The Cellar is a force for good in the world
 

I’ve been on the Mission and Outreach committee at my church for the last five years or so. It’s the group tasked with deciding how that community is going to do good in the world. We used to give money to a food pantry and fix up houses for little old ladies and things like that. We got a new priest two years ago, and she wanted us to really look at what it means to do good in the world, and examine what we were doing.

We read a bunch of books and talked about it a lot and basically came to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for others is to make relationships with them so that you can reach understanding and have empathy for one another. As a church, that’s really hard. Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hands, sounds good in a song, but really goes against human nature. We’re still trying to figure it out, but have at least started a partnership with a black church of another denomination to just have conversations. We still give money to the food pantry, because there is a need, but it’s really not the ideal way to be doing good in the world, because you injure the self esteem of people when you give them handouts.

So it’s with that lens that I am looking at the Cellar.

2020 has been lacking in an abundance of joyful moments for just about everyone, and that is reflected in the Cellar. Flint was abusive to an annoying new member and really took it too far, like he always does. He’s fully embroiled in the divisive politics of the world. It spills over here in the Cellar. Political discussions in the Cellar are pretty toxic right now. Worse than in previous election years, which have always been a little toxic.

Politics aside, I think this is a really good community and the regular members get a lot out of coming here. We make real connections. We are doing here what my Mission and Outreach committee has identified as being the most important thing.

Last week I fixed my car. I told my wife and daughter and they didn’t care much. I was excited about what I did and wanted to tell people who would care. Who would share in my victory. I came here and talked about it, and Dwellars sat with me. They read my little story and cared. There was empathy.

Think of all the troubled souls who have come here for comfort over the years and found it. And not just troubled souls. People who are happy and sharing their victories or their kids’ victories.

The Cellar is doing good work. Even if there is a lot of noise to look past.

I agree completely.

I told you guys about Ripley before I told my mom.

I cannot count the times I have benefited from The Cellar and the people here.

And I thank each one of you.

:grouphug:

:eek:

I thought about her just the other night.

And I remember when direct action by a member here saved the life of another that I think we all loved.

Yep.

Not forgotten. Her nor the direct action.

Many thanks, sir.

QFT.

This place is bigger than us all.

I just told another dwellar this is the only place I have felt comfortable talking about the things I need(ed) to talk about when beest... But it hasn't been the same Cellar recently, and the stuff that makes it unpleasant for me has multiplied significantly . So I get it, but I will miss it. Most of it.

I will not miss old threads being resurrected without purpose other than because the housebound are bored and don't have thought or empathy for those who went before.

I will miss the irreverence. And the judiciously limited use of the ban hammer. The wit. And the "Cellar Car" Spirit. That's what made it The Cellar.

Interesting read Glatt, guess I just joined Cellar way way too late to get the good friendship and now since I'm the "annoying new member" I guess they teach that in your church work.

I think it was you who mentioned "no new members in a long time" and wonder why. And as I said I would have Never found it had one of your members had not invited me here....

I don't belong to any church ANYMORE, and don't need a church to teach me how to be decent to people...I came here with good intentions, and sure was shot down by so many. Peace out Glatt...

Not that it matters but I'm wondering what this ole new member is annoying to you?

I know my words were hurtful to you, and I’m sorry for that.

I thought of her recently too.

You guys matter to me.

I just re-read the other lumberthing thread, and want to say thanks again for all of your support. I didn't want to bump that thread, so I'm saying it on this one.

I couldn't find that video her friend did until I saw it in there. I just heard her voice again, and saw her moving. Blessing.

Saved the video and now I have it.

I've learned to play that song, Masterpiece, and am going to play it right now. And maybe cry a little.

Huh. No tears. Somehow it didn't make me sad at all. Must have played it too many times.

I joined the cellar a few weeks after my 15th birthday. i'm 29. ive been on (well, on and off) the cellar for about half my life. I've probably spent more time away than i've spent here, but it still feels a little like home. one last little bastion of the old internet. i'd definitely miss this place if it went anywhere.

The Cellar was a force for good from 2001-2012. During that time it did what it was intended to do. We had glorious conversations about everything. We fought and still stayed here. New people came around all the time. Because they wanted to be social, and it was a new way of being social. Almost all the people you're thinking about, the people you value, are all from that era. Look at the Join Dates in this thread. What we have now is the leftover of that time.

We have not been that force for a while now. Now we're a force that shits all over an 82-year-old because she's too isolated in her thoughts. We should be the place that helps fix that. But maybe we never were, maybe it's me who changed. Fine.

But now, the question I find most interesting is,

When you set up the new forum, are ya gonna let her on it?

after all, she did post too much. on a forum so precious, so in need of defending, so full of love and sharing that you people weren't even writing 40 posts per week.

It's truly stunning how you talk about the 82 yr old...you may all be here some day, maybe not. I hope so.

Don't even worry about considering me for the "new" group. You can all rest... Thanks.

And as posting too much, 82 yrs one has a lot to say if they are up on things in the world. Glad you have your precious small group who use so much foul language ..

Just laughing sorta, wonder how I would have been treated if I were 92, worse or better, hard to tell....the older folks are a more disposable group these times.

Glad I can still think clearly and write as I do, many my age are in dementia, and I've viewed plenty of caregiver groups....

Everyone knows that I'm just here for the entertainment; so, they could've gotten rid of me at anytime.

All they ever had to do was have Clodfobble PM a picture of herself baring her tits and I would have quit this place while I was ahead.

But, they couldn't bear the thought of my leaving and not having anyone to entertain for the level of appreciation I've shown.

I suppose I'll be drafted into the next incarnation of the Cellar by popular demand. We all have our crosses to bear.

