What's Changed On Tiki Central?

After having some discussions with long-time members of Tiki Central, as in, we were members when it was on Yahoo Clubs, it seems something has changed on TC lately.

The general consensus was that the board's been taken over by members with at best a passing interest in Tiki ("hey, Kohl's has it so it must be in!"). People who could just as well be posting on any of their other boards - Hunting & Fishing Central, Food Central, I Need to Post Something, Anything Central.

I may generate humorous, critical posts, but I'm as core tiki as it gets. Surf, Hawaiian music band, extensive tiki/hawaiiana colletion, lots of polynesian tattoo. I was tiki before TC and will remain tiki until the end.

I'll ask all the old timers, not the rush of members after each and every event, have you all noticed anything?

I don't mind too much as we all keep in touch either by email, phone, our own events, or a wave out the window as we drive down the street (Bamboo Ben!).

Maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic, or maybe this is just the way things happen. Maybe.

(and don't get your hopes up, I ain't quitting!)

"I'm ashamed to be here, but not too ashamed to leave..."

Celebrate 'International Tiki Day' the second Saturday in August - Hau'oli La Tiki!

[ Edited by: Tiki_Bong on 2003-10-22 09:46 ]

I have noticed there have been periods lately where this place is like a ghosttown...

Hey there Bongo-

You're kind of playing with fire there. I see what you're saying, but I don't think it's a good idea to start casting "old-timers" apart from everyone else. You're also playing the "I'm more tiki than you" card, which I think we've all agreed isn't in keeping with the aloha spirit.

Look, fact is we've covered a lot of ground on this board. It was only a matter of time before the new discoveries get fewer and more far between, and it became more of a place to plan events. Just witness how often SCD points out the search feature to newbies- there's a ton of information here. People who have been on this board for a long time have traded a lot of information already, and many of us don't post as much. Does that mean that BigBro, for example, is not as into tiki now? I don't think so! People get busy, have demanding jobs that take up a lot of time, have other interests besides tiki (there's NO shame in that!), etc., so maybe can't post or get together as much as they'd like. (Hell, only three people in history have ever seen Hanford in the flesh)

I see what you mean about a lot of new people coming on with only a passing interest. I think the situation will resolve itself. People with less interest will read less, go to events less, etc. In the end, people like you- who still want this site to work, who still want to discuss collectibles and go to events- will still be here. Plus there's loads of people who are really into tiki who don't read this at all. Otto? Shag? Yeah, I think they're pretty into tiki.

I have enjoyed your fine hospitality and fab collection in the past and I look forward to rolling down to the OC again soon. Chances are there will be a newbie or two in tow when I drink with you next. If they dig it, maybe they'll just be bigger fans in the end. Anyway, I don't want to ramble anymore-to make a long story short, let's let time resolve this, and not splinter into multiple groups.

Except for the Buffett fans, they can fuck off.

(that was a joke)

Back in the Yahoo days (I joined the same day as bigbrotiki, not that it matters but you asked for "old-timers" opinions), I think it was all about discovery -- for the first time we could connect with other tiki obsessives who weren't our neighbors. We had much to tell and show -- "local" mugs, regional tiki locations, histories, etc. Sven's book had just come out so there was tons of great new info to be found. Everyone was just a TC member -- no "Tiki Centralites," "Tiki Socialites," "Honorable Tiki Contributors," or special tiki agents for that matter -- there were no TC "celebrities" so the community was much looser and freer.

Newbies were not just tolerated but embraced.

Now we have all these forums, so many more people, and the newbie questions are not as easy to deal with because we've seen the same discussions over and over and over again. We have a photo gallery of mugs with tons of pictures and documentation. Before, when a mug would pop up on eBay, we would have an investigation, now when someone posts a question, we just point to the various other spent threads, or the picture gallery.

Most of the major tiki locations still open have been scouted out -- hell, we have a BOOK for them.

We have two authoritative polynesian cocktail books. We now have a book devoted to tiki collectables. I'm sure more are on the way.

