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What happened?

I'm still around, but I sure don't have the time I used to...which is too bad.  Work / life / kids / etc...  I agree with Bruce, Jonesy; no harm, no foul, no worries.  Yeah, when I joined it was a different place; a very 'tough room' to play.  I stuck around, took my lumps, learned more than I could imagine, and made lifelong friends.  I didn't think it was so bad; I mean, I figure if I could pull it off, pretty much anyone with some sincerity could do the same.  Not a bad deal, all around.
 
A smart guy a few posts back said that change is the only constant...he's right.  Like him I still smoke as many or more sticks a day as I used to and keep the Staebell full.  IronPeddler and I kid each other about being down to our "last 3000 cigars" every time one of us buys a box.... ;)   I travel across the country to the QSH to shake the hands of great friends.  Too bad a CP herf couldn't be put together, but it is what it is.  And so it goes.
 
Oh, and a fog?  Puh-leeze....I still feel like the new guy on the block, with lots to learn.
 
B.B.S.
 
While some can say CP has changed within a certain time frame...can those same people say that they've remained the same in that same time frame?
 
Look hard in that mirror and be honest before answering that question.
 
Like I said to the core group back in 2008 in a similar thread and got jumped on for saying it..."Change is inevitable and you CAN'T stop it."...and I'll follow that up with what that core group thought they could do here..."CONTROL is an illusion". While we may romanticize about the past as being better, you have to ask yourself if the past was really that much better in general of just better for you.
 
 
Change is good, it's refreshing, it keeps you on your toes, and keeps your thoughts young...embrace it and learn from it. If you do, and mix that in with your experience, you'll be successful.
 
 
To be honest I check in every day, but there aren't many topics worth joining in on.I stopped the birthday wishes because that was what I almost always posted on. The leaf fund thread is done, thanks again Michael for doing this for so long.

We haven't been able to generate enough interest to have a CP herf and the NYC herf is almost a thing of the past. The only thing I look forward to now is Charlie's Quad State herf, where I get to see most of the usual suspects. Unless someone says they are coming to the NYC we haven't been able to get together.

Like all things in life, change is the constant. I'm still smoking as much as ever and buying as needed. Unfortunately we aren't doing as many passes or GBs as in days of old. Not saying it is bad, but it has changed. YMMV
Click to expand...
Hey host a group buy and I'll send a car for you! :sign:

Joe the car won't work, if you send a Lear or Citation yes!
 
If I say TB only a few people would know what I meant, LMAO!
 
When I came here, nearly nine years ago, there were folks that were complaining the place had changed. :laugh: It had. It has and will continue to do so. There are some characters we'll never see the likes of again. There will never be another Neal, Joe M., Kenny, Miami Cubano, et al. I'm lucky to have known them. Neal occasionally swoops in, but almost never posts. I do miss him. I encourage you Noobs to search the old days to see where we've been, otherwise you'll never know where we're going.
 
Doc
 
I know for me when I joined I was in my late 20's and my kids were young. Now I'm in my mid 30's and I spend 5 nights a week at some kid activity so my free time is limited, and I have to use that time to clean, grocery shop, etc. I suspect that is the case for a lot of us that joined 5+ year ago or more.
 
gunsandcigars88 said:
 
 


 


 


 

 

 

Post traffic always drops in the summer.
Click to expand...
Not like this, this place used to be WAY busier.
B
 
Click to expand...
 
The economy took a dump.  
I guess I could understand that, i can't buy or smoke near what I used to. I just cut quantity way back, because i decided pretty fast that cutting quality was NOT the answer. Just hate to see things so affected here. Used to be so different around these parts.
B
 
That's what it was for me. When I was buying (a lot more than I should have been) I was posting 20 times a day. Once I had to stop when my wife lost her job, my activity slowed down and then stopped for a while. I still read through what what going on, but I wasn't posting. I was pretty much MIA from posting for almost a year due to this, plus the fact CP had been changing.
 
Out with the old guard, in with the new so to speak. Seemed like the new guys were coming in thinking they could say or do whatever they wanted with out regards to who they were saying it to. There was no respect for guys that had put in their time. I would think, "damn, if this were me saying/doing that 6 years ago, I'd have my ass handed to me". Seemed like the mentality changed to " Hey, this is the internet, I could give a f about what someone says I should or shouldn't be doing". This is singlehandedly the biggest reason why you don't see the names here you once did. Nullsmurf, Freebern, LilBastage, AVB, BBS, tone-ny, MMM, Allofus123, NCCL, Swissy, mmburtch, moki (not that this is the sole reason for the drop)...yea, you see them pop up from time to time, but these were the guys that carried this site. Alan is purely a pipe smoker now, Andrew has his own site, and you still have Tom posting some, but what was the backbone of this community when I was in my first few years has pretty much faded out. Doc is pretty much the steady force around here now and Gary will always be posting his links.
 
 
edited to say, you do see them, but not with the frequency that you once did...
 
