I've already tried 4 times to start off this thread in a witty way, and I've backspaced all of them. It's just not gonna happen. [u]And, as per usual with BNet threads, you will be absolved of your lack of desire to fully take in all that I'm about to present to you... with a TL;DR at the end.[/u]
So we here at BNet must, at this point, especially in the community forum more so than anywhere else, address the fact that there are clearly defined generational divides between members of the community. Whether this results into a community member becoming the punchline to an infinite amount of jokes of one generation, or some members of the younger generation resenting ones of an older one because of their snarky manner and air on the forums, or it doesn't manifest itself directly in the mains at all and is just present as a number on our profile page that some people may use to subconsciously classify and categorize us, it's still there.
These generational gaps are something that are, obviously, not just present in this community, but present in all communities. From the old stereotype of the elderly shouting at "yoots" to get off their freshly mown grass, to the dubstep-loving, Buddy Holly glasses wearing, loose beanie adoring, hipster twenty-somethings we hear complained about so much today, generational gaps have always and will always be there and different generations will always look down upon all the others.
The teenagers will always think that the twenty-somethings have their -blam!- together and know how life is supposed to be. The twenty-somethings will always have dreams of "When [b][u]we're[/u][/b] in charge, things are going to be different(, man)!". The adults will always see the twenty-somethings as the generation that has everything handed to them on a silver platter and who have yet to experience the harsh, cold, unforgiving real world for what it really is. And the elderly will always look down on the young(er) adults in the way they're letting these twenty-somethings get away with all the mayhem that they're causing.
Such is true in society, as well as on Bungie.net, thought not necessarily with the same feelings between the 4, well, really, 5 generations.
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On Bungie.net, there will always be the youngsters. There will always be those new people joining, perhaps having their first experience on an internet forum (this was mine). They will always need guidance from the more experienced users, and they won't always get it. They will always view things in a different light than those even a simple year ahead of them in the "account creation" category, and they will always be criticized by the older members for either their ignorance, or their ways of viewing how the forums should and will (in the future) work.
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There will also, in a perpetual state more certain than infinity, be the regulars. The people who've been here a year, maybe two, and are still posting at least somewhat frequently and, in their opinion, have got this "foruming" thing down-pat. This area of growth, however, does still seem to be fair game for the seasoned veterans to make fun of and ridicule (again either for their views on how the site should be run or what features should be added). Within this category (bans notwithstanding, the heroics), people begin to (if I may romanticize the process of posting fairly unsophisticated and sometimes witty remarks on an internet forum) make their own identity on Bungie.net.
They can begin to get recognized (if they haven't been already for their posting habits as a newbie) and they'll have seen repeat threads enough to be able to get their opinion out there and have (at least a few people) become familiar with it and be able to form their own opinion of you based on those views you have.
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Then come the the beginnings of the old garb. The legendaries. The one to three year regulars of Bungie.net who've managed to not get bored of its inevitable repetitiveness as well as (most likely) bury themselves enough in private groups to not have grown immensely bored of the thing (especially in "dark times" such as those we're currently experiencing). This is usually the first generation (as I see it, anyhow) who can manage to have any sort of informal relationship (I.E. being addressed by name as opposed to "OP") with Mythics, employees, ninjas, etc. If they haven't established themselves enough in the community at this point to be viewed as legitimate non-waste of the memory necessary for the system to remember their existence by the veterans, then their title bar has done it for them.
And, just as it is uncommon to see a high school junior making fun of freshman more so than sophomores do, the legendaries seem to (in my mind) ease up a bit on the name-calling and direct-calling-out-without-caring-about-whether-or-not-they're-banned that most of them seem to inevitably slip back into around year 4-6.
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Finally, the group that, let's be honest, should be two due to the huge difference between people like Halo53 and someone who made their account on June 14th, 2009 and is just now getting that blue bar, the Mythics. This is the generation where you can become semi-famous (a made up adjective of the highest prestige 'round these parts), or at the very least become a name that someone can look at and recall having existed before "just now". This is the generation Ninjas are pulled from. This is the generation people want to be. This is the generation so cool that they made a group about how cool they were and then had other generations make an inferior group so that they too could pretend to be cool whilst waiting on the roster in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to be called up to NYC.