I wouldn't suggest the topic has been exhausted, as I don't believe that's the case, but after a while, we get "comfortable" with TC.

I do think the politics and religion arguments, and then the banning of those topics caused a bit of a rift that hasn't fully healed. Stifling conversation, even off topic conversation is bound to have other repercussions (which is one reason I had suggested the forum for way off-topic posts).

I do think that if we are going to have forum police shout down every newbie with an FAQ or eBay seller who wanders in to drop a pitch, then the side effect to that is people feel like they can't be as free and open with their discussions.

But these things all have a way of working themselves out in the end. After all, that's what makes it a community.

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.

Speaking from my personal experience, my personal interest leaned more towards the Hawaiiana end, and I got involved here at TC as I tried to explore further what I could do with my bar. What I've learned about tiki has come largely from either the BOT or this site -- what I'm getting to here is that these folks who are less knowledgeable now may have come here to learn, and will be able to participate fully with a little more time.

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.

On the other hand! I would love to see more meaty posts, like the one jungletrader just gave us in regards to his personal carving dilemma -- actual new dialogues about tiki. I also grow tired of posts that say not much more than "hey, neat," but I think that has less to do with people not being serious about their tiki and more to do with people not knowing not to bother to post if their post doesn't actually have any content (I'm guilt of this from time to time, myself).

I had to beat up SugarCaddyDaddy & take his two damned coconuts for this post. :wink:

According to the "Member List", TB, based on the number of posts, is the king of all tiki.

All hail the king???

Seems like he's just blowing his own, um, bong.

(Oops, my mistake)
As a new member, I would say it is not always obvious to be active on the site. We live in France where the Tiki scene is ...very poor and we don't easily find new subjects to talk about. In fact the news come from you guys, so we read you with a great interest (and writing in english is not so easy after a day at work).
So keep on writing.
By the way, We saw that King Kukulele will be royal guest at the 8th Rockabilly Rave Camber sands, UK. (from 5th to 7th march 2004). Hope to be able to go there and share this moment with you on TC.
But other opportunties will hopefully show up before!
So, talk to you soon.

Hey! This thread got people posting or what!

I was by no means attacking newbies, after all, we were all newbies at one point in time. It just seems to me, and a number of other OG's, that things just seem to have wondered off a bit.

I enjoy a lot of newer members, Unga, Humu, Jade, Tikifille, and too many others to name. But sometimes it seems the sincerity of tiki is lacking in some others.

Like I said, maybe I'm (and a number of others) are just waxing nostalgic. I started this thread because it's like me to start an inflammatory topic. I have no problem saying, right or wrong, what many times others want to say.

And maybe you're right, the senior citizens of the board have spewed it all, but now our position is to guide newer tiki-philes.

I didn't want to come off with the "I'm more tiki than you", but I'm just extremely passionate about TIKI!

Look at the bright side, this thread got people that probably wouldn't have posted, to post!

Hey all,

Please don't confuse laziness with "oooh, Tiki's cool This week". What I mean to say is, there are some of us with Low Numbers of posts who joined somewhat recently, but have been reading this forum from the beginning -just too damn lazy to join. And for that matter, someone may have just joined, but they've been into Tiki for years. For example, I threw my 1st Luau almost 10 years ago, and I've been collecting since before that- yet technically I'm "new" here. Worse yet, I'm from Michigan. Where does that leave me???

-Z

On 2003-10-22 09:46, Tiki_Bong wrote:
Maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic, or maybe this is just the way things happen. Maybe.

That's exactly what tends to happen when something becomes more popular. A lot of faddists jump on for a while but they eventually move on to something else.

Still, some newbies aren't doing it just because it's the new fad. They have to start somewhere right? So we should encourage everyone to join us, and invite them to contribute. But we should make it clear that contributing isn't just chatting about nothing. I believe there's a FAQ on here that explains this but I haven't looked for it.

haha, martiki, remember the olden days back on yahoo? heehee, the only thing we complained about was Sex-spam, cause we were all so happy to have somewhere to hang out!
I'VE SEEN Hanford in the flesh! and the drunkenness! heehee

Sweetpea here, who rarely posts, not because of a passing fondness of tiki, (I was an original TC member... trump...) but because I actually could never get used to this message board. So does that make me a fly by night poster? I think not. I have the tiki in my heart, and on my back in permanant ink.

