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The reality of freedom of speech.

Mentalist

Administrator
Staff member
Remember that show.. uh.. whats it called, I cant place it.. OH YEAH!


Star Trek.


The show that brought the original posters together in the beginning. It's not usually documented but my knowledge and the knowledge of others of that TV show is extensive to say the least. I have 15 years of Trek behind me and I'm 22 years old. I know my shit and that goes for the whole Sci-Fi genre, it has had a hand in shaping who I am. So in 1999 I found this place called TBBS, the exact memories of finding the place and registering are foggy somewhat, I was a modder on Sacrifice of Angels the huge Homeworld mod at the time.

TBBS was a diferent place back then, almost unrecognizable. But it was clear that certian personalities were not very good at 'playing by the rules' I like to call that having a sense of humour, but whatever.

So long story short TK was built on the back of the great member genocide. Are posters were primarily ONLY Star Trek fans, which is kind of weird to think about these days looking at TK.

TK was built on a very simple idea. Free Speech. People were able to post what they like, they wern't censored, they wern't hounded over sigs being three characters longer than they should be because of some psycho idiotic mod with a power trip.

The fact that a spin off board was made at all shows you how infuriating TBBS was. And don't get me wrong, I loved that board in the start.

So TK was born and it thrived. Being on the other end of the spectrum it had to deal with a plethora or troubles that a board with basically no rules must overcome. For the most part it did this very well, proving that Free Speech can work without total anarchy. TK had great members and it was simply great fun to be embroiled in the inter-board wars and politics that went back and forth. The leaking of the BR threads was one of the heights of TK's "point" we were a thorn in the paw of TBBS and it was very, very amusing.

TK has always been changing and has never stayed static for very long. Soon enough posters found this place who were totally unconnected with Star Trek and had nothing invested in that show whatsoever. TK had outgrown its roots and continued to grow.

I have always seen a good TK poster as the following: Comedy. Yep, its that simple, good trolling is all about comedy, its not about pissing off people for the sake of it, or out of spite, those things become irrelevant if their is no comedy involved. Since are comedy swords were attempted to be dulled and beaten out of shape by some of the most humorless people on the planet namely The Modicus bastardus the revolution began. A good TK poster was a poster with a good sense of humor, and I still like to think thats true today.

Of course with Freedom of Speech and freedom to do anything in the realms of legality things can get out of hand. Duals, Spamming, hacking and general disruption are to be expected. This has always been the case at TK, its nothing new but the state of TK today is a shadow of its former self.

Now is the TK age of gimmicks and duals. It holds onto a slight thread of decency with the Number_6 forum where the true point of Free Speech can be entertained. The big issues, Politics, Religion, these things are made for freedom of expression. You have a wacky pov? TK is the place to come and celebrate it. Want to get into a discussion, no holds barred, with someone of impressive intellect? then TK can accomadate you. Unfortunatly that has been nothing but a foot note of late.

The Mine Field, once again. We all know my stance on the Mine Field, I believe it to be the most entertaning forum on TK. With some fantastic posters contributing to a "style" of posting laden with pop culture references and off the cuff remarks and in jokes. It has been TK's most unique forum.

But, it would seem that things have changed.


Tk is no longer the community that it once was, I expect laughs from only the posters I KNOW are good. I am never suprised and hardly ever interested in getting involved with discussions anymore. It just doesn't interest me.

With the additon of Karma the focus became squarley on the gimmick, who can amass the most, who can invest enough time in getting the most. Seems like a bad way to use a system that is suited for being used sparingly for especially good posts or funny remarks that warrant a little yellow nod.

But, hey, thats Free Speech, nobody gets banned on TK and anything goes.

I guess the point I am trying to make in this incredibly long winded diatribe is that Its just not worth paying attention too. The old gaurd are just not interested in the shit that goes down these days. Jillian was at least amusing.

Infuriating? most assuredly, but amusing all the same. The DLA? The endless pointless duals that have the intelligence and style of a drunk gnat? Nah, I can't get on board with it, it bores me to tears, I really just don't care. And, well, since TK is nothing more than a hobby for me, something I enjoyed doing it is a shame that I can no longer find much here to interest me. It's just no fun anymore. The old wars are long since passed, the crack of it has faded. The original posters that remember the roots are in some cases well out of dodge or still here but the hearts not in it anymore.

That said we have found some diamonds in the endless rough, some good posters have crossed over but alas the ratio of lameness to quality is not a happy one.


So yeah, I am sure TK will continue for many years to come. But it will not return to the glory days again. The best parts over.

The current climate has been duller than funeral speech penned by B&B for a pet tortoise.


TK is not dead, but it sure aint fun either. I am still here, I am always here but I don't find much to do or say anymore, I simply don't care. TK is now in the next generation but it feels more like Enterprise. This board will eventually have lost its roots alltogether as more long standing posters leave and more pointless peons set up shop and shout at people a lot.

"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
 
That was a very intelligent and interesting post. As a newbie here, I was interested in hearing about this board's history. Thanks. I would not presume to comment on the past.

I would like to share that I was initially interested in the freedom of speech here. Most just pay freedom of speech lip service, and I appreciate that it is accepted here. I have found some interesting posters, and have had some fun here.

There seems to be this obsession with karma, duals, shouting, and overall rude and hostile nonsense. I find most of this to be narcissistic, self serving, and worst of all, boring.
 
Menty is right on so many levels. I relate to what he's talking about. I've only been here since May, and although I love Star Trek I never geeked out much on it, say the way I did with comics.

