The story of Cellar.org?

Harlan · 03-07-2006, 05:57 AM

I am new as a member, though I have been visiting (lurking?) for a while. Most of the other community sites I've visited don't seem to work... they end up being a couple of posters and dozens of members who post three times then never come back. Or else everyone has the same opinion and it's a big circle jerk.

The only other community I find successful is very rigidly structured and policed and god help you if you didn't read the stickies, rules, and search to see if your question has already been asked and answered. It works in that case. The Cellar seems to be able to thrive with a looser approach.

I don't mean to sound like like a friggin sociologist. I'm not writing a term paper (though that is a hobby of mine). But I am curious: How/when/why did the Cellar start? Is UT alone the founder? Did some of you guys know each other (in person) or did you just start yapping online? Why so many members from PA? Why does this work, really? Does the cellar flood during rainy season? Has it been tested for Radon? Is that Willard on the rafters?

I don't mean to start a LoveFest either... I think it's cool and seek understanding. I also wanted to use the term "circle jerk" in one of my first dozen posts. I can now cross that off my to-do list.

xoxoxoBruce · 03-07-2006, 06:02 AM

Read this.

Harlan · 03-07-2006, 06:24 AM

Thanks, xoxoxoBruce. That answers the founding question.

Undertoad · 03-07-2006, 07:08 AM

The sociology questions fascinate you like they fascinate me, Harlan.

There's no need to police a strong community - the people set their own agenda and police it themselves through mores. We've had approximately one non-spam-related banning per year. The community has mixed feelings even when a necessary banning takes place.

If it was harshly policed it wouldn't survive, either. We want to be free to talk about anything that occurs to us. Would you go to a tavern that had a sign on the wall "No Talking About Cats"?

There remain precious few online communities that will talk about *anything* - most have a specific purpose and a community may develop as a result, if there is critical mass. This one has been relentlessly about nothing since the beginning.

It doesn't really care about its growth either. There is no business plan. Whatever happens, happens. As long as it has grown it has been able to support itself, roughly, so let's allow it to drift and see what paths it cuts for itself. I could never see how any community would put up with a business plan. People don't want to think that their local forum could suffer or go away because somebody got fired or a business had a bad year.

smoothmoniker · 03-07-2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Would you go to a tavern that had a sign on the wall "No Talking About Cats"?

Oh god, yes. In fact, let's make that the new official motto.

03-07-2006, 10:42 AM

Say, speaking of cats, my Siamese did the cutest thing yesterday...

To me the cellar is like visiting a great interactive public library. You can discuss really profound questions, look at some amazing pictures, get advise for the love lorn, talk about what you had for lunch, and have no holds barred political arguments with the guy who runs the place, and its all cool. Every other board I visit has tons of rules. This place has 3.

Isn't this one of the oldest continuously running discussion forums on the 'Net, UT? Which reminds me. I have a little spare cash this month. I think I'll go hit the tip jar.

Cyclefrance · 03-07-2006, 02:22 PM

Let's not talk about cats - it'll only end up talking about toast.

The Cellar works to my mind because of its diversity of subject matter and personalities. For some reason there's an inbuilt respect for the way this forum has self-structured and we interact accordingly without having to be told to do so - and that certainly encourages those who are here to stay here.

It's also something that would be difficult to change as too many of us like the way it is.

We have a critical mass (and I don't mean a communion that's running late or that the bulk of the members are past saving... hmm, second thoughts...) and once established this phenomenon is hard to break.

Kagen4o4 · 03-07-2006, 04:30 PM

i like a good cat jam on my toast

the people make the difference. you cant stay here unless someone like me can call you a @#$%ing idiot without you getting offended. because you all know i have no real grounds for calling you all @#$%ing idiots so it doesnt bother you. and you could all call me a @#$%ing idiot without me getting upset.

my point is....youre all @#$%ing idiots!

but my real point is that the people here let you say what you need to say without "flaming". theres no competition for attention or who has the best "What the Fuck" picture etc.

The Cellar: Its how Communism should be.

xoxoxoBruce · 03-07-2006, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

This one has been relentlessly about nothing since the beginning.

That's it! The Cellar is the Seinfeld of forums.

SteveDallas · 03-07-2006, 07:02 PM

"What is it with spam anyway?"

03-07-2006, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveDallas

"What is it with spam anyway?"

Its made out of cats.

richlevy · 03-07-2006, 07:35 PM

I just reread the Cellar history. I remember the BBQ and the move to Trooper, which means I have been using the Cellar since about 1992. Wow.

Tonchi · 03-07-2006, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

There's no need to police a strong community - the people set their own agenda and police it themselves through mores....If it was harshly policed it wouldn't survive, either. We want to be free to talk about anything that occurs to us.....

I am here partly just because this forum has adults, or at least mature minds, which can and will deal with situations and people in ways that bring resolutions rather than open warfare. Unfortunately, I get to see the other side of that coin every day and it is very annoying and stressful. I have to monitor a forum where the rules are very strict and failure to adhere to them or challenging the people who enforce them leads to banning. But the participants at my "other forum" are extremely immature and many of them are perfect little shitheads who obviously want to claim "rights" they have read about in canned speaches but which they do not deserve. Because an entertainer pays for that forum, I do what SHE wants, not what some brat with an attitude wants to turn the forum into. It's impossible to raise somebody else's kids online, especially considering how many countries and cultures they are coming from, and I don't want that job anyway. Instead, I have to take all the gunfire and hate because it's easier for them to blame me and the other moderators than to admit that their idol might actually not WANT all their half-baked opinions, egos, and acting out. I can come to The Cellar and watch serious life in action. People who can make things happen, people who can express themselves, people who have different attitudes but who (mostly) do not want to kill me for mine. It's a breath of fresh air, even when somebody farts

slang · 03-07-2006, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tonchi

....... people who have different attitudes but who (mostly) do not want to kill me for mine.

