When did this ng die?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
gone elsewhere...

Dane.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

I think that the other replies have pretty much hit the major reasons
why the newsgroup is not as dynamic as it once was, although I always
pop by about once a day or so to look at whatever postings have come
up.

I started reading rgvc back in 1994, pretty much lurking for the
majority of the time. I enjoyed reading and learning from other
people, many who were more invested in rgvc than I, but one thing with
a newsgroup is that it is very hard to gauge how many people just read
as opposed to those who read and post regularly.

I still quietly collect Atari stuff, and have found uses for thinking
about video games as I have continued in my academic studies in "new
media," and sometimes I do get ideas or a piece of useful data from
rgvc.

Right now, I think it is what it is, but I'll be interested to see how
it changes (for better or worse depending on your personal opinion) in
the future.

> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people
have
> gone elsewhere...
>
> Dane.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

In article <R5VQd.3032$9J5.72@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
"Dane L. Galden" <chigroup(at)ix.netcom.comCHANGE(at)TO@> wrote:

> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
> gone elsewhere...
>
> Dane.

I still lurk, post occasionally, when something worthy grabsd my
attention. big part of the problem here is that in the last couple
years, a couple rounds of in fighting appear to have driven some off,
combined with the bursting of the nostalgia on the classics bubble, such
that several long timers got bored with games and moved on to fresh
interests. And for those who are here, so many of the subjects posted
seem (errantly at times) to be rehashes of threads previously exhausted.

But also, browser based discussion forums on the whole seem to be
supplanting the news groups. Hell, AOL is dropping newsgroups from
their basic services. Here in St. Louis, Charter's Cable Modem service
has a flawed newsgroup server, and Charter does not seem inclined to fix
the problem.

All these and numerous additional elements lead to the underutilization
of newsgroups, such that they appear dead to others,

jt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

jt august <starsabre@att.net> wrote in
news:starsabre-A9BAD3.23305016022005@netnews.worldnet.att.net:

> I still lurk, post occasionally, when something worthy grabsd my
> attention. big part of the problem here is that in the last couple
> years, a couple rounds of in fighting appear to have driven some off,

Yeah, some unfortunate squabbles with some long time-friends, only to
be replaced by newcomers with attitude problems. Both groups have since
departed, leaving not much else.

> combined with the bursting of the nostalgia on the classics bubble,

It's really been pushed for all it's worth, eh? Once Hot Topic starts
cashing in, your hobby has been officially run into the ground.

> But also, browser based discussion forums on the whole seem to be
> supplanting the news groups.

I really don't care for web-based discussion, for a number of reasons.
I much prefer the simple text of usenet... it's lightning fast on my
cable connection, and can't be crashed by a script kiddie.

To answer your question, I think the group's decline began sometime
after 2001. That's when the regulars started disappearing, the dipshits
showed up, the web forums got big, and in general, people started moving
on.

This used to be my favorite ng, and it still is whenever a good
discussion flares up. I stick around thinking, maybe, people will
come back for some reason or other.



--

Aaron J. Bossig

http/www.GodsLabRat.com
http/www.dvdverdict.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

I for one discovered that Everquest took up much of my free time in 2000
and I started to slack off on collecting. Bought my house in 2001 and
still have all my systems packed up due to home renovations. Some day I
will have a nice gameroom though....

Other than the occasional driveby scanning of the topics, I only
starteed looking at the NG within the week.

Chris Ross




Dane L. Galden wrote:

> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
> gone elsewhere...
>
> Dane.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

In article <Xns9600B8D95561linkvb06SpammersWill@204.186.200.105>,
"Aaron J. Bossig" <linkvb06@SpammersWillBeExecuted.ptd.net> wrote:

> This used to be my favorite ng, and it still is whenever a good
> discussion flares up. I stick around thinking, maybe, people will
> come back for some reason or other.

I stick around for that reason also. As to my own collecting, I have
always been an all range collector, so as the nex-gen classics come to
garage sale prices, I still have plenty to collect. I also like the
fact that with the classic and neo-classic bubbles bursting, those
prices are bottoming back out on ePay. I also bought a house in 2k1,
and have big plans for the video playground. But currently I work 2
jobs and lack the time and energy.

jt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"Aaron J. Bossig" <linkvb06@SpammersWillBeExecuted.ptd.net> writes:

>>But also, browser based discussion forums on the whole seem to be
>>supplanting the news groups.

>I really don't care for web-based discussion, for a number of reasons.
>I much prefer the simple text of usenet... it's lightning fast on my
>cable connection, and can't be crashed by a script kiddie.

That's exactly why I prefer Usenet. Plus, the interface is determined by
your newsreader, so you get to choose (not some sluggish garish PHP-board
interface). Actually, I prefer mailing lists most of all since they're
a push medium rather than pull (I can read them passively), but give me
a newsgroup over a Web board any day.

