Zompist Bboard Again

zompist wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 3:03 pm

alice wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 3:02 pm I'm Eddy too, but in a different way, as some of you well know.

We're all eddies in the space-time continuum.

And this is his sofa we're sitting on, is it?

Raphael wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 2:02 pm

keenir wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 12:59 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 10:14 am malloc is definitely Eddy.

better to be Eddy than to be Serali?

That's below the belt.

I had meant it in terms of it being better to be a returned Eddy, than to be a returned Serali...either way, I assumed (but did not say) that internal reformation and an improvement in behavior, had taken place -- a development I hope that I as well have undergone in that span of time. Maybe that was a bad time to use a smiley, though i'd intended it as lightening the mood, not to inject humor.

{side note: I don't remember an Eddy on any of the boards}

IMO the treatment of Serali was one of the more shameful parts of the "unsalvageable fever swamp" period in the old ZBB's history.

ah; I remember us asking Serali to stop stealing scripts from other members (and other places), and I'm pretty sure there were punishments handed out (suspension)...but thats all i can remember...which, sadly, is more than I remember from how I or a few others behaved back then.

I stayed out of the Serali drama as much as possilbe, so my memories of it are just "OMG Pretty Scripties!". I prefer not to try to think how long ago that was...

Raphael wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 2:02 pm

keenir wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 12:59 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 10:14 am malloc is definitely Eddy.

better to be Eddy than to be Serali?

That's below the belt. IMO the treatment of Serali was one of the more shameful parts of the "unsalvageable fever swamp" period in the old ZBB's history.

Who was Serali?

Personally, I think the worst thing I’ve seen here was the way we treated Bob on the new forum (i.e. this one). Of course, I was complicit in that myself. If I ever encounter him again I’d like to apologise for my behaviour then.

I don't know what this stuff is coming from.

Serali was banned for claiming that other people's work was her own.

Bob was banned for harrassing members and making threats.

Both were given opportunities to behave more socially and did not do so.

On the first board there were some members who were constantly trolling, rarely making it so blatant they got banned. Finally they did make it too blatant and got banned (and I'm sorry it didn't happen earlier; I tend to think people can improve, and gave them too many chances).

zompist wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 10:46 pm Bob was banned for harrassing members and making threats.

Both were given opportunities to behave more socially and did not do so.

You’re right, yes. That doesn’t excuse my own behaviour. I could have just ignored his posts and not engaged.

bradrn wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 11:04 pm

zompist wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 10:46 pm Bob was banned for harrassing members and making threats.

Both were given opportunities to behave more socially and did not do so.

You’re right, yes. That doesn’t excuse my own behaviour. I could have just ignored his posts and not engaged.

True, yes. Though I'd remind you he also had a way of intruding his stuff in other threads. It took awhile to clean it all up.

zompist wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 10:46 pm I don't know what this stuff is coming from.

Serali was banned for claiming that other people's work was her own.

Bob was banned for harrassing members and making threats.

Both were given opportunities to behave more socially and did not do so.

On the first board there were some members who were constantly trolling, rarely making it so blatant they got banned. Finally they did make it too blatant and got banned (and I'm sorry it didn't happen earlier; I tend to think people can improve, and gave them too many chances).

For the record, I was not complaining about Serali's ban, but about the abuse she got from the trolls you mention.

I've now been involved with zompist.com, in one way or another, for about a quarter of a century. Wow.

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 8:38 am I've now been involved with zompist.com, in one way or another, for about a quarter of a century. Wow.

*high five*

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 8:38 am I've now been involved with zompist.com, in one way or another, for about a quarter of a century. Wow.

Me too. The year 2000 was when I began to be involved with conlanging in a more earnest way (I had occasionally been fooling around with conlangs earlier), joined the CONLANG list, embarked on the project that eventually evolved into the Elvenpath, and perused Langmaker. And one of the web sites I began to follow back then surely was zompist.com, though the ZBB came somewhat later (in early 2005, if I recall correctly).

