I do think that that "begrudging acceptance" as you put it is worth noting actually. The change in mood isn't just down to new users coming here, but older ones doing their part to allow the more pleasant accepting vibe here as well and I think that's great. Nice to hear that you had similar feelings about feeling out of place back then as well. I know I wasn't alone there, but it's good to hear someone actually confirm it.
I'm glad that those old dogs have been willing to ease down on their complaining and take a back seat to let the optimist (newer, younger fans included) speak up and, well, have their fun, and it to add to the overall nice vibe of the place. I'm also sure that there's more users than both of us who feel these boards are better now than they used to, but haven't spoken much of it.
Yeah it was definitely a pleasant surprise to see how this place has changed! It's not that I didn't enjoy my time hear back in my first spell (I mean I stuck around for three years and made over 1000 posts which I wouldn't have done if I wasn't having any fun!), but it's definitely for the better now. And yeah it's not like criticism has gone away or anything because that would be a problem in itself (and I do think it's interesting that people do criticise classic episodes more now because that does seem to be true) it just feels like you're more "allowed" to have different opinions now when there seemed to be more of a collective opinion issue in the 2000s.
Well, I obviously always enjoyed myself here, even with the more vocal critics and detractors back then, but yeah, it's much more pleasant and fun now than some ten years (and even less than that, considering the downturn the board had) ago. And I am actually glad that the board is still healthy in terms of criticism not being all gone, as it is important to have that kind of healthy balance going on and not just all blind praise, but yeah, like I said I do like how usually, criticism is backed up with reasoning or explanation rather than blind criticism and trolling or some "Modern Simps sucks! Why are you guys still watching this crap?" or something of that ilk.
But yeah, I've also noticed that around here, we are allowe to have more varied opinions rather than "classic seasons great, modern seasons bad" (and that I said about classic episodes sometimes being criticized and re-evaluated, I'm sure mostly by those who haven't got some tight emotional connection to them from the time they aired or something, really do stand out as a major example).
Like, to use
@Kangdos as an example because you mentioned him (sorry Kangdos!), he certainly doesn't like modern Simpons and that's fine and good! I respect that opinion even if I don't personally agree with it and I certainly hope he respects my opinion that I do still like it. We can both have completely opposite views and coexist here fine these days, but 15 years ago it felt like one of us would be judged by the board as a whole to be "wrong" and the other "right". Now it feels like neither of us are considered objectively "correct" and that's a much better atmosphere to discuss and debate in.
Kangdos is cool and I respect his stance toward modern Simpsons (even though I tend to disagree with his opinions & the fact he is accepted and tolerated do show how the board has evolved, allowing to have more than just one basic opinion (and that those who don't like the modern seasons are still allowed and can add to discussions and whatnot). While, yes, go back 15 years ago it would've been a lot more black & white in terms of opinions and more outspoken bitterness and hate from some.
I am glad that we're past the point of one side having to be "objectively correct" as that alone has given a better climate for the board.
Yeah speaking as a nutty fan of a certain character it is really great that this place is so welcoming for that! Although I do remember other people like that back then as well to be fair and obviously I was a big Lisa fan myself and I don't remember being mocked or laughed at for it? I do remember trying to be a bit more quiet about it in those days though and even saying I agreed with some anti-Lisa sentiment going around because I was nervous about not fitting in and getting singled out (I do regret that
) so maybe I would have been teased more if I'd been as open about the Lisa fan thing as I am now?
Well, don't take what I said about being mocked or laughed at as fact! It was only an example of worst case behavior of being a big and outspoken/obsessive fan of a character, episode, etc and so forth. I haven't noticed any of that kind of hate on these forums, but I have seen examples of sort of a derisive, smug or teasing attitude from some users toward some fans. I think that people like that made the fans a little more quiet to fit in (sounds like you; sorry you had to feel like that and not allowed to be more open as a Lisa nut). I don't remember any examples of that, but I am sure it has happened (maybe more common in the forum's early days before either of us joined? I dunno), but I wouldn't be so sure that you would have been teased if you have been open about loving Lisa.
And now that I think about it I do recall someone who was a big fan of Reverend Lovejoy at that time actually and I did see her get mocked about it fairly regularly so yeah, I think this really is a nicer place for "character fans" now.
I remember her and she was nice (had some discussions with her as well; too bad she left, I don't think of any hater-related incidents) and she probably was teased for that, so yeah, there we have one example of how things have changed now for character-specific fans.
Ha ha sorry to take your "oldest active account" title! You absolutely have me beat in terms of activity (by over 10000 posts!) though so I don't think I can call "the" veteran of the Simpsons section. Don't know how "fascinating" I am either.
Hey it's OK. I have no hard feelings one way or the other (and I never really thought about being a "veteran" with a lot of posts throughout the years; in a way I'm glad to not be the "oldest active account"
). But yeah, you're maybe not "fascinating" (as it's just a matter of join date and all), but I think it's just neat that we still have someone like you around and that your account is older than that of a majority of activen staff members on the forum, which you pointed out. Hope to see you stick around!
(And it does make me feel kinda old, but hey I'm not that old! I was very young when I joined so I'm still only in my early 30s
)
Obviously you're not that old, but in terms of NHC years (board started in 2001), I guess some of us are pretty old