[jboogy]

I don't really know about all that Thuja , I don't go to the other forums here so maybe your right and activity has dropped off on the more "constructive " forums , I have noticed that at times it seems we have more visitors lately , consistently over 100 where before it seems we were always hovering around 100, but this could be coincidence as I really probably only look at the numbers once or twice a week , and usually by accident if I look to see who's online. The concept of molding or manipulating what we write here in any way doesn't seem right to me . Your dealing with 16,000 paper members and maybe 1000 active and 1 or 2 hundred hard-core heavy posters . You are not going to get a concensus much less voluntary compliance with a mandated or suggested sea-change in content or attitude with that many diverse personalities. Even if you got everyone here to make a pledge in writing to be more accomodating to visitors and cornucopians it would be forgotten in 24 hours and it would be back to business as usual.

[TheDude]

Maybe you're right, jboogy. Ce la vie. But hell, even LATOC has a Community Prep forum. Don't quite agree with Iaato that TOD is concentrating on depletion; I mostly pay attention to studies there on rebuilding transportation and power systems, of which there are plenty.

We were going to retool the Planning for the Future forum, what became of that? Seems much the same as it was before.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jboogy', '.') Fuck em' , this isn't the happy , fuzzy bunny forum .

[Plantagenet]

The PeakOil discussion site is one of the best on the web because it allows people with a very wide range of views to freely discuss their perspectives.

The exact nature of the "PeakOil" future is unknown and a bit frightening. Its not surprising that dooms-day scenarios would attract advocates and sometimes dominate discussion.

If/when actual energy wars or other dooms-day events occur, people will discuss the actual events. If Jesus returns with a new energy source or something else positive occurs, people will discuss that. But for now, the "gathering shadows" of a peak oil crisis are becoming more and more apparent, and its not unreasonable for concomitant dooms-day scenarios to be topics of discussion.

But the doomer discussions shouldn't drown everything else out.

[inculcated]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'I')f/when actual energy wars...occur....

[Pops]

I don’t know thuja, we have places for discussions of when, where, how and why, and we also have a place for the discussions of the What (to do).

If the discussions of the What To Do in conservation and planning forums don’t satisfy you I guess my only suggestion is to post more threads with more Whats. You are a great poster in that category so just keep going.


BTW, recently I have been railing as well about the doomers; in fact very few of them did anything today on the homestead but plow up the keyboard.

[bodigami]

I honestly don't see much uber doom on this posts, but that's maybe because of the forums I read (Peak Oil Discussion, Depletition Economics, Environment, and Open Discussion "for the lulz").

[jupiters_release]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', '
')So whither PO.com...is it jumping the shark now that we have hit the peak? Or does it still serve a useful purpose?

[Ferretlover]

So, generally speaking, some of you feel this site shouldn't exist unless there are some conservatives posting an equal number of posts as the doomers?
If the conservatives feel their position is the correct one, shouldn't they have the gumption to fight for it?
I agree with Jupiters_release.

[Zardoz]

Think of how much has been discussed on this site up to this point. Look at how many great threads there have been. Think how many subjects have been thoroughly explored.

Of course things are a bit more static than they used to be. We've been there, and we've done that. We've discussed every subject to death. Think of discussion topics as a finite, depleting resource. We've peaked, and now we're on the downside of the discussion topic curve.

However, that may change later on, as the crunch sets in with a vengeance. As things start getting tough, we'll probably find a whole new mega-field of discussion topics. The descent down the backside of the oil production curve will probably open up the Ghawar of discussion topic possibilities. We'll pump them out like Saudi princes.

[Hawkcreek]

--

[TheTurtle]

About 6 years or so after I started teaching aikido, I had this moment where I felt as though I had gone over the same thing thousands of times and the "idiots" just weren't getting it. I was frustrated and ready to call it quits. Then I realized that the people who weren't getting it weren't the ones who had practiced thousands of times with me over the past six years. Most of them were new students for whom it was all brand new.

After I came to that simple realization, my whole attitude shifted. Yes, I might be teaching the same thing yet again, but for those I was teaching, it was brand new. And when I had that understanding, I started seeing it all afresh with a beginner's mind.

That was over 12 years ago, and I still find pleasure in teaching the simple basics to new beginners.

I'm not sure exactly how that translates to sharing our views of peak oil year after year with people who are just discovering it for the first time. But I think there's a lesson in there somewhere.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thuja', 'A')ll I am saying is that this site seems to have lost a bit of its way...what is it for? What's the purpose here?

[PrairieMule]

I used to think think the real flashpoint of Peakoil would be a trucker's strike. Now I think the concept of peak oil will gain traction with the public when oil briefly touches $100 a barrel.

When that time comes, I think we are going to have so many newbies flooding this site. Newbies that could one day be authors of some darn good posts. Now I'm not going soft, I love my daily dose doom. I do however think about someone visiting this site trying to find answers. Then they become so horrified they decide to stick their head back in the sand. That's a bad thing. Now we don't have to feed them or take a bullet for them, but I charge everyone here Mod or not, to be good ambassadors. Be patient with the tourists and be generous with your wisdom.

[Heineken]

Thuja, your premise that the site is getting shop-worn, especially as a result of the arrival of PO, is interesting.

Occasionally I feel wearied by my participation in the site, even though I am barely in the top tier of number of posts.

However, that sentiment is more than outweighed by my realization that I've hardly even scratched the surface of the site's content. There are so many great discussions I just haven't had time to dive into. So many important news stories I haven't had time to read, or read in full. So many ideas of my own I haven't had the time or energy to transform into writing, and share.

Also, I think Zardoz makes a critical point: PO and the rest of the deadly horses are an evolving story. The best (or should I say the worst) is yet to come. Oil may have peaked, but the events it will unleash have barely begun.

Future events will drive discussions in directions even we can scarcely imagine. Assuming we can still boot up.

I might add that, as a doomer, I see my condition as that of a lower officer of the "Titanic," who's fully aware of and horrified at what's coming and doing what I can to forestall it, yet at the same time a detached observer of it.

[PrairieMule]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '
')I might add that, as a doomer, I see my condition as that of a lower officer of the "Titanic," who's fully aware of and horrified at what's coming and doing what I can to forestall it, yet at the same time a detached observer of it.

[Heineken]

Grrrr, I should have written, ". . . and doing what he can to forestall it . . . ."

Another reason for coming here is to reach for that elusive goal of the perfect post. Sigh. Someday, maybe.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '
')I might add that, as a doomer, I see my condition as that of a lower officer of the "Titanic," who's fully aware of and horrified at what's coming and doing what I can to forestall it, yet at the same time a detached observer of it.

[TheDude]

Nice anecdote, Turtle. One difference though between aikido and PO is that the much of the latter can be learned from a FAQ or primer. I assume you can't break boards with your bare hand from just reading about doing so...

I'm interested in this site producing something substantive and permanent, like the Sticky docs in PfortheF, something people can take home/print out, to put to use. Aside from that we have the welfare of newbies to consider, whether we want to give them the Straight Dope, shock them out of their lull, entertain their hopes, what have you. I suppose at this point the site's what it is, and whether the tone of the postings here depends on the veracity or intellect of future new users.

And there'll be plenty of newbs soon, as somebody pointed out. Thought I'd do a search for 'oil' on Google - hold the peak. Third hit is LATOC, first page has www.peak-oil-news.info, Energy Bulletin, Oil Drum. We're on page two, every other hit is Hubbertish.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'N')ice anecdote, Turtle. One difference though between aikido and PO is that the much of the latter can be learned from a FAQ or primer. I assume you can't break boards with your bare hand from just reading about doing so...