INTP CENTRAL

[Stigmata]

You know a female INTPc member who I really liked? Qualia. She was outspoken, direct, and blunt. I liked the way she would approach politics and pull no punches. I also liked that she wouldn't hesitate to go after people with horrendous views on lots of topics who nobody ever said anything against because they were "connected." She seemed to have boundless energy for this, and I liked that. I don't know what it is with me and redheads, but I wasn't thrilled with her being banned.

For a time she was a regular participant on the INTPc Friday Skype chats, and she was actually much less intense in voice chat than she came across on the forum. She was cool in casual conversation, but could get quite intense if you disagreed with her on hot button topics.

It was interesting to observe how different people came across via text versus over voice. Ptah was another people who came across way more rigid on the forum whereas chatting on voice he came across much more affable. Some people really seemed to lean even harder into the extremes of their forum personas, it seemed.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

For a time she was a regular participant on the INTPc Friday Skype chats, and she was actually much less intense in voice chat than she came across on the forum. She was cool in casual conversation, but could get quite intense if you disagreed with her on hot button topics.

It was interesting to observe how different people came across via text versus over voice. Ptah was another people who came across way more rigid on the forum whereas chatting on voice he came across much more affable. Some people really seemed to lean even harder into the extremes of their forum personas, it seemed.

Oh. That's interesting. I didn't even know about the Skype chats until around the time I got banned. There have not been very many voice chats, but I think participating in Discord has changed the perceptions of some people. But I also think I'm less rigid than I was even five years ago, or even two years ago.

Qualia was that way on the forum, but I always felt like she always had a good reason for going after people, even if she sometimes took it too far. Most of the other people who had that as their thing would go exclusively after noobs or unpopular members (like me). She went after members of the inner circle, which probably helped get her in trouble. In other words, she fought for what she believed in without getting on my case for something minor like complaining about a lousy date. She went after the people to which I silently went "well, why does nobody do anything about those people, if everyone cares as much as they are claiming?" rather than bothering me because I'm an easy target*. This also made me feel better about the world in a general sense. The other thing is that she reminded me of myself in high school and college; I had a similar style when speaking about politics. I think that may have resurfaced here on occasion.

In other words, I found her a relatable if occasionally intimidating figure.

Also, the user that got her banned, Cam'ron, was almost certainly a dupe, although I didn't see it at the time. He claimed to be a Jewish businessman or something like that from Philadelphia, who would make frequent typos, like I do sometimes because I'm often impatient and impulsive and don't always proofread my posts, especially in those days. The whole Cam'ron thing was too convenient, too constructed. I'm sure Cam'ron was none of the things he claimed to be.

Also, somebody once bragged to me, via rep I believe, that they got rid of Qualia.

I think some of these situations with people going after me because I'm an "easy target" could have gone very differently if I responded better. This would have involved better communication on my part, and not treating their judgments upon my character as final. I do think there were issues with my tone with regards to the way I expressed myself.

 

[SensEye]

Qualia/Meshou were the same person. I think she used another pseudonym for a period as well.

I always really liked her. But she would get in endless flame wars with her various detractors. And as JVB says, some people would go out of their way to push her buttons.

I remember pm'ing her once to tell her basically: don't feed the trolls.

She replied along the lines of: I don't give a f**k, if they want a fight I'll give them one. I then replied, well ok, but you're going to get yourself banned. She basically lol'd and replied: I don't give a f**k about that either.

She did get eventually get banned, but I don't think she really cared.

PS>The true founder of what became INTPC was NGene. She set up an intp forum on some forum hosting site (forummer/forunner?) but it was not the INTP Forum TotenKindly is referring to. Just some other generic INTP forum. File Cabinet posted on that forum and eventually said he could host the forum on a private server, and INTPC was born.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

She replied along the lines of: I don't give a f**k, if they want a fight I'll give them one. I then replied, well ok, but you're going to get yourself banned. She basically lol'd and replied: I don't give a f**k about that either.

She told me something like that once, too.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

It was interesting to observe how different people came across via text versus over voice. Ptah was another people who came across way more rigid on the forum whereas chatting on voice he came across much more affable. Some people really seemed to lean even harder into the extremes of their forum personas, it seemed.

Now I want to know who leaned harder into their forum personas. If it helps there are only three names I'm interested in, and you could do it via PM, if you wish.

 

[Maou]

I made an account there years ago, and totally forgot it existed.

 

[Alygatornado]

I was at INTPc(entral) as...Sierim, I think? I mostly lurked, because I was a young'un in college at the time. Joined Complex a while after things got odd, but never really posted.

 

[Ferrus]

His recollection is correct. I had actually forgotten about that part of its history. But I now remember file cabinet telling me that story.

And I'm most definitely a control freak. There's no denying that. But in my defense, I believe only folks that were in the Modbox actually knew how I actually operated. Which is why you never read them stating that.

My recollection of my time as mod was I was having too much fun meta-trolling people to really care.

Still, banning Limey, albiet temporarily, was, perhaps, the zenith of my entire misspent youth on that site.

I wish I had access to some of the conversations of that era, more out of nostalgia than anything else. I spent so much time there and met so many people from the forum the whole thing sort of intertwined with the events of that time, and it would be curious to see myself, 18 years ago, talking.

For a time she was a regular participant on the INTPc Friday Skype chats, and she was actually much less intense in voice chat than she came across on the forum. She was cool in casual conversation, but could get quite intense if you disagreed with her on hot button topics.

It was interesting to observe how different people came across via text versus over voice. Ptah was another people who came across way more rigid on the forum whereas chatting on voice he came across much more affable. Some people really seemed to lean even harder into the extremes of their forum personas, it seemed.

I still see Ptah on an invites only Discord forum. He seems to be a completely different person these days.

Does .999…=1?
Classic

Those innocent days before my eccentric path of study and self-study led me to the epsilon-delta definition of limits.

I never quite fit in there (except for at the very beginning with the IRC crowd for a short time). Some of it was my fault, too. I had anger issues, and I also didn't really grasp how the forum was in blocs (roughly political), and came off as a fence sitter, which many people hated.

No you were just really insufferable. (And so was I, especially at the start.)

 

[Haight]

I wish I would have setup Sub Forums here that were for every type rather than as a combination.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

No you were just really insufferable. (And so was I, especially at the start.)

You followed me around for months if not years pushing buttons, and reversing your stances on things if I happened to agree with it. You were offended by an innocuous thread in Purgatory and decide to troll me because you were bored (supposedly).

There are rules here that are reasonably enforced. You should be glad of them, because it means I'm showing restraint.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

You confessed to the button-pushing too. Gee, do you think that kind of thing makes people more disagreeable?

This forum would call it harassment.

 

[Ferrus]

You confessed to the button-pushing too. Gee, do you think that kind of thing makes people disagreeable?

Yes. Because it was an internet forum, with little to no real world consequences. So I would just have fun. A tradition I believe that went way back to Usenet in the early 90s, and I certainly wasn't the only one engaged in immature baiting under the guise of surreal humour, either on that forum or on many other forums. Although many did it more subtly, I will confess. I guess it was more of a vibe of the early, anarchic internet. I distinctly remember doing something similar way back in 2001 on a forum dedicated to an obscure videogame, exaggerating my outrage with a certain comment someone had made. I was only 14 then. These days these kind of antics can have real world consequences, which is why I wouldn't behave like that again in say social media. And frankly the last year of my time and engagement with the site where I actually got to know people got kind of scary when the consequences spilt into real life. Quite apart from also maturing and now also having an adult life without the need or time to indulge in those kind of juvenile entertainments. And everything back then was kind of a bubble world and I enjoyed the drama and the sense of intellectual superiority that came from manipulating people into anger. And also, if I am being honest, a lot of it was subliminated resentment at my own life, how it seemed stagnant and a sense of overwhelming loneliness that also made me a bit crazy. In reterospect the forum was really *not* the best place for me to have been at that stage I should have got out more and got to know people, many of whom were in a similar situation to me, but circumstances were against it then. Only after I moved country did my life start changing dramatically.

Anyway, yes I was a dick back then, but I mean... it was a long time ago. Things change.

 

[Haight]

A different time, and a different place.

However, given the same circumstances, I would do the same things as a I did 15+ years ago. Mostly because you have to, in my opinion and based on my experience. But also, I'm the same person here, with my family, socially, and at work. And I've been the same since I was a teenager. The only difference is various forms of education and experience. But I'm much the same.

 

[Ferrus]

A different time, and a different place.

However, given the same circumstances, I would do the same things as a I did 15+ years ago. Mostly because you have to, in my opinion and based on my experience. But also, I'm the same person here, with my family, socially, and at work. And I've been the same since I was a teenager. The only difference is various forms of education and experience. But I'm much the same.

I mean, I don't regret anything. In many ways I am still the same person but also... the experience I have had has taught me to tone down things for my own self-interest if nothing else, and perhaps I have been stung one to many times by the consequences of taking an insoucient attitude to other people's feelings and values that I tend to keep more of a distance and try not to purposefully flame chaos. Maybe I am just more tired now.

 

[Haight]

Managing the forums taught me more than one could imagine. That is certain. I took that experience and applied it to my vocation, and it worked like magic (note: I don't believe in magic, but you get the point). It's like a training ground. Like having a puppy before you have kids, for example.

