I just went to Tom's to get a feel of how the new forum will look....
That thing you said you think is going to happen isn't planned to happen.
If they implement GRAPES here, I'm leaving.
As above.
I'm guessing the moderators at Tom's and the community at large had less to do with those forum policy changes than the owners, advertisers and legal departments did.
Nope. The Tom's community has been under my guidance for the past 6-7 years. The overwhelming majority of the policies that have been implemented have originated from either a) the moderators b) the community at large c) a combination thereof. Changes to policies are done through consensus of volunteer mods, not passed down as edicts. Legal is expensive, so they aren't bugged about anything unless we have an escalation event (child porn, terrorism, legitimate threat kinda stuff). Advertisers? Hah! No. Anandtech appears to operate in a similar fashion with its community policies, which is probably what helps keep the community as thriving and lively as it is.
Nothing is changing... not even the technical misgivings of the site. Best new owners ever!
Well, if there's something wrong that is obviously wrong, that's kinda probably one of those things that should change - especially if the community at large is asking loudly for it. If there's a technical issue and we can help address it, we can absolutely look into that. My meaning is that we're not going to change things for the sake of changing it, or to say that we know better than you the needs of your community. All of you are a heck of a lot smarter than the some of us.
The level of pissing, moaning and chicken littling in this thread has been exemplary and, I feel, gives the new guys a good idea what they have just bought.
Not to go all Architect from the Matrix on you, but "While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control." There is absolutely no means by which the announcement which was made about the acquisition was not going to trigger the natural psychological reactions of fear, concern, suspicion and portents of doom in at least a vocal minority of the community. These are baseline reactions to any perception of instability in one's home - and make no mistake, Anandtech is your home. At least, if you post here, and can read this, your digital home. In actuality, if this response was not received, if worry and distraught expressions of expectations not met and jaded distrust was not encountered, then
I would be deeply worried. Such a disinterested lack of alarm would be a sign that the commitment of the community to the venue itself as a whole was not present or lacking, because you do not care about what happens to what you don't care about.
Instead, an emotional reaction and concern strong enough and deep enough to narrate a Linkin Park music video. It may look like bellyaching and chicken-littling, but I have to tell you, this is a wonderful thing to have so many people who care so strongly about a community. For my part, all I can offer is assurances, backed up by actions in small, measurable integers. Prove Purch, prove me. And take some solace in the fact that these myriad expressions of worry are natural evidence of a damn strong community.
You guys don't know this, but Geekbabe and jposhgar just used code language to plot our very gruesome deaths in our sleep.
Fishgar, Pushcart, even Pashker. But I've never been called Poshgar before. I like it, sounds almost Dwarven. Poshgar, son of Progsmar, exiled heir to the throne of Throal! I'm keeping this one.