ISF Dead...

[Meadmaker]

I see a "support needed" announcement over there. Are they having trouble paying the bills? Or is it some other kind of support?

[arthwollipot]

No, just looking to update and expand. Those of us who value the place support this idea now that Icerat has become actively involved again.

[President Bush]

I see a "support needed" announcement over there. Are they having trouble paying the bills? Or is it some other kind of support?

Support? Not many bras in all the hot babe ads that pop up when not signed in though I´m not complaining.

[Meadmaker]

I see a "support needed" announcement over there. Are they having trouble paying the bills? Or is it some other kind of support?

Support? Not many bras in all the hot babe ads that pop up when not signed in though I´m not complaining.

I got T-shirts and furniture.

And the T-shirts weren't even being worn by hot babes.

I'm definitely browsing the wrong web sites.

(I'm not sure what I've been looking at lately that would make an algorithm think I needed a new couch.)

[arthwollipot]

I'm never not logged on to the site so I never see the ads anyway.

In the dim distant past, Jeff used to curate the ads that were displayed, but that hasn't been happening for a long time now.

[stanky]

Funny, I can't remember why i was banned there.
Maybe they're ready to reconsider?

[Admin]

Funny, I can't remember why i was banned there.
Maybe they're ready to reconsider?

Icerat wanted to but got shouted down, so it's not happening.

I presume you're on a completely different computer after all these years, so if you start a new/sockpuppet account they wouldn't know unless you give yourself away.

[Admin]

I see a "support needed" announcement over there. Are they having trouble paying the bills? Or is it some other kind of support?

It's fucking hilarious!

I start a thread proposing a group of us got together and asked to take over the forum, because Icerat hadn't even posted for years and the membership is down to just over 500. It was fading away and I thought it was worth trying to get it growing.

As a result of that discussion, a fair few people offered financial support to get that to happen.

Icerat saw the money and thought, "Fuck me, if people will give money, they should be giving it to me!"

And here we are and there they're giving. The whole thing is both comedic and ironic. He hadn't shown any interest in the forum for at least 7 years, and people are falling over themselves to donate money to "upgrade" the forum at an unknown cost. Given how little it costs to host a forum, he appears to be doing very nicely out of it.

[Meadmaker]

That is kind of funny. I wondered what sort of "upgrade" a forum could get.

Any sort up "upgrade" that I can think of would make it less forum-y and more social media-y. I would think of it as a downgrade.


I keep thinking about asking to be let back in, but leaving was a good decision for me I knew the new job would be more than 40 hours a week, so I was shedding distractions. I ecpected, though, for that to only last six months or so. It hasn't stopped. Someday it will resolve, and I'll ask to be let back in. Until then, I'll just observe over there, and comment over here.

[arthwollipot]

Unless you've been banned, there's no reason you shouldn't be allowed back.

Icerat, by his own account, was experiencing some considerable personal issues for the last few years. The timing of his return to the forum could be considered suspicious, I guess, but before his disappearance he was an active member who participated in many discussions, so although the profit motive can be powerful, I don't think it's the only reason for his interest.