Changes underway at ASMB

Well, after more than a decade, Adult Swim Message Boards are going through changes. What those changes are, I don't know. At least I think they're going through changes, that's what the rumors have been. What those changes are, I don't know. I've heard they may be changing from Lithium boards, which would be too bad because I liked their ease of use.

 Over its life, ASMB has been a place that's grown and declined. While the cartoon discussions were always the main draw, there had built up a contingent of loyal users who settle in the NOISE section of the boards.

The NOISE area included Babbling (general noncartoon related discussion), Incoherent Babbling (nonsense which members used posts to gain ranks fast) and Rants (for people who like to bitch). While the Noise section saw its fair share of users come and go, it seemed to have a core that kept it alive.

 The most common topics in Babbling and Rants were politics. Around election time, it was almost impossible to get away from it. Like the world outside of the boards, it began to reflect the more partisan divide which had been growing. In 2004, around the time of the Kerry vs. Bush race, the partisanship was there, but there was diversity as far as say pro-gun Democrats and pro-choice Republicans.

 By the time 2012 came around, the voices had become more partisan. Many members left because their lives outside of the boards needed more and more time. Others just felt like the boards were no longer for them. Most who stayed, just gave up on talking politics altogether, leaving it to the partisans who were more than happy to just repeat talking points from elsewhere.

 Users included Tsar4 (one of the older and more conservative users), olmoldy (another older user who loved to remind people of his military experience), Slyfoxx1 (a far-leftist), Jallenk (an artistic gay guy), WestPark (a smart guy who chose to troll), Fuggles (a woman who used it like a blog), BuddyRoe (a guy who posted wherever Fuggles did), MasterDebater (a Randian capitalist), Jingai (a conservative talking points bot), cobrasks (a Wyoming ammosexual), PeanutCat (a woman who posted countless articles from Crooks and Liars without adding thoughts of her own), Crapshot (a hillbilly liberal), JadedPoet (gay dude), etc. Just lots of memorable personalities.

 Now, in 2016, another election has come around and this time even less people are taking part in the discussions. It's really too bad that even cartoon message boards fell victim to the hyperpartisanship that dominates discussion.

Many of the memorable people have left and with them left many others. Sure, Facebook had a hand in destroying Internet forums, but inevitably, they're destroyed from within. Anyway, I will check out the new ASMB when it comes up. Whether I stay or not is left to be seen.
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