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As things are, .info will die. Here's what we can do to reverse it.


Yuki

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An exclusive group, or secret board, or what have you will not solve the issues we are having. We want the forum itself to become a better place, not to create a group of people who care, and turn the other cheek to everything else.

"If this can be avoided, it should. If it can't, then it would be better if it could be. If it happened and you're thinking back to it, try and think back further. Try not to avoid it with your mind. If any of this is possible, it may be helpful. If not, it won't be."

 

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Guest Anonymous

An exclusive group, or secret board, or what have you will not solve the issues we are having. We want the forum itself to become a better place, not to create a group of people who care, and turn the other cheek to everything else.

 

Another option:

 

On deviantart there are "groups" hosted and controlled by founders and cofounders and contributors. Groups vary as to how open and free they are. Some allow instant submissions and comments and journal entries from new members. Others have a process by which submissions are pre-screened, by a team of admin members with more exclusive control, before they are officially allowed or rejected. This eliminates any troll activity instantly.

 

These groups a have levels or ranks of membership from "member" to "contributor" to "cofounder" and then "founder." Often, ordinary members need admin approval for their submissions to appear in the gallery. Contributors are more senior members who have proven themselves reliable and reasonable and on topic. The founder or admin has the ability to change member status and rank.

 

Using a system like that would foster interest in newer members to earn an advancement to contributor and have free access to instant submissions on the forum. Admin could monitor and screen submissions from new members who are in a "probation" basis until they prove themselves to be serious and on subject. Those in a higher status could find themselves demoted to simple member again by admin staff if they can't behave.

 

There could be a visitors or beginners questions section that is more open for visitors to leave quick questions for the admin and contributors perhaps to answer. That's another idea, contributors could have exclusive access to a begginners forum as far as responses to questions maybe?

 

I am trying to help here! I don't think little changes are going to help. I think we need a complete re-vision if you ask my opinion.

 

~Mistgod

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Honestly, I'm not expeiriencing anything too bad going on. This community seems to be chugging along just fine. We're still getting a steady stream of new members, and I think all this pessimism might become a self-fullfilling prophecy.

I don't visit as often as I used to. If you want me to see something, make sure to quote a post of mine or ping me @jean-luc

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Guest Anonymous

ranked groups

 

This promotes asskissing. Any form of entitlement or reputation does and it's something you want to avoid. Not to mention this site tried a reputation system a long time ago and it turned out awful. What you proposed works on DeviantArt because DA is a massive circlejerk.

 

Joinable groups, e.g. "Pokemon Tuppers" that show up in your user profile would be fine, sure, minus the ranking. This is an example from another website. The groups are there for members to enjoy and have fun with, be a part of, but are not central to the forum's purpose and are largely free to join. No hierarchy nonsense. Frankly it'd be nice if profiles could be expanded upon in general, like being able to be commented on. Y'know, like most normal forums.

 

I don't think little changes are going to help. I think we need a complete re-vision if you ask my opinion.

 

The forum system is not broken, tulpa.info's staff (Down to one mod now, christ) and way of producing fresh content is. For the latter, once again I feel we need to develop a community with tulpas instead of a strictly tulpa community. There needs to be other points of interest, this site needs to be more diverse.

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Guest Anonymous
What you proposed works on DeviantArt because DA is a massive circlejerk.

 

Hah hah hah, that is probably why I love Deviantart so much!

 

The forum system is not broken.

 

Then why is the title of this thread "As things are, .info will die..."? Seems a few people here disagree with that assertion. For me, I thought the implication was that "attention whores," "drama queens" and nonconformists were going to kill the site and so, the solution offered was more mods with a meaner disposition prepared to boot those creating chaos in the message.

 

way of producing fresh content ... For the latter, once again I feel we need to develop a community with tulpas instead of a strictly tulpa community. There needs to be other points of interest, this site needs to be more diverse.

 

I agree if you want to keep an internet forum alive, you have to attract new members. To attract new members you need a wider appeal. But that doesn't appear to be what the main theme of this thread is. The theme appears to me to be "we need to keep the focus narrow and brutally controlled." I first suggested abandoning the free public forum altogether in favor of an exclusive society because of that theme. Then I suggested a softer approach with ranked membership and earned privilege. You are suggesting the complete opposite approach, opening the doors wider and broadening the focus of the forum.

 

To be honest, I love your idea much better. But I thought the consensus was that the site has become too chaotic with too many varied and dangerously toxic opinions.

 

So which is it folks? Does this forum need more tolerance and friendly diversity or a very firmly controlled narrowness of purpose and vision?

 

The current state of .info forums is pretty awful. ... The environment is toxic to all, with a major problem existing in the form of blatant attention and drama whores, along with people who don't take tulpas as a phenomenon seriously at all, or seem incapable of it. This can be improved with active moderation, as well as staff and users steering the place towards being more serious and constructive, without accepting the rampant idiocy that currently thrives there. As of now, the staff only acts to remove members that are explicitly hostile, rather than addressing the greater problem of people only here for attention being able to fester unchallenged.

 

What "rampant idiocy?" By the way, I love people reading my posts. We make posts so they will get attention and be read by others. I like to write and share my ideas. I love to get the attention on what I write about the forum, about my imaginary companion and my experiences. I declare myself a blatant attention whore before all. I don't want to make a tulpa. I am interested in tulpas, and I like to read the posts, but I don't have a tulpa or want one. I am an open skeptic. Is that bad? Does being a little bit of a skeptic mean I am toxic because "I don't take tulpas as a phenomenon seriously" ? I have a sense of humor in my writing. Is humor bad? Is having a sense of humor in this forum rampant idiocy or having a little *gasp* fun?

