January 17, 2000: Devil Booth(A Retrospective)

[LoneCourier6]

https://sinfest.net/view.php?date=2000-01-17

It's been more than 20 years now, hard to think it was all so cute and innocent, think I'm gonna start going through the comic again, one page at a day along with the new, I hope that no one minds that I bring up the ancient past like this, and I invite all of you to come along with me, through the good, the bad, the cringe, and the heartwarming.

[Z6IIAB]

it was never "cute" or "innocent". good luck with your restrospective.

[LoneCourier6]

it was never "cute" or "innocent". good luck with your restrospective.

It was light hearted, you may not agree with my thoughts, but I appreciate the sentiment, afterall, this forum is meant to discuss about the comic, so I would like to bring attention to the older pages since newer readers may not have had the patience to start from the beginning...I know I at least had quite a few laughs with it.

Besides, I haven't noticed much discussion going on, perhaps because the topics are so heavy and everyone is afraid to say something that someone else thinks is wrong?...So I'm using my Retrospective to provide a look back, when the topics weren't heavy because there were no topics, it was just a silly 4 panel comic Garfield style.

[Z6IIAB]

yeah, I definetly disagree with you regarding the contents of the early strips, what they were about and what message they conveyed. glad you got that.

but I do have a question: what do you mean people are "afraid" of saying the "wrong" thing? I don't get it. what, there's people thiking we gonna beat them up if they don't like the recent strip? lol. that'd be wild.

[LoneCourier6]

yeah, I definetly disagree with you regarding the contents of the early strips, what they were about and what message they conveyed. glad you got that.

but I do have a question: what do you mean people are "afraid" of saying the "wrong" thing? I don't get it. what, there's people thiking we gonna beat them up if they don't like the recent strip? lol. that'd be wild.

I'm saying that some people aren't exactly the most open to different thoughts,so my theory is that others think that by posting what might be seen as the wrong thing, they'll get in trouble potentially opening themselves up to reports and thus bans from the forum, otherwise why else is there so little discussion about each strip? But this isn't about the state of the forum as a whole, it's about discussing the comic, so if you don't have anything ontopic...

[Z6IIAB]

You're the one who brought up that subject, I'm just asking for a clarification, because it's super vague and I don't get it. Idk if people don't come here as often as they did because they are "scared", but you sure sound scared. Don't. I don't bite, much. Tell me what's up with all that vague ranting on how this forum is not very active to you and why. (also, topics are a suggestion, subjects might take different turns, don't worry about it so much).

[Velgar]

"Besides, I haven't noticed much discussion going on, perhaps because the topics are so heavy and everyone is afraid to say something that someone else thinks is wrong?"

"what do you mean people are 'afraid' of saying the 'wrong' thing? I don't get it."
Which in itself is begging the question whether the answered statement was right either, but also the first reply to novel comment was...
"it was never 'cute' or 'innocent'. good luck with your restrospective."

I mean, it could be just a friendly way of saying "I rather disagree with you, but yours is a worthwhile consideration too."
But I kinda read it: "You're wrong. Good luck trying to get along with that stuff in here."

But I might be wrong too. XD

"I don't bite, much. Tell me what's up with all that vague ranting on how this forum is not very active to you and why."

"I just tell you're wrong, wrong and wrong and call your comments ranting 'cose I don't like them. ... But I'm a nice person inside." XD

Also, just blatantly ignoring the fact that the most conversation this forum has had for a while is you posting the topic and then Russly giving one comment to it?

And even with Russly and few other hardcore commenters there's only one in a dozen topics that gets anywhere near even simple double digits? From the two first pages, which spans all the way back to last years summer, there's two topics that have gotten over 10 replies.

That two pages is not even the rough 500 comic page topics, which it would need to be to span back to Summer-19 if the community actively participated in talking about every strip posted.

It's a veritable ghost town. And getting first and foremost called wrong on different ideas and getting "you're ranting"...

Heck, even I got the "you're clearly not one of us"-line back in the day to welcome me. XD

Those might be some reason why the spooks are spooked in this eerie place of ghosts and goblins...

Again. I just might be wrong too, so I'll just vanish back to haunting the site... O_O

[Russly]

Okay for one, my God I got mentioned... and if you're wondering, yes, people do get banned for saying something out of line. This isn't a safe space but it isn't the original forum either from what I understand. See, I use 'rant' in a slightly positive manner (I've even heard 'cathartic' used in a postive sense before).

It's true that Sinfest is on par with Steven Universe in terms of having a notoriously toxic remaining fandom. I'm not about to be silent about that, though how much of that I myself am I can only speculate. What they don't mention is the lurkers, those who are AFK, and those who are plain ghosts, all of whom seem to indicate they never exactly left.

All this leads me to immediately hone in on some of the ambiguity that can be fairly noticeable here. Not that I'm not adept at the offhand vague quip myself either. There's how something's meant, and the way it comes across. On both sides. We're in the panopticon and it's on us to embrace the kind of unrealistic diplomacy that for some reason works in this already topsy turvy decade...!

