This board in the old days - Page 2

[Auggie27]

A slightly different take. As my avatar states, I've been here almost from the start. I have taken a leave of absence a couple of times, not because anyone attacked me personally (I could handle that, and did), but because it sometimes felt as if cliques dominated.  Thoughtfully composed weigh-ins, or critiques, opinions, etc. were simply sidestepped entirely as an insular dialog among a handful of people took over. If I sound like Alex Forster in "Fatal Attraction" not wanting to be ignored, it was sometimes the case.  I wasn't in a group du jour, and didn't see the point of posting in a vacuum. That high school in factor made me disinterested. When people disgreed with me, even strongly, I was cool with it, generally. 

[Broadway Joe]

I've been hoping these boards would eventually got a proper update with its interface. It's beyond outdated.

[AC126748]

As a board member for almost 14 years, I agree with Auggie27’s assessment. There was definitely a feeling of cliquishness that was dominated by a few posters. These people tended to commandeer conversations and ignore or deride those they felt were beneath them. Some are still around (though in a somewhat diminished capacity), others are a distant memory.

There is definitely nothing to gain from romanticizing the “good old days”. Jordan’s observation about personal attacks and questionable behavior is true. There was always gossip and innuendo; it’s not like this board was founded on serious in-depth conversations only, and that shifted somewhere along the way.

[raddersons]

This is not a BWW exclusive phenomenon -- Loads of online communities were pretty wild back in the early 2000s, but it's almost 20 years later now. Society is a lot more plugged in these days than we were back in 2006, we're way past the "wild west" era of the internet, and I think that the world at large is realizing actions online have real life consequences. Broadway World is a lot higher profile than it used to be, and these boards don't exactly have the best reputation in the broadway community. The moderation team is just trying to keep with the times, despite going a bit overboard sometimes.

[joevitus]

I find there are still clicks and toxic behavior (though the ones doing it almost always accuse others of being the toxic ones--nice psychological warfare going on) and the moderators sometimes support this (moderators never give their names, so you don't know who is responding to you at any given time--if you get a response to a complaint). It's definitely strange around here. If it used to be much worse--yikes!

[ACL2006]

I joined when the A Chorus Line revival was announced. I joined before social media started (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Was looking for any inside info on casting. The old boards were way easier to navigate and far fewer issues than there are today. I know it's all about revenue since this site is free, but the amount of ads and pop-up videos are out of control. It really slows down the site and causes certain pages to load slowly. Don't have this issue with any other sites I frequently use.

[everythingtaboo]

What I don't get about the current board is the inconsistent moderation. Any thread at all that steps into anything fun or frivolous gets deleted, along with thread based on factual evidence (that Lightning Thief tweet, for example) but a thread about the actress in Mean Girls the other night is pages of speculation and revived rumors about her behavior.

[raddersons]

everythingtaboo said: "What I don't get about the current board is the inconsistent moderation. Any thread at all that steps into anything fun or frivolous gets deleted, along with thread based on factual evidence (that Lightning Thief tweet, for example) but a thread about the actress in Mean Girls the other night is pages of speculation and revived rumors about her behavior."

Yeah, this I definitely agree with -- the fact that there is little rhyme or reason to it is the biggest question mark. But I'd rather have it this way than a stricter style where everything is removed.

[LarryD2]

joevitus said: "I find there are still clicks and toxic behavior (though the ones doing it almost always accuse others of being the toxic ones--nice psychological warfare going on) and the moderators sometimes support this(moderators never give their names, so you don't know who is responding to you at any given time--if you get a response to a complaint). It's definitely strange around here. If it used to be much worse--yikes!"

The board isn't perfect now and it wasn't perfect then. Then and now, there were people trying to have intelligent and informed conversations about theater and popular culture -- just as then and now, there were trolls and people who only wanted to talk about bootlegs and Wicked. As others in this thread have noted, we tend to view the past through rose-tinted glasses, and to romanticize the way things were.

[Someone in a Tree2]

I joined back around 2011 (with a previous avatar, "Guiteau" when I wanted to hear what everyone else was making of the phenomenon "Sleep No More". At the time, it felt like wading into any conversation was like stepping into a hornet's nest. Getting stung a few times, I learned to hold my tongue until I had confidence that whatever I was contributing was well thought out and defensible if someone came at me in attack mode. So I got better at negotiating the nasty give and take that was pervasive then.

