Originally Posted By FerretAfros It's pretty quiet these days, but I still like it here. I agree that FB has taken a big chunk out of all of the discussion boards out there. I really like that messages on boards are searchable, and easy to go back and keep things semi-organized; with FB groups, it seems like the same questions come up every day because the posts quickly disappear into the ether Although the discussion may be minimal these days, it seems like LP has a good balance. It's not purely positive, but it's also not overly negative. It's also one of the few places where there's discussion of the corporate side of things, and lots of connections between the various divisions of the company; other sites seem to be dedicated to one aspect but overlook the others >>I wish there was still Autoposts with Disney updates. I think those were helpful in getting conversations started.<< I agree. LP still does a great job of generating new content on the homepage (I think they may be doing more now than at any time in their history, actually), but the format doesn't lead people to the discussion boards very easily
Originally Posted By u k fan I still come to the boards regularly, but rarely post now as I don't feel I have much to contribute at the moment. I'm off to DL in two weeks for my first ever trip and I sadly feel right now that if I asked questions I probably wouldn't get much of a response. Up until very recently I considered LP my internet home - now I'm not so sure. I write a weekly column for a Muppet fansite so a lot of my online time is dedicated to that and I'm starting to feel that that community is taking over where LP left off. I've made some great friends here, both real and virtual, and I'll always treasure that. I also signed up in 2000 and it makes me kind of sad to see the boards so quiet. This was an amazing place to be...
Originally Posted By Kidz-n-k9s >>I wish there was still Autoposts with Disney updates. I think those were helpful in getting conversations started.<< Yes! This is definitely something that is missed. I joined the first time in 2005, and came back for good in 2009. I still check posts a few times a week as this is one of the few message boards that I have joined that remains active. I am not a frequent posters, but I like that I can get real information here. As others have already noted, I do like that we aren't all bashing or all drinking the Kool-Aid. I am also on FB, but they I can't search groups on my phone and easily find that discussions get lost.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Although the discussion may be minimal these days, it seems like LP has a good balance. It's not purely positive, but it's also not overly negative.<< I agree. When LP was at its message board peak, there was a wide spectrum of opinions on any given topic. Many times I would read opinions that made me re-think my own opinions. And it is fun to hash out a topic with a lot of people who have the same level of interest in a subject like the parks.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan By the way, I hear a rumor the Message Board Peak might be a future addition to DCA...
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Message Board Peak might be a future addition to DCA...<< Yeah but turns out it's just a line you wait in for three hours to hear two people yell "Pollyana" and "Liceratter!" at each other.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Many times I would read opinions that made me re-think my own opinions.<< Me too. Golden Ages of anything are almost never as golden as we remember. There was never an LP utopia--it was always pretty opinionated and occasionally contentious. It's a microcosm of the Internet: people with shared interests can come together and there will be strong opinions because it's your passion for the topic that put you all in the same cyberspace in the first place. The real thing social media platforms like FB have done is allow us to even further cultivate our information. You don't just have to be a part of a Disneyland group, you can be a part of a very narrow DL group specifically tailored to your interests and opinions. Believe DL is going to h-e-double-hockey sticks and a hand basket? There's a group for that. Believe Walt is basically deity incarnate? There's a group for that. Someone in this group said something you don't like? That's easily remedied by leaving and joining another group or simply blocking that person. LP had and continues to have diverse opinions about Disneyland. It's a good thing, but yeah, it requires we all behave and get along. Websites are more fragile than most people realize. In a place with hundreds of users, all it takes is one or two to destroy a community, esp. if it's an open environment where comments aren't pre-approved. It's tough.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>There was never an LP utopia--it was always pretty opinionated and occasionally contentious.<< Yep there were plenty of heated exchanges around the topic of DCA the first couple of years. As more LPers met in real life, friendships bloomed but sometimes so did division. Some people felt left out at times. That said, one of my fondest memories is of the big annual LP meet I wasn't able to attend. Instead, a photo of my head was put on a stick, and I could check into LP over those several days and see my head-on-a-stick self with the voices of Mickey and Minnie, with lots of LPers I hadn't met in person, being fed churros, and more. It was really funny. The big 50th meet, I think, was when LP message boards were at the all time high. A big dinner and the Doobie Awards show, with Bill Farmer, Dickie Jones, Terri Harden, Margaret Kerry, too, what a night that was. A real extravaganza. I know that it takes an awful lot of time to moderate the boards, round the clock, and that has to take a toll.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 >>Message Board Peak might be a future addition to DCA...<< <Yeah but turns out it's just a line you wait in for three hours to hear two people yell "Pollyana" and "Liceratter!" at each other.> OR... a replica of Cascade Peak, only with twin waterfalls that whisper "chuuuuuuuuros..." and "popcoooooooorn..."
