As we are all aware - I am the One True Poster™ on this god-forsaken forum. I suggest you actively ignore all threads I haven't posted in, and all posts not authored by me.
Site Updates & Changes
- Thread starter Gavin
- Start date
Automatic switching between the standard ParkFans style and DarkFans style is now enabled by default. The switch will happen automatically as long as your browser supports it and will follow whatever your system settings are. This can be overridden by switching the style to the one you desire in the bottom left of the page.
Was not expecting the dark theme when i hopped on this afternoon but it is a much welcomed update
I'm glad someone raised this subject, and I'd like to add my two cents. I was initially drawn to ParkFans not only because of my love for BGW, but also because of the lack of Facebook/Twitter style political discussion and general disrespect. I tend to avoid Facebook and Twitter because they've been so overrun with political contention. Ever since the politics and various coronavirus threads were added, I've noticed a change in tone on the forum as a whole, not just on those threads. I tend not to read or engage in the controversial threads because I'm not into political discussion in general, much less on a theme park forum. I realize this is my choice, and that I can (and do) simply avoid those threads. I don't much care that they show up on my "what's new" page.
That said, I do feel that since the more controversial, non theme park-related threads were introduced, the contentious tone seen in those discussions has spilled over into the theme park-related discussions, even if the specific political matter has not. Lately I've felt that forum discussions that once would have been pleasant and productive have increasingly gained the potential to turn contentious. Members seem much more wary of each other and, on occasion outright hostile, in what should be fun discussions about something we all enjoy. The member congeniality that initially attracted me to this forum seems to be slowly eroding as the political threads become more prevalent. Over the past year, this shift has decreased my desire to engage with the forum and as a result, I haven't been visiting the site nearly as often as I used to. (I realize I've never been a super-contributor, but I definitely used to enjoy the site more than I do now).
I understand the logic behind wanting to isolate political and other controversial discussions into their own threads to remove them from actual theme park discussions. However, while the political subject matter itself is isolated, the contention and ill feelings political discussions can cause seems to be spreading to other discussions. It's like trying to isolate a monster but continuing to feed it - eventually that monster will become big enough to break out of that isolation in one way or another.
Personally, I feel the addition of political threads has shifted ParkFans away from its core purpose to some degree while slowly spreading negativity throughout its core threads. Could this be fixed by discouraging/banning political discussion or other similar measures? That is certainly not my call to make. But as a member I wanted to share my perspective that the more contentious, non-core threads seem to be causing a negative psychological shift on the entire forum.
That said, I do feel that since the more controversial, non theme park-related threads were introduced, the contentious tone seen in those discussions has spilled over into the theme park-related discussions, even if the specific political matter has not. Lately I've felt that forum discussions that once would have been pleasant and productive have increasingly gained the potential to turn contentious. Members seem much more wary of each other and, on occasion outright hostile, in what should be fun discussions about something we all enjoy. The member congeniality that initially attracted me to this forum seems to be slowly eroding as the political threads become more prevalent. Over the past year, this shift has decreased my desire to engage with the forum and as a result, I haven't been visiting the site nearly as often as I used to. (I realize I've never been a super-contributor, but I definitely used to enjoy the site more than I do now).
I understand the logic behind wanting to isolate political and other controversial discussions into their own threads to remove them from actual theme park discussions. However, while the political subject matter itself is isolated, the contention and ill feelings political discussions can cause seems to be spreading to other discussions. It's like trying to isolate a monster but continuing to feed it - eventually that monster will become big enough to break out of that isolation in one way or another.
Personally, I feel the addition of political threads has shifted ParkFans away from its core purpose to some degree while slowly spreading negativity throughout its core threads. Could this be fixed by discouraging/banning political discussion or other similar measures? That is certainly not my call to make. But as a member I wanted to share my perspective that the more contentious, non-core threads seem to be causing a negative psychological shift on the entire forum.
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I too miss the simpler days when I could hate someone simply based on their opinion of Tempesto while having no knowledge of who they were voting for.
My $0.02 is we're seeing what happens when there's nothing going on in the amusement industry, everything is on hold, and after the initial fun of a new event there's not much left to talk about.
For what it is worth, the Politics thread has been around since 2012. It is the choices of the users that have changed, not the composition of the site. The COVID threads are not intrinsically divisive. For whatever reason, however, the topic has been politicized. I don’t think it is reasonable to expect anyone to have known that a discussion about a pandemic that has affected the parks would turn so ugly.
I would also suggest that people look back a few years (2013/2014 for example). The Forum was a combative place. That is a large part of what motivated the dramatic change in the rules and creation of the Advisory Panel.
I agree that the ugly, partisan fights that seem to have taken over our public discourse have infiltrated here as well. I don’t think, however, that the existence of a few threads is the reason.
I would also suggest that people look back a few years (2013/2014 for example). The Forum was a combative place. That is a large part of what motivated the dramatic change in the rules and creation of the Advisory Panel.