That's what I loved about this board from the start, and that seems to be the essence of Menty's post, "it's no good without the funny". Well Menty, you're part of what's right with that funny, and the strings in the MF are truly unique, and entertaining, but you're omitting Gagh, and that's part of what the problem "was" in terms of how things have evolved to here. You and Eggs and Wacky (and all the rest of what appear to be the original gang) are so much less antisocial as a group than Gagh is as an individual.

My opinion is that Gagh is mostly responsible for the anger that evolved into this current "flame not funny" sequencing from a few clearly pissed off individuals. I've seen the dynamic, and experienced it, and while he may be one of the most longterm and prolific posters, his boredom and meanness were antithetical to the "post if it's funny".

I post here because I really have become quite attached to the posting styles of many who post here. I really love what many of you think, and enjoy the back and forth. I've made some friends, and I've learned what it means to be part of a community.

Really Menty, you were the third (shatna and lilac before) to offer me a welcome here, and I think you're on the money with what you see and what you want.

So I'm going to go study MF threads for awhile, because my pop culture references are even more embedded than some of yours :bigass:
 
*Raises glass to Mentalist, nods*

I would add that before Troll Kingdom publicly adopted the "free speech" mantra, it was more of a haven for the banned and a war room for action against the True Enemy (Trek). I wasn't a member then, in fact the place left me fairly spooked at the time. Everything else just sort of evolved on its own until the original EZ board was shut down and this board raised in its stead on 9/11/02. Which is when I stopped lurking and actually joined.

Sardonica was the true champion of free speech as part of the genetic code for TK. While it does keep the board moving along with a higher outward purpose than its name suggests, I would imagine in the hands of others it would not be guaranteed. Which isn't a good or bad thing, I'm just saying it's ultimately as negotiable as anything else not covered in the board name.

I'm not a troll, but I find I truly enjoy this place. For the same reasons my esteemed colleague does. I hope to see it continue as such. If not, well, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting another BBS these days...
 
I would add that before Troll Kingdom publicly adopted the "free speech" mantra, it was more of a haven for the banned and a war room for action against the True Enemy (Trek).

The EZ board I never joined. I was too busy with my own shit at that time. I don't even remember joning TK which is the weird thing, I have tried to think back and I remember my first days here but I cant for the hell of me remember joining.

It was a VERY different place back then though.
 
your views are noted and cast aside.

a bungie cries 'that's racist' and he is told to go away,this is TK and anything goes

the DLA march with their duals, and all of a sudden the 'fabric of the community' is being corrupted
can the other elders smell their own bullshit?

you have all become so imbedded in your little clique that it has become your weakness.

'this is boring, this sucks, I'm bored, I'm leaving'--- TKers can dish it out but they cant take it

none of you have realised that this isnt going to stop because you got bored of it --- it will stop when WE are bored of it.

:eggs:
 
the DLA march with their duals, and all of a sudden the 'fabric of the community' is being corrupted
can the other elders smell their own bullshit?

Don't put yourself on such a pedestal. You think my views are based on your actions alone? You're deluded.
 
He was shunned by his own group Menty, that's what all the posturing is about.
 
Menty I wrote an equal diatribe on another forum I have inhabited for some time now about Trolling in general; "finger on the self destruct button" etc.

I came to the exact same conclusion but more subjectively: that the essense of Trolling FOR ME was humor.

For the record I've tried to be humorous with you folks and though I go ignored because I haven't been here that long, I too could give a shit less about Val, Duals or the DLA. The prior sentence having quantified the value of my opinion, I don't think anyone gives a fuck what I think or basically what anyone else thinks beyond : Jack, Kerb, Menty, BDM, Miranda and Laker_Girl, which is another reason these forums are only worth checking on once daily if that.

You guys are ok and Kerb can be really funny - Jack you have your moments but you post so often I can't even tell if they are all really you - but all in all DLA and karma aside, I think there is an unspoken "keep it in the family" motto about this place which seems ironically to include Val and at the same time weeds out some newcomers who might be fairly funny.

Whatever. Nobody gives a fuck. Someone want my points? I've got about 250 mil.
 
You don't know that over a hundred people share this screen name?

Actually proteon, I read all your stuff, and think you're cool too. My manic obsessive compulsive nature is served well here, that's all. I can't help it. I have TP, which is Terminal Postitis. If I don't continually post when I'm not in RL I will surely die.
 
No, and I can no longer be bothered to give a shit whether your lying or not. The drummer from Vermont was an intersting character. I can't discern where he lives in all the work Jack posts and if there really are 100 of you, try to imagine how worthwhile it is of my time to get to know "them".
 
Well, I'll go on "record" as saying "I beleive you". I think the records in this place are chok full of inconsistencies and half truths anyway.

Fact is I and me mates came in at the wrong time. I virtually spent the whole first day here because of Gagh, just in time for some little cunt who - I'm goign to hypothesize here and I proclaim I refuse to beleive a fucking word of what is returned as a result: ValKilmersDick is either a) one of you people in UBER BORED form or b) some dumb cunt who came here six months ago, had Gagh hand him his ass on a paper plate and spent all summer plotting revenge.

Either way it was the worst time to discover this place. I grew to pretty much assume that both a and b were true - that some of you "regulars" joined hands with the disgruntled cunt in the name of "trolling" and ouiala - all sense of worthwhile joking gone straight out the fucking window.
 
i was not out to upset you, Menty. but its true. TKers are pansies now. things were different when I stoped posting here last time



pretty please dont neg me
 
Hey Q I ate some corn last night, if you want later, you can pick some of it out of my shit.

How you guys expect to be funny with your hundreds of duals and their 51 posts is absolutely beyond me.
 
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