Re: Old Apple 2 Crackers & Pirates forum

["Aaron Pulver" <apulver@mhtc.net>]

Pim Blokland wrote in message <35AB6792.3F4@spcgroup.nl>...

<snip>
>I agree with Aaron that this is definitely *not* "FUN".
>I would even go further and state that any site or newsgroup or chatroom
>that is frequented by said troublemakers cannot be fun.
>Therefore, I don't visit this group (or any of the
>troublemakers-infested groups) because I "like" it here, but because I
>can find useful information and insights here.
>

Wouldn't you rather be somewhere you'd "like" to be? :) Would people pay to
join Delphi if they didn't like it there? You'd be amazed how many people
suddenly lose interest in flaming and become polite if they have to pay to
get in. :) Besides, there is plenty of useful information and insights on
Delphi; much more so than here on csa2. Although a paid account is best (and
gives you access to the file areas), with the free web access, you don't
have to pay anything to try Delphi. (Try http://www.delphi.com/apple2/ or
http://www.delphi.com/a2pro/  if you're interested.) Read the A2 and A2Pro
forums along with csa2 for a while, and decide which one is really worth
spending your valuable time on. :)


>
>I disagree. Closing a group such as this would not silence the
>flamethrowers. They would just go and rant elsewhere.

I'm not in favor of closing down csa2. Far too many new users (or Apple II
users who are new to the Internet, to be exact) find this place first.
However, it would be nice if this place was a little more respectful. It's
not very nice to discourage an Apple II user who has suddenly become excited
after finding out that yes, others still use these wonderful machines. I
wonder how many people have come to csa2 that way, and after seeing what
this place is like, left it, AND the Apple II, for good.

>What we really need is a smarter kind of spam-blocking filter, one that
>can remove rants as well. I would call it a "Filther" (short for filth
>filter). This way, they would notice that their raving does not have any
>effect and they will slowly wither away.
>(Well, I can dream, can I?)
>


No need to dream. The A2 and A2Pro Forums on Delphi have such a wonderful
device. The forum managers and assistants use it very well. :) Sure, A2 and
A2Pro aren't perfect. Anytime you bring together such a diverse group of
people, there will be disagreements and misunderstandings. Having said that,
I can safely say that the worst posts in A2 or A2Pro are better than most of
the best posts here in csa2. :)

>
>But does it NEED to be "fun"? Isn't "interesting" good enough a reason
>to stay here? If not, we need a subgroup comp.sys.apple2.fun.
>
>--
>Pim Blokland
>if replying by e-mail, replace the DOT in my name with a dot.

If you had a choice between "interesting" and "interesting and fun", what
would you choose? Csa2 can certainly be "interesting", I'll admit that. :)
It's even funny quite often. Fun? It hasn't been that for a long time.
Delphi is both interesting and fun. That's why I pay to have an account
there. The day Delphi stops being fun, I will leave. Does it NEED to be fun?
Of course! Would I be spending my time and money on these old Apple II
computers if it wasn't fun? If it was 15 years ago, and I was making a
living from programming the Apple II, it wouldn't need to be fun, but those
days are gone. All that is left is "fun". Isn't it fun when you realize,
hey, I could write a program better than that one. Isn't it fun when you
find a game that you played for months at a time ten years ago, and realize
it's better than you remembered? Isn't it fun to make your Apple II do
something somebody said it could never do? Isn't it fun to talk to others
who are having fun with their Apple II, just like you? Those people are on
Delphi...

- Aaron