[radon1]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('C8', ' ')This is a place for people to post, generate page clicks, generate revenue-

[Loki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'I')'m sure Admin is laughing all the way to the bank in his Tesla Roadster. (really???- I know a few folk who run much busier websites who still need a 9-5 job. 10,000 hits a day might earn enough to live just ok in a developing country. This place might get a tenth of that.- Probably just pays the IP rent and coffee.)

[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'W')hat good does debt-free do. So you don't "owe" money? Big deal. At this point it makes sense to buy stuff on credit, go broke and head for bankruptcy. The hard decision is the credit-run; do you buy bugout stuff, last-hurrah fun stuff, or liquor, which combines the best of of both worlds.

[MD]

PO.com's purpose is strictly defined by its URL. It's been engaged in a never ending battle to control the definition of the term, and that will always be its purpose.

Anything else is like trying to run a baking recipe site from cars.com.

[SeaGypsy]

The most 'successful'- (busiest) sites (non porn) are populist news aggregation points running a global theme. In this- peakoil.com seems a natural. But there is a second factor- Drama. A guy I know gets 10,000 hits a day writing expose's on underworld dramas in Thailand. People love that shit. Lawless or near so country, utter corruption, scam city, a never ending stream of tales of misadventure usually leading to murder, prison, blackmail, full blown international organised crime. Another one runs a less original news aggregation site on the nastiest religious violence in the world.- gets 20-30 thousand hits a day. Another just posts the goriest uncensored stuff appearing anywhere- average 15,000 a day.

When the world was about to end in 2009- we here probably peaked at (admin?) 5000+ a day?

Human beings have an innate need for drama in our lives. The more mundane and ordinary and predictable- the more likely to be seeking out- blood, gore, guts, cruelty, brutality. Most people spending a whack of their time online have pretty boring lives in reality. Discussing a subject which is innately boring- until it isn't- is, well, boring.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if what is wanted is more clicks, more activity- we need a more open posting policy & CoC. This can only come at the cost of losing the 'family friendly' rating most people would give the site- along with the risk attached to tampering with what has become a benchmark CoC for online discussion boards. Therein lies the rub.

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', '
')I guess what I'm trying to say is that if what is wanted is more clicks, more activity- we need a more open posting policy & CoC. This can only come at the cost of losing the 'family friendly' rating most people would give the site- along with the risk attached to tampering with what has become a benchmark CoC for online discussion boards. Therein lies the rub.

[SeaGypsy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')
If you profile the thousands that go on those sites you mentioned I bet you would find mostly that primitive personality type of frustrated individual who vicarisouly enjoy the misery and downfall of others to justify their own miserable existence. I might be wrong but I think these types are never going to be preppers or on the vanguard of solutions to dealing with overshoot.

[americandream]

The far left is extremely aware of these issues. So much so that we have been hounded into virtual extinction during the Cold War. Implicit in the message of revolutionary socialists is an understanding that this will end bad, UNLESS we change. As a Marxist once told me as a kid, "a capitalist will sell the life out of this planet to make a fast buck." The far left mostly lurk in the fringes these days as our message is not a popular one, if you will recollect. We drop the odd snippet is as delicate a manner these days.

PO.com works fine as it is. I suspect that those Ibon refers to are suffering from a major case of alienation, something that grows by the day.

[SeaGypsy]

One of those occasions I am inclined to agree with you AD. I think the far left has almost lost it's voice- becoming subsumed into the greater 'green-left' coalition. Where there was once a staunch global vanguard for communism- there is almost a void.

[Keith_McClary]

Hey, we just passed a million posts!

[ROCKMAN]

And with that it appears to have answered the question: Yes...to serve the 0.011% of the US population that haunts these hallowed grounds.

[Ayoob]

I think something that would be very useful for PO.com to have is a wiki that has profiles on the major personalities that have been part of the discussion. Start with MKH, various oil company executives, some of the lefties in the book-hawking business, etc. It kind of helps to frame the discussion to see what many people's input have been over time.

Jay Hanson is an interesting character, there should definitely be something about him. I think there was a wiki here at one point and I tried to get something started along those lines, but my efforts sucked and I never wound up making it happen.

Savinar used to have a great format for news aggregation.

It might be a good idea to do an aggregate of links to other resources to help people fill in the gaps on what to do as resources become scarce.

[Keith_McClary]

Ran across this in my random surfing:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'K')leiner's Law

Every organization always operates on behalf of the perceived needs and priorities of some core group of key people. This purpose will trump every other organizational loyalty, including those to shareholders, employees, customers, and other constituents.
http://www.edge.org/q2004/page2.html

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', 'R')an across this in my random surfing:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'K')leiner's Law

Every organization always operates on behalf of the perceived needs and priorities of some core group of key people. This purpose will trump every other organizational loyalty, including those to shareholders, employees, customers, and other constituents.
http://www.edge.org/q2004/page2.html

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', ' ') Language is what sets our species apart from other species because it gives us the ability to pass education to others without direct training being involved.
...
Something you don't like happens, the price of your fresh fruit in the off season goes substantially higher. Instinctively you look for a cause in your immediate environment, the Market is to blame.
...
The only way to prevent this probable outcome from the effects of Peak oil is to educate the person before they feel the pain associated with the end of cheap oil.

[lasseter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'W')e are number 2 for "peak oil" on whatever search engine you try, right after Wiki, that is a pretty valuable position to have, what should we do with it?

[SeaGypsy]

Lasseter, one of the keys to the longevity of this site is it's CoC. Whilst the trolls may be upsetting to newbies, they are a part of what happens here. We 'need' them. Blocking them on the first instance, or for simply exercising free speech- can have 2 obvious negative effects- an echo chamber syndrome (everyone agreeing on everything quickly leads to a very boring conversation) and an endless stream of new trolls. If you have lurked a while you will have seen mention of the legendary 'Shorty'. An absolute classic troll, quite eloquent and knowledgeable, full on argumentative, far from stupid. Shorty had so many incarnations we lost count. Some of these lasted for thousands of posts, so there was a definite continuity. Others were replacements for permanently banned logins, were creatively reworked to really appear to be a new poster, only to be caught out sometimes quickly sometimes months later. This kind of troll, whilst irritating at times, is much preferable to an endless stream of just plain old dumb as doggie doo trolls so often found around the web. They troll, but they put ordinary trolls to shame. They provide grist for the mill.

Another point comes to mind- many of us regulars here have developed quite high tolerance levels for each other. There are posters here who have been here for years, who almost none of us agree with, but you will rarely see us having a bash at them. We have from time to time banged heads here and sorted stuff out and let stuff ride for the greater good. To a newbie this can appear as if "Hey WTF?- WHY is NOBODY CONFRONTING THIS SHIITE?" This is your cue. Go for it, let rip. We have your back.

[Newfie]

I dunno about all that. Maybe you have a point, maybe not.

I like to move on in my thinking, grow, progress. I find arguing th the trolls pretty boring and not very entertaining or productive. Trolls are just same shit, different day. I experience these endless arguments as pretty pointless and entertaining only to the participants.

I'm a life long atheist, yet my Cistercian monk cousin and I were able to have a very pleasant, but deep hour long chat. Obviously we have significant disagreements, but were able to explore some of our common meaningful experiences.

IMHO, and in my experience, the trollish debates are dead ends without point or resolution. The energy would be better spent looking forward and planning or scheming.