Tiki Bong, this kind of thing happens on all message boards. I say lucky you if this is the worst thing you have to worry about in your life. I wish I had more time to be a better contributor. But, as Ol Blue Eyes said, "That's life"

I am a stay at home Mom, who loves anything and all things Tiki. None of my friends or family share my interest in the subject. No one around me to share getting excited with when I spot a hidden Tiki somewhere, or when I see a Tiki and know who made it and here it came from, no one! Imagine that. Tiki Central has given so many people an avenue to share common interests. To share what they know about Tiki with those of us who aren't in the know. What is it about Tiki that makes me happy? I'm not sure. Maybe happy memories of visits to Hawaii with my Grandparents (who I lost not very long ago) I was always happiest with them. Snorkeling in Hawaii while holding my husbands hand. Living in an area where I was fortunate enough to see Tiki's everyday, in my neighborhood, on my way to school. Summers swimming in pools with A frames over them and tiki torches, with lots of lava around. Tiki does strike some kind of an emotional cord in me. Somehow just by looking at these wooden carved figures, takes me back to very happy times in my life. Do I have alot of information or knowledge on Tiki? No. Not compared to most of the posters here. I'm so happy to have found Tiki Central because I do get to read about what others have experienced in interesting places that are long gone. Or learn from what others do know. I have access to such a huge amount of talent and artistry here. My small but meaningful Tiki collection has grown because of what I've learned here. I wish I had more to contribute. Does that mean those of us who aren't as well versed in the area of Tiki, should just shut up and keep any and all comments to ourselves because some might find them insignificant?

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2003-10-22 13:05 ]

How about a Tiki Purity Test to separate the wheat from the chaff? 100 questions to test your TQ (Tiki Quotient), only those who pass are allowed to remain on TC. Owning a Jimmy Buffet CD results in instant disqualification, of course.

Don't flame me, I'm just goofin' around.

The more the merrier, but everybody POST for God's sake...It gets boring around here when there are 6 new posts in a week. That's my only old-timer gripe. I wanna see artifacts, carvings, places, people's bars, newly discovered postcards, you get the drift....Go out and beat the bushes and bring that info and those discoveries here.

I suppose I am one of the lazy/busy ones. I work an 8-5 job where I find that while I can pop in from time to time to see what's new, I just don't have the time to keep up by participating with intelligent and informative posts. I'll try my best with this one since I'm on my lunch break. :)

While I have been enjoying the conversation here for a long time and using this forums "search" function for acquiring information constantly, it wasn't until after attending the Shag/ Disneyland event and meeting several people in line who belonged to this list that I felt like joining the party. The gang here seems like a fun, witty and intelligent group.

What I have found since then is that I just don't have the time to keep up properly.

Perhaps being landlocked in AZ is another issue. I am so envious of the So. Cal tiki culture. We are very lacking in tiki here and perhaps I just haven't found that core AZ tiki group yet. Instead, I live vicariously through the gang here and in the mean time, I am creating my own little tropical oasis in the desert in my own backyard.
Besides my tiki ventures while on vacation to California, Florida and Hawaii, that has to be enough to satisfy my tiki cravings for now.

I guess I would hope that because some of us don't have posts into the hundreds or thousands, that doesn't automatically make us not deserving of calling ourselves Tikiphiles. The core group here does offer those of us who are lurkers and rare posters an extremely valuable bank of information that I hope continues for a very long time.

On 2003-10-22 13:18, Basement Kahuna wrote:
The more the merrier, but everybody POST for God's sake...It gets boring around here when there are 6 new posts in a week. That's my only old-timer gripe. I wanna see artifacts, carvings, places, people's bars, newly discovered postcards, you get the drift....Go out and beat the bushes and bring that info and those discoveries here.