Originally Posted By mawnck Happened to check in to see this topic, and I 'spect I'm relevant to this discussion in that I'm one of the ones that got bored and more-or-less wandered off. Bottom line for me was relevance. Not Facebook, not social media. I'm animation first, music distant second, and theme park well-OK-if-you-must. What I always REALLY liked about LP in its early days (at least early for me) was that we had several insiders who knew what was up and weren't shy about telling us. You didn't get that at the other sites so much. LP was for the THINKING Disney fan. Not the bashers, and not the ones who wanted to discuss your favorite dwarf. It was interesting hearing about the parks, but when I started getting totally sick of DL just as the AP prices were skyrocketing out of my reach, that took care of that. I enjoyed chewing the fat about politics, but when WE became a massive unmoderated troll-and-troll-feeders clusterboink, that turned into a worthless waste of time and energy. And that left chatting about the movies, which, let's face it, the "fan community" as a whole just doesn't seem all that interested in, which has never ceased to baffle me. Why would you want to spend all this time, money and effort on merchandise and theme parks that are based on and centered around stuff you DON'T CARE ABOUT? I'm ranting. I'll stop. Anyway, all of you who indulged my pontificating in DAF, thank you. Getting back to the story ... as my finances worsened and using my time efficiently became more important, LP was one of the obvious things to go. (No offense intended to my friends on here. I still love you guys.) I mainly check in now when something interesting in animation has happened and I just gotta tell somebody. (In fact, keep an eye on the Animation section in the next several minutes.) But anyway, yeah. As I was waiting (and waiting ... and waiting) for the message board to load, and seeing that the LiceRat dunderheads are still being allowed the run of the place (seriously, guys, JUST SHUT UP!), I was thinking to myself "man this board is so dead", when I spotted this topic perched atop it. What's the point of this post? I dunno. Just trying to explain things to the ether, I guess. I may have a move to a rural part of the East Coast in the very near future, which will sever my remaining ties to Disneyland, such as they are, and also scuttle any chance of the Mawnckscars coming back in any meaningful way. But I enjoyed LP while it lasted. Old message boards never die, they just -SQUIRREL!
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan LOL, I always enjoy your posts mawnck. >>And that left chatting about the movies, which, let's face it, the "fan community" as a whole just doesn't seem all that interested in, which has never ceased to baffle me. Why would you want to spend all this time, money and effort on merchandise and theme parks that are based on and centered around stuff you DON'T CARE ABOUT?<< Especially now, since all new attractions pretty much are based on film franchises. playing devil's advocate, some of the best Disney theme park attractions work even if you haven't seen the source material (i.e. Mr. Toad). I always wondered if someone who hadn't seen Monsters Inc. would be able to make sense of the Monsters Inc ride at DCA?
Originally Posted By ecdc >>LOL, I always enjoy your posts mawnck.<< Ditto. Rural east coast...I love the east coast and wish I could live there myself. But I don't know if I like the sound of "rural east coast," which sounds suspiciously like "the South"
Originally Posted By mawnck (Repost of one that didn't go through. No doubt it'll be there after I hit "post" on this one.) >>sounds suspiciously like "the South"<< Well I's original fum Nawth Cur'lina, so yore suspicions may just have a little bitta truth to 'em. But it's a dream job, well-worth the culture (re-) shock if I get it. … Since Disney apparently didn't want me. (Pbbbbbbbt.)
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>>Well I's original fum Nawth Cur'lina, so yore suspicions may just have a little bitta truth to 'em. But it's a dream job, well-worth the culture (re-) shock if I get it.<<<< And those of us'ens what live in Nawth Cur'lina ain't really got da culture to keep up with ya'lls Calyfornia sofisticashun. ;-)
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ^^I'm in a not-so-rural but rural-adjacent part of the East Coast, and quite like it here (in fact, I never quite got used to life on the West Coast). It's not so bad out here! I'll even be driving through NC this weekend, so there are worse places to be. Of course, you'll never get to see some limited release films, but it seems like most of them aren't especially great anyway (though the good ones are *really* good) >>I always wondered if someone who hadn't seen Monsters Inc. would be able to make sense of the Monsters Inc ride at DCA?<< The first time I rode it I was with my dad, who had never seen the movie. I thought the ride was enjoyable enough (though not perfect); he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Having not even been familiar with the energy-from-screams concept, the whole thing was lost on him. I think he would have appreciated Superstar Limo much more
Originally Posted By mawnck Law, don't I knows it. How do y'all survive without In-n-Out Burgers? Where-at you from, Goofyern? I high schooled in Burlington, went to Western Carolina University, worked in Wilmington for a while, spent a summer as a singing waiter in Blowing Rock, and the folks now live in Concord. So that's me all over. New digs will be in Virginia, if all goes well.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ^^I grew up in Winston-Salem, which seemed to be a good jumping-off point to see everything the state has to offer. Although Californians love to tout the variety of landscapes and cultures of their state (as seen by an infamous theme park), I think NC rivals all that, but in a much smaller geographic area I'm in Virginia now (DC suburbs), so it would be great to have a 'neighbor' around here!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros And In-N-Out never overly impressed me. It was good for fast food, but it was still just fast food. Californians seem to think it's god's great gift to the earth, but I rarely went out my way for it. And in a seemingly cruel twist irony, it seems like they're all ridiculously difficult to get in and out of You may be surprised to see just how fasta fast food place can actually be. After years of the laid-back Californian attitude, it took some adjusting for me to get used to things actually being done in a timely manner
Originally Posted By ecdc North Carolina is such a beautiful state. I need to go back and visit--it's been about 25 years. >>But it's a dream job, well-worth the culture (re-) shock if I get it.<< Good luck! Keep us posted...if LP isn't dead by then