Amazing how young you were, I was 67 when I first got on a forum....so it's 15 yrs and I've been on many...I don't stay more than 5-6 yrs as I mentioned... I hope the group stays for you longtimers..... My grandgirl is a few yrs younger than you now and she has all her own social stuff...and it's a lot....she's very interested in holistic healing and therapies...she's seen enough pharma damage in her family life....

you don't give a shit.

Post count:

References to Ibby: 2
"I": 5
"my":1
refernces to alleged relative to you: 5

Tell me again how caring you are, how concerned for other people?

How much "shit" should I be giving about this forum after being around here a few days? good grief, how would anyone feel if they were mudslung the way I have been.

And that's some username....ummmm

zero shit (rhetorical question -probably invented after your time...). So why keep posting to try and demonstrate you're not a troll but really a caring woke person? Oh.. coz you're a troll/attention ho. your age is irrelevant. why do you keep bringing it up? unless you feel it mitigates some cognitive impairment and excuses your poor behavior, ignorance and general wankfest? prolly caused by grapeseed jizz.

the username? What sorta wannabe doesn't research thing like that? The answer is not hard to find (excluding the obvious)

Have a Blessed Day and may you not choke on the smoke or flake from a quake :)

This. Except it’s not “you people”, it’s *we*. We all took it for granted and have posted less and less, meaning that when an enthusiastic newbie posts a lot that is all you see, instead of it being leavened with posts from regulars. And without that, how can any newbie get a sense of the Cellar’s identity, and without that the Cellar’s regular members feel threatened because the identity of the Cellar is strongly affected by one new person’s posts.
Also, I hadn’t thought how COVID and it’s impact on each of us, wherever we are, will have affected our reactions. I think perhaps we’re all more sensitive.
I think the Cellar achieved something remarkable for a while on the internet, providing a real connection between people who otherwise would not have met, not just because of geography, but also because here we are just names on screens, so our visually or sociologically cued prejudices weren’t brought into play.
We haven’t had new members for a long time because there really isn’t much to see here. A small social group chatting occasionally. And I don’t think it is possible to return to what we had in the Cellar’s heyday, because we have all changed, and Internet use has changed.
But I am very grateful to Undertoad for maintaining this place for so long, and very glad to have met the friends (no quote marks, no qualifying word “online”, I mean true friends) that I have here.


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True words limey.

A small social group chatting occasionally is not a bad thing. It’s important to the group.

I dunno, is it like an old couple who have said everything they needed to say, but still enjoy each other’s company and rock on the porch together in silence? There’s no growth, but there’s a connection.

The heyday is gone, and we remain. And talk about stuff sometimes.

I agree, and hope we can work out a way to stay in touch.


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I was trying to explain the cellar to my GF last night. In the process I realized how it means so much to so many different people and how it fostered interactions that have improved so many of our lives and increased people's knowledge and awareness about an enormous range of subjects, lifestyles, ideologies. Sometimes it was simply a respite from the irritations of daily life and other times it was a shoulder to cry on or people to share a joke with.

The world, not just the US, is facing a viral pandemic as well as a pandemic of extremism in its many forms. There is tremendous uncertainty in the world now and it is affecting everyone's mood and mental health. THIS is exactly when the cellar is needed most. And it is also what is behind a lot of the ill feelings.

I see your point about the glory years of the cellar, I'm not sure what to add to that, or what Limey said, but I'm curious about WHY things dropped off around 2012. I don't have the analytics to view, but I suspect that they would tell a lot.

But you don't have an obligation to us, nor should you feel that you do. Maybe we're like the guests in Buñuel's "Exterminating Angel" who are reluctant and then unable to leave the dinner party when it is over.

Some have suggested the idea of selling the cellar, sure you could do that but it wouldn't be the cellar without your guidance. I've often been blown away by your ability to make decisions based on what you think is best for the cellar even when it seems like it isn't what you, personally, would prefer. I wouldn't be able to be that professionally detached.

I have to get to work, I want to write more about this later because there is a lot to say. Hopefully I'm not just being a windbag but I'll be happy to fuck right off if I am.

Do not fuck right off.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

I hope Karma doesn't come back to hit you in your life...your meanness can only bring more to yourself.

During its heyday, the Cellar was difficult to stay on top of. There were so many posts. If you wanted to follow it all, then you had to give most of your day over to the Cellar.

So you had to choose maybe a dozen threads to follow, and even then, the posts came so quickly that if you saw a post that warranted a response, the conversation had often gone off in a completely different direction and to respond at that point would disrupt the flow of the conversation.

So it was good and manageable when it died down a little bit. It wasn't like drinking from a fire hose. Lately it died down way too much. 40 posts a week is nothing. Is that really true? What a trickle.

With the impending death, it's perking up a little bit in one last gasp, but there is still too much noise mixed in with the signal. And navel gazing, like this post, is probably part of that noise. *Shrug*

Is it because we all got older or do you think it's because the world has changed or is there something that is taking everyone's time and attention away?

Combination I think.

We've all got older, the world has changed pretty rapidly in many ways ... add in that it's an election year for the US in a political climate that is more divided than I have ever seen in my lifetime, while over on this side of the pond we're screeching towards a cliff edge - and we're in the middle of a global pandemic that has upended normality and set everyone on edge

I haven't stirred the shit nearly enough.

My bad

Get on that little bitch, eat a bag of dicks.

yeah..... your LOL levels are too low, your LDL too high.... something something, you're old

Word

I'll miss The Cellar.

You guys sent me to coventry a long time ago, but I'm compelled to lurk because you are all so damn entertaining.

We're all still here, just at cellar.boardhost.com. You should come have a look around, it's not too shabby!

Word.


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