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What is the 'old' TalkBass?
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
382 "members" are logged on now. Your total includes the people online who are not registered or logged in.
it's really just old internet days.
there actually was a different "vibe," it would be hard to describe though.
back then there was less access to information, even with the internet. so a topic like "what year was jaco's jazz bass made" would take some actual investigating - where as now we all know it was '62, and if you don't, learning that would take 15 seconds for a slow typer.
that being said - and i am aware i can just be remembering wrong - the vibe of threads and conversations felt a little different.
but yeah - the internet certainly existed in 2010, but it behaved much differently than today.
there actually was a different "vibe," it would be hard to describe though.
back then there was less access to information, even with the internet. so a topic like "what year was jaco's jazz bass made" would take some actual investigating - where as now we all know it was '62, and if you don't, learning that would take 15 seconds for a slow typer.
that being said - and i am aware i can just be remembering wrong - the vibe of threads and conversations felt a little different.
but yeah - the internet certainly existed in 2010, but it behaved much differently than today.
I was an early joiner in 2000. I worked as a bass/guitar tech for many companies at the time. I was asked to write a professional 'tech tips' column for the site. I did for awhile and left after a small...'situation'...
that was very much indicative of the 'old talk bass' whining, witch hunt, village mob pretentious idiotic mentality that was often present. I have never missed that. I do miss the industry friends that used to be present here, both players and companies alike. I rejoined in 2002 for the classifieds.
The classifieds were killer. Most of my instruments would sell within 20-30 minutes. That was fun. You could risk huge amounts on instruments because if you did not bond with it, there were 10 others who wanted to check it out.
that was very much indicative of the 'old talk bass' whining, witch hunt, village mob pretentious idiotic mentality that was often present. I have never missed that. I do miss the industry friends that used to be present here, both players and companies alike. I rejoined in 2002 for the classifieds.The classifieds were killer. Most of my instruments would sell within 20-30 minutes. That was fun. You could risk huge amounts on instruments because if you did not bond with it, there were 10 others who wanted to check it out.
We joined in the same year and this is also my experience of the great change or lack of change on this forum.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Joined in 2000, in my first year of college, studying music. Learned a lot... contributed a column early on... made a lot of connections.... inhabited the Double Bass side more than anything else because that's where my whole focus was at that time. The 'old' TalkBass was just a different vibe. New, fresh, plenty of people connecting who never would have crossed paths before. Lots of momentum from the 90s carrying over in terms of music, bass gear manufacturers, players, etc. It was still the early days of the internet in general in terms of broad public consumption, and it was fresh. You just had to be there.
It is no different than music, it changes with time adapting to the current crowd...
Yeah even so, maybe 5-6 years ago I got flagged for expressing my opinion that a certain bass was u&!y. (Can't say the word here, ya know.) No profanity, nothing other than a four letter word starting with u.
I joined in 2003, and was regularly here as a guest for a few years before that.
I think that’s exactly right. There is more information all over the Internet now, and available in Talkbass threads past as well. I think that somewhat changes the kinds of threads that start and persist.
But, at least for me, the friendly and sharing vibe that I found 20+ years ago is pretty much the same. Given the divisiveness and anger that is pervasive in (at least) the U.S., the generally peaceful and respectful community that exists here is remarkable; a treasure. The mods get a lot of credit for that, but so do all of us for doing our part to keep things on the rails.
The “good old days” on Talkbass are right now.
I think that’s exactly right. There is more information all over the Internet now, and available in Talkbass threads past as well. I think that somewhat changes the kinds of threads that start and persist.
But, at least for me, the friendly and sharing vibe that I found 20+ years ago is pretty much the same. Given the divisiveness and anger that is pervasive in (at least) the U.S., the generally peaceful and respectful community that exists here is remarkable; a treasure. The mods get a lot of credit for that, but so do all of us for doing our part to keep things on the rails.
The “good old days” on Talkbass are right now.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
An additional post-coffee musing: in the early days of TalkBass - and this applies to pretty much everywhere else on the internet as well - we as a society and community were still interacting primarily in-person for our communication, purchasing, education, etc. We carried the same sense of decorum and respect from day to day communication into our online connections.... for the most part. We realized there was another person on the other end of the screen, and we still communicated with a sense of respect, and understood there were consequences online and in the real world when we saw that person face to face if something online went sideways. Now, most communication in general is via computer or a device (texting, etc), it's even more immediate than it used to be (no modern text messaging in the early 2000s) and it's well-known that people communicate these days on various platforms without any sense of consequences, or the concept that there is a person on the other end.... because you never will likely meet that person face to face. There's a separation of reality that breeds a looseness in communication that can get 'heavy' fast if people don't keep it in check. I think reactions to the 'new TalkBass' being more 'boring or PC' compared with the 'old' TB are based on the notion that mods (and people in general) aren't going to really abide by a certain level of disrespect or abuse, and that there are consequences for violating the rules.... something that has become a lost concept online in general these days.... and people aren't used to being clamped down on. Be respectful online in the same way you would in person, and it really makes a lot of things easier in general in life.
