Babble To Be Shutting Down

151 posts / 0 new

Tue, 2024-03-19 12:17

oldgoat

It is with sadness that I am announcing that the babble forum is coming to an end.

I was informed about this just over a week ago and met with the publisher to discuss details this week. Barring the unforeseen, babble will shut down on April 15, with all threads being moved to archives.

I have to say this did not take me totally by surprise. Rabble.ca has been dealing with financial challenges for some time now, and everything was up for review. I am being paid for 20 hours a month to moderate what has been for some time a small and shrinking population of posters. Further, there has not been a new member joining us for a very long time. Babble seems to be among the last of this type of message board.

I know there are a number of posters currently active who have been valued contributors here for a long time, and this must come as a shock. Personally, I’m 22 years 7 months in. This place has meant a lot to me over the years and has been an online social hub for a lot of folk, even though so many have drifted away.

So here we are. In our glory days we were amazing. We were a family. Often a dysfunctional family, but aren’t they the most interesting. I’m sure I’m not the only one that will need to process this in my head a bit, so I guess this is as good a place as any to do this.

Tue, 2024-03-19 12:41

josh

Oh no!

Tue, 2024-03-19 14:28

epaulo13

..no other place like it. not surprised but it is still a shock.

Tue, 2024-03-19 16:35

NDPP

Sign of the times. Lights being extinguished. Just as things get truly serious. Various explanations. Cui bono? Not us.

Tue, 2024-03-19 16:50

(Reply to #4) #5

JKR

NDPP wrote:

Sign of the times. Lights being extinguished. Just as things get truly serious. Various explanations. Cui bono? Not us.

Who stands to benefit from this?

Tue, 2024-03-19 16:58

NDPP

Those not having to read any more of your ghastly drivel.

Tue, 2024-03-19 17:02

JKR

I thought you said the people not benefiting from this are "us?"

NDPP wrote:
<p>Sign of the times. Lights being extinguished. Just as things get truly serious. Various explanations. Cui bono? Not us.</p>

Tue, 2024-03-19 17:42

(Reply to #7) #8

Paladin1

Edited for decorum.

Tue, 2024-03-19 18:16

JKR

Maybe NDPP is working for the ZioNazis?!?!? Would explain a lot of their posts?!?!?!

Tue, 2024-03-19 18:22

(Reply to #9) #10

josh

Paladin1 wrote:
NDPP wrote:

Those not having to read any more of your ghastly drivel.

It took 7 posts for the personal attacks to come out. And you wonder why no one joined the board in years and no one posts here anymore. Look in a mirror for your culprit.

You’re complaining about personal attacks? LOL. What chutzpah.

Quote:
Just embrace your antisemitism Josh.

Tue, 2024-03-19 18:40

(Reply to #10) #11

Paladin1

Edited for decorum.

Tue, 2024-03-19 18:42

#12

epaulo13

..people haven't stopped being angry at israel. you want to bury the hatchet look elsewhere.

Tue, 2024-03-19 18:52

#13

6079_Smith_W

Condolences, and I am sure it was not easy.

I think it is the right decision, though. And it is a good decision.

Tue, 2024-03-19 18:56

#14

JKR

epaulo13 wrote:

..people haven't stopped being angry at israel. you want to bury the hatchet look elsewhere.

...many people haven't stopped being angry at people who have never accepted the right of Israelis and Palestinians to both live in peace permanently. Even so people will have to bury the hatchet to establish peace. People unwilling to bury the hatchet are supporting more death and destruction.

Tue, 2024-03-19 19:11

#15

oldgoat

How about we not turn this into yet another Palestine thread. Really, take it somewhere else. How about this thread remain a celebration of the life of babble. There are so many stories to be told about the old days and the colourful eccentric and occasionally brilliant people who have passed through here.

I encourage people to rummage through the archives. Go way back. The threads from 9/11 are fascinating, anda great example of real time citizen journalism

Tue, 2024-03-19 20:00

#16

Paladin1

Edited my posts; if you could delete my posts in this thread that would be even better Oldgoat.

Tue, 2024-03-19 20:06

#17

epaulo13

..not possible for me oldgoat. no disrespect intended.

..i had been a lurker for a while upon finding babble. i began to slowly post stuff. like a shy cat coming into a room with people. moved on to some comments. then that was it, held my nose and dived into a debate.

..oddly enough it was about palestine israel. some folks were calling for a boycott of leonard cohen who played in israel. this happened after his manager or someone like that had made off with his money. left him broke. i argued that he was not the enemy. and that this kind of politics was more fitting the life of brian where the left was attacking the left.

