The OFFICIAL Avali Nexus #2

Then blame the zoom level!
It looks polished quite a lot!
If you want me to tell you it sucks then I guess I'll try?
It sucks?

 

I think I'm going to need a longer than usual break because I feel a lot more hopeless about this thread and my ability to keep with it than usual.

Also as a fun little game, we could try counting how many people have mysteriously disappeared from the nexus thread and it's previous incarnations, I'll start by adding Billy Mays to the list.

 

Welp, I am off for the night.
Good night, people.
I hope this event doesn't have a negative impact on the thread. I like it here.

 

a fine mess we have here, though I guess it was inevitable with as fast as the thread moved that worthwhile content and discussion would dry up and give way to nonsense

 

Well? Anyone got ideas on who else to add? I think we could go ahead and add Raieth too.

 

I'm afraid I honestly haven't kept track of everyone who comes and goes I think checking the server conversation against the list of people in this thread would be a good place to start though

 

I disagree that this thread has problems due to an "in-group" and an "out-group". We've got a few newbies in here, but we assimilate them far faster than they show up. For instance, AEykzel is actually pretty recent to the thread, but already is treated as a regular.

I think the problems this thread actually has are due to an over-reliance on others combined with a lack of consideration for what others are trying to get out of the thread. This, unfortunately, has been most obvious with some of those who come to the thread looking for emotional support without neccessarilly realizing that not everyone in the thread wants to take on the emotionally draining task of trying to cheer someone up. But it can also be expressed as a desire to "get the thread back on topic" (wants more science and mod posts without considering people looking for support or who just want to joke) or trying to start up shenanigans in the middle of a serious conversation (wants more jokes without considering those who need a loving ear).

This isn't to say that if you need one of these, you shouldn't ask. Feeling down? Ask for a hug! Need some science? Ask a question! Want a joke? Start a shenanigan! But where it turns bad and rotten is when people start to expect others to prioritize a certain action. You cannot rely on others to make you happy. This might sound hyper-individualistic and cynical, but it's not. People in this very thread have proven that, when the cards are down, people are willing to sacrifice their time, their energy, their talents, and their money to try to help out someone who is having a bad day, or to answer a question, or to share a funny comic. But some of us have grown to expect this reaction, and that only sets yourself up for disappointment. Sympathy is precious because it's not always given. Knowledge is valuable because it's hard to find. Jokes are funny because so much is serious.

If you make your enjoyment of anything dependent on other people's actions, you're being a fool. And that's what I'd like the final message of this post to be. There is absolutely nothing wrong with looking for sympathy here, and it's actually a brilliant idea. But don't expect or demand it from others if they decide to joke around instead. There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking questions or discussing science here. But never try to make it the exclusive focus of the thread. It's brilliant to be able to joke around and have friendly, silly roleplaying conversations here. But don't ignore people who really just need a serious moment of care.

Be considerate when someone asks for sympathy, or ponders on a science question, or makes a joke. They're just trying to get something out of the thread too, and just because it's not what you would like to see more of doesn't mean that they don't care about what you have to say.

TLDR: Consider what others want to get out of this thread and don't try to make it exclusively about what you'd like it to be.

 

This needed to be said, and you couldn't have said it any better.

 

call me cynical, but it's not entirely accurate to say that we assimilate newbies at almost instantly, AEykzel has been very active and I can only guess that he(she? I actually don't know owo) just got along with the "in-crowd" of regulars better than most, which is always good for facilitating rapid assimilation into a community, I'm not sure he's the best example

 

...Now I feel that this thread actually genuinely needs adult supervision.

 

Granted. But if you list the newbies next to the regulars, you'll see that we outnumber them by a significant margin. We've got maybe three right now, who have posted recently. And if they're not posting then there's no way they could be the source of the disagreement, so we can ignore that factor. It just doesn't seem likely to me that such a small handful of people could be causing so much strife - and keep in mind that plenty of the disagreement is occurring within the "in-group" as it were.

That and I don't like dividing people into "in-groups" and "out-groups."

And yes actually, I would probably call you a little cynical. Of course, I'm always a bit of a saddened optimist myself, which is probably why it stands out to me. Nothing wrong with it, it's just a different way of looking at things - and I've always respected you for being willing to speak your mind even when you don't think the rest of us will agree.

I find it funny that it's the serious discussions that need adult supervision, and not our wild shenanigans.

Maybe we're doing serious discussions wrong.

 

Aahhhhh... *Cracks knuckles*
Do I really need to start my job early?

Before we even have the official forums?

 

it's also possible that I'm just really bitter because I have never been part of an "in-crowd"

 

The problem I see with this thread is not the conflict that occurs constantly.