 
Do you know that for a fact?  To some degree, I'm sure you have a semi-valid point, however that only pertains to a small percentage of membership.  The shift in culture was simply due to the fact that I did not want to see CP be overrun with an overzealous behavior; it's certainly not inviting.  People deserve to be called out when appropriate, however it became a little extreme and at times inappropriate.  Let me be clear, I'm not referring to those who you referenced. 
 
If you look at cigar forums across the board, you'll notice they've all taken a substantial hit in activity.  This was a topic on a forum owners community I'm part of.  Apparently it's something that's been noticed beyond just the cigar community, and into a variety of forums/hobbies/topics/etc.  Many admin's attribute the decline in activity to social media sites -- I'd say this is the most realistic answer.  Couple that with a crappy economy, and luxury hobbies especially take a hit.
 
Bottom line is CP isn't going anywhere, no matter how many members we have.  We'll also continue to strive to be a welcoming/inviting community, while ensuring our members remain safe.
 
We still rank very high in Google, and serve tons of info/hits.  People only have so much "internet time", and more and more people are spending their time on social media sites.  
 
Hope this paints a clearer picture...
 
Not a fact, that's why I put (not that this is the sole reason for the drop) right behind those names. I know it was a factor for some that have left, it was one of the reasons I took some time off, but I love this place too much, it's the only forum I belong to. The reason I left the names off that you were talking about is for the reason you stated, some seemed to thrive off of drama and that was the only reason they were around. I never really thought about the social media boom creating a loss in activity here, but it makes sense.
 
Life does get in the way. Maybe that plus the other reasons you gave are the main reasons for the shift. I guess it's just that there are so many people that were friends when I was a true post whore that aren't around anymore.
 
My apologies for making it sound like the reasons I stated in the first post were the only reason people have left, that wasn't my intention because I certainly can't speak for all of them. I do know some people stopped coming around because of the brashness of new members (most aren't even around anymore). What I'm talking about has a lot more to do with respect being expected and not earned like it was when I started. Guys just got fed up with it.

Jonesy, i think me and you are the same on this. One exception being I'm on one other forum alot(non cigar related). I saw some getting to be a little quick to start jumping down someone. And that did start me to back away a little. But the Texas crew from paris to houston used to get together a LOT back then. And the more of them that started slowing down on here the more I did as well. Now it seems I only see posts from Niko(Nick) and I know Rebelherfer(jeff) still gets on some. You and Rod bith hold some valid points here on the decline in activity.
B
 


 
 
I agree with Bruce about the quoting
 
tomthirtysix said:
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post traffic always drops in the summer.
Click to expand...
Not like this, this place used to be WAY busier.
B
 
Click to expand...
 
The economy took a dump.  
I guess I could understand that, i can't buy or smoke near what I used to. I just cut quantity way back, because i decided pretty fast that cutting quality was NOT the answer. Just hate to see things so affected here. Used to be so different around these parts.
B
 
That's what it was for me. When I was buying (a lot more than I should have been) I was posting 20 times a day. Once I had to stop when my wife lost her job, my activity slowed down and then stopped for a while. I still read through what what going on, but I wasn't posting. I was pretty much MIA from posting for almost a year due to this, plus the fact CP had been changing.
 
Out with the old guard, in with the new so to speak. Seemed like the new guys were coming in thinking they could say or do whatever they wanted with out regards to who they were saying it to. There was no respect for guys that had put in their time. I would think, "damn, if this were me saying/doing that 6 years ago, I'd have my ass handed to me". Seemed like the mentality changed to " Hey, this is the internet, I could give a f about what someone says I should or shouldn't be doing". This is singlehandedly the biggest reason why you don't see the names here you once did. Nullsmurf, Freebern, LilBastage, AVB, BBS, tone-ny, MMM, Allofus123, NCCL, Swissy, mmburtch, moki (not that this is the sole reason for the drop)...yea, you see them pop up from time to time, but these were the guys that carried this site. Alan is purely a pipe smoker now, Andrew has his own site, and you still have Tom posting some, but what was the backbone of this community when I was in my first few years has pretty much faded out. Doc is pretty much the steady force around here now and Gary will always be posting his links.
 
 
edited to say, you do see them, but not with the frequency that you once did...
 