 

You want my opinion, my REAL opinion, after three months here? The attitude exhibited in the beginning theme of this post is the very reason why it is dying, if indeed it is dying. I don't think it is dying actually. It just isn't what a few members illogically wish was a ultra-scientific-sober-and-impressive-yet-wide-open-and-free-for-discussion on the public internet forum.

 

This forum has an identity crisis problem. That's the true issue at hand.

 

Honestly, I'm not expeiriencing anything too bad going on. This community seems to be chugging along just fine. We're still getting a steady stream of new members, and I think all this pessimism might become a self-fullfilling prophecy.

 

I agree. We all just need to relax and enjoy talking about mental constructs, imaginary friends, tulpas, video games and our favorite foods to throw at each other.

 

~Mistgod

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Well, as others have said, I don't really see the community as dying. However, Yuki did bring up some legitimate concerns -- particularly the shortage of active staff. And something to get people more involved would be nice.

"Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson

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Guest Anonymous

Really, some legitimately want this forum to be truly super scientific. That is a noble wish, but unrealistic in my opinion. It is unrealistic because it is a public internet forum and not a corporation or a university or other strictly scientific organization. It isn't impossible that we could do some sort of scientific experiment type observation and study, if we can organize and motivate enough people to cooperate, but it is unlikely.

 

I have said this before. If a member of the forum wants formal science to happen, the best thing to do is go to university, start working on a master's or PHD, and study the tulpa phenomenon yourself. Write a thesis paper! Stop complaining about how there is no science and make the science happen!

 

The above being said, I do think we are doing some good testimonial and observational comparative science. Much of psychology is based on amassing personal testimony and observation. It is a soft science based on people relating their thoughts and dreams and how they feel. Isn't that what we are all doing INCLUDING MISTGOD with his Melian?

 

More mods and help for the admin is probably a good idea, I agree. But killing all nontulpa topics and pushing away anyone who is actively outspoken, different, skeptical, silly (gasp - trying to have fun?) or contrary is not going to help the forum grow or improve. Just the opposite. It's going to kill it.

 

I think that is what we are really talking about here. That is what I took this thread to be about and I obviously have a personal stake and interest the discussion.

 

I actually like the idea of widening the scope somehow to include things other than just tulpa.

 

EDIT: I seem to recall a statement in the guides or introduction or something somewhere stating that people should not come here to simply socialize because it is a scientific forum. Is science and fun mutually exclusive then? I disagree with that completely. Remember the astronaut geologists bouncing and singing on the moon? Alan Shepard playing golf on the moon? It was manned space exploration, the height of man's achievements in science, and they were goofing off and socializing. Maybe Alan Shepard should have been banned.

 

~Mistgod

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  • 2 months later...

I second the motion to have Linkzelda post weekly boggling content. Could we also try to have guides, research, or other materials written by any tulpas who want to do that? On the one hand, a fair amount of guide-by-tulpa content might just be symbolism. On the other, you never know, reading about symbol X might inspire a newbie to do thing Y; it would also bolster the view that tulpas are individuals and not just a person playing pretend (my logic may be incorrect, but here it is: "this site has these guides and things written by tulpas? And their writing styles are different from their hosts', so its unlikely to be one person messing around? Hmm, there could be something to this after all!").

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More of food for thought than a suggestion, but, I think the core idea and foundation of this website means that it's boring and full of fleeting members. There isn't much research to be done, most things about tulpas are speculation, symbolism, or just common sense. The most discussion that can come about on this website is questions, similar to Cunningham's law.

 

The only way this can be a proper community is if it actually acts like a community. But what kind of community? Well, I've already ruled out actual scientific research. I mean sure, it happens, but very far and in between. So besides that, we just need something in common. The only thing I see happening is, well, a community for tulpas and hosts. This is actually the natural progress of this website already, suddenly a bunch of "ask me" threads are popping up, because, if they didn't, this place wouldn't have any activity. This is why I'm in favor of a tulpa blog board, as discussed in another thread.

 

Again, just something to consider. I'm not suggesting anything, merely pointing out the reality of it all.

Scarlet - anime, 8/15/2012

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More of food for thought than a suggestion, but, I think the core idea and foundation of this website means that it's boring and full of fleeting members. There isn't much research to be done, most things about tulpas are speculation, symbolism, or just common sense. The most discussion that can come about on this website is questions, similar to Cunningham's law.

 

The only way this can be a proper community is if it actually acts like a community. But what kind of community? Well, I've already ruled out actual scientific research. I mean sure, it happens, but very far and in between. So besides that, we just need something in common. The only thing I see happening is, well, a community for tulpas and hosts. This is actually the natural progress of this website already, suddenly a bunch of "ask me" threads are popping up, because, if they didn't, this place wouldn't have any activity. This is why I'm in favor of a tulpa blog board, as discussed in another thread.

 

Again, just something to consider. I'm not suggesting anything, merely pointing out the reality of it all.

 

Yeah, maybe someone could make a podcast about tulpas.

I don't visit as often as I used to. If you want me to see something, make sure to quote a post of mine or ping me @jean-luc

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