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Old 03-27-2010, 01:17 AM   #21
Cali Coug
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Since 2005.

[Tumbleweed goes across screen]

You know how some sci-fi movies start with a scroll about prior wars and battles and civilizations that rose and died and rose again? It would just take too long to explain.

I've fought your battles, I've had your thoughts, I've done your deeds. I am the future.

If through all this you end up with one friend, you will have done about as well as me.

Jefe is a wiser man than you think. If I had known what Jefe had already learned, I would have not suffered. This is a place for suffering. If you wish to suffer, then stay. But I will tell you, those who truly want to suffer are few.
Look, we don't always agree (in fact we almost never agree), but I appreciate what you have done here and, perhaps to your chagrin, I have remained. You built up a nice site at some personal expense and lots of time. For whatever it's worth, I have enjoyed our interactions and will continue to do so.
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Old 03-27-2010, 02:57 AM   #22
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Look, we don't always agree (in fact we almost never agree), but I appreciate what you have done here and, perhaps to your chagrin, I have remained. You built up a nice site at some personal expense and lots of time. For whatever it's worth, I have enjoyed our interactions and will continue to do so.
Thanks.

First off, it wasn't all that much work. Probably the bigger deal was/is putting myself in the crosshairs.

Second, I don't miss the old days. Not that they were all that bad. I just don't miss them.

Third, I'm glad there are a couple of people here to chat with once in a while.
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Old 01-29-2013, 03:22 PM   #23
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Hey Mike,

Which particular old days do you not miss? I loved this place for about three (six? nine?) months back in the days before too many of the uninteresting people moved in. I mean, I *loved* it, it was my favorite place into which to check on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. It made me almost -- dare I say it? -- happy.

I guess what I'm asking is: is CG as it currently operates basically what you want from it at this point? Or in a perfect world would you still be interested in having a more-thriving, somewhat exclusive BYU-themed community?

Just wondering whether I should hold out hope.

o
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Old 01-29-2013, 10:49 PM   #24
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Hey Mike,

Which particular old days do you not miss? I loved this place for about three (six? nine?) months back in the days before too many of the uninteresting people moved in. I mean, I *loved* it, it was my favorite place into which to check on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. It made me almost -- dare I say it? -- happy.

I guess what I'm asking is: is CG as it currently operates basically what you want from it at this point? Or in a perfect world would you still be interested in having a more-thriving, somewhat exclusive BYU-themed community?

Just wondering whether I should hold out hope.

o
I don't miss the squabbling. the back-biting and arguing. The dumb requests I got. The annoying people. And so forth.

The bottom line is this: I let the community evolve in an organic way, taking a hands off approach. Eventually it become something that demanded too much of my time and energy, further compounded by being a place I was starting not to enjoy based on some of the people and the content.

Looking back, it is now clear to me that while I initially promoted the idea of the organic community, I eventually came to resent it. And have come to the conclusion that I should have been more pro-active in shaping the community according to my goals and aesthetic. And in that transition, some were upset with me and what they construed as an unsteady hand at the wheel.

I certainly don't give CG very much attention now. It's not really what I "want", but I'm not entirely sure I could articulate what I want. And that is because to a large degree I think CG lived its life, fulfilled most of its purpose, and then died. Is that so bad? Isn't that what happens to most of us? CG now is post-death. Carousing in the attic, causing just a little noise, but mainly quiet. Like any friendly ghost is wont to do.

Most of the people who post here have a personal connection to me. Zulu and Redhairgirl are old friends from my youth. Archaea is virtually a co-founder of the site and a friend that I have met in person, and have talked to countless times on the phone. And a few others that are old hands and have stuck around for whatever reason.

When CG started, I did very little of the recruiting. Archaea did that. When the CUF break-off occurred, I was given no advance warning. And I let them promote their website on this site. After all, I wouldn't want people to stay here because they were merely ignorant of "better" alternatives. Since then I have done absolutely no recruitment. What would you propose? That I hit all the Mormon/BYU blogs and forums and promote this site? Why? After all, if 99% of CG went on to become CUF, what in the world does CG have to offer? Except for the handful of people here who drop by (largely me, by virtue of the fact that I produce most of the volume)? And I don't presume that I have that much to offer.

The old CG is now so long ago that I don't remember many of the people. I'll be thinking of someone or something and I won't be able to remember their handle.

Do I think I could potentially benefit from increased volume and participation here? Maybe. Probably. I'm open to the idea. Do I want to rehash everything that has been said here with the same old people that left? Not really.

There are all kinds of people right now slaving away at some blog that no one reads. Or just a few read. I read a blog fairly regularly for the past couple years. I made not infrequent comments on his blog, almost entirely reflective and supportive. There were only a handful of comments on his blog outside of mine. And maybe only once or twice did he respond to anything I wrote. I think that's interesting. Blogs for no one. Navel gazing.

Sometimes CG feels like a forum for no one. That's true. But we still have the OPEN sign turned on, and we're still in business. And don't forget--in another year we will have potentially accrued $100 of advertising income that can be donated to charity. That's pretty damn exciting. :|
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Old 01-29-2013, 10:54 PM   #25
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It was late 2008 that everything changed? had to scroll down the threads to figure that out.

2013 now.

CG started in August 2005. Thus the "post" period of CG is now much longer than the "pre" period.
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Old 01-30-2013, 02:48 AM   #26
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It was late 2008 that everything changed? had to scroll down the threads to figure that out.

It probably is not coincidental that that was about that time that Facebook was getting really popular.
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Old 01-30-2013, 05:25 AM   #27
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Thanks for the response -- it was an interesting read. I like hearing others' introspections.

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What would you propose? That I hit all the Mormon/BYU blogs and forums and promote this site? Why?
Wasn't sure if these questions were rhetorical or intended for me. Probably rhetorical, but in case of the latter... Mainly, I was just curious as to whether it would be seen as positive or negative if more traffic and comments found their way here or if you were happier with the site being a sort of more interactively structured blog. More directly stated, I wasn't sure whether it would be impolite for me to try to start a discussion.

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Do I think I could potentially benefit from increased volume and participation here? Maybe. Probably. I'm open to the idea. Do I want to rehash everything that has been said here with the same old people that left? Not really.
So it sounds like the door is definitely open then. Appreciate it.

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There are all kinds of people right now slaving away at some blog that no one reads. Or just a few read.
I'm one of those kinds. Similar to how you've put it, it's basically my journal that I'm okay with people reading (and commenting on). I guess it's navel gazing. I think it would be great if my grandkids pored over it some day. Seriously, I wish my grandparents had blogged. (And fwiw, I usually acknowledge the comments I get, except when they're from my brother; there are some things he doesn't seem to get about online interactions.)

Good to get the lay of the land from you, much appreciated. It turns out it was about five months of good times for me in the pre-ghost version of here -- late '06, early '07. Some interesting memories in there, where interesting = good.

All best,

o
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Old 01-31-2013, 02:42 AM   #28
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