I'm frankly relieved at the slightly less aggressive tone the site has taken on these days, even as I miss the high entertainment value of the great posters on BWW of yore.

[Dublin2]

There was definitely a feeling of cliquishness that was dominated by a few posters. These people tended to commandeer conversations and ignore or deride those they felt were beneath them. Some are still around (though in a somewhat diminished capacity), others are a distant memory.

Yes, you are so right. Many of them are gone now, one is in this very thread, and one has the distinct honor of the only user to have a "suspended" badge underneath their screen name, still. It's a positive thing they are all gone or have grown up. People telling people to kill themselves, threatening violence, and one user telling the other "I know where you live" was especially appalling. This was constant and daily. The mods barely did anything about it, and I know this will be deleted because they don't like to admit past mistakes for some reason, even though those threads are still live. 

My issue now is with the current moderation of this board. It's either none at all (months ago someone called Ms.Waterbury a whote and slut (NYCB scandal). It was up for eight hours. On the other hand, you have a thread that's been around for 3 days with no deletions or moderation warnings, openly talking about a current actress on Broadway. Not all of it kind. 

It's uneven, and makes little sense. I remember someone starting a thread a few weeks ago suggesting they retrain their mods, and it was deleted in less than 10 minutes. Moderate moderation works for me.  Not extreme (deleting the comment of "dramatic much?) and not lax (when someone accuses someone of lying about being a rape victim, it's best to delete, yes?). Somewhere in the middle. Cheers. 

[ModernMillie3]

Yes, you are so right. Many of them are gone now, one is in this very thread, and one has the distinct honor of the only user to have a "suspended" badge underneath their screen name, still. It's a positive thing they are all gone or have grown up. People telling people to kill themselves, threatening violence, and one user telling the other "I know where you live" was especially appalling. This was constant and daily. The mods barely did anything about it, and I know this will be deleted because they don't like to admit past mistakes for some reason, even though those threads are still live.

My issue nowis with the current moderation of this board. It's either none at all (months ago someone called Ms.Waterbury a whote and slut (NYCB scandal). It was up for eight hours. On the other hand, you have a thread that's been around for 3 days with no deletions or moderation warnings, openly talking about a current actress on Broadway. Not all of it kind.

It's uneven, and makes little sense. I remember someone starting a thread a few weeks ago suggesting they retrain their mods, and it was deleted in less than 10 minutes. Moderate moderation works for me. Not extreme (deleting the comment of "dramatic much?) and not lax (when someone accuses someone of lying about being a rape victim, it's best to delete, yes?). Somewhere in the middle. Cheers."

I agree with everything you just said. It got out of control with the abuse and I'm glad the Broadway community said "no more of this crap, we don't actually care about you at all but you will not continue this". That was a turning point. Moderate moderation, I love that and I hope it continues as it has for a few days now. Fingers crossed. 

[spiderdj82]

I agree that at times things got WAY overheated and cruel but I miss the community feel it used to have.  I don't know if it was just because there was a smaller amount of us but I remember WANTING to jump on here to talk to people and read posts that would make me scream with laughter and have dialogue with others (mainly on the "off-topic" board).  It may be romanticized but I miss it. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

I do miss some of the members who have either passed or stopped posting. The board used to be full of insight and real conversation even if it was to be found in between some absolute insanity.

[ArtMan]

Auggie27 said: "A slightly different take. As my avatar states, I've been here almost from the start. I have taken a leave of absence a couple of times, not because anyone attacked me personally (I could handle that, and did), but because it sometimes felt as if cliques dominated. Thoughtfully composed weigh-ins, or critiques, opinions, etc. were simply sidestepped entirely as an insular dialog among a handful of people took over. If I sound like Alex Forster in "Fatal Attraction" not wanting to be ignored, it was sometimes the case. I wasn't in a group du jour, and didn't see the point of posting in a vacuum. That high school in factor made me disinterested. When people disgreed with me, even strongly, I was cool with it, generally."

