Anyone else notice that for awhile now there's been a drastic reduction in posting over there; now mostly press releases etc.?
Why the change?
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/08
The format of the board is pretty 1990s.
I have noticed that! I was wondering what the reason was as well. They're not even as nasty as they used to be, it's just been....dead.
I have an account with Talkin' Broadway. Although I appreciate the insight of many of the posters there, I have to agree with neon that the aggressive moderation and arbitrariness of many of their rules hinders open dialogue and posting. They're also obviously very slow to adapt to anything new--the site's mods want to run it like it's still 1997--as evidenced by the fact that simple change requests (like adding an edit button) are met with months-long "dialogues".
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/08
They are currently updating and testing their revisions. The edit function, among other updates, will be available soon.
I post on both boards. Civility heads south on this board far more often than it does on ATC.
Also, posts live on ATC only for about a week, and then they're gone. So I don't feel like writing a lot for such a short period of exposure. Also, because of this "feature," you can't build on what previous posters said, unlike BWW.
markypoo said: "Anyone else notice that for awhile now there's been a drastic reduction in posting over there; now mostly press releases etc.?
Why the change?"
People realized that minimalism is one thing, but the Craigslist look without the charm was too much to deal with after 20 years.
I think the two main reasons have been given - it's over-moderated (with a suburban soccer-mom mentality), and its format is antiquated and ugly.
It seems to me that the posters on All that Chat are mostly older, which is probably one reason why there has been reluctance to change the format. But there are some very knowledgeable posters over there. I do think its a shame that discussions aren't archived, because over the years I've read many wonderful stories and anecdotes about the golden era of Broadway (50s-60s).
I do read it at least once a day for stories like those and a slightly more readable format for press releases (really the only best their antiquated format is good for), but the moderation, lack of interesting posts, and pervasive ineptitude ("I saw this link on some site but I don't know how to tell you where it was, so just click" is too much for me to bother re-registering after a decade.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
I wish people who had accounts on both boards would not simply copy-and-paste the same exact posts on both. It's only logical to think that theatre lovers would read both boards. So why would anyone think that people want to read the same posts twice? If you're going to post on both boards, then at least vary it up a little.
The moderators there are evil and they seem to hate Patti LuPone for some reason.
After Eight said: "I wish people who had accounts on both boards would not simply copy-and-paste the same exact posts on both. It's only logical to think that theatre lovers would read both boards. So why would anyone think that people want to read the same posts twice? If you're going to post on both boards, then at least vary it up a little.
"
Most people may *read* both boards (and that's a big, not-easily-verifiable assumption in and of itself), but most people don't have accounts for both boards. That's largely due to ATC's rather draconian account creation process. I see no problem in someone supplying the same text on both boards, because it gives people the opportunity to respond on one forum when they couldn't on another.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
^
A little humility would go a long way, both on these boards, and in life.
What a needless and nonsensical response. Although, from you, I'd expect nothing else.
There's definitely been times I've seen a post on ATC that I want to respond to, so then I wish the person would also post it on BWW. (Sometimes my wish comes true!)
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
Lizzie,
Several times I see a long-winded, blathering post on ATC, and hope never to have to see it again here. Alas, often my wish does not come true! :)
Or, y'know, you could just not read it.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
^
I certainly don't a second time. The first is more than painful enough!
Stand-by Joined: 5/19/16
Anyone who was remotely entertaining or interesting has long since been bANNed.
Now 99% of the posts are from the same 6 people.
I don't usually have time to post much during the day, so by the evening here in California when I have time to chat ATC posts are buried and the discussions are ending, especially due to all the press releases. Here at BWW the most active posts keep cycling to the top and my responses are more visible and I feel part of the discussion. I also love the feature to get an email when you subscribe to a thread. Often I don't want to continue responding but am curious to read what others post...and then I can unsubscribe if I become disinterested or the thread tone turns mean-spirited.
I do appreciate the knowledge from industry folks when I post my Today's Random Question on ATC. I've learned a lot about the business of show from ATC. My ID on ATC is basically the same. I often wonder who has similar IDs on both sites or if you have completely different identities on the sites. I don't notice many similarities but haven't looked all that close.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
Minnie,
It seems to be dominated by one truly obnoxious know-it-all. I have a suspicion that that person may also post here under a different name. I've blocked that individual here.
Stand-by Joined: 5/19/16
There are actually several people who fit that description --- the most annoying (and "prolific") being the insufferable Michael Portantiere!
It seems that most of the frequent ATC posters (i.e. the "favorites" of the moderators) don't post here much because they aren't able to hide behind the moderators' apron strings.
Updated On: 11/17/16 at 11:50 AM
i attempted to join and it took almost a month for me to be confirmed or whatever, which was obnoxious and i'd forgotten the reason why i had wanted to. and it's a very difficult site to read (like seriously why is it formatted the way it is)
Videos