I've been following Chris for a while now (3-4 years). I am mostly a lurker. I just like to read what goes on in Chris' s life. Nothing more. It took me a while to register on these forums, even after months of coming here. With that said, I do have a few things to say in regards to the situation at hand.
1- What did you expect to happen, Null? Of course people were going to attempt to troll Chris, and of course people were going to try and use these forums as meeting grounds. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming you, nor am I saying you are the mastermind behind Chris' s trolling. However, from the moment you decided to have a private forum for a certain type of people you pretty much made it easier for people to influence Chris' s life. You should've seen that one coming.
2- OK, you say enough is enough, and you're fed up with the BS that goes on that private board. Good. Are you sure that's the best way to go? Like you said, if you were to close that board, those people would most likely find a new place to gather around, but you would lose all influence. Are you sure you want to let that happen? As of now, you stand as an influential figure, you have a say, and, to some extent, control over Chris's trolling. If you let these people roam free, you could very well unleash hell on Chris without intent. Which would defeat the purpose of shutting down the private board, as it has become an annoyance to you and a mistake that you intend to correct.
See, the thing is, CWC is THE Lolcow. No other person is as widely known as CWC. His actions are appealing to a considerable amount of people. And as long as his videos are available to watch online, he will continue to be the most sought out lolcow on the Internet. Right now, these forums, are VERY influential to the people who follow CWC in terms of trolling (Sure, weens pop up all the time, but have you also considered how many people have restrained from trolling Chris after spending a few hours on these forums?)
What it boils down to is this:
Right now, you, Null, and your site have a say in what goes on in Chris' s life. If you do anything that undermines that, you run the risk of opening the "Pandora's Box" as your site functions as both, an inhibitor and an enabler of trolling. It's the board thd CWCki links to after all.
Do what you think is the best: Shut the private board down, change the focus of the entire boards completely, don't do anything, I don't know, just make sure it's a decision you have considered.
How about shutting down the private board, enforcing the no trolling rule to the max (This means no monkey businesses behind closed doors whatsoever), but allowing content to still be posted by outside parties? I think it's a win-win situation. Null gets rid of the private board problem, people still get their Chris content, and the forums remain as relevant as ever.
3- I agree, CWC is not the lolcow he used to be. Maybe the trolling should come to an end, either permanently or for a while, BUT I think you people are blowing it out proportion. It's not as if something illegal occurred. Chris is an adult. He has had years of experience with trolls, impersonators, and people telling him to change; He hasn't. He's had far more chances in life than anyone I know. Calm down, it's not as if Chris' s life depended on us to vote or something.
Sure, people are saying how abhorrent the state of Chris' s trolling is... but they weren't saying anything or complaining a few weeks ago. Really, people?
Calm down, don't blow this out of proportion. It's just a 30 year old man being trolled by people who exploit his naivete. A man who has had years of experience with trolls.
) and try and find actual friends and a sweetheart from the ground up!