This is also, regrettably, a generation that gets a reputation both simultaneously undeserved to the last complaint thread, and at the same time fully deserved from all those unmistakably present threads in MM about "User X". The word "elitism" is thrown around a lot. Some might argue more than it should. I would agree with "some".
I don't think the Mythics get a good rap considering most of them are just snarky and sarcastic because they're looking for a new way to respond to how they feel about a notification system or custom avis, having already done so fifty times previously. But that's just me.
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As promised, there's a TL;DR combined with a question to keep the conversation going:
[b]TL;DR: What do you think about the different "generations" here on BNet and how they interact with each other?[/b]
[Edited on 06.14.2012 8:20 AM PDT]
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It would be fun for a short while if Bungie's next game had a tournament day or playlist etc pitting these generational groups against each other. [i][b]Kind of a Bungie day for the public masses.[/b][/i] Fun? Yes. Doable? Maybe.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Halo53 [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 whilst waiting on the roster in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to be called up to NYC. [/quote] I'm pretty sure I'm the only non-Yankee fan on this entire website who would get that reference.[/quote]Kickimanjaro might. From what I recall from the Domination Map, he lives in PA. [quote][quote][b]TL;DR: What do you think about the different "generations" here on BNet and how they interact with each other?[/b][/quote] While behavioral patterns rely more on personality and intelligence, to say experience has nothing to do with it would absolutely be false. I'm definitely not the same poster I was when I first joined up. To attempt to use a real life example, because we all know how much users here like to relate the forums to real life with examples that almost never work, would be to think of a puppy. When the doorbell rings, the puppy starts barking, jumping around and gets all excited to see someone's coming over. They go running over and jump all over you and want you to give them attention. Then 10 years later, that same puppy is an old dog that just sits by the window and watches people walk by. Eventually when someone comes into the house, the dog might finally get up from its slumber, walk over and give you a sniff, then head right back to his seat by the window, guarding the house. I used to see threads and go running in, jumping around barking wanting everyone to look at me. Now I walk in, give it a sniff, and head back to my seat by the window. I also use your front lawn as a toilet.[/quote]Makes sense to me. While I'm sure I'm still in the puppy stage, it doesn't necessarily feel like I am, and I think that's how it's supposed to be. Being able to reflect on past experiences metaphorically rather than being presently conscious of your current spot in the metaphorical timeline and evolutionary path of a member. [Edited on 06.17.2012 12:12 PM PDT]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 whilst waiting on the roster in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to be called up to NYC. [/quote] I'm pretty sure I'm the only non-Yankee fan on this entire website who would get that reference. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Skibur I stopped reading at 'yoots'. What on earth is a yoot!?[/quote] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVjbf-dHjW0]You crazy Australians and your non-American movies[/url] [quote][b]TL;DR: What do you think about the different "generations" here on BNet and how they interact with each other?[/b][/quote] While behavioral patterns rely more on personality and intelligence, to say experience has nothing to do with it would absolutely be false. I'm definitely not the same poster I was when I first joined up. To attempt to use a real life example, because we all know how much users here like to relate the forums to real life with examples that almost never work, would be to think of a puppy. When the doorbell rings, the puppy starts barking, jumping around and gets all excited to see someone's coming over. They go running over and jump all over you and want you to give them attention. Then 10 years later, that same puppy is an old dog that just sits by the window and watches people walk by. Eventually when someone comes into the house, the dog might finally get up from its slumber, walk over and give you a sniff, then head right back to his seat by the window, guarding the house. I used to see threads and go running in, jumping around barking wanting everyone to look at me. Now I walk in, give it a sniff, and head back to my seat by the window. I also use your front lawn as a toilet.
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very interesting...
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To be perfectly honest unless I recognise your name you're just a faceless, nameless user to me, with no distinguishing features or unique personality.