Unfortunately, my prime interest is Commodore computers, which this group
only occasionally overlaps (I mostly read/lurk in comp.sys.cbm). However,
I'll pile in with a good Intellivision or Dreamcast thread, the two
consoles that I do collect for ... and if you count the Tomy Tutor, I
guess that makes three, since thanks to Tomy's bad design decisions it's
more game machine than home computer, sigh.

--
Cameron Kaiser * ckaiser@floodgap.com * posting with a Commodore 128
personal page: http/www.armory.com/%7Espectre/
** Computer Workshops: games, productivity software and more for C64/128! **
** http/www.armory.com/%7Espectre/cwi/ **

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"Dane L. Galden" <chigroup(at)ix.netcom.comCHANGE(at)TO@> wrote in message
news:R5VQd.3032$9J5.72@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
> gone elsewhere...

It's symptomatic of Usenet in general -- kooks, spam, and the availability
of web forums have pretty much killed off many discussion groups. I only
come around here out of habit ... the news is always old by the time it
reaches rgvc. I guess I just don't want to miss anything.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

In article <XuXQd.19257$0h5.9705@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>,
Chris Ross <pragmatist@kc.rr.com> wrote:

> I for one discovered that Everquest took up much of my free time in 2000
> and I started to slack off on collecting. Bought my house in 2001 and
> still have all my systems packed up due to home renovations. Some day I
> will have a nice gameroom though....

Ditto, except substitute anime fandom for Evercrack. Only last week did
I finally find the bulk of my 2600 and 800 collections.

I really got back into classic games about a year ago, just in time to
get a Cuttle Cart 2, and it's been mostly AtariAge for me, with some
time wasted on #rgvc every now and then.

 

[JOJO]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

> All these and numerous additional elements lead to the underutilization
> of newsgroups, such that they appear dead to others,

They sure are nice for binaries.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"Bruce Tomlin" <bruce#fanboy.net@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:bruce%23fanboy.net-753765.11204917022005@crash.newsreader.com...
> In article <XuXQd.19257$0h5.9705@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>,
> Chris Ross <pragmatist@kc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> I for one discovered that Everquest took up much of my free time in 2000
>> and I started to slack off on collecting. Bought my house in 2001 and
>> still have all my systems packed up due to home renovations. Some day I
>> will have a nice gameroom though....
>
> Ditto, except substitute anime fandom for Evercrack.

This is what basically happened to me too. I hate to say it, but I
spend more cash on anime these days then I do games.

I check in on this group maybe once a week to see what is going on. I
still like classic games, but you don't stay as active in it when you no
longer come home from the thrifts every weekend with a bunch of new stuff.

Aaron

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

The newsgroup seems deader to me since i filter out all the FS: and FA:
posts. Sad when a newsgroup ends up being 90% capitalism.

"Dane L. Galden" <chigroup(at)ix.netcom.comCHANGE(at)TO@> wrote in message
news:R5VQd.3032$9J5.72@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
> gone elsewhere...
>
> Dane.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

But the forums are so spread out they have a group for every subject. One
would have to spend all day just to read the latest threads....... and is it
me? (being an old school web design guy) or is PHP generic and loads bad...
I think websites should visual not same PHP template look everytime...

Newsgroups seems so much easier... everything is in 1 group scroll
down/click and read... not spread out over 10 pages of subcatagories then if
you post something you have to remember where you posted... bah... maybe I
am lazy

VastFear


"Dane L. Galden" <chigroup(at)ix.netcom.comCHANGE(at)TO@> wrote in message
news:R5VQd.3032$9J5.72@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
> gone elsewhere...
>
> Dane.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"VastFear" <vastfear@csinet.net> wrote in
news:QPWdnVAQoq9K0YjfRVn-1w@csinet.net:

> But the forums are so spread out they have a group for every subject.
> One would have to spend all day just to read the latest threads.......
> and is it me? (being an old school web design guy) or is PHP generic
> and loads bad... I think websites should visual not same PHP template
> look everytime...
>
> Newsgroups seems so much easier... everything is in 1 group scroll
> down/click and read... not spread out over 10 pages of subcatagories
> then if you post something you have to remember where you posted...
> bah... maybe I am lazy

I have the same thoughts each time I read a PHP group. I wonder how
many good discussions I've forgotten about after posting in them?

Oh well. The nice thing about usenet becoming less popular is that
you do see fewer people trying to post in HTML.



--

Aaron J. Bossig

http/www.GodsLabRat.com
http/www.dvdverdict.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

jt august <starsabre@att.net> wrote in news:starsabre-
2BC4EB.01303917022005@netnews.worldnet.att.net:

> As to my own collecting, I have
> always been an all range collector, so as the nex-gen classics come to
> garage sale prices, I still have plenty to collect. I also like the
> fact that with the classic and neo-classic bubbles bursting, those
> prices are bottoming back out on ePay. I also bought a house in 2k1,
> and have big plans for the video playground. But currently I work 2
> jobs and lack the time and energy.

Looks like you and I are kind of in the same boat, jt. I'm working
2 jobs myself, and my goal is to find a better job... something that'll
let me relocate to the midwest and set up my own place.