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Members are authorized to participate. Every one else is just watching.
Adding one thought: the guests are useful to TB's owner because the site can expose ads to the watchers and doom scrollers and make money off of them. From my perspective, as a member, these guests are useless. They either don't have thoughts to express here on "TalkBass" or don't care enough to register/log in and express them. They can't buy my stuff for sale in Classifieds. To me, those people are dead weight. That's why the important number is members online. And lately, every time I check the numbers, there are more robots logged in than members.
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DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Crapping on people's gear has always been against the rules here. "That bass is ugly" isn't really adding anything constructive to a discussion.
I was around for the old TB. It was a lot more fun and engaging. The place has gotten a lot more corporate. It is hard to say if TB is any more toxic/cliquey/hive-minded though as it always was. I remember having a student tell me he came on TB for a couple weeks.... then he asked about pairing his mixed cabinets. Lord forbid he gets treated like a bass player with a question. Oh no, he was a pariah who should be strung up for suggesting such atrocities. Even today, the general consensus on TB seems to be that you can be a righteous prick as long as you're factually correct.
I used to hang at the Dudepit. I think I found it and TB searching for gear. I do miss the days when Tom Bowlus was active here. He was such an excellent resource for evaluating gear. I still enjoy hanging on two or three threads here and getting to know other players and their gear/music/food/pet preferences. TB is my social media. Change is inevitable. Stasis is boring. It's too bad that there are no GTG's anymore. I enjoyed getting together with Chef and a few other local players.
I don’t know, have you seen any posts from him recently?
I think Phalex still posts but it’s rare.
- Aug 21, 2003
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Ok I have different opinion then the
Majority in this thread.
With that being said, I only read the first 4 pages. So
There was a slight difference of the TB in the 2Ks and the TB if today.
There more experienced players were online in the 2Ks with solid advice.
Ken is great example of this.
There was a lot less moderation and I prefer that. (Not sure what they did @twofingers
Nothing against the Mods. Thor was my buddy (in real life, not just online). I also meet my best friend who is no longer on TB.
So Im eternally grateful to Paul and crew.
I see current Talkbass as something very reflective as todays current social environment. This is only for the extreme minority with some of the loudest voices. Some clowns have the social mentality, of hyper bratty 12 year old drinking Red Bulls and the knowledgeable drop of or are in at least 2 cases I know, moderated off so to speak.
Majority in this thread.
With that being said, I only read the first 4 pages. So
There was a slight difference of the TB in the 2Ks and the TB if today.
There more experienced players were online in the 2Ks with solid advice.
Ken is great example of this.
There was a lot less moderation and I prefer that. (Not sure what they did @twofingers
Nothing against the Mods. Thor was my buddy (in real life, not just online). I also meet my best friend who is no longer on TB.
So Im eternally grateful to Paul and crew.
I see current Talkbass as something very reflective as todays current social environment. This is only for the extreme minority with some of the loudest voices. Some clowns have the social mentality, of hyper bratty 12 year old drinking Red Bulls and the knowledgeable drop of or are in at least 2 cases I know, moderated off so to speak.
One thing I will add was that the internet, in general, was just a different place. You had to actively seek out websites. Although Google, Yahoo, and Jeeves were around, half the fun of the internet was typing an address into the web bar and seeing what site would populate. Some rather inconspicuous website names were… umm… not hosting the content you would expect. Someone mentioned PC culture, and yeah, that didn’t exist back then so you could come across some completely wild opinions.
In some way, I think that best represents what the internet was and could potentially still be if it hadn’t become so commoditized and focused on turning users into data mines. I really dislike how Google and other search engines now show ads and storefronts first thing when you search “Fender Jazz.” I used to love searching for a particular model and seeing tons of user uploaded photos of people playing said instruments on stage or in some sort of pinup pose. Likewise on forums, moderation has toned down the number of opinions you can see. Although I think this has been a net positive on some sites (like TB), it does create a skewed, hive-mind of sorts on others.
Anyways, I’m way off topic now. Where’s the carrot cake?
In some way, I think that best represents what the internet was and could potentially still be if it hadn’t become so commoditized and focused on turning users into data mines. I really dislike how Google and other search engines now show ads and storefronts first thing when you search “Fender Jazz.” I used to love searching for a particular model and seeing tons of user uploaded photos of people playing said instruments on stage or in some sort of pinup pose. Likewise on forums, moderation has toned down the number of opinions you can see. Although I think this has been a net positive on some sites (like TB), it does create a skewed, hive-mind of sorts on others.
Anyways, I’m way off topic now. Where’s the carrot cake?
It's just people privileging themselves over others. In case you've somehow missed the B.S. marketing, "old" is better than new, and having "old" somehow adds extra gravity to the posts that they make about the why a tort pickguard is superior.
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