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I was going to write something really long, but I keep getting to a stage when I feel it's just turned into a long boring read which most people will already know - then delete it all! GOD I JUST DELETED IT ALL AGAIN. Some members get arrogant and ride off on an ego trip. Some members retreat into private groups. Some members fully realise the ethos of the community. Three groups, in the broadest possible sense, some members stay grounded, some need something more, while others just get a bit carried away with themselves. New members have role models, I know I did, and they do imitate them to try and integrate themselves within the community. But it is funny, how the longer you're here - the more you realise your 'heroes' aren't what you thought they were.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] halomaster10144 Anybody that joined after Reach's release seems to be a retarded -blam!-. Seriously. They call their opposition trolls, they act like -blam!- 9gaggers, and think that spam, quote storms, and -blam!- trolling is funny.[/quote]That's a bit biased, no? On-Topic: I have no choice but to agree with you here OP; I've seen everything you talked about (Except the MM group).
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Seniority is what young/newer members look up too, trust and desire. Some still think or are under the impression that it is just some title or colorful glowing title hat, but it's not. They just need a little guidance. Seniority is compiled from other smaller attributes such as, commitment(time and support), positive input and trust running both ways. Regardless, at the end of the day it is all a matter of different opinions. Nuff said.
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But I lurked for ages then joined during the dark ages. But hey I stayed in the universe for ages before going to others.
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Btw. I didn't read all the OP so no criticising. I am at a friend's house right now. OT: I think the level of interaction depends on the maturity of the older members and the newer members. I have been on bungie.net for a few years now and through critical analysis I have realised that newer members must fit a certain criteria, they must adapt to the environment of this website. Regardless of age. Very few immature members survive. For a new member to seamlessly blend in with the community, he/she must maintain a clear level of maturity and friendliness with other members. The newbie should treat other members like fellow employees in a way.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Achilles1108 I seem to remember the same exact thing happening back in the H2 days in the Zanzibar forum. Just was a smaller user base back then. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] halomaster10144 Anybody that joined after Reach's release seems to be a retarded -blam!-. Seriously. They call their opposition trolls, they act like -blam!- 9gaggers, and think that spam, quote storms, and -blam!- trolling is funny.[/quote][/quote] So ur sayin ther usd to b less rtards here?
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I seem to remember the same exact thing happening back in the H2 days in the Zanzibar forum. Just was a smaller user base back then. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] halomaster10144 Anybody that joined after Reach's release seems to be a retarded -blam!-. Seriously. They call their opposition trolls, they act like -blam!- 9gaggers, and think that spam, quote storms, and -blam!- trolling is funny.[/quote]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Tom T I don't think it is that you stop caring, you just learn when it is worth bothering.[/quote]
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I wonder what category I fall into...
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Tom T [/quote]Heading out to dinner with family. I'll make a response when I come back. Space: Reserved. e: Okay, back. While I understand what you mean about my, perhaps slightly off-target linking of reputation and recognition to account age, that still obviously factors in to it. There are very few people who, with a fairly regular posting consistency (10-20 ppd, give or take), from what I've seen who can establish any sort of identity within the community as a whole, or even in a specific forum. Don't get me wrong, I know that not every member above 4 years is going to be widely renowned throughout the site (exemplified by all the people who ask if GP is a new mod almost every time he posts in the Septagon). I'm just saying that account age (along with other factors such as likability as a person, post frequency, whether or not you were a ninja, whether or not you are a ninja, etc.) is one thing that can, over time, increase the rate at which your recognized at various parts of the site (or the site overall). Obviously it's easier to become well recognized as a person and not a member outside of larger populations like The Flood and even the Reach Forum at its height, but that doesn't mean that account age and what generation you were "born" into can't also affect (greatly in some cases) your popularity on the site. Other than the fact that they like to advertise how awesome they are on a regular basis, '04 mythics are mainly more popular on the Community Forum because they've been around more. They've had more time to establish themsleves so that they aren't just an avatar who says things or a nameless face in a crowd of thousands. [Edited on 06.16.2012 5:47 PM PDT]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] chubbz I said that because to me, it seemed like you used the examples you did out of personal experience with Mythics and not based on actual history. Understandably so, since you're not Mythic and not in the group. I'm sure you were aware of that apparent bias, but it doesn't help a conversation of 'what do you think of generational gaps' when your view of the oldest group may subtly influence others views as well. Believe it or not, MM doesn't care that much about User X, or any other infamous members. We spend more time hating on each other than we do everyone else. Most people will come to find that their preconceptions about us were false once they reach that milestone.[/quote]I get what you're saying. To be honest, all things considered, I probably should've waited a few years to make a thread like this considering the retrospectivity the idea itself invokes, but for whatever reason yesterday I was possessed to discuss generational gaps and how they affect a community. Again, I do understand what you're saying about this and I probably shouldn't have made this thread with nothing more than a two year old account and doubly the amount of site experience. Oh well. It's here.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 But that's quite a statement to make.[/quote] No, it's really not. Back before Reach was released, the Halo forums and Flood were a lot more original and interesting. They were sarcastic, but they weren't smartass' and jerks. I understand that not all post-Reach members are bad, but there sure are a lot (if not a majority).