..it is fitting i end my time here understanding palestine struggle like never before.

Tue, 2024-03-19 20:11

#18

oldgoat

I get this. Can you keep it to the more relevant threads?

Tue, 2024-03-19 20:18

(Reply to #18) #19

josh

6079_Smith_W wrote:

Condolences, and I am sure it was not easy.

I think it is the right decision, though. And it is a good decision.

Why?

Tue, 2024-03-19 20:26

#20

epaulo13

..i was being relevant oldgoat. you misunderstand my post maybe. i was sharing my history here. saying my goodbyes.

Tue, 2024-03-19 20:35

#21

oldgoat

ok, sorry.

Wed, 2024-03-20 18:24

#22

kropotkin1951

I guess I will never get to 22 years.

Wed, 2024-03-20 18:36

#23

josh

Neither will I.

Wed, 2024-03-20 20:13

#24

Webgear

Very disappointing news.

Thu, 2024-03-21 14:46

(Reply to #24) #25

contrarianna

6079_Smith_W wrote:

Condolences, and I am sure it was not easy.

I think it is the right decision, though. And it is a good decision.

For Winston Smith_ 6079 it's a doubleplusgood decision.
Down the Memory Hole with it.

Once a rebellious employee of the Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith_ 6079 wholeheartedly embraces state messaging:

"O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself.
He loved Big Brother."

― George Orwell, 1984

Thu, 2024-03-21 14:50

#26

6079_Smith_W

It is all being archived, contrarianna.

I am not making anything disappear. It is not my site.

Thu, 2024-03-21 15:53

(Reply to #26) #27

contrarianna

6079_Smith_W wrote:

It is all being archived, contrarianna.

The ACTIVE site itself is down the memory hole--so no new thoughtcrimes for Winston to impugn. I'm sure Winston has more compliant venues so "it's a good decision" to scrap babble.

Thu, 2024-03-21 15:58

#28

6079_Smith_W

Yeah, I won't miss stupid shit like this. I can tell you that.

Thu, 2024-03-21 16:29

(Reply to #28) #29

Paladin1

6079_Smith_W wrote:

I think it is the right decision, though. And it is a good decision.

Why?

Thu, 2024-03-21 16:59

#30

JKR

All Things Must Pass

- George Harrison

https://youtu.be/QWV4pFV5nX4?si=o-ECPqsjRv9XkAJN

Thu, 2024-03-21 21:19

#31

Mr. Magoo

"If something cannot go on forever, it will stop."

— Stein's law

Ah, well. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Thu, 2024-03-21 21:37

#32

epaulo13

..hello goodbye mr magoo. be well.

Thu, 2024-03-21 21:58

#33

oldgoat

Hey, I get to ban Magoo one more time!!

Tue, 2024-03-26 14:47

#34

ryanw

It was an eventuality.

Nobody watched the watchers and people soured on doing good local advocacy.

I won't miss being lectured by someone who brags about the 100k company car they use while being on a non-profit board.

Tue, 2024-03-26 16:20

(Reply to #34) #35

Paladin1

ryanw wrote:

I won't miss being lectured by someone who brags about the 100k company car they use while being on a non-profit board.

Who did that?

Wed, 2024-03-27 15:34

#36

epaulo13

..babble is a resource. it would be a shame to loose it while this epic battle going on globally has developed. a lab is needed to analyse it. to draw conclusions. i can commit to that. i can commit financially again. if that was posibble.

Wed, 2024-03-27 16:30

#37

Pogo

It outlived its usefulness. We are in a world where people need to doing positive actions. Hardly any of that on babble. Mostly dogpiles on the enemies, real and perceived.

Wed, 2024-03-27 17:31

#38

epaulo13

..everyone is free to leave. not come back. not put up with the shenanigans of the board and contributors.

..but babble is more than that. always has been. political discussion from a left perspective never grows old or irrelevant. look at the exposure of the us and israel..the deep dive into the palestinian struggle we have uncovered. the global politics surround this. it is essential. as is it's connection to our own genocide. this is a good thing. a useful thing...for many.

Wed, 2024-03-27 19:04

(Reply to #38) #39

Paladin1

epaulo13 wrote:

..everyone is free to leave.

That's what most people did. Aforementioned dog piles and personal attacks possible contributing factors.

Wed, 2024-03-27 21:00

#40

epaulo13

..yet you remain here spitting venom.

