be a place to unwind and let loose if the forums were going to be on lockdown and even more restricted. Unfortunately Jace Tsunami handed the channel over to the org and teenage apathy on my and Taberis' part caused us to defer to the twenty-somethings who were put in charge. We were still ops but the IRC channel soon became locked down in the same ways that the forum had been the year previous.

An aside, Phade has spoken on the AIM room and for quite a while the link to it was removed from the org because "we have no control over what goes on in there." This is a position of fear. Phade is scared and most of you are too.

They're still on lockdown to this day btw and the proof of this is in the fact that the admins will open up General Discussion to us, but surround it with the term "discussion" as if legitimizing it and making it sound less like "off topic" will stop people from using it as a spamming ground or at worst a myriad of other things like GASP! Piracy! or GASP! PORNOGRAPHY! Then they bow to ridiculous peer pressure and block off posts that certain butthurt paying customers don't want others to see. Here's a wacky idea! If you don't want people seeing your picture on the internet DON'T POST YOUR PICTURE ON THE INTERNET.

Whoever complained and got that done has serious issues in taking responsibility for their own actions, when they expect another to come to their rescue purely because they made a decision to do something that they regret. Fucking childish behaviour, I wouldn't be surprised if it was some pussy-whipped male mod doing it for a girl he's got a thing for because he's a straight up led male. Must be one if he wants to work for this ridiculous regime.

The old org was a vibrant place full of creative people, and the imposition of the fearful new rules drove quite a few of them away. I was one of them. I come back and see nothing but old men who are grasping to define something they aren't fluent in. I come back and see circlejerking of proportions larger in girth and length than anything I was ever witness to before my absence. I come back to see a cliquishness I haven't seen since elementary school manifest. I bought into it too, so I'm no better, but I still see there is a problem with the way things are going that poisons this community and prospective new members.

Stop living in fear. Embrace the light of love.

EVOLVE, DAMN YOU, EVOLVE!

[Jadecavy]

Unfortunately Bashar, you weren't around for the old days of Off Topic so you have very little frame of reference. Social policy is the guidelines with which we conduct ourselves in social groups.

Now, in the wake the legal backlash from the lawyers representing Seether and Evanescence towards the org the social policy of this site changed incredibly around mid-to-late 2003. Phade sees one legal threat and shits himself and puts the org on lockdown. Crucial places to unwind were removed from the community and this spread this need to unwind behaviour into other parts of the community. The journal system sprung up in its place and filled some of the void but the journal system was fucking stupid and worthless as a forum: BUT THE THING IS PEOPLE STARTED USING IT AS ONE BECAUSE THEY WANTED A PLACE TO UNWIND THAT WASN'T SO ANAL ABOUT EVERYTHING AND ALLOWED THEM TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS (WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT HUH?)

Summer of 2004 time I had started an IRC channel along with Jace Tsunami and Taberis because we realized there needed to be a place to unwind and let loose if the forums were going to be on lockdown and even more restricted. Unfortunately Jace Tsunami handed the channel over to the org and teenage apathy on my and Taberis' part caused us to defer to the twenty-somethings who were put in charge. We were still ops but the IRC channel soon became locked down in the same ways that the forum had been the year previous.

An aside, Phade has spoken on the AIM room and for quite a while the link to it was removed from the org because "we have no control over what goes on in there." This is a position of fear. Phade is scared and most of you are too.

They're still on lockdown to this day btw and the proof of this is in the fact that the admins will open up General Discussion to us, but surround it with the term "discussion" as if legitimizing it and making it sound less like "off topic" will stop people from using it as a spamming ground or at worst a myriad of other things like GASP! Piracy! or GASP! PORNOGRAPHY! Then they bow to ridiculous peer pressure and block off posts that certain butthurt paying customers don't want others to see. Here's a wacky idea! If you don't want people seeing your picture on the internet DON'T POST YOUR PICTURE ON THE INTERNET.

