does anybody else still miss the old AB?

Ohhhh...I wouldn't say there wasn't much anger and immaturity, Mrs. Cleaver!

I remember how viscious the anonymous trolling used to be, for example.

I remember some of the HUGE drama scenes...like the DreAnna fiasco. Or the one who faked his "wifes" death for the drama scene it caused.

And the Jodie44 scene was HORRIBLE. Someone told me there was an even worse one involving a member called Carmilla before I came along.

Yeah, there were some tight knit groups then. But in truth, many of the ones that were here when I first joined were gone or very scarce by the time the most recent format change came about in December of 2009.

And, in all honesty, the big bruhaha from most of the people who made a big stink after the format change was totally uncalled for.

I do miss a lot of the people who used to be here...but I think many have simply moved on because other things in their lives became more important. I'm grateful for those who put in an appearance once in a while, though. It's always good to hear from them!

:):)

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by The Chief on November 30th, 2011

I guess we saw it from a different perspective then Chief.

I did say there were spats and problems .. but it wasn't so wide spread IMO. That's all I'm saying.

The mass exodus was bound to happen when things were changed so drastically, so quickly. People don't like change .. even if the changes turned out to be for the better.

There were fiascos .. but it wasn't constant.

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by Over and Out on November 30th, 2011

:):)

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by The Chief on November 30th, 2011

There were plenty of arguments back then. The past has an interesting way of looking better at times in the form of memories. In truth, the old Answerbag is like an old lover who has left you with nothing but memories. Once you start using and becoming familiar with the new, you see the flaws of it more clearly, because you are using it, and forget many of the flaws of the old one. If AB changed back to how it used to be, those old flaws from the old Answerbag would be a lot more apparent and the ones we have now would look like no big deal. It's just the way it is. That's how life seems to work, too.

“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” -- Marcel Pagnol

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by A on November 30th, 2011

I agree that happens AG .. but I found it much friendlier and more welcoming ... just my opinion.

I have looked back at so many threads where lots of people would join in on long conversations .. just more of a feeling of community.

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by Over and Out on November 30th, 2011

There do seem to be a lot more answers and comments on several older questions, but to be fair, there may also be a lot more questions now than there were then.

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by A on November 30th, 2011

The mix of questions and answers is about the same, in all honesty. Some serious, some funny, some stupid, some heated.

To be sure, this site has always had it's share of troublemakers...and under the previous format is no exception. Anonymous trolls littered the AB landscape like pimples on a teenager, political bickering was every bit as heated as it is now, the incessant postings between Theists and Atheists were just as rife with their bile as now...

In all, I think the current format is better for a variety of reasons. Too bad so many other people decided not to give it much of a chance.

Oh well...their loss!

:):)

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by The Chief on November 30th, 2011

Thanks, Chief!

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by WABOO on November 30th, 2011

You're welcome!

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by The Chief on November 30th, 2011

@waboo: Before the change, I actually felt emotionally detached from most users on here and their situations. I didn't care much for their names. To me, this was a Q&A website and I cared about their questions and answers more than about who they were personally. It was not a family feeling I felt at all.

The new AB feels more personal to me. There seems to be a lot less (if any) of those stupid AB clubs that people added to their user names, I'm assuming to "banned against trolls". I was never part of any of them because I didn't want to be. They seemed silly and immature, always having each other's back no matter what, and being blinded by loyalty. Their motivation seemed so juvenile... like they only bonded together over "common enemies" (what they called 'trolls').

If I recall correctly, they would go and "point fairy" people up like they were using this site for some noble cause that mattered more to them than less trivial issues for no other reason than to build up the egos of certain people they have probably never even met face-to-face who allowed down rates get to them far too much when they could have just ignored them and/or turned their ratings off.

What they might not realize is that maybe they had so many "trolls" because they cared too much for too long over Answerbag down rates and made it completely obvious to people who like picking on people who show vulnerability. It's like their whole self-worth crumbled over some down rate, or two down rates, or three, or more.

What intrigues me the most is that some people who speak so well of the old Answerbag are also some of the very same who complained about things on the old one while it was here.

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by A on November 30th, 2011

Oh, yes. I also saw that one about "fraternal"groups against the trolls, and was kind of wary about them then...

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by WABOO on November 30th, 2011

Yeah. Pretty strange way to nurture a "friendship", isn't it? It's like they viewed Answerbag as a war zone or something.

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by A on December 1st, 2011