I agree with BK, except for making one thing clear. Please don't post just for the sake of posting (or worse, for the sake of upping your count)! Those are not the more the merrier (to me). Please post for the sake of interesting reading and dialog, a la the things BK listed.

Actually, even something like the embarrassing photos thread that BK started a while back can be fun. Well actually, that one was fun until Martiki entered the ring and irrevocably disturbed us all!

-Randy

i have been reading posts since the yahoo days, but never joined. i am not a computer person, and it has taken me years just to get into he rhythim of returning emails. my general work schedule often removes me from even taking part in my household, and i may disappear from tc for months at a time as a result. i recently joined as a member because i have had the time to work with the computer more, and because of starting a new co. i have collected tiki since before i could legally drink, and usually only venture out to Tiki Ti. the other events seem very interesting, and i hope to attend more of them. i am also a tiki "nut" and this is a way of life for me, not the newest pair of sneakers.
i have, though, come under fire for posts, where i guess i broke the code of being a "newbie," and was slammed for posting a lot one week. i appreciate what BK said, and hopefuly new members will get to bypass "newbie" bashing and elitist attitudes. the spirit of aloha is important here, hell, its the basis for these posts.
p.s. when someone first mentioned the post numbers, i did not get what they were refering to. unless i get a shiny wooden nickel for post numbers, or receive the black belt with notches in the colored belt system of flaming tiki kung fu, i post when i want to congratulate someone on their great art, if i have knowledge of an item, if it seemes people are trying to gather a crowd for events, etc.. i see no advantage to increasing the number for the sake of increasing the number. as far as the personal nature of some posts, it seems that everyone has done that, going back to the earliest posts, and maybe it could have been in an email, but who is harmed if the line is crossed?

[ Edited by: tikitanked on 2003-10-22 15:04 ]

There, there Tiki-Bong, everything will be OK. We'll see who makes it to the Tiki Afterlife.

I love to light fires and then watch them burn...

Is being a curmudgeon Tiki?

[ Edited by: monkeyman on 2003-10-27 10:38 ]

On 2003-10-22 17:31, Geeky Tiki wrote:
Is being a curmudgeon Tiki?

No, but welcome aboard anyway...

I think jimmy Buffet is more tiki than Tikibong.

Monkeyman,

I heard you were doing some verbal slamming when you were tanked at the San Diego Polynesian Festival.

You can't have it both ways...

Monkeyman wrote

I have watched on many occasions to see a post go completely unanswered for days until one of the popular folks puts in their comment. There are often a long trail of followers who have to chime in with the popular guy/gal with posts that contain no substance.

I have noticed the same thing, I guess it's just human nature. Groups, Leaders and Followers. I have also noticed some older TC
members have stopped posting as much. Whatever reason they have for not posting is a shame. I miss reading their posts, they are a big part of why I am addicted to Tiki Central.

[ Edited by: Monkeyman on 2003-10-27 10:39 ]

Hear hear to Monkeyman's comments. I don't mind a little bullying, a little comedy, or a little popularity, but sometimes it gets out of hand. One thing that has consistently infurriated me is my repeated comments to stop calling ebay auctions "Spam", but members keep doing it. There have been times too where I felt like a serious topic could not be discussed without someone putting a joke into it (whether the joke was designed to liven it up, or defuse tension, or whatever).

I have been thinking for a while now how to help this, but I'm not quite sure how, yet.

I do think we have a problem finding useful information here ...

Search is not quite useful enough to be a perfect solution, and the important info (which comes less and less frequently) is getting diluted with less-useful posts.

I have often thought of a "Best Of Tiki Central" section which would call out the important topics. Also, improving search would help.

I'm also looking into mass moderation techniques, but that required heavy modification of the database, I'm afraid.

We need a Welcoming Committee. I'm not volunteering for that positon though. Frankly I got tired of doing it because a lot of them never posted again. Poly Pop was gracious about doing it also but I think he's spending less time here and more with his family, and that is a good thing. The plus to being on a welcoming committee is that most of the time those newcomers will not forget who the first person was to greet them. Mrtikibar in my case.
If you don't like something, do something positive to help create a change. Stop following and start leading. Human nature is what it is. You can't change what other people do but you CAN change what YOU do. THINK POSITIVE! Now get busy dammit!