 

[Luminous]

Falcarius is still pissed at @Haight for sending him purgatory for two weeks.

Does this mean he's responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs (except for you, of course)?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Does this mean he's responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs (except for you, of course)?

There's me, also.

 

[Luminous]

There's me, also.

Ah yes, my apologies. I'm glad the two of you aren't extinct.

 

[Stigmata]

Yes. Because it was an internet forum, with little to no real world consequences. So I would just have fun. A tradition I believe that went way back to Usenet in the early 90s, and I certainly wasn't the only one engaged in immature baiting under the guise of surreal humour, either on that forum or on many other forums. Although many did it more subtly, I will confess. I guess it was more of a vibe of the early, anarchic internet. I distinctly remember doing something similar way back in 2001 on a forum dedicated to an obscure videogame, exaggerating my outrage with a certain comment someone had made. I was only 14 then. These days these kind of antics can have real world consequences, which is why I wouldn't behave like that again in say social media. And frankly the last year of my time and engagement with the site where I actually got to know people got kind of scary when the consequences spilt into real life. Quite apart from also maturing and now also having an adult life without the need or time to indulge in those kind of juvenile entertainments. And everything back then was kind of a bubble world and I enjoyed the drama and the sense of intellectual superiority that came from manipulating people into anger. And also, if I am being honest, a lot of it was subliminated resentment at my own life, how it seemed stagnant and a sense of overwhelming loneliness that also made me a bit crazy. In reterospect the forum was really *not* the best place for me to have been at that stage I should have got out more and got to know people, many of whom were in a similar situation to me, but circumstances were against it then. Only after I moved country did my life start changing dramatically.

Anyway, yes I was a dick back then, but I mean... it was a long time ago. Things change.

It was just the times, man. The internet back then was essentially a place where people could anonymously indulge in their most suppressed, deviant behavior with almost little to no consequences, couple that with adolescence and falling into the generation where our parents generally had next to no idea what we were doing online, nor how to navigate the internet enough to find out. The internet nowadays has become so interconnected with real life that you'll never have the sort of exaggerated, contentious social climate on platform that was accessible again.

I enjoyed my time at INTPc back then -- it filled a niche role in my life at a time when I was transitioning from college into early adulthood, and felt particularly isolated and unsure of myself. While there is definitely a part of me that would be interested to go back for nostalgic purposes, the other half of me figures the past is better off left as such, as it was so long ago and I wouldn't even identify with that person I was back then. It gave me the opportunity to interact with people who I felt were on a similar wavelength to myself, engaging in more substantive conversational topics than one would otherwise do so with most random people you come across in daily life. I met some cool people there, a few of which I occasionally keep with today -- it served its purpose and now it's gone, and I don't necessarily long for it to return but I appreciate it for what it was.

 

[Ferrus]

It was just the times, man. The internet back then was essentially a place where people could anonymously indulge in their most suppressed, deviant behavior with almost little to no consequences, couple that with adolescence and falling into the generation where our parents generally had next to no idea what we were doing online, nor how to navigate the internet enough to find out. The internet nowadays has become so interconnected with real life that you'll never have the sort of exaggerated, contentious social climate on platform that was accessible again.

I enjoyed my time at INTPc back then -- it filled a niche role in my life at a time when I was transitioning from college into early adulthood, and felt particularly isolated and unsure of myself. While there is definitely a part of me that would be interested to go back for nostalgic purposes, the other half of me figures the past is better off left as such, as it was so long ago and I wouldn't even identify with that person I was back then. It gave me the opportunity to interact with people who I felt were on a similar wavelength to myself, engaging in more substantive conversational topics than one would otherwise do so with most random people you come across in daily life. I met some cool people there, a few of which I occasionally keep with today -- it served its purpose and now it's gone, and I don't necessarily long for it to return but I appreciate it for what it was.

The whole logistics of having to be on a computer rather than a mobile was a big factor too, and in the early days a desktop one to boot. It was a more private experience.

Anyway I was part of a few niche forums, I only kept going for so many years at INTPc but I did meet people from there and other places. Generally it was positive, although a few times when real life bled into the forum experience it was a little weird. I caught by chance a fairly low budget crime documentary the other day about a murder committed by a guy from an Advanced Wars (a niche Nintendo game) forum. Basically a guy from Germany got obsessed with the admin's girlfriend who also posted there and after a visit started stalking her. Eventually he murdered the admin. Anyway whilst I do not normally like that kind of programme it definitely reminded me of the vibes of the times - the secret groups passing PMs and e-mails, the intense social bonds of people with highly specific interests, the strangeness of IRL meet ups.

The whole things feels like a snapshot of a time and place gone forever.