Wed, 2024-03-27 21:13

(Reply to #40) #41

Paladin1

epaulo13 wrote:

..yet you remain here spitting venom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti4sqG85FU4

Wed, 2024-03-27 21:24

#42

JKR

Looking back it seems to me in earlier times too many people were expelled for breaking rules. I think this reduced the sites popularity. I think strong reprimands would have been better than getting rid of people. Lately it seems that for awhile ad hominem attacks have become common. I think this too has probably driven people away. I think these two situations had a part in the sites closing down. More importantly, I think the formatting of this site has been horrible especially for people using smartphones. I even have a suspicion that Rabble had no qualms about letting Babble die a slow death. I think they viewed Babble as requiring too much money to moderate properly and too little upside to justify spending sufficient funds on it. Any site that wanted this place to survive would not have accepted that this site has the worst web formatting in the known universe.

Thu, 2024-03-28 14:44

#43

NDPP

Anything truly liberatory and fit for purpose the times require, must be owned and controlled by the people who use it, not by those who can shut it down or silence unwelcome participants. Unfortunately, this is not that place.

If such a place can be built, and it should be, the people will come to learn, participate and share their truths. That it's never been more needed than now should be obvious to all.

As it is, the babble archives should be preserved as a valuable record of Canadian 'progressive' thought over a particularly critical span of our history.

'There is great disorder under Heaven. The situation is excellent' - Mao

All that's left is struggle. Been a slice. Resist don't collaborate.

Thu, 2024-03-28 15:13

(Reply to #43) #44

6079_Smith_W

NDPP wrote:

Anything truly liberatory and fit for purpose the times require, must be owned and controlled by the people who use it, not by those who can shut it down or silence unwelcome participants. Unfortunately, this is not that place.

So I got a question... why have you wasted the last 15 years endlessly spamming this non-liberatory site rather than starting your own?

From what I see you have have used this site as a mouthpiece more than anyone, so shitting on it is kind of disingenuous.

And if it really is progressive in scare quotes why on earth do you want a record of it? I suppose I could make a joke about knowing who to round up when the time comes.

Mon, 2024-04-01 10:23

#45

Pogo

I miss the old babble. One that had a spectrum of opinions on the left. Most of these were driven off by the ideologically pure. Now we have a babble of the angry and the toughest skins. A very male dominated cesspool. Was always hoping that sometime community building and love would find a way back into the mix. But that was likely just a dream.

Mon, 2024-04-01 10:51

#46

epaulo13

ideologically pure

..it was/is the proponents of those who want to believe they can control capitalism that were ideologically pure...imho. that living in a world under us hegemony was sustainable.

Mon, 2024-04-01 14:16

(Reply to #46) #47

6079_Smith_W

Pogo wrote:

I miss the old babble.

I have heard about it (and accept that it was real) but it was before my time 13 years ago. I got jumped on with my very first post here.

And epaulo, I wouldn't say the obstructive behaviour was limited to one political viewpoint, nor are those who left because they got tired of it.

Mon, 2024-04-01 14:33

#48

epaulo13

..i wasn't talking about behaviour. i was talking about the term "ideologically pure". while directed towards the left i see that purity differently. i see representative democracy as being the purity.

Mon, 2024-04-01 14:46

#49

6079_Smith_W

Ah.. gotcha. Though it is usually only an issue when the two are hand-in-hand. It isn't as common online, but there are some hard-line thinkers who are capable of reasonable conversation.

That said, the ideologically pure come in all stripes too. The apologists for capitalism are far from the only ones.

It's kind of too bad all those world war three threads are going to end without the OPs (those still among us, anyway) being able to crow about how they were right all along.

Mon, 2024-04-01 14:59

#50

epaulo13

..i agree it comes in all stripes. on babble this accusation was mostly used against the left. to end or curtail debate. still is apparently.

Mon, 2024-04-01 15:10

#51

6079_Smith_W

Well... I agree most was against the left. Thing is, some of the most vicious voices were people who also consider themselves to be on the left. A bit of a meaningless term, but not pro-capitalist for sure.

The most annoying thing I found was the false notion that nothing can be known or trusted because everything is biased. Never mind that it can be easily disproven, if you are going to argue that there is no way to discuss anything what the hell are you doing on a discussion board?

Most of it comes down to attitude, not politics, IMO. Which also made me laugh at times when people have mused about all the people driven off (presumably thinking that they all left for the same reason and held the same values). That isn't true at all, and while I can think of people I was sorry to see go there are others I am glad to see gone.

So a place where people of good will and respect can compare ideas? Sure there are places where that still happens. But there are a lot of places where it just hasn't worked.

Babble To Be Shutting Down

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