Speech begin


Conflict is not a bad thing in the least, conflict is what brings people together into recognizable groups, lets major issues be properly addressed and then solved, gives people a reason to wake up in the morning and do their part. The problem with humanity as a whole is not that it's always fighting, it's that it's always doing it for the wrong reasons. We fight wars over political systems, religious policies, fear of those who are different, and sometimes just to further our own greed.

A good relationship between two parties is not one free of adversity, but one filled with constructive conflict. Constructive conflict is targeting and helping to resolve the weaknesses of the other side, not merely trying to destroy the other side as a whole. The right amount of friction between two sides scrapes away the weakness of both and bolsters their strengths, to the end that the process of the two colliding makes both of them better for it. Take a good long look at an old couple some time, and if you look really closely, you will see that the secret to their longevity as said couple is not love or money or compatibility, but the fact that they know how to solve their problems and resolve conflicts in a manner that benefits both sides.

I find it to be a miracle that this truth has not yet been discovered and brought to light, one can only assume if it was, it was probably lost to us in time. We live in a day and age where intense metering of conflict has caused complacency, stagnation, weaknesses to form. The birthplace of the internet is now one of the worst places in the world to use it, simply because there is no conflict over who distributes access to it, you only have greedy self contained giants, who stand still or slowly walk against the direction of progress because they don't fight one another, they have become complacent to merely find ways to fatten up their wallets faster and faster, like a fat kid in a cake factory.

Imagine the amount of good humanity could do to itself and to the world if we fought solely for the betterment of the opposition, if we were to simply seek to understand the enemy before we fought them we could invent a much more Socratic and dignified form of warfare that does one thing that today almost seems impossible, pleases everyone. We could fuel the engine of progress without bloodshed, without violence, without fear and savagery. We could eventually reach the point where our reality becomes as utopian as the worlds in the most whimsical of fables.

I can only see one reason why such a world does not already exist, because one thing humanity seems united against in conflict with is change itself. We have grown to be a complacent, lazy people who only want to get by on the minimum amount that satisfies us. It is for this reason and for this reason alone that the world today is in such a forlorn state, because we resist our own betterment for the sake of being comfortable. Well I'll tell you, you are doing yourself no favors by doing it. Too many problems result today from new ideas and systems colliding with old ones being held in place by the stubborn, the ignorant, the cowardly, and even those who are merely lazy.

If you want a better world for yourself and those around you, if you want to live in a place where you and everyone you know is truly happy, then you have to work for it! You cannot sit down and wait for someone else to do the good to the world for you. You need to be that person who makes change happen, you need to be the one who gets up off their armchair and does something about the problems in your face, tell the world "I'm tired of waiting for change, it's my turn to make it myself!" Tell the world you are going to do something about the way things are, tell them things do not change on their own, and watch those chairs empty. For in being one of the incredibly brave people to start this movement on your own, you have proven yourself to be a leader, and all those chairs you have emptied were once occupied by your new found following. All I ask of you after that is to either lead your following to a noble cause, or find a noble cause that calls to you and follow it, and together all these active people moving in the same direction will completely reinvent the world as we know it.

Speech end

Had to get that off my chest, glad I did, that felt REALLY good to do.
I hope this inspires at least someone, else I completely wasted my time. BE INSPIRED!

 

I feel that I, in some significant way contributed to the 'shenanigans' that led up to this whole

I think this is beautifully said, and is also very true... I personally want to apologize to you, Shadow, and everyone else for my contribution to the shenanigans that seem to have set this off, even if it was inevitable. I know I just joined this thread... no, this community - and In my enthusiasm to join the discussion I feel that I 'fanned the fire' in a sense. I think I made a bad impression, and I want to focus my future effort to the stability, and pleasantness of this community because, from what I've seen... despite it almost going to all out war here... you seem to be really good people! I know you all have formed opinions about me in the very short time I have been here, and I know I am not an especially large part of the problems here, being that I am so new. All I would like to do is help make this flourish.

 

don't beat yourself up over it, like I said earlier, my remark was the straw that broke the camel's back, even if this had been a long time coming, and I suppose it's a good thing that your name never came to mind when I was complaining about shitty RP shenanigans

 

Heh... I suppose you're right surge... I just feel that we should take this and turn it into something empowering. Use it as inspiration to move forward. Heck, all I came here for originally was to find a server to play on, but now I'm in for the long haul. I want to make this place better.

 

wow be gone for a weekend and suddenly you have no clue whats going on

 

RIOTS, ANARCHY, WAR CRIME TRIALS

 

But it all turned out OK in the end! (we hope)