This board in the old days - Page 4

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/18/19 at 2:00pm

" just being negative and asking BWW to pay him to get people to their website."

Also, what?

[sabrelady]

Posted: 11/18/19 at 2:19pm

I think he is confusing you with Corrine!!

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 11/18/19 at 2:48pm

I'm a woman, thank you. 

You forgot this gem? Really? 

"Anyway, if you want to pay any of us to generate content and traffic for you like we did in the old days, you know where to find me and I can probably find a lot of them."

Pay you?

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 11/18/19 at 2:51pm

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!  Oh that's fantastic.  Wasn't there something about an iguana?

The 'good old days' were wild, sure.  But...we really did know each other then.  We all attended (or even performed) in the Standing Ovations concert series.  We've been to each others weddings.  We've been to each others shows.

And on the worst day of my life...the day we said goodbye to the man who was supposed to be my husband, something like 15 BWW members showed at for his funeral.  And yes...we've gone to a few more funerals for our friends here at BWW.  We're even still going to each other's shows. I'm going to one this week featuring a dear BWW-er...who, of course, by this point has simply become a dear friend.

Yes...the good ol' days had their issues.  But, like Norma Desmond, we had faces then.  And we showed them to each other.  And I couldn't be more grateful.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 11/18/19 at 2:51pm

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!  Oh that's fantastic.  Wasn't there something about an iguana?

The 'good old days' were wild, sure.  But...we really did know each other then.  We all attended (or even performed) in the Standing Ovations concert series.  We've been to each others weddings.  We've been to each others shows.

And on the worst day of my life...the day we said goodbye to the man who was supposed to be my husband, something like 15 BWW members showed at for his funeral.  And yes...we've gone to a few more funerals for our friends here at BWW.  We're even still going to each other's shows. I'm going to one this week featuring a dear BWW-er...who, of course, by this point has simply become a dear friend.

Yes...the good ol' days had their issues.  But, like Norma Desmond, we had faces then.  And we showed them to each other.  And I couldn't be more grateful.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/19/19 at 12:35pm

SonofRobbieJ - I completely agree.  Even though I lived in S.C. at the time, and couldn't be a part of the meetups and all (although I did go to one), I felt like I had a personal connection with people on this board at one time.  We would message each other on here just to catch up on our daily lives and then friended each other on FB when that became a thing (and I'm still friends with a few people still on FB).  In fact, because of 2 BWWers, I was able to see my first Musical and Play on Broadway when I came up to NJ for a job interview back in 2010. For the most part, we had a mutual respect for each other and supported our fellow BWW members when there was a time of joy or sadness.  Again, for me, it was on the off topic board mostly but I felt like I had a group of strangers that made me feel like I had a place to belong.   It's sad that at a point, which I can't put my finger on, it lost that for me and I stopped even coming to the website for a couple of years.  Even now, I am just a casual looker/poster but I look back on 2004-2012 fondly. 

 

Updated On: 11/19/19 at 12:35 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/19/19 at 12:55pm

And I would like to point out that the off-topic board came into being only after members who had been using the board lobbied hard for it, whether or not someone here thinks his website's chat board was the inspiration.  People started to establish relationships and wanted to talk about other things and at the time, self appointed hall monitors (a few of whom are still here and pleased with a dead board rather than the old active one)bwould just harp on "this board is supposed to be about THEATER" when, for instance, somebody wanted to discuss draconian political actions targeting the LGBTQ community. (George Bush is only for now.)  

Updated On: 11/19/19 at 12:55 PM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/19/19 at 1:03pm

There was also something kinda quaint and pure back then. I mean, 40 post "Wicked" vs "Caroline or Change" threads. Deconstructing the lyrics of "For Good" (I'm talkin' to you, Namo.) The past is a foreign country; people do things differently there. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/19/19 at 1:33pm

When I asked Stuart Ostrow if he'd seen the 1997 revival of Chicago, he responded, "I don't attend revivals.  I don't like nostalgia.  It's depressing."  Twenty-one years ago, I was a bit confused by his response.  But the more time passes by, the more I understand what he means.  This message board is a perfect example.