I agree that the ugly, partisan fights that seem to have taken over our public discourse have infiltrated here as well. I don’t think, however, that the existence of a few threads is the reason.
I agree with this, and I have no problem with people who choose to engage in political discussion if that’s what they like. I just don’t want to see members turn against each other because of it.
Maybe not the sole reason but possibly a contributor? I know the politics thread has been around much longer than I’ve been a member, but I don’t ever remember it being as active as it has been in the past year.
Disclaimer: I could very well be the only person with the perspective I shared. I wasn’t around for the previous combativeness, so my view isn’t as wide as it is for others.
You're possibly correct, but it's really hard to tell. I think @warfelg's point about the lack of anything else to talk about alongside of the relatively unprecedented craziness that's taken place at the federal level also have some influence.
Walking through the park right now and typing with numb fingers, so excuse the brevity and possible incoherence here.
I've spoken about this with members in person in the last year, but I don't think I've ever really put it out there publicly before.
I think a big part of the problem over the last year is that amusement parks have been thrust into the middle of a very controversial, politically-charged, current events issue. For the last year it has legitimately been impossible to separate park news and politics. BGW and KD coverage requirements were so messy this year that I literally had to live tweet VA governor press conferences. That is legitimately unparalleled and frankly, not something I think any park fan wants to go through again in the future. I know I certainly do not.
At the end of the day though, cutting political and coronavirus news out of our coverage and discussions was just not an option. External public health and political issues have been driving EVERYTHING in the amusement industry for a year now and if folks couldn't discuss them here, they were going to find somewhere else to do it. Pair that with the depressing reality that there was legitimately no park news OUTSIDE of those topic areas and the forum would have just been dead for a year.
I think over the last few months or so we have already been seeing a real realignment in coverage and discussion topics here and, as the world recovers, I expect the community to as well. There will be inevitable flare-ups here and there until the masks and capacity restrictions are gone, but its already really been improving in my opinion.
It has been a brutal year for everyone, but everything—ParkFans included—will return to normal.
I've spoken about this with members in person in the last year, but I don't think I've ever really put it out there publicly before.
I think a big part of the problem over the last year is that amusement parks have been thrust into the middle of a very controversial, politically-charged, current events issue. For the last year it has legitimately been impossible to separate park news and politics. BGW and KD coverage requirements were so messy this year that I literally had to live tweet VA governor press conferences. That is legitimately unparalleled and frankly, not something I think any park fan wants to go through again in the future. I know I certainly do not.
At the end of the day though, cutting political and coronavirus news out of our coverage and discussions was just not an option. External public health and political issues have been driving EVERYTHING in the amusement industry for a year now and if folks couldn't discuss them here, they were going to find somewhere else to do it. Pair that with the depressing reality that there was legitimately no park news OUTSIDE of those topic areas and the forum would have just been dead for a year.
I think over the last few months or so we have already been seeing a real realignment in coverage and discussion topics here and, as the world recovers, I expect the community to as well. There will be inevitable flare-ups here and there until the masks and capacity restrictions are gone, but its already really been improving in my opinion.
It has been a brutal year for everyone, but everything—ParkFans included—will return to normal.
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This really feels like as close as we can get to a parkfans "state of the union" address. I suggest you do this in video form next time in front of the BFE (after you marathon it).
I applaud this speech in text form.
I applaud this speech in text form.
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A few changes, lets see:
Old links that followed the http://forum.parkfans.net scheme now redirect to the proper location. That means any old link like this, http://forum.parkfans.net/thread-2677-post-108254.html#pid108254, you may come across on the web will now work!
You can now check if any ParkFans Network site is down by visiting https://status.parkfans.net. This page is not hosted by us, and will automatically update if there is an outage.
Social Media Link Previews now show the cover image or Apocalypse as the hero image instead of a random user's avatar. Let me know if there are any issues with this, as I had to make some changes to a few things.
And as some of you may have notice, I am working on an improved way to track ParkFans' bugs and issues. I hope to have that up sometime later tonight, but for now keep posting in the Bug Report thread.
As always, let us know if there are any issues.
Old links that followed the http://forum.parkfans.net scheme now redirect to the proper location. That means any old link like this, http://forum.parkfans.net/thread-2677-post-108254.html#pid108254, you may come across on the web will now work!
You can now check if any ParkFans Network site is down by visiting https://status.parkfans.net. This page is not hosted by us, and will automatically update if there is an outage.
Social Media Link Previews now show the cover image or Apocalypse as the hero image instead of a random user's avatar. Let me know if there are any issues with this, as I had to make some changes to a few things.
And as some of you may have notice, I am working on an improved way to track ParkFans' bugs and issues. I hope to have that up sometime later tonight, but for now keep posting in the Bug Report thread.
As always, let us know if there are any issues.