Whoever complained and got that done has serious issues in taking responsibility for their own actions, when they expect another to come to their rescue purely because they made a decision to do something that they regret. Fucking childish behaviour, I wouldn't be surprised if it was some pussy-whipped male mod doing it for a girl he's got a thing for because he's a straight up led male. Must be one if he wants to work for this ridiculous regime.

The old org was a vibrant place full of creative people, and the imposition of the fearful new rules drove quite a few of them away. I was one of them. I come back and see nothing but old men who are grasping to define something they aren't fluent in. I come back and see circlejerking of proportions larger in girth and length than anything I was ever witness to before my absence. I come back to see a cliquishness I haven't seen since elementary school manifest. I bought into it too, so I'm no better, but I still see there is a problem with the way things are going that poisons this community and prospective new members.

Stop living in fear. Embrace the light of love.

EVOLVE, DAMN YOU, EVOLVE!

I was going to give you a nice long explanation as to why you're wrong, then I realized that you're not worth it, and I'd just be feeding the trolls. Because that's what you are. A big troll.

[NME]

Are you quite done being a socially incompetent Jade?

Yeah, you are.

[BasharOfTheAges]

The Wind-Up thing was in 2005, not 2003. The no porn rules were here back before my join date on this account. You seem to have a really borked view of the facts.

You're projecting quite a bit here. You seem to want this place to be like /b/ for some reason and immediately think that having civil discussion like adults is driving all those people that never went onto the forums in the first place away. How does that even work? The fact that you can't see you're not making any sense here is kinda scary. These are your issues - nobody else's. I know it's cool to feel persecuted and all, but for fuck's sake, get some perspective.

Did you ever think that, perhaps, AMVs are what this site is about, and that if that's not why you're here than maybe it's you who's mistaken? OT's back again, but it's not, nor should it be, anything significant. There are general purpose forums all over the internet. Go to SA if you're into that sort of thing. Don't expect something made for a purpose to be anything more than that purpose just because it once was for you.

I'd try to use the analogy of not mixing work friends with real friends, but I have the distinct feeling it'd be lost on you.

[Jadecavy]

Are you quite done being a socially incompetent Jade?

Yeah, you are.

kthnx now gtfo

[NME]

Words Words Words

OK, thanks for the clarification, while my dates were wrong there was a definite change in the tone of the site once Off Topic closed. IMO this drove people away who contributed more variety and creative ideas to the community and lessened the power of AMVs as a whole. This is a grievous mismanagement of something that you and I obviously care deeply about. However, it was still done out of fear on Phade's part. So why should we put up with people who have stalled the progress of this hobby and community due to their own insecurity? Why should we support them financially or with our words when they aren't doing their job right? What's the point in just accepting it and thinking things are alright when they aren't. There's no point. It's madness and sheep following a blind shepherd.

We're all projecting all the time man. In this case I'm projecting an understanding that you do not have and you are projecting an understanding that I do not have. As shown, my understanding is incomplete just as much as yours obviously is. If you can't follow my writing I would be happy to discuss this with you in a more present medium so you can understand. If you don't like this thread there's no reason for you to post in it anymore, but the offer to help you understand still stands.

I know this site is about AMVs, it always has been and always will be. That's why I'm here, because I love AMVs. This is why we're all here. The rules are counter-productive to the expansion and actual functioning of an artistic community. Maybe if we were talking about a theory or a technique, but art is so much more than just thoughts - it is emotion as well and in this realm people who are here on this site need a place to let loose. With this whimsical behaviour comes more freedom and less conformity of thought and in return this creates better art!

The IRC channel seems to have relaxed lately from what I've heard and that's positive, but there are still far too many idiotic power games being played in the IRC channel for any actual harmony to be produced.

Pay for a forum? Nah, never happen. I contribute the content of said forum and said forum should be willing to allow me space to express myself should I so want it. I don't believe in paying to share ideas, that's an affront to the nature of man's knowledge as far as I'm concerned.

I ain't payin' to express myself fully, if you will I pity you. It troubles me that you also seem to think a friend isn't just a friend. Not too sure who taught you how to be a person, but your upbringing was clearly different from mine.

I pity you and the shallowness with which you live. Please, get help.