Uh, sorry there, Monkeyman, but you haven't always been Mr. Nice Guy. I remember your reply to firetiki's first post was a bit rude.

Bongster,
You and I need to take some “medicine” at Sam's when I come down to O.C. for the holidays. :)
Cheers!

I really enjoy that we don't have to be moderated here (that we are even able to have this discussion is a testament to our being a big 'ohana -- one with the occasional tussles between siblings, but still an 'ohana). On the other hand, self-moderation is difficult without some guidelines to fall back on.

May I suggest that a revamping of the FAQ is in order? Right now the FAQ is focused mainly on useability issues, and doesn't touch on the dos & don'ts that are particular to our group (e.g.: tiki relates to things that are Polynesian, not Carribean or African; posts about items for sale belong in Collecting Tiki; before asking a question, try the Search feature since odds are good it's already been answered; etc.).

To get a sense of what I'm thinking, take a gander at the FAQ at Television Without Pity. TWoP is a very well-run forum, but is very different than this one (biggest difference is that it's heavily moderated which we neither need nor want here); much of what's there won't fit here, but perhaps it can give some ideas.

I'd also like to suggest that new users are walked through the FAQ before they are able to finish the registration process, and that they are urged to make their first post in the "Introductions from New Members" thread. It's a little thing, but helping new members understand better the conversation they're about to jump into may make them more comfortable, and may cut down on some of the more cringe-inducing first posts from well-intentioned but misguided new people.

I'd rather see the political and religious topics brought back than read all this in-fighting about who's more Tiki and who's more rude and who picks on who. Maybe the old-timers need a separate room they can go to when us youngins start boring them with all our rehashed material. Searching the archives is all well and fine, but I thought the whole point of a community forum like this one is to interact with others. So you elders gotta repeat yourself once in a while, big deal. I'm sure some of you have kids, or at least younger siblings. I'm repeating myself all day long with my kid. We wouldn't be here if we didn't want to be able to ask, learn and be chummy with Tiki folk WORLDWIDE. I'm sure TC isn't the same as it used to be, and I can gripe and complain right up there with the best of 'em, but guilt tripping the newbies by implying that they have somehow pissed on your party just makes me sad. Things change, especially when they gain more and more popularity. I've had to walk away from more than a couple of my old stomping grounds when I just could stand how they'd changed on me. For me, that's just part of life.

On 2003-10-22 20:50, seamus wrote:
I'd rather see the political and religious topics brought back than read all this in-fighting about who's more Tiki and who's more rude and who picks on who.

I think Clinton used his "tiki" more than Bush anyday. OOPS! Sorry Hanford

Tiki Central .org or .net or .com ?

On 2003-10-22 20:50, seamus wrote:
I'd rather see the political and religious topics brought back than read all this in-fighting about who's more Tiki and who's more rude and who picks on who. Maybe the old-timers need a separate room they can go to when us youngins start boring them with all our rehashed material. Searching the archives is all well and fine, but I thought the whole point of a community forum like this one is to interact with others. So you elders gotta repeat yourself once in a while, big deal. I'm sure some of you have kids, or at least younger siblings. I'm repeating myself all day long with my kid. We wouldn't be here if we didn't want to be able to ask, learn and be chummy with Tiki folk WORLDWIDE. I'm sure TC isn't the same as it used to be, and I can gripe and complain right up there with the best of 'em, but guilt tripping the newbies by implying that they have somehow pissed on your party just makes me sad. Things change, especially when they gain more and more popularity. I've had to walk away from more than a couple of my old stomping grounds when I just could stand how they'd changed on me. For me, that's just part of life.