 
Do you know that for a fact?  To some degree, I'm sure you have a semi-valid point, however that only pertains to a small percentage of membership.  The shift in culture was simply due to the fact that I did not want to see CP be overrun with an overzealous behavior; it's certainly not inviting.  People deserve to be called out when appropriate, however it became a little extreme and at times inappropriate.  Let me be clear, I'm not referring to those who you referenced. 
 
If you look at cigar forums across the board, you'll notice they've all taken a substantial hit in activity.  This was a topic on a forum owners community I'm part of.  Apparently it's something that's been noticed beyond just the cigar community, and into a variety of forums/hobbies/topics/etc.  Many admin's attribute the decline in activity to social media sites -- I'd say this is the most realistic answer.  Couple that with a crappy economy, and luxury hobbies especially take a hit.
 
Bottom line is CP isn't going anywhere, no matter how many members we have.  We'll also continue to strive to be a welcoming/inviting community, while ensuring our members remain safe.
 
We still rank very high in Google, and serve tons of info/hits.  People only have so much "internet time", and more and more people are spending their time on social media sites.  
 
Hope this paints a clearer picture...
 
Not a fact, that's why I put (not that this is the sole reason for the drop) right behind those names. I know it was a factor for some that have left, it was one of the reasons I took some time off, but I love this place too much, it's the only forum I belong to. The reason I left the names off that you were talking about is for the reason you stated, some seemed to thrive off of drama and that was the only reason they were around. I never really thought about the social media boom creating a loss in activity here, but it makes sense.
 
Life does get in the way. Maybe that plus the other reasons you gave are the main reasons for the shift. I guess it's just that there are so many people that were friends when I was a true post whore that aren't around anymore.
 
My apologies for making it sound like the reasons I stated in the first post were the only reason people have left, that wasn't my intention because I certainly can't speak for all of them. I do know some people stopped coming around because of the brashness of new members (most aren't even around anymore). What I'm talking about has a lot more to do with respect being expected and not earned like it was when I started. Guys just got fed up with it.

Jonesy, i think me and you are the same on this. One exception being I'm on one other forum alot(non cigar related). I saw some getting to be a little quick to start jumping down someone. And that did start me to back away a little. But the Texas crew from paris to houston used to get together a LOT back then. And the more of them that started slowing down on here the more I did as well. Now it seems I only see posts from Niko(Nick) and I know Rebelherfer(jeff) still gets on some. You and Rod bith hold some valid points here on the decline in activity.
B
 


 
 
I agree with Bruce about the quoting
 


 
X2
 
I took me five minutes to scroll trough the last post on my phone.
 
Still around, just not as post-whoreish as I once was. Still love me a good cigar, and built some friendships that will endure a lifetime from this site. Just that life takes over - dealing with health issues at home, getting close to retirement and looking for new locations to move to, and so on.
 
I did have the 'self entitled little rugrats' attitude for a bit, but it was more me than anything else! :laugh:
 
Swissy said:
Still around, just not as post-whoreish as I once was. Still love me a good cigar, and built some friendships that will endure a lifetime from this site. Just that life takes over - dealing with health issues at home, getting close to retirement and looking for new locations to move to, and so on.
 
I did have the 'self entitled little rugrats' attitude for a bit, but it was more me than anything else! :laugh:
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Hope you're health issues are going well Swissy. Just make the long haul and move on down here to Texas. We'll show you a proper welcome!
B
 
Same as others here, life just gets in the way. Just when you think things are slowing down ... wham-o!!. Oh well, still enjoying cigars, wine and Bourbon just not talking about it on CP anymore. 
 
TB ... hahahaha
 
 
:cool:
 
Devil Doc said:
When I came here, nearly nine years ago, there were folks that were complaining the place had changed. :laugh: It had. It has and will continue to do so. There are some characters we'll never see the likes of again. There will never be another Neal, Joe M., Kenny, Miami Cubano, et al. I'm lucky to have known them. Neal occasionally swoops in, but almost never posts. I do miss him. I encourage you Noobs to search the old days to see where we've been, otherwise you'll never know where we're going.
 
Doc
Click to expand...
I would've liked to find out whatever happened to the guy.  Last I read he went out on his boat and never posted again.  He's like Kaiser Soze or something.
 
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