Sonikku wrote: I don't agree with everything AG says, but I can sympathize with his over all sentiment somewhat. I recognize the dojo less and less lately. Not even unmodding Ryudo, which everyone felt was the shinning silver bullet to all the problems and drama of the place has panned out quite like everyone may have expected if gaming thought a few days ago was any indication. I still see some deeply fractured cracks in the community that at best seem only obscured by the total overhaul. To be fair, I feel I must give kudos to Yama for trying so hard in what he feels are all great changes to the site. Passion to make things better is commendable even if ones views cannot always be reconciled with the same vision. Stagnation can just as easily cause as much harm as the wrong change. All the more so, that he would acknowledge and address concerns from animegamer rather than brushing such sentiments under the rug.
I just feel some what of a sting when I see an iconic board like the junk forum that has always been a part of the dojo up and deleted outright. It was never the most philosophical place of discussion, but I think it helped add to the over all flavor and personality of the place. It had qualities that are harder to quantify than something one can place on a spread sheet. When I was a moderator, I likely would have agreed with all of this. My view of perfection was total order. No clutter, no disorganization. Rules always enforced to the letter in a black and white interpretation of a terms of service. It's only now in my later years that I see some what of an intangible quality that is lost in the apparent squashing of any perceivable chaos.
In any event, the dye is cast and no ones opinion can halt change forever. Ryudo's staff departure marks a polarizing in the staffs resolve to overrule any form of dissension that contrasts the greater vision and is a reality we must all come to terms with if we are to stay. I am forced to consider the possibility that perhaps this is in fact the Shenmue Dojo as it was intended to be at this stage in it's life and members like Ryudo/Animegamer and myself are just relics of a begone era that are now the odd piece out in the new order, not the elements we now find alien to ourselves. Our dojo is now dead and a new dojo for a new generation has taken it's place. The last remnants of the old republic have been swept away. Such is the will of the Force. I would call upon animegamer and ryudo at this point to let the remainder of this matter go. There is no more to be further accomplished.
Really good post Sonikku.
I can only add something to this train of thought, and that is that we are all members here which shared a few things in common when this place was in its early days. One of those common things was an age demographic maturity level. 10 years later, and i feel that one of those fractured cracks is the progression of time and polarization of maturity levels around here. There are certain people who havent progressed mentally with their age. Those who like to snigger at pictures of boobies. Those who think poop gags are the funniest thing ever. Those who still let videogames consume their lives. I am not pointing specific fingers at anyone in particular, since those examples have the ability to cross ranges of maturity, both with those who will just grow up to be 50 year old kids, and those who can appreciate it for what it is as a grown adult (which we are all fast becoming)
Some of us are hitting middle age now, and we are still here. But its quite clear that there are some who still see this place with the old banner, telling fart jokes and posting photoshopped images which really arnt funny at all, excpet maybe to a 12 year old kid. Things change. People change. The Dojo changes. You say you are relics of a bygone era? To me thats the same as living in the past. Its not 2000 anymore and we are not all playing videogames and watching anime. Some are, but there are some who also have the sensibility to understand the context of the time period we live in and can maturely discuss anything within that subject on a more mature level. Some cant, and i feel the junk forum was an anchor to the past. I rarely posted in it, even back 7-8 years ago. But when Yama came on board, he did vow to bring this place forward and he has delivered on that. The junk forum has gone yes, but its not as if it wasnt talked about before it was done so.