Maybe in time my friend. Give us another year, then maybe.

Harlan · 03-07-2006, 09:01 PM

Quote:

you cant stay here unless someone like me can call you a @#$%ing idiot without you getting offended. because you all know i have no real grounds for calling you all @#$%ing idiots so it doesnt bother you. and you could all call me a @#$%ing idiot without me getting upset.

my point is....youre all @#$%ing idiots!

Noobie questions: is this the required spelling for "@#$%ing idiots"? Are there alternative acceptable spellings? How does Kagen404 spell it so consistently? Is there a special Cellar keystroke for "@#$%ing idiots,"? And why Kagen404? What happened to Kagen403? If I demand to know the whereabouts of Kagens 399 to 402 inclusive, will I acheive @#$%ing idiot status?

03-07-2006, 05:57 AM	#1
Harlan Writer of Writings Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 14	The story of Cellar.org? I am new as a member, though I have been visiting (lurking?) for a while. Most of the other community sites I've visited don't seem to work... they end up being a couple of posters and dozens of members who post three times then never come back. Or else everyone has the same opinion and it's a big circle jerk. The only other community I find successful is very rigidly structured and policed and god help you if you didn't read the stickies, rules, and search to see if your question has already been asked and answered. It works in that case. The Cellar seems to be able to thrive with a looser approach. I don't mean to sound like like a friggin sociologist. I'm not writing a term paper (though that is a hobby of mine). But I am curious: How/when/why did the Cellar start? Is UT alone the founder? Did some of you guys know each other (in person) or did you just start yapping online? Why so many members from PA? Why does this work, really? Does the cellar flood during rainy season? Has it been tested for Radon? Is that Willard on the rafters? I don't mean to start a LoveFest either... I think it's cool and seek understanding. I also wanted to use the term "circle jerk" in one of my first dozen posts. I can now cross that off my to-do list.

03-07-2006, 06:02 AM	#2
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Read this. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

03-07-2006, 02:22 PM	#7
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Let's not talk about cats - it'll only end up talking about toast. The Cellar works to my mind because of its diversity of subject matter and personalities. For some reason there's an inbuilt respect for the way this forum has self-structured and we interact accordingly without having to be told to do so - and that certainly encourages those who are here to stay here. It's also something that would be difficult to change as too many of us like the way it is. We have a critical mass (and I don't mean a communion that's running late or that the bulk of the members are past saving... hmm, second thoughts...) and once established this phenomenon is hard to break. __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

03-07-2006, 07:35 PM	#12
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	I just reread the Cellar history. I remember the BBQ and the move to Trooper, which means I have been using the Cellar since about 1992. Wow. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

03-07-2006, 06:24 AM	#3
Harlan Writer of Writings Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 14	Thanks, xoxoxoBruce. That answers the founding question.

03-07-2006, 07:08 AM	#4
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	The sociology questions fascinate you like they fascinate me, Harlan. There's no need to police a strong community - the people set their own agenda and police it themselves through mores. We've had approximately one non-spam-related banning per year. The community has mixed feelings even when a necessary banning takes place. If it was harshly policed it wouldn't survive, either. We want to be free to talk about anything that occurs to us. Would you go to a tavern that had a sign on the wall "No Talking About Cats"? There remain precious few online communities that will talk about anything - most have a specific purpose and a community may develop as a result, if there is critical mass. This one has been relentlessly about nothing since the beginning. It doesn't really care about its growth either. There is no business plan. Whatever happens, happens. As long as it has grown it has been able to support itself, roughly, so let's allow it to drift and see what paths it cuts for itself. I could never see how any community would put up with a business plan. People don't want to think that their local forum could suffer or go away because somebody got fired or a business had a bad year.

03-07-2006, 10:42 AM	#6
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	Say, speaking of cats, my Siamese did the cutest thing yesterday... To me the cellar is like visiting a great interactive public library. You can discuss really profound questions, look at some amazing pictures, get advise for the love lorn, talk about what you had for lunch, and have no holds barred political arguments with the guy who runs the place, and its all cool. Every other board I visit has tons of rules. This place has 3. Isn't this one of the oldest continuously running discussion forums on the 'Net, UT? Which reminds me. I have a little spare cash this month. I think I'll go hit the tip jar.

03-07-2006, 04:30 PM	#8
Kagen4o4 The Sheriff of Nothingland Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Melbourne, Aus Posts: 1,794	i like a good cat jam on my toast the people make the difference. you cant stay here unless someone like me can call you a @#$%ing idiot without you getting offended. because you all know i have no real grounds for calling you all @#$%ing idiots so it doesnt bother you. and you could all call me a @#$%ing idiot without me getting upset. my point is....youre all @#$%ing idiots! but my real point is that the people here let you say what you need to say without "flaming". theres no competition for attention or who has the best "What the Fuck" picture etc. The Cellar: Its how Communism should be.

03-07-2006, 07:02 PM	#10
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	"What is it with spam anyway?"

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