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This, pretty much. And it makes me feel old. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ODSTFADE I think the oldies are the wise and the more greater community members and they act as maturely as possible. While the younger generation tend to have more of a "questional" way of thinking. They don't get along as well as they should in my opinion.[/quote]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 That's just how it goes, I suppose. You help guide until the newbies lack of adjustment becomes too much or until you've guided one too many, then you just stop caring and there'll be two or three more to take your place.[/quote]I used to be relatively verbose, now there is little that will ellicit more than a few lines from me and Foman would write a wall of text on his supper if you gave him the chance back in '06. I don't think it is that you stop caring, you just learn when it is worth bothering. I skimmed through the OP and disagree with how you have tried to link reputation, even recognition, with stereotypes or title bars. What you are right about is that time will always factor into any community, however the extent of that time is not as long as you suggest, nor is it strictly tied to generations of users. In the circles with which you associate you gradually become perceived not as a member, but as a person. Here the longer you have been around and the more you put into the community, the more you are given (whether positive or negative) in return. I'll touch upon this idea of 'member' vs. 'person' very briefly to explain what I mean. A member is a person branded based not on their contributions but upon a stereotype assigned to their group. For example, 'anybody that joined after Reach's release seems to be a retarded -blam!-'. A 'person' has an identity associated with their username; they become more than text. Now I need explain the other crucial element: 'the circle with which they associate'. It is always very difficult for newcomers to earn a place within any established circle. Voicing your opinion amongst so many others, who often hold similar views to yourself, is a virtually futile way of transcending beyond a stereotype and becoming a person, not a poster. Also, much like life, people always prefer to converse with those they know. It is not however impossible to break in to a circle. The easiest way to do it is through [relatively small] private groups, or a quiet public forums (like the community forum). This is the real life equivilent of regularly visiting a local pub or joining a club. There newbies are less frequent and are more a source of curiosity than frustration. Crucially, the hypothetical newbie is not competing with so many other unknowns. They then begin to be recognised and are, gradually, seen as a person (with a reptatation that evolves based upon contributions). Unless a person has an extreme characteristic (e.g. very annoying, very stupid, very witty) this is the best avenue through which they might form an identity and make friends. This isn't school, where people are only friends with people in their year, it is that local club where teens are friends with people 20 years their senior. It takes time, but please do not think your 'generation' matters.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] chubbz [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 [quote][/quote] Finally, the group that, let's be honest, should be two due to the huge difference between people like Halo53 and someone who made their account on June 14th, 2009 and is just now getting that blue bar, the Mythics. This is the generation where you can become semi-famous (a made up adjective of the highest prestige 'round these parts), or at the very least become a name that someone can look at and recall having existed before "just now". This is the generation Ninjas are pulled from. This is the generation people want to be. This is the generation so cool that they made a group about how cool they were and then had other generations make an inferior group so that they too could pretend to be cool whilst waiting on the roster in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to be called up to NYC. This is also, regrettably, a generation that gets a reputation both simultaneously undeserved to the last complaint thread, and at the same time fully deserved from all those unmistakably present threads in MM about "User X". The word "elitism" is thrown around a lot. Some might argue more than it should. I would agree with "some". I don't think the Mythics get a good rap considering most of them are just snarky and sarcastic because they're looking for a new way to respond to how they feel about a notification system or custom avis, having already done so fifty times previously. But that's just me. [/quote] Wow, that's an awful lot of assumptions about a user group/private group you know next-to-nothing about. You seem upset. [/quote]Upset? No. Quite the opposite. I have a lot -- well, a reasonable amount -- of respect for Mythics. They've all been here and managed to have some sort of reason for coming back along with still finding some level of enjoyment in the site, and for that I commend them. As for the assumptions I've made, I don't see how I can have done anything else. How is it possible to make a not-so-retrospective and yet still presently relevant thread about different generations on BNet without either cutting the threads length in half owing to the fact that I have not