Almost 22 years for me. I got into conlanging the summer after my first year of college (2003), and found the LCK pretty soon afterwards, so... 22 years in the fall? Geez, that's over half my life...

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 1:39 pm

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 8:38 am I've now been involved with zompist.com, in one way or another, for about a quarter of a century. Wow.

Me too. The year 2000 was when I began to be involved with conlanging in a more earnest way (I had occasionally been fooling around with conlangs earlier), joined the CONLANG list, embarked on the project that eventually evolved into the Elvenpath, and perused Langmaker. And one of the web sites I began to follow back then surely was zompist.com,

Oh, for most of the time, including all the early years, I did no conlanging myself, and had relatively little interest in conlanging in general. I was here as a fan of Almea specifically, and of the rest of zompist's work.

though the ZBB came somewhat later (in early 2005, if I recall correctly).

I'm pretty sure it was 2002. Before that, the old Virtual Veduria Message Board had run from 2000 to 2002, though with a long interruption in there.

Herra Ratatoskr wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 1:51 pm so... 22 years in the fall? Geez, that's over half my life...

Same for me.


Edit: Obligatory xkcd:

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 2:12 pm

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 1:39 pm though the ZBB came somewhat later (in early 2005, if I recall correctly).

I'm pretty sure it was 2002. Before that, the old Virtual Veduria Message Board had run from 2000 to 2002, though with a long interruption in there.

I mean, I joined the ZBB in early 2005. The board has been existing before, of course.

25 years for me as well, first on the Old Verduria BB. I first found the numbers in a million languages and then Almea and the other content.

I must have been around for about 20 years too; I can remember meeting other ZBBers in 2006.

alice wrote: ↑Tue May 27, 2025 2:28 pm I must have been around for about 20 years too; I can remember meeting other ZBBers in 2006.

I think, independently of the ZBB, you contributed something to the zompist.com website even before that.

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue May 27, 2025 2:40 pm

alice wrote: ↑Tue May 27, 2025 2:28 pm I must have been around for about 20 years too; I can remember meeting other ZBBers in 2006.

I think, independently of the ZBB, you contributed something to the zompist.com website even before that.

Sometimes the old change logs are useful— the page you're thinking of dates to October 1998. The German culture test was put up in 2000. (Taken down at the request of its author; someone should really do a new one.)

The site itself dates to March 1996. I think. I didn't keep records at first, and the "created by" dates on the actual files unfortunately only tell me when the files were copied to my computer. (Good lord, that means it'll be 30 years old next year. I'll have to do another redesign.)

I have to say, I miss the discoverability of the '90s web. Since the web didn't mostly consist of Facebook and its peers, people looked all over and constantly shared links. So an absolute nobody could suddenly become well known. I used to get a lot of mail. (And I'm not on Facebook because 1. Facebook is evil, and 2. you can't send your followers posts that they'll see on Facebook without paying, and even paying doesn't guarantee it.)

zompist wrote: ↑Tue May 27, 2025 3:42 pm I have to say, I miss the discoverability of the '90s web. Since the web didn't mostly consist of Facebook and its peers, people looked all over and constantly shared links. So an absolute nobody could suddenly become well known. I used to get a lot of mail. (And I'm not on Facebook because 1. Facebook is evil, and 2. you can't send your followers posts that they'll see on Facebook without paying, and even paying doesn't guarantee it.)

Agreed -- it's annoying on the consumer end too. Finding new, interesting content is more difficult.
Social networks used to be a good source. But several of them were taken other by the worst kind of politics; the remainder being Facebook and Instagram, and you summarized the problem with these quite well.

I deäctivated my Facebook because bipolar disorder and social media don’t mix well. I also got rid of my X/Twitter, Bluesky, and Tumblr (I’ve some accounts there for identity control but I don’t use them nearly as much anymore). Instagram, I can handle, and Messenger is necessary for communication with some people I know (like the band and my relatives in Poland), but I’ve kind of gotten over the need for socials.