Post #270884 by PremEx on Wed, Dec 6, 2006 7:33 PM

I may not be a grizzled tiki old-timer, but I am a grizzled BBS old-timer... I've been participating in online communities and been making real-life friends from them since back in the old pre-web dial-up BBS days. The "what's happened to our community?" line of thought has come before, and will come again. As the lineup of people gradually shifts over time, the character of the place also shifts. Conversations that seemed fresh the first time you heard them have now grown awfully stale. It's just how it works, and it's your choice how you want to approach it: see the potential in the freshly minted tikiphile (you weren't born into tiki yourself, you know), or grump off into the corner and grouse about How It Used To Be.

Wow! I couldn't agree more. My experience is with another internet bulletin board called FlyerTalk ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ )...a BB for frequent flyers. I was a founding member back in 1998 and for awhile you could count our "core" members on one hand. Since then, FlyerTalk has become one of the biggest and most frequented...er...visited web sites in the world. Currently our posted stats are:

Threads: 618,883, Posts: 6,769,809, Members: 123,028

Out of our 123,000+ registered members...I'd say at least 15,000 are very active.

Now between 1998 and today...I've seen FlyerTalk go through at least 4 major "personality shifts" (for want of a better term). And we went though growing pains. For example, we went from some newcomers claiming that "the old timers are a clique"...to those same newcomers themselves being accused of the same thing, just a few years later by yet another "wave" of newcomers. :)

With growth, we went from one major get-together in 1999, so where now there are large gatherings of 100+ members all over the world...almost every week! See FlyerTalk Community: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=380

Over time, a lot of long-time members changed their participation patterns. Where once they were quick to help out newbies and no question was dumb...suddenly they found themselves getting tired of answering the same question for the 25th time. So you see those folks drifting away from being "answer men" (after perhaps a nasty little "do a search!" period) to just enjoying the community spirit and get-togethers and general everyday talk about all manner of subjects. And that's fine. Because new people are constantly stepping up to the plate to fill the voids they might leave behind. :)

Overall though...FlyerTalk has remained a friendly, informative, and fun place to hang out, despite its massive growth. I don't recognize as many screenames these days due to the sheer numbers...and as thread and post counts climb it's harder to read all you'd like and I find myself being a lot more selective these days...but overall the place is still worth it, and the friends I've gotten to know (and new ones I still am) all over the world...priceless.

I'm only bringing up all of the above to illustrate (to an extreme) what humuhumu is talking about. It doesn't look like Tiki Central has had quite the explosive numbers as FlyerTalk has had...but I think you just have to come to expect some "shifts" in how folks use and participate in TC. And then there's this:

I think it's only natural that as TC grows, it casts a wider & wider net attracting those who are perhaps less "harcore" tikiphiles than those of you who started out back at Yahoo! Groups. It's all relative, though, and people aren't going to bother to spend much time here if they don't enjoy tiki. Do they deserve to be part of our community any less just because they are "into it" less than others? They're still into it more than the average Joe.

Right! Take me for example. I've seen mention of a 1st and 2nd wave of TC'ers. Guess I'm in the Minus 1 Wave. :wink: I'm not a carver. I don't own a tiki mug. Most of my Tiki collection has to do with Disney theme parks or United Airlines. I don't mix tropicals or have my own tiki bar. Until very recently...I never even considered tiki to be an art form or a popular culture movement! For me...it's nostalgia. I was around and loved Tiki and Hawaii and all that back when the many of the original and classic tiki bars were still in business! I used to practically live at Don The Beachcomber in Hollywood! But at the time...I had no idea the place was anything but a great and fun bar and restaurant that had an exotic theme and feel to it. It was just all about good food, drink and fun! Tiki/Polynesia just created a wonderful and romantic atmosphere in which to enjoy it in! Inspiring many like myself to hold our own backyard "luaus" with stinky tiki torches and cheap plastic and paper decorations. :wink: Hey! That was a part of the whole tiki thing back then too!

But I love Tiki. I love what it represents: An exotic and mystical (and mostly mythical) time and place that exists more between my ears than any physical location that ever was or will be. I'm more of a "tiki consumer" than a creative tiki artist or collector. I love tiki bars and I love having my tropical drink served in a tiki mug. I love Hawaii and go at least twice a year and immerse myself in as much classy and tacky tiki as I can find. But you won't find much tiki at my house. I'm a consumer of it.

But that doesn't make me appreciate it any less. Just differently.

So for some...it's discovery. For some it's history. For some it's creativity. For some it's fantasy. For some it's nostalgia. And for some it's a combination of some or all of those. And as Tiki Central continues to grow...I think you'll see more changes in its evolution. Nothing to worry about, IMHO and experience. There will just be more and different.

I rarely have need to make a new post - the archives are so informative that I can find info on just about any tiki topic. Even though we latecomers may not be posting as much, we are still learning and expanding our tiki knowledge thanks to TC.

Exactly. And also to the "lurker" questions posted here. I lurked for a couple of years using TC mainly as a research resource for my strictly personal curiosities or inquiries. Most of the info I could find doing a search, so there was no need to register and post. But as I read more and more of you folk's posts over time...I got more and more interested in the subject! Just the fact of you all being here and doing all the crazy stuff you do...got me more interested in the subject and Tiki Central.

So whether you realize it or not...you are all your own form of self-fulfilling prophesy! At this point in my TC infancy...I don't know whether to thank you all, or curse you all. :wink:

You know, I'm thinking, perhaps the concept of posting to this site could be intimidating. I mean, to the outside world we're considered Tikiphiles, and are kind of a tough group to crack.

Yep. I think that's very true. People said that often about FlyerTalk in the old days. But not very much anymore. My advise if you want new blood to continue to flow and grow the site would be simple: Welcome newcomers...rush to their defense if someone snaps, "We've covered that a million times. Do a search!"...and let them feel proud about making their own discoveries, even if it's something that you think is common knowledge. I'm not suggesting anyone baby the newcomers or anything. Just don't scare the shit out of them until their third or forth post! :)

The islands of Tiki have become charted to a larger degree, the first wave of discovery is over. Nothing is as sweet as the first moment of coming upon something completely new, and for all of us, Tiki was just that, at one point or another.

Agree, and know the feeling. Just please keep in mind that for countless newcomers...their period of discovery is just beginning. :wink: