- Joined
- Jan 30, 2013
My dear Kiwis,
About four years ago, I was actively admining the CWCki and I had an issue. People would frequently use talk pages to discuss Chris related content, as there was essentially no other place to do so. PVCC was closed off for registration and had no intention of letting "spergs" in to discuss Chris. Likewise, /cwc/ (now /cow/) strongly discouraged Chris discussion as the general consesus was "Chris is over." It made my job more difficult so I decided to do something pratctical - I started a forum where people could discuss Chris without being harassed. My goal was to set it up, get some "locals" to take over running the forum, and then go back to admining on the CWCki itself.
Unfortunately, life has a funny way of working out. Rather than my original plan, I found myself spending my time exclusively on the forum. I ran into an issue of trying to establish legitimacy of the forum. My initial idea was to let anything goes but it was also my intent to avoid the place becoming another Offshore CWCki. I found myself having to set some guidelines and try to maintain a certain image. We moved the forum at least three times, two of them because people TOSed the forums because of a dislike of the way I ran the forum. Some people disagreed with my decision to allow Null to take over hosting. However, while I would no longer have exclusive control, it was an ideal situation - it helped establish an independency to the forum and a check against me. There was a concern that the forums would be merely a front for PVCC and I feel that having Null, who had no connections to PVCC, take over the hosting, it would help address this issue.
Some people disagree with Null for the things he's done, and I disagree with him at times, but I feel like he's been able to help guide the forum in a more efficient manner than I could. The forums no longer became a mere containment for people to talk about Chris but a regular, thriving community. People came to this forum and made close relationships, even finding romantic partners. They've found people to play games with, they've helped supporting other users with positive life changes like losing weight, and they're able to express themselves creatively. I eventually concluded that one reason why people feel so strongly about being banned from here is because they feel that it's such a tight knit community and that banning is as extreme as social ostracism from any other community.
The focus of the forums over time was broadened to other lolcows. While I don't really follow other lolcows, there was a demand for that and one of my credos is "give the people what they want." As a result, we've been able to grow without stagnating like other related forums. I feel that our moderation team has greatly improved over time, as we've had less turnover and moderation is efficient and fairly impartial. We're one of the top searches for lolcows on Google. It's also gotten to the point where when people say "CWCki," they no longer associated it with the original wiki but the forums. We managed to have a small connection to the Gamergate controversey. Whereas other lolcow boards devolved into cannablizing their userbase for entertainment, we manage to have active discussion without the need to turn on our own for the sake of finding "the next Chris-chan."
That said, that is why, with heavy heart, I am announcing my resignation as forum admin effective immediately. I wish to emphasize that I am not being coerced or blackmailed into doing this, and I am doing this on my free accord. I feel that the forums are at a point where I can step back without the forums being shut down or somehow devolving into Sonichu rape fanfiction or threads about Chris's bowel movements. I'm also at a point of my life where I'm starting to make positive life changes myself and having to manage an Internet forum devoted to mocking an autistic manchild doesn't really fit into the scheme of things. This is something I've been wanting to do since day 1 and this is a decision I've spent months pondering over and waiting for a moment where it would made in a positive mindset.
From my experience, there's two ways that major players in the Chris scene have ended:
1) They fade into obscurity, never to be seen or heard from again.
2) They turn out to be even worse than Chris himself and usually end up becoming an object of ridicule.
I think with 2, this tends to happen with people who tend to be arrogant and harsh with people. I tend to believe you reap what you sow in that regard. I've made it a policy to try and treat people fairly and impartially and to treat people with respect. I'm probably not the best person in the world for my involvement with Chris, I agree. My attitude is that if I'm going to do something that's probably wrong, I'd rather be a Rommel. For those who don't know, Erwin Rommel was a German general during WWII who headed the North African campaign. He was superficially a Nazi, but he personally disagreed with Hitler on many things and really didn't sympathize with Ayrian superiority. As a result, he was one of the few Nazi military leaders who actually followed many of the rules of war. He refused to send Jewish POWs to concentration camps, he ensured Allied military officers who were killed in combat received proper burial with honors, and he refused to kill civilians. He had a job to do but he tried to it with decency and humanity. Truth be told, I didn't have a huge role with Chris, I mostly was a support type of person, but I was still involved.
To a similar extent, I'm retiring from my activity with Chris. Truth be told, I follow Chris little even though I'm privy to certain information not otherwise available. Frankly, I'm not really interested in knowing every aspect which in reality is more or less the same for the past few years - he's lonely, he needs a girlfriend ASAP, the trolls have ruined his life, etc. Some of the recent stuff is amusing but I don't feel compelled to follow every single action he does. Again, in making these positive life changes, keeping tabs on an autistic manchild who's going to court for macing a game store employee doesn't really fit in.
I'll probably still hang out on the forum. I might chime in every now and then in a Chris related thread. Perhaps my ratings will reflect more the content of my posts and not people just agreeing with my posts by virtue I'm staff. I'll still be around boiling denim with @drtoboggan or studying the Rules of Acquisition with @CompyRex. Whenever someone mentions the great taste of Charleston Chew, I'll certainly be there. However, I plan to diminish my activity on the forum.
I wish to apologize to anyone I may have let down over the years, as I have let many people down. I am sorry but I have to move on.
That say, it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you all as admin. I am glad you all (hopefully) enjoy the forum I started and get benefit from. I have confidence that the staff will keep this forum going for some time to go come. I realize that you may not agree with the way things might be done but I'm afraid it's out of my hands at this point and you gotta roll with the changes. At least it's not like I'm changing Sonic's arms to be blue.
Regards,
Champthom
About four years ago, I was actively admining the CWCki and I had an issue. People would frequently use talk pages to discuss Chris related content, as there was essentially no other place to do so. PVCC was closed off for registration and had no intention of letting "spergs" in to discuss Chris. Likewise, /cwc/ (now /cow/) strongly discouraged Chris discussion as the general consesus was "Chris is over." It made my job more difficult so I decided to do something pratctical - I started a forum where people could discuss Chris without being harassed. My goal was to set it up, get some "locals" to take over running the forum, and then go back to admining on the CWCki itself.
Unfortunately, life has a funny way of working out. Rather than my original plan, I found myself spending my time exclusively on the forum. I ran into an issue of trying to establish legitimacy of the forum. My initial idea was to let anything goes but it was also my intent to avoid the place becoming another Offshore CWCki. I found myself having to set some guidelines and try to maintain a certain image. We moved the forum at least three times, two of them because people TOSed the forums because of a dislike of the way I ran the forum. Some people disagreed with my decision to allow Null to take over hosting. However, while I would no longer have exclusive control, it was an ideal situation - it helped establish an independency to the forum and a check against me. There was a concern that the forums would be merely a front for PVCC and I feel that having Null, who had no connections to PVCC, take over the hosting, it would help address this issue.
Some people disagree with Null for the things he's done, and I disagree with him at times, but I feel like he's been able to help guide the forum in a more efficient manner than I could. The forums no longer became a mere containment for people to talk about Chris but a regular, thriving community. People came to this forum and made close relationships, even finding romantic partners. They've found people to play games with, they've helped supporting other users with positive life changes like losing weight, and they're able to express themselves creatively. I eventually concluded that one reason why people feel so strongly about being banned from here is because they feel that it's such a tight knit community and that banning is as extreme as social ostracism from any other community.
The focus of the forums over time was broadened to other lolcows. While I don't really follow other lolcows, there was a demand for that and one of my credos is "give the people what they want." As a result, we've been able to grow without stagnating like other related forums. I feel that our moderation team has greatly improved over time, as we've had less turnover and moderation is efficient and fairly impartial. We're one of the top searches for lolcows on Google. It's also gotten to the point where when people say "CWCki," they no longer associated it with the original wiki but the forums. We managed to have a small connection to the Gamergate controversey. Whereas other lolcow boards devolved into cannablizing their userbase for entertainment, we manage to have active discussion without the need to turn on our own for the sake of finding "the next Chris-chan."
That said, that is why, with heavy heart, I am announcing my resignation as forum admin effective immediately. I wish to emphasize that I am not being coerced or blackmailed into doing this, and I am doing this on my free accord. I feel that the forums are at a point where I can step back without the forums being shut down or somehow devolving into Sonichu rape fanfiction or threads about Chris's bowel movements. I'm also at a point of my life where I'm starting to make positive life changes myself and having to manage an Internet forum devoted to mocking an autistic manchild doesn't really fit into the scheme of things. This is something I've been wanting to do since day 1 and this is a decision I've spent months pondering over and waiting for a moment where it would made in a positive mindset.
From my experience, there's two ways that major players in the Chris scene have ended:
1) They fade into obscurity, never to be seen or heard from again.
2) They turn out to be even worse than Chris himself and usually end up becoming an object of ridicule.
I think with 2, this tends to happen with people who tend to be arrogant and harsh with people. I tend to believe you reap what you sow in that regard. I've made it a policy to try and treat people fairly and impartially and to treat people with respect. I'm probably not the best person in the world for my involvement with Chris, I agree. My attitude is that if I'm going to do something that's probably wrong, I'd rather be a Rommel. For those who don't know, Erwin Rommel was a German general during WWII who headed the North African campaign. He was superficially a Nazi, but he personally disagreed with Hitler on many things and really didn't sympathize with Ayrian superiority. As a result, he was one of the few Nazi military leaders who actually followed many of the rules of war. He refused to send Jewish POWs to concentration camps, he ensured Allied military officers who were killed in combat received proper burial with honors, and he refused to kill civilians. He had a job to do but he tried to it with decency and humanity. Truth be told, I didn't have a huge role with Chris, I mostly was a support type of person, but I was still involved.
To a similar extent, I'm retiring from my activity with Chris. Truth be told, I follow Chris little even though I'm privy to certain information not otherwise available. Frankly, I'm not really interested in knowing every aspect which in reality is more or less the same for the past few years - he's lonely, he needs a girlfriend ASAP, the trolls have ruined his life, etc. Some of the recent stuff is amusing but I don't feel compelled to follow every single action he does. Again, in making these positive life changes, keeping tabs on an autistic manchild who's going to court for macing a game store employee doesn't really fit in.
I'll probably still hang out on the forum. I might chime in every now and then in a Chris related thread. Perhaps my ratings will reflect more the content of my posts and not people just agreeing with my posts by virtue I'm staff. I'll still be around boiling denim with @drtoboggan or studying the Rules of Acquisition with @CompyRex. Whenever someone mentions the great taste of Charleston Chew, I'll certainly be there. However, I plan to diminish my activity on the forum.
I wish to apologize to anyone I may have let down over the years, as I have let many people down. I am sorry but I have to move on.
That say, it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you all as admin. I am glad you all (hopefully) enjoy the forum I started and get benefit from. I have confidence that the staff will keep this forum going for some time to go come. I realize that you may not agree with the way things might be done but I'm afraid it's out of my hands at this point and you gotta roll with the changes. At least it's not like I'm changing Sonic's arms to be blue.
Regards,
Champthom
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