Indeed! I was in on the forming of three Mod/Scooter clubs back in the Eighties. And was the first one to get kicked out of all three. The Main reason was I butted heads with the "Scene-sters" who would mock some kid savagely because his pants weren't pegged, or he had a hang ten shirt instead of a Fred Perry. When I'd remind the Smart Dress Only crowd about the fact that they owned a Riva Scooter before they knew those were "not mod" eyes would bulge, embarrasment would turn to "how dare you?" rage, and outta the club I'd go.

Heck I bet if I let a Buffet Head into a Tiki Party it would be like the night I let the Ska Boys into the Mods Only party.

I don't like Buffet ( ska kicks asss though ), but who cares if some Buffet fan comes through here, or if someone new doesn't know everything about tiki, or if there are a thousand lurkers who never post.

If there are dry spells, think of it as a pause in a conversation. Some people are comfortable with that, some people feel the need to cover up any conversational gaps.

A revamp of the FAQ might be in order, along with a more prominent placing of a link to the FAQ. Heck, even placing it on that page you get when you click on the Forums link, that just says ENTER THE FORUMS might be the place to put the FAQ. With a huge READ THIS FIRST disclaimer.

All you lurkers out there, HIYA! Enjoy the party! Wallflower or not, WELCOME.

TG

Savage not thy newbies...

On 2003-10-22 19:54, jungletrader wrote:
We need a Welcoming Committee.

I suggest that once you gain "Tiki Socialite" you join the welcoming committee, this would not be a permanent position as newer socialites would replace committee members over time. Becoming a Tiki Socialite would mean more than your capapble of posting a 100 times but are also willing to take on a responsiblity to this forum.
Also new Tiki Socialite may be less inclined to jump on newbies since they themselves are "newer" to the forum.

On 2003-10-22 20:50, seamus wrote:
. Maybe the old-timers need a separate room they can go to when us youngins start boring them with all our rehashed material

Like a VIP room? where you need 1500 posts to enter? Reminds me of a Dennis Miller bit about VIP rooms in nightclubs--- you look in and it's just Jack Nicholson sitting in there by himself.
Which kinda tells you something

-Z

On 2003-10-22 20:27, Humuhumu wrote:
"May I suggest that a revamping of the FAQ is in order? .... before asking a question, try the Search feature since odds are good it's already been answered;"

I disagree on this particular point. It has been mentioned before, and please forgive me for mentioning it again: When those new to a social setting do not feel comfortable engaging in conversation it absolutely kills the atmosphere.

Let's be honest. Someone who is new to Tiki Central will more likely than not have little experience and expertise to share. Chances are, the reason they would post in the first place (and thus contribute to the community atmosphere) is to ask questions. Then as they ascend the learning curve they may move on to additional posts. But only if they feel welcome.

TikiGardener was right. New versus old absolutely killed the mod scene. There is a reason I didn't go to any scooter rallies this summer, and it has nothing to do with the scooters.

I would hate for this to occur at Tiki Events.

Jay

However, blatant eBay Shills like TikiPau-sp?can be ostracized at will.:wink:

[ Edited by: SallyandJay on 2003-10-23 08:41 ]

[ Edited by: SallyandJay on 2003-10-23 08:43 ]

True enough, Jay, and I do think that old conversations are sometimes reinvigorated in a positive way by someone reasking a question we'd asked ourselves earlier.

However, there is a reason the search feature exists. It doesn't hurt to make sure a new user understands it's one of the tools available to them at TC.

No matter how genuinely and warmly you welcome someone, when the honest best way to answer someone's first post is with a post with links to the forums with all the answers a new user is looking for (essentially just being a human search engine for them, which I personally don't mind, but it is a bit silly), about half the time they seem to feel bad for not figuring out to use the search feature themselves. I feel it's a cruddy introduction.

The primary purpose of a FAQ is to make new people feel more welcome. A FAQ is the best introduction you can get to a new online community, and we essentially don't have one! That's not very newbie-friendly of us, in my opinion.

