How long have you been a member?

[GHT]

I’ve been a member since August 2015. Before that I was a lurker. I wonder what made me make the jump? The FL has proved to be a keeper. The subjects are right up my alley and this is possibly the ONLY place on the Internet Where the membership is civil, well informed, intelligent and with a sense of humor.

Well informed? Intelligent? Me? Well at least you got the sense of humour right.

I’ve been hanging out in The Lounge for nearly 9 years long. Hope to be around for many more

Me too, nine years come August.

 

[Duck]

14 years in December. ...man time flies

 

[Edward]

Glad to see the revival of message boards!!!

Yes, things like FB are great for more generic social interaction, but you can't beat a dedicated forum for access to information on a specific subject, or for the osrt of in-depth discusion that the lieksof FB simply don't facilitate.

 

[Frunobulax]

Yes, things like FB are great for more generic social interaction, but you can't beat a dedicated forum for access to information on a specific subject, or for the osrt of in-depth discusion that the lieksof FB simply don't facilitate.

Sometimes I miss Usenet, other times, not so much.

 

[Edward]

Sometimes I miss Usenet, other times, not so much.

As I recall, it's main limitation was that it wasn't 'permanent', but rolled over every ten days or so? Great for social interaction, though I'd miss having access to information going way back the way we do on TFL.

 

[Frunobulax]

As I recall, it's main limitation was that it wasn't 'permanent', but rolled over every ten days or so? Great for social interaction, though I'd miss having access to information going way back the way we do on TFL.

At the time it seemed pretty radical and cutting edge, and was one of my first introductions to the Internet. Text was fine, but as soon as images became popular on it, that old dial-up didn't meet the challenge.

I was actually on ARPANET in the 70s. My HS had a connection (through, I think, Univ of Dayton via Wright-Patterson AFB) and we used to play some numbers game on it (Bagel, Pico, Fermi if I remember correctly). Actually had to put the phone receiver in one of those cradles to dial in.

 

[tonyb]

It’ll be 15 years come December.

We’ve lost a few regular participants to the reaper over that span. We’ve lost others to, I dunno, myriad reasons — boredom, anger, changing interests, etc. You’d have to ask them.

Things change. We’ve stretched the “Golden Era” into the “Greatest Generation’s” golden years. That’s fine by me. I maintain a fondness for the material culture of the 1930s and ’40s, but the people of my close acquaintance who were young then (and dead now, all but a few of the very youngest of them) were more than happy to put that time behind them. They were all for wash-and-wear clothing, automatic transmissions (and washing machines), and big, wide Interstate highways. I’ll forgive them the avocado green kitchen appliances, fuzzy toilet seat covers, and Chevy Vegas.

 

[Edward]

Things change. We’ve stretched the “Golden Era” into the “Greatest Generation’s” golden years. That’s fine by me. I maintain a fondness for the material culture of the 1930s and ’40s, but the people of my close acquaintance who were young then (and dead now, all but a few of the very youngest of them) were more than happy to put that time behind them. They were all for wash-and-wear clothing, automatic transmissions (and washing machines), and big, wide Interstate highways. I’ll forgive them the avocado green kitchen appliances, fuzzy toilet seat covers, and Chevy Vegas.

There's a lot to be said for living in an era in which we can preserve what was good about the past without the nasty bits. In terms of total immersion vitage lciing in today's world, it's a rare person can make it work. Many of the people I've seen quit the "vintage" "lifestyle" altogether were folks who took it to the level of using only products avaialble back when, hand wahing and mangling all their clothes.... When there are other, better, easier options, it's no surprise few can keep that up long-term.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I've been a member for as long as I can remember. I joined today I think.

 

[tonyb]

There's a lot to be said for living in an era in which we can preserve what was good about the past without the nasty bits. In terms of total immersion vitage lciing in today's world, it's a rare person can make it work. Many of the people I've seen quit the "vintage" "lifestyle" altogether were folks who took it to the level of using only products avaialble back when, hand wahing and mangling all their clothes.... When there are other, better, easier options, it's no surprise few can keep that up long-term.

I know of no one who leads a “vintage lifestyle,” if by that we mean eschewing all contraptions made after, say, 1945, or some other arbitrary date.

Even the more atavistic among us, the ones with a firmer grip on reality, suffer no illusions about what times we are actually living in. They know that while some goods really were better-built back when Grandma was a girl, they also know that nothing lasts forever.

They know that the reason a hat or a suit made 70 or 80 or 90 years ago survives in like-new condition is because it rarely if ever got used over all those decades.

In other words, while they may find a certain magic in those surviving artifacts, they aren’t magical thinkers.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
And then there are those who jump in to whatever their latest fascinations might be, until the next one captures their imagination. Dilletantes, I suppose you could call them.

God bless ’em, though, until they claim an expertise they don’t really possess.

 

[Formeruser012523]

Wow. April 13, 2011. I think it was on the recommendation from someone I knew through Myspace. Yeesh. Wonder what happened to that guy? Don't think I ever want to know after all these years. And I definitely wouldn't say I'm intelligent or well-informed. Sarcastic, yes, but that's about all I bring to most discussions.

 

[Frunobulax]

Wow. April 13, 2011. I think it was on the recommendation from someone I knew through Myspace. Yeesh. Wonder what happened to that guy? Don't think I ever want to know after all these years. And I definitely wouldn't say I'm intelligent or well-informed. Sarcastic, yes, but that's about all I bring to most discussions.

Not to mention what happened to Myspace?

 

[Touchofevil]

August 29, 2009. Lurked for a few years before signing up. Posted just a few times during the first few years before opening up. Not as active during the past year, but I still enjoy it here and am glad to see so many familiar faces still hanging around.

 

[Just Jim]

Member maybe 2 1/2 years