It's a nice goal for the future, but for the present, it means that all
my classic stuff is in storage, leaving only the current-gen systems
out for use. I miss my old stuff on a daily basis, but there'd be no
point in dragging it out-- it's packed too well, and I don't have time
enough to play my PS2/X-Box/Cube/GBA as it is. Between work and
everything else, the priorities just aren't there right now. :-(

What I find funny about all this is that I've been buying games at a
faster rate than before. I've got some decent new sources that have
been good to me for classic games, and I've been using my employee
discount to get modern games and stuff on the cheap. I figure, once I
do move, money will be tight, so I'd better stockpile games now.

It's hard to participate when you just don't have time to enjoy the
hobby the newsgroup is devoted to.

--

Aaron J. Bossig

http/www.GodsLabRat.com
http/www.dvdverdict.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"I've Got A Loverly Bunch of Coconuts" <slartibartfast@hugh.jass.org>
wrote in news:42149736$0$44604$c0de7616@dsl.net:

> It's symptomatic of Usenet in general -- kooks, spam, and the
> availability of web forums have pretty much killed off many discussion
> groups. I only come around here out of habit ... the news is always
> old by the time it reaches rgvc. I guess I just don't want to miss
> anything.

Earlier in the thread, I pegged 2001 as being the turning point.
Coincidentally, just after writing that post, I found this article
by John C. Dvorak:

http/www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1764747,00.asp

In it, he details the negative effects of the old Dejanews being absorbed
into Google. Didn't it happen at about the same time? I wonder if that
had some sort of roundabout effect on all of usenet, causing interest
to be lost on a mass scale. Or more correctly, making people lose interest
faster than they already were.

--

Aaron J. Bossig

http/www.GodsLabRat.com
http/www.dvdverdict.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

I wouldn't call myself a regular from a handfull (at best) posts a
couple years ago. But I was just thinking this week of dusting off my
hobby of collecting. I'm even planning on heading to the Classic Gaming
Expo this year. I also decided to look at the ng for the first time in
almost a year.

I also don't know how my collecting will go in my new location (I was
transfered to Des Moines last year), but it doesn't seem good. I went
through a couple of thrift stores and I didn't find one 2600,
colecovision, c-64, or even a combat cart. I guess I'll have to keep an
eye out for older or independant thrift stores, also flea markets this
summer. Or perhaps take weekend trips down to Chicago to hit the thrift
stores (and Portillo's).

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

It's been pretty dead as of late. I just can't find the time to devote
myself to my hobby as I used to. I'm so busy with college and women that
other priorities have come up. I can't even remember when I discovered this
newsgroup. I'll dedicate myself to my hobby once I have more freetime and
money again.

Mojo

"Dane L. Galden" <chigroup(at)ix.netcom.comCHANGE(at)TO@> wrote in message
news:R5VQd.3032$9J5.72@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Just curious. I used to enjoy reading all the posts here, but people have
> gone elsewhere...
>
> Dane.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"Aaron J. Bossig" <linkvb06@SpammersWillBeExecuted.ptd.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9600E43FAC7CElinkvb06SpammersWill@204.186.200.105...
> "I've Got A Loverly Bunch of Coconuts" <slartibartfast@hugh.jass.org>
> wrote in news:42149736$0$44604$c0de7616@dsl.net:
>
> > It's symptomatic of Usenet in general -- kooks, spam, and the
> > availability of web forums have pretty much killed off many discussion
> > groups. I only come around here out of habit ... the news is always
> > old by the time it reaches rgvc. I guess I just don't want to miss
> > anything.

- snip pointer to article assigning responsibility of Usenet decline to
Google purchase of DejaNews



I don't think Google's purchase of Dejanews has had a negative effect on
Usenet. Sure, they screwed up the search interface but they massively
increased the archive. I'm an Apple II hobbyist and was overjoyed when I
discovered deja because I now had access to most posts made to my main
group, comp.sys.apple2, made within the past 5 years (IIRC.) A couple years
later, Google bought the ailing Deja (whose searchable content had been
shrinking) and restored the archive. Over time they even expanded it such
that I can now read messages from Apple II hobbyists on net.micro.apple that
predate the Mac or even the Videogame Crash. Sure, there are holes, but
Wow!, what a resource.

Come to think of it, maybe there was a negative effect. These days I spend
as much time in Usenet past as Usenet present.


Changing gears, I believe RGVC has declined with the rise of Ebay. Not only
are rare items easier to find and thrifts more frequently pillaged but this
place has turned into a freakin marketplace group. Without filters , it's
visually difficult to scan for posts related to the hobby.


-Liam

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

"Spitfire 1500" <s1500@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:l-ednevZ_-fxvIjfRVn-tQ@comcast.com...
> The newsgroup seems deader to me since i filter out all the FS: and FA:
> posts. Sad when a newsgroup ends up being 90% capitalism.

Agreed. They're drowning the newsgroup.


- Liam