It might not be so many people in a clique as you think.  Instead it could just be one person with multiple user names.  I also am a long time member and have never mentioned this.  There was once a poster who a small group didn't like and were ganging up on this person.  I usually don't participate in that kind of behavior because I strongly dislike bullying.  However, once I disagreed with what this person wrote.  I immediately got 7 pms from 7 long term posters all at the same time.  The pm was exactly the same wording and they were giving me some additional info on the "disliked poster".  I knew immediatedly that  this one person had multiple profiles and wasn't smart enough to figure out what they just did.  If you pay close attention, there are persons on here NOW with multiple user names. They are not very good with covering it up.  The key is to watch them post something.  Then they answer with the additional user name, instead of the user name they were using.  I can call out a handful of people, if I really cared.  If you are going to do a routine, do it well.

[Phantom of London]

Does a board need to be moderated?

If someone posts something unsuitable, I am sure other members will call the person out.

[LizzieCurry]

LOL

[Kad]

The board is definitely past its glory days and there’s a lot of reasons for that. How the internet and social media are used has changed, particularly for fandoms. This board is really a vestige of an older Internet- and broadway fandom was a lot more niche and insider. There are a lot less of old-school, knowledgeable show queens on here- and also fewer industry insiders.

And before the Incident alluded to, there was also a really significant issue with trolls, who would derail conversations and frustrate members but who the moderators would never adequately deal with. There’s never been a happy medium of moderation on here.

[Auggie27]

Deleted post.

[ljay889]

I’m going to agree that the board is past its glory days. I’ve been here a very long time. There’s far less threads now. Back in the day, the first page of the board would never have threads from previous days (the last reply.) Now it does.

[Huss417]

Jordan Catalano said: "Let me tell you that your romanticization of the “old days” here as being a wonderful place to hang out is just that - a romanticized version of the truth. While it wasn’t as moderated as it became and there was a whole lot more bitchiness and fun sometimes, there was also an oftentimes scary level of cruelty and harassment that went unchecked for far too long."

I agree with what you have to say but there were also some amazing breakdowns on here that supplied my popcorn habit. Not sure when the exact board started but I think I was around pretty much from the beginning. 

[devonian.t]

To invoke a theatrical metaphor, it used to be divine decadence  a la Cabaret; now it's more often a Be More Chill riff.

Threads felt like your typical bitchy after-show party- maybe sometimes you weren't part of the in-crowd but there were some really knowledgeable folk about.  Nowadays, well it's usually the school common room and occasionally someone has a bit too much Red Bull. 

[Owen22]

Early on this board seem to be exclusively a forum for people to air grievances about a certain Glee actress whose obviously seemingly sociopathic extremes lead many on here to attack her in almost misogynistic ways that really disturbed me!

Oh those good ol' days.

[DAME]

ArtMan said: 
 

"It might not be so many people in a clique as you think. Instead it could just be one person with multiple user names. I also am a long time member and have never mentioned this. There was once a poster who a small group didn't like and were ganging up on this person. I usually don't participate in that kind of behavior because I strongly dislike bullying. However, once I disagreed with what this person wrote. I immediately got 7 pms from 7 long term posters all at the same time. The pm was exactly the same wording and they were giving me some additional info on the "disliked poster". I knew immediatedly that this one person had multiple profiles and wasn't smart enough to figure out what they just did. If you pay close attention, there are persons on here NOW with multiple user names. They are not very good with covering it up. The key is to watch them post something. Then they answer with the additional user name, instead of the user name they were using. I can call out a handful of people, if I really cared. If you are going to do a routine, do it well."

THIS.  This practice was the biggest downfall of this board.   

 

[orangeskittles]

Owen22 said: "Early on this board seem to be exclusively a forum for people to air grievances about a certain Glee actress whose obviously seemingly sociopathic extremes lead many on here to attack her in almost misogynistic ways that really disturbed me!
Oh those good ol' days."

What? The board was created in 2003. Glee started in 2009.

Anyway, the real downfall started after Facebook opened up for everyone. Many of the longtime posters came for the community and the off-topic board, and once Facebook was an option, they started communicating there instead, with real names and pictures, and no trolls (*insert nostalgic thread about the good old days of Facebook*). So if you weren't coming to BWW to chat on the OT board all day, you weren't browsing the main board to participate in discussions either.