-Russly

[Z6IIAB]

are you all really saying people got "banned" for anything other than:
-being explicitily hateful towards radical feminist women
-being pro-porn and pro-prostitution

that's like... a damn lie. everyone that got banned, got so for doing either of those things. and those are an excelent reason for someone to get banned, this forum was made on 3 simple rules, which are: "The new forum will be anti-pornography, anti-prostitution. It will favor the radical feminist perspective over a liberal or conservative one."

if people are gonna come here with their hateful misogyny, they can expect to be banned lol. there's no "civility" in their intentions.

also, some of you cleary haven't read the discussion we have had in the beggining of this new forum... cleary. that would put to ease any misconceptions yall having about the new forum.

...and then some of you, like velgar, are just trolling lol

[Russly]

Well the term "explicitly hateful"... while I'm guessing thankfully yes that's exactly what you mean, I'm also guessing that still ends up with an air of tension that leads to lurking being more effective for most, or something to that effect.

Now, mind you, I came to this forum for the feminist aspect of it and not the comic aspect, yet finding that this currently amounts to serious discussion about the comic itself was a happy surprise. I am likely a radical though to be honest in reality I'm pretty much whatever I'm told I am apparently. I mean I have been called all sorts of stuff, complimentary, derogatory, true, false.... Too many tales to tell. Meaning, depending on who it is, I can apparently be anything from a feminist saint to a chauvinist hoodlum. (Is that allowed? If hoodlum, like gypsy, is arguably racist? Talk about mixed messages.)

If only I were trolling... let's say I am simply someone who enjoys a good rant (given or received). Also really just a comedian, I do a webcomic and local open mics and such, so know some others in the scene.

I've heard of the theory of the "gift of trauma" as a way of navigating mental illness. I wonder then, are we merely exposing the flaws in reality we usually aim to unveil? And is the reactivity so dearly cherished as perhaps, righteous anger... is it all the pent up pain and anguish finally being acknowledged? Even, hm, reckoned with?

Besides, whether a snowflake too innocent to handle reality, or a survivor of trauma beyond words, isn't everybody at some point fragile?

-Russly

[Z6IIAB]

If only I were trolling... let's say I am simply someone who enjoys a good rant (given or received)

I wasn't accusing you of trolling, I was accusing velgar. You, especifically, is the kind of "newbie" that needs to read what has been discussed on this forum since it's beggining before trying to say something about it. Besides that, I'm gonna be honest: I can't understand 90% of the things you say. They either sound extremely nonsensical, lacking context, convoluted or just too hermetic for me to grasp. Sorry.

[Russly]

Yup that's pretty much how my rants go. I guess at least that isn't enough to get me kicked though, so there's that.... I may go through this forum a bit (not the other) at some point but would still discuss the comic in the meantime, even if in my convoluted rambly way haha. Thankfully these aren't my blogs, one is simply called Russly Ranting!

-Russly

[Z6IIAB]

Yup that's pretty much how my rants go. I guess at least that isn't enough to get me kicked though, so there's that.... I may go through this forum a bit (not the other) at some point but would still discuss the comic in the meantime, even if in my convoluted rambly way haha. Thankfully these aren't my blogs, one is simply called Russly Ranting!

-Russly

Fair enough xD hehe I mean, you won't be banned just because one person doesn't get your ramblings lol. Come on. I hope you do take the time to read some previous discussions, I think that'll make things clear on what's considered grounds for banning and what's not. If you wanna speedrun, here's the official community guidelines. Also look up Tatsuya Ishida's posts. Finally, look up all the flaming hot topics, especially at General Discussions. The ones I just linked here are not exaustive examples. That should give you sufficient info on the issues we've had. And if not, just ask away, ask Tat even, that's what the Forum Guidelines are for, I think? Yeah.

And I mean, I welcome you to ramble, I'm just genuinely sorry if I don't interact, it's mostly because I don't get it and don't wanna flood you with 123456 questions about it lol

[Russly]

Well the day Tat talks to me is one I indeed await.... Meanwhile I usually figure if there are 123 out of those 456 questions that tends to be a fair response I suppose. If it outs me at all I do talk with Clay of Sexy Losers for those who know of that one. I also went to Anime Boston as Pedo Bear for ten years, even as a panelist on the last year, before it got shut down for covid. I can be strange at times that way....

I guess I can sort of contrast my own history with the content in the links you provide here to get a sense of just where I stand in this community. -Usually- I associate myself with Francis in many cases for reference-- "a forbidden fruit, just like me!" *Chomp* "Ha ha ha." I even see a post in the forum asking where he, Lil E, and Tange went and, well, Lil E and Tange are pretty central currently...! Hahahaha.

Unless I've already broken guidelines by default since I'm often not one to overly censor myself as I ramble, I can certainly make a point to review your handy map of non exhaustive reference points. Probably worth pinning your message in the event it's a good sample for the guidelines category itself haha!

Anyway, glad to have directions to go in for checking out the forum's history.

-Russly

[snerber]

https://sinfest.net/view.php?date=2000-01-17

It's been more than 20 years now, hard to think it was all so cute and innocent, think I'm gonna start going through the comic again, one page at a day along with the new, I hope that no one minds that I bring up the ancient past like this, and I invite all of you to come along with me, through the good, the bad, the cringe, and the heartwarming.

If you go through it one page a day it will take you 20 years. I've liked individual strips for a long time but haven't really followed the whole story line but I think I'm going to binge it now.