The Club409 Manifesto
When I'm done writing it, this might not turn out to be a manifesto, but I've always wanted one, so that's what I'll call it. I guess it's more of a way for me to document and explain the way that this forum, and its members, tend to operate. This modus operandi may very well change over time; that's why I'm posting its description as a thread: so everyone can comment on, contribute to, and correct it.
409: The Forum
The 409 consists of hundreds of threads, and thousands of posts (as of this writing, those numbers are 725 and 9773, respectively). As noted previously, the rate at which new threads are added has reduced dramatically in recent history. This is mostly due to our tendency to revive old threads, and also to frequently post in a small subset of threads that have a pretty general topic of conversation. Perhaps this could be organized better; I've got a few ideas that I'll hopefully try out soon.
In concert with our tendency to revisit old threads, we also tend to have running jokes and in-jokes. Some of these may exist entirely on the forum, but a number of them (probably the vast majority) are brought in from real life. The reason for this readily apparent when you take a look at how most of us know each other. This fact has been cited as one of the reasons new members might find it hard to feel like a part of the Club.. I can't really think of any good way to fix that, other than having an annual 409 convention (Vegas, anyone?) where we can all make good memories together, say and do terribly awkward things in public, and possibly get arrested. Additionally, if (when?) our list of active users grows considerably, then the ratio of out-jokes to in-jokes will probably rise enough that it will no longer be an issue.
409: The Lifestyle
Impulsivity, Resourcefulness, Shamelessness
In my mind, I liken our little community to the heroes of the animated series Captain Planet. Each of us has our own gifts, quirks, and dare I say it, special powers. For example, my power would be Spontaneous Nudity. And when you get any number of us together, our special powers combine to become something far greater than the sum of our parts. I know there is a lot more entertaining & nuanced greatness to the 409 Lifestyle, but I'm losing my muse, so for now I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. No seriously, you guys write the rest.
When I'm done writing it, this might not turn out to be a manifesto, but I've always wanted one, so that's what I'll call it. I guess it's more of a way for me to document and explain the way that this forum, and its members, tend to operate. This modus operandi may very well change over time; that's why I'm posting its description as a thread: so everyone can comment on, contribute to, and correct it.
409: The Forum
The 409 consists of hundreds of threads, and thousands of posts (as of this writing, those numbers are 725 and 9773, respectively). As noted previously, the rate at which new threads are added has reduced dramatically in recent history. This is mostly due to our tendency to revive old threads, and also to frequently post in a small subset of threads that have a pretty general topic of conversation. Perhaps this could be organized better; I've got a few ideas that I'll hopefully try out soon.
In concert with our tendency to revisit old threads, we also tend to have running jokes and in-jokes. Some of these may exist entirely on the forum, but a number of them (probably the vast majority) are brought in from real life. The reason for this readily apparent when you take a look at how most of us know each other. This fact has been cited as one of the reasons new members might find it hard to feel like a part of the Club.. I can't really think of any good way to fix that, other than having an annual 409 convention (Vegas, anyone?) where we can all make good memories together, say and do terribly awkward things in public, and possibly get arrested. Additionally, if (when?) our list of active users grows considerably, then the ratio of out-jokes to in-jokes will probably rise enough that it will no longer be an issue.
409: The Lifestyle
Impulsivity, Resourcefulness, Shamelessness
In my mind, I liken our little community to the heroes of the animated series Captain Planet. Each of us has our own gifts, quirks, and dare I say it, special powers. For example, my power would be Spontaneous Nudity. And when you get any number of us together, our special powers combine to become something far greater than the sum of our parts. I know there is a lot more entertaining & nuanced greatness to the 409 Lifestyle, but I'm losing my muse, so for now I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. No seriously, you guys write the rest.