As with life in general, there are many things I truly miss about the Golden Age of BWW and a few things I will not miss at all.  Yes, there was a level of cruelty that was tolerated (and often times encouraged) that I found disturbing and depressing.  The right-wing trolls and most of the psychotic catfish didn't bother me too much.  Calling them out on their BS was one of the things that brought our little community together.  But I'd welcome back all of the bad to have that sense of community back again.  Sure, we can assign blame to a specific person for the change in the message boards, but to be honest, I felt like things were heading in that direction already.  The writing was on the wall, so to speak.  If it wasn't that person, it would have been someone else.  Social media has taken over as moderator for much of the internet and BWW has remained a steadfast participant of social media evolution since its inception.  Subsequent to the BWW menopause, Twitter has flexed its muscles more than once and we've all seen how it can control the narrative in the most frightening ways without the need for verifiable fact or truth.  There have been many Davids lost when faced with Twitter's Goliath.  

I do miss what we once had.  I've gained numerous new family members ("friends for life" doesn't really cover it) that make me laugh and make me cry and I'll be there for them if they need me as they have been there for me.  There were (and still are) those that still delight and revel in cruelty and hate (and they KNOW who they are).  But with every hateful post I've seen, there's been 100x the love that I've felt from this family and that's something that no interfering individual can change or destroy.  Whether we lock horns, lock hearts or lock handcuffs (the safe word is c****nay), I always feel pretty secure in the love of my BWW family.

This thread contains more nuance and understanding of life's holdable contradictions than your one-note posts have ever done, Rex Reed.

Ha!  God, I love you Namo.

Yes...the good ol' days had their issues.  But, like Norma Desmond, we had faces then.  And we showed them to each other.  And I couldn't be more grateful.

OMG I LOVE YOUR FACE!

Updated On: 11/19/19 at 01:33 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/19/19 at 1:47pm

There was definitely a trial by fire element to the old site, but it did sort of prep you to be a better contributor here. If you started a thread in the old days, you'd really search and make sure you were adding value, whereas now "I had a thought" seems sufficient.

Personally I can't resist new threads that posit questions that only desire one response. "Is everyone excited about X?" is never meant to be replied to with "No, not really."

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 11/20/19 at 4:44am

The board used to have more of a NYC in the know flavor but now it feels more out of the know.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 11/20/19 at 5:29am

Agreed!

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 11/20/19 at 9:31pm

My new thread on the new Patti Murin movie has been deleted.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 11/20/19 at 11:08pm

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5P0SplN4DTU

Lordy, I love this thread and a bunch of the people posting in it. For real.

And I find I’ve been singing this to myself as I’ve been reading it... (hope the link worked)

Updated On: 11/20/19 at 11:08 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 8:59am

 

 

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 11:43am

Well..in the spirit of the old days..Is Max Von Essen single again?   I’ve been paying attention to his Instagram.   Are we allowed to gossip without being deleted if it is stuff they display on their social media?  Nice to see all of my favorite old timers gathered in one thread. 

[Kad]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 2:53pm

SonofRobbieJ, I simply cannot wait to attend your funeral. It will be fabulous. 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 2:57pm

Bitch...we blew it all on the wedding.  That served as my funeral as well!

[Kad]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 3:00pm

SonofRobbieJ said: "Bitch...we blew it all on the wedding. That served as my funeral as well!"

We can just put you out on the street corner. You're used to that, right? 

Updated On: 11/21/19 at 03:00 PM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 3:18pm

Make sure you show off my good side. 

[Kad]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 3:40pm

So face down, then?

[NYadgal]

Posted: 11/22/19 at 3:47pm

I really wish BWW had “like” buttons.

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/22/19 at 7:28pm

SmoothLover said: "The board used to have more of a NYC in the know flavor but now it feels more out of the know."

Agreed.

[DAME]

Posted: 11/24/19 at 11:49am

Bette's Turban said: "Well..in the spirit of the old days..Is Max Von Essen single again? I’ve been paying attention to his Instagram. Are we allowed to gossip without being deleted if it is stuff they display on their social media? Nice to see all of my favorite old timers gathered in one thread."

He has certainly vanished him from his Instagram.  Only one or two older ones remain.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 11/24/19 at 12:33pm

I would like to propose a toast.

To the old days and Margo Channing.

I don’t know where they are now, but I learned a lot from them growing up in the middle of nowhere.