and am not apart of 50% of the generations/user groups on the site, which would then have amounted to a less than mediocre blog thread about my experiences when I was a member and over the past few days as a Hero, or instead doing what I did and making educated guesses about user groups and private groups that I have not been, am not now, or may never be in? Also, in other posts I've made in this thread, (namely in response to, I believe it was drummer and Nerd Boi but I could be wrong) I thought anyway, that I'd made it fairly clear that I had used the "threads about User X" Example mainly as hyperbole, again because I don't know about those groups from any sort of direct experience so I needed to take from what I knew about it (and the boobs thread didn't seem applicable to this thread). As for my comments about snarkiness and sarcasm from them, that's not being cited as a bad thing. Hell, I'm snarky and sarcastic sometimes. But the excessive use of snark and sarcasm is, from what I've gathered from posts from site veterans in the past (citations not available due to the authors handles being unknown), due to having talked about almost every topic imaginable upwards of dozens upon dozens of times and needing a new way to express themselves in a way that both entertains themselves and their fellow veterans. I'm sorry if any assumptions I've made have cast you or any other Mythix in a bad light. I only meant to observe what I could.[/quote] I said that because to me, it seemed like you used the examples you did out of personal experience with Mythics and not based on actual history. Understandably so, since you're not Mythic and not in the group. I'm sure you were aware of that apparent bias, but it doesn't help a conversation of 'what do you think of generational gaps' when your view of the oldest group may subtly influence others views as well. Believe it or not, MM doesn't care that much about User X, or any other infamous members. We spend more time hating on each other than we do everyone else. Most people will come to find that their preconceptions about us were false once they reach that milestone.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] halomaster10144 Anybody that joined after Reach's release seems to be a retarded -blam!-. Seriously. They call their opposition trolls, they act like -blam!- 9gaggers, and think that spam, quote storms, and -blam!- trolling is funny.[/quote]I'm all for generalizations in lieu of naming every kind of person there is within a group, but there's generalizing and then there's hyperbole. I know it's just your opinion but I don't see how you can make that kind of generalization about a group that big. There's always the wannabe trolls in the flood and the inexperienced forum goers in the Reach Forum who speak in shorthand and act immaturely.... But that's quite a statement to make.
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Anybody that joined after Reach's release seems to be a retarded -blam!-. Seriously. They call their opposition trolls, they act like -blam!- 9gaggers, and think that spam, quote storms, and -blam!- trolling is funny.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] chubbz [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 [quote][/quote] Finally, the group that, let's be honest, should be two due to the huge difference between people like Halo53 and someone who made their account on June 14th, 2009 and is just now getting that blue bar, the Mythics. This is the generation where you can become semi-famous (a made up adjective of the highest prestige 'round these parts), or at the very least become a name that someone can look at and recall having existed before "just now". This is the generation Ninjas are pulled from. This is the generation people want to be. This is the generation so cool that they made a group about how cool they were and then had other generations make an inferior group so that they too could pretend to be cool whilst waiting on the roster in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to be called up to NYC. This is also, regrettably, a generation that gets a reputation both simultaneously undeserved to the last complaint thread, and at the same time fully deserved from all those unmistakably present threads in MM about "User X". The word "elitism" is thrown around a lot. Some might argue more than it should. I would agree with "some". I don't think the Mythics get a good rap considering most of them are just snarky and sarcastic because they're looking for a new way to respond to how they feel about a notification system or custom avis, having already done so fifty times previously. But that's just me. [/quote] Wow, that's an awful lot of assumptions about a user group/private group you know next-to-nothing about. You seem upset. [/quote]Upset? No. Quite the opposite. I have a lot -- well, a reasonable amount -- of respect for Mythics. They've all been here and managed to have some sort of reason for coming back along with still finding some level of enjoyment in the site, and for that I commend them. As for the assumptions I've made, I don't see how I can have done anything else. How is it possible to make a not-so-retrospective and yet still presently relevant thread about different generations on BNet without either cutting the threads length in half owing to the fact that I have not and am not apart of 50% of the generations/user groups on the site, which would then have amounted to a less than mediocre blog thread about my experiences when