Consarn it,
All these youngins, with their new minded talk and high falutin' ideas. I remember TC before it was on the internet. Back then it was just Hanford on the corner of Post and Geary with a Half gallon bottle of safeway brand white rum. 'Course, back then we spoke of important things, not all this nonsensical jibber-jabber of these young flibber-de-jibbets. Damn!!!, if TC hasn't gone to hell in a hand basket. Makes me yearn for olden times.
Mahalo,
Al

AWWWWWWWWWW heck, I better bend over so y'all can kick my booooo-tay outta here, cause although I DO NOT THINK JIMMY BUFFET is TIKI, whatsoever, heehee
I do like him. CRAP.....I'm gonna be banished aren't I ?
PEa

I urge everyone to go back and look at the ORIGINAL post on this thread. It doesn't say "ALL the newbies are just not tiki enough". (BTW, I really loathe the word "tiki" being used that way.) I'm answering this as an "oldster" (I was in the Yahoo club for a while) and a "newbie" (since I've only been on this forum since March). And as someone who has had a long-standing interest (I WAS born into it since my parents had the bug when I was a child) in the subject matter, but has not delved into it nearly as deeply as some others here, bless 'em.
The original post says that there seem to be a lot of people who have joined recently who seem to have "a passing interest" in tiki. It is true that there is a wave of new membership after events. And it does seem sometimes that maybe several of these people joined just to be a joiner. I met several people at Exotica who stumbled upon a flyer somewhere and just showed up to see what it was all about. Perhaps maybe some heard about TC there and joined to further find out what it was all about. And no, there's nothing wrong with that. It's one of the reasons forums like this exist.
But every person out there must truthfully admit, if you have a long-standing passionate interest in something, you would much rather discuss it with people who also have a similar body of knowledge than to listen to questions from the uneducated neophyte. That not a slam on newcomers, it's just the plain truth. And I think that's all Bong was trying to say. It may be because, as it was said, there are fewer and fewer new discoveries. And the thrill of the hunt has been somewhat tainted by eBay and the handful of high-roller collectors. (I equate them with those who would hunt squirrels with a bazooka. Of course they're going to win. But that's a whole 'nother topic, one I really don't care to debate, so let's just leave it.)
I'd like to discuss costuming with AtomicCocktail one day, but I'm sure if he had his choice he'd rather discuss it with Julie Taymor. So would I. No offense to Atomic. No offense to me. Who here hasn't wanted to talk to Sven about something? Or Otto? Or Bamboo Ben? Newbies come here to get info from people who know their stuff. I'm sure all those who said the "oldsters" should go off and reminisce by themselves don't really mean that. That's why you joined, to find out what they know. So you'll have to forgive their impatience, and maybe they'll forgive your ignorance.
And, again folks, stop looking for insults where there aren't any, and being so quick to respond with one yourself. Try to use more than your limbic system when you read something.

I dunno, you'd think after 1,500 posts someone, besides Purple Jade, would get it - I don't take too much seriously.

I like to have fun with people that take themselves way too seriously.

Life is short - have fun now!

(hee, hee, hee all the way home...)

I like Bong. The world would be a poopier place without Bong. Bong has mana.

How have I lived 44 years and still not heard Jimmy Buffet? He's one of those guys my parents would have listened to, like Jerry Jeff Walker or Dr. Hook, right? Cornball shit, right?

:)
aloha,
em.

If ya get all academic about Tiki, doesn't it cease to be Tiki?

For instance, if ya care how many of a certain mug were made, or for how many days it was served at Trader Vic's, isn't that leaving Tiki behind and turning it into a non-Tiki pursuit?

Hmmmm, maybe Tiki gets less Tiki the more you try to be specific or edjumacated about it.

Maybe a Tiki-University Forum for the folks who are disdainful of "newbie" Tiki enthusiasm would work. You could have entrance exams and require letters of recommendation and a Tiki resume to validate their Tiki-credentials!

Wow, then you could quantify Tiki once and for all. That would be great!

How long until happy hour?

[ Edited by: geeky tiki on 2003-10-23 11:24 ]

What really cracks me up is how some people can write an entire treatise on the misinterpretation of a misinterprentation. Sometimes I'm not sure that anyone "gets" anyone in some of these threads.

I like Bong too. Even when he is off getting drunk in the V.I.P. lounge.