Bigot Brigade Something Awful and Friends - The roller-coaster train-wreck embarrassing downfall of a Web 1.0 giant and its tick offspring like from Cloverfield

[Zaryiu]

Obvious scams then, Lowtax doesn't

 

[repentance]

Oh I totally believe SA's databases are blown the fuck apart. Not a doubt in my mind. vBulletin has the conversion tools (XenForo might have their own too, I am not sure) and it might take a little bit of work but ultimately the process could be simplified by selectively importing rows from the vB database into the hypothetical XF one by means of a modified or custom script. I'm talking bare bones things like username, registration email, the password hash, avatar/title, registration date, and that's it. Anything else is completely unnecessary.

Maybe after doing that at a later time (i.e. never) Lowtax could double back and add something on all legacy users' profiles like "click here to see this user's content on the archived forums" or whatever. Just getting the base user content imported and running shouldn't be that bad, at least from my own personal experiences of having done this myself, but yeah trying to maintain a link between posts and content on the archived forums right out of the gate would be totally fucking dumb and I don't think something like that would ever actually work anyways.

Lowtax's problem is going to be the userbase. People have paid for stuff like avatars, PMs, and search (not to mention being able to report posts) which other forums provide for free and even if they paid 15 years ago they will bitch and moan if they lose those features or if those features are made available to everyone.

A lot of people would be just fine with Xenforo out of the box, but I suspect that the people who'd be fine with it aren't the people who spend a lot of money on SA features and who re-up every time they're banned.

 

[Ghostse]

Just imagine all of those negative post counts that will be lost like fat goon tears in the rain if he migrates to Xenforo.



It's even worse than radium because as we saw a few months back, they're now putting in shit to really fuck over the forums if Lowtax decides to deadmin FAU or ZDR. He's stuck with them. Couldn't happen to a better person.

To be fair, Radium also put in code to destroy the forums, but he did that unintentionally through incompetence not malice.

 

[Brain Problems]

To be fair, Radium also put in code to destroy the forums, but he did that unintentionally through incompetence not malice.

Maybe he knew deep down that he had to destroy the beast and this was his subconscious attempt at bringing down the rotting temple.

Or he was just fucking retarded and lowtax didn't give a fuck because he's white-trash and dead inside.

 

[AmpleApricots]

ZDR, Radium etc. all have in common that they kissed up to Lowtax and stroked his ego, making him feel like he's the big web sensation and internet funny man and a big boss, that's how they got into their positions, that's the merit Lowtax judged them after - nothing else. Then when they actually run things they turn on him, unsurprisingly. I like how after that public spat ZDRs posts just kinda disappeared (he probably deleted them directly out of the database, it broke the display on threads he posted on) and that should tell you all about their relationship there is to tell. What blows my mind is how Lowtax just sits idly by and doesn't even attempt to somehow secure himself a financial future. Dude is in his 40s with a fucked back and with children and alimony payments and he stills lives into the day, shitposts and probably plays vidya all day. Now where he's probably getting pain medication and knowing Lowtax over the years, he's probably also high as a kite half the time.

 

[The golden neckbeard]

Wait is search STILL fucking broken after 7 years? I can find old SA threads on google no problem so it would be sort of useless. I dnot have an account to check.

 

[Reality Doctor]

It's a miracle archives and search even work at this point. Actually trying to research the history of the forum, especially anything resembling a controversial event/figure ranges from "nightmarish" to "it's completely gone lol" in difficulty.

Actually trying to follow posters and topics when half the good stuff goes in the Gas Chamber and searches for post histories just drop off a cliff after a couple years (trying to learn about someone who was banned 3+ years ago? good fucking luck) and everyone changes their damn name like 50 times is hours of frustration.

I suppose it's a walk in the park compared to the chanboards, where everything is white noise and nothing is ever saved by design. I'm sure someone at the FBI gets access to every post made on 4chan from 2004 to now, complete with a whizbang Palantir-built search engine featuring a silly all-caps codename, but good luck FOIA-ing that shit.

 

[Ghostse]

What blows my mind is how Lowtax just sits idly by and doesn't even attempt to somehow secure himself a financial future.

I must respectfully disagree here. He has already secured himself a pretty decent financial future, or did you miss the posts about his wealthy mother having leukemia that isn't responding to conventional treatments?

 

[Feline Darkmage]

Maybe he knew deep down that he had to destroy the beast and this was his subconscious attempt at bringing down the rotting temple.

Or he was just fucking exceptional and lowtax didn't give a fuck because he's white-trash and dead inside.

It is destiny one day a brave hero will turn that dead gay forum into something gayer and deader than ever before.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

It is destiny one day a brave hero will turn that dead gay forum into something gayer and deader than ever before.

Well that's just it, isn't it? It's been dead and gay for years, but somehow it keeps getting gayer and deader. Eventually scientists will start studying it in an effort to determine the nature of sexuality and life. Just how gay, and how dead can a thing get?

 

[two bees]

If SA becomes dead and gay enough it'll underflow into alive and straight. Lowtax is playing the long game here cause he knows he can't go back upwards at this point, so underflow is the only option.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

If SA becomes dead and gay enough it'll underflow into alive and straight. Lowtax is playing the long game here cause he knows he can't go back upwards at this point, so underflow is the only option.

You know... you might be onto something. The software's coded so poorly it probably wouldn't even flag an error if it did underflow....

 

[D.Va]

A frontend HTML/CSS update alone would do wonders by means of making the site usable on a phone. If Lowtax cared about revenue he'd do it, since that's where a good chunk of ad views come from these days.

 

[northstar747]

A frontend HTML/CSS update alone would do wonders by means of making the site usable on a phone. If Lowtax cared about revenue he'd do it, since that's where a good chunk of ad views come from these days.

true but who is gonna do that?

 

[AmpleApricots]

More like, who'd do it for free? Lowtax really doesn't like paying people for work.

 

[Anime is Blood]

If SA becomes dead and gay enough it'll underflow into alive and straight. Lowtax is playing the long game here cause he knows he can't go back upwards at this point, so underflow is the only option.

I'm not sure about that. I get the general idea that if the horrible people ruining the forum leave on their own accord, due to dead gayness, then things might rebound. However these people have been on Something Awful their entire lives and I'm not sure things will ever get bad enough on SA that they just fucking go to Tumblr or Reddit. If there are 10 people left on SA 9 of them will be shrieking about social justice and 1 of them will be a moderator punishing the rest of them for having opinions.

 

[Ghostse]

I'm not sure about that. I get the general idea that if the horrible people ruining the forum leave on their own accord, due to dead gayness, then things might rebound.

 

[Ebonic Tutor]

I think being banned from twitter broke lowtax's brain. He's on Facebook now spamming his thoughts.

 

[Brain Problems]

If SA becomes dead and gay enough it'll underflow into alive and straight. Lowtax is playing the long game here cause he knows he can't go back upwards at this point, so underflow is the only option.

Dig up stupid!

I think being banned from twitter broke lowtax's brain. He's on Facebook now spamming his thoughts.

Screenshots?

 

[Ebonic Tutor]

Screenshots?

He's going full tilt so I'll just post the last few...

If you want more just send him a friend request on FB, he'll accept it.