I was a member and over the past few days as a Hero, or instead doing what I did and making educated guesses about user groups and private groups that I have not been, am not now, or may never be in? Also, in other posts I've made in this thread, (namely in response to, I believe it was drummer and Nerd Boi but I could be wrong) I thought anyway, that I'd made it fairly clear that I had used the "threads about User X" Example mainly as hyperbole, again because I don't know about those groups from any sort of direct experience so I needed to take from what I knew about it (and the boobs thread didn't seem applicable to this thread). As for my comments about snarkiness and sarcasm from them, that's not being cited as a bad thing. Hell, I'm snarky and sarcastic sometimes. But the excessive use of snark and sarcasm is, from what I've gathered from posts from site veterans in the past (citations not available due to the authors handles being unknown), due to having talked about almost every topic imaginable upwards of dozens upon dozens of times and needing a new way to express themselves in a way that both entertains themselves and their fellow veterans. I'm sorry if any assumptions I've made have cast you or any other Mythix in a bad light. I only meant to observe what I could.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CrazzySnipe55 [quote][/quote] Finally, the group that, let's be honest, should be two due to the huge difference between people like Halo53 and someone who made their account on June 14th, 2009 and is just now getting that blue bar, the Mythics. This is the generation where you can become semi-famous (a made up adjective of the highest prestige 'round these parts), or at the very least become a name that someone can look at and recall having existed before "just now". This is the generation Ninjas are pulled from. This is the generation people want to be. This is the generation so cool that they made a group about how cool they were and then had other generations make an inferior group so that they too could pretend to be cool whilst waiting on the roster in Scranton-Wilkes Barre to be called up to NYC. This is also, regrettably, a generation that gets a reputation both simultaneously undeserved to the last complaint thread, and at the same time fully deserved from all those unmistakably present threads in MM about "User X". The word "elitism" is thrown around a lot. Some might argue more than it should. I would agree with "some". I don't think the Mythics get a good rap considering most of them are just snarky and sarcastic because they're looking for a new way to respond to how they feel about a notification system or custom avis, having already done so fifty times previously. But that's just me. [/quote] Wow, that's an awful lot of assumptions about a user group/private group you know next-to-nothing about. You seem upset. [Edited on 06.16.2012 9:06 AM PDT]
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To put it all into the simplest terms possible: Regardless of the generation, each one thinks that [i]they[/i] themselves are right, the [i]other[/i] is wrong, and they will go many lengths to justify that. Edit: ...However true or real, or, lacking of, ground that justification holds, they will still hold their ground on the point they are defending. (Or attacking for that matter.) [Edited on 06.16.2012 8:37 AM PDT]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] CoRaMo Ever since I started working as a camp counselor during the summers,[/quote] A fellow counselor? Woot! [quote]I have grown quite attached to guiding others to a better level of understanding in whatever matter that is at hand. I hope to relish this same enthusiasm for new members online, but I also fear I might instead become jaded and tired of the constant barrage of unlearned members. Seriously, I don't know how I'll be able to function on these forums if our intelligent conversations are buried within a couple of minutes.[/quote] While it would be impossible to individually guide every new member that comes on b.net, I think that there is something to be said for "leading by example." Sure, you might not have the immediate feedback, but if people see the members with the fancy hats talking like adults, they'll probably want to imitate them. Remember, you don't always see how people react to your post, but I know that the way certain members act has had a large effect on how I form myself as an individual on these forums. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] HeyBlade789 Admittedly, i always get annoyed when there is a new influx of members on the forum, they are here for the game that's just come out, as opposed to the community, they stay in their forums and seem particularly self righteous, what i do like however, is when these members do stick around and begin assimilating into the community, it makes it all worthwhile![/quote] While I can understand the temptation to want to view a new influx of members as, in effect, an invasion of little barbarians who must be civilized before it is too late, I think a better role for older members would be to make b.net welcoming. Too often I see people asking honest questions getting railed with condescending and sardonic answers. Sometimes they'll bring up a subject which, while being new for them, is immediately dismissed as old. Sure, one might argue that such is the way of every forum on the internet, but if being an "old member" really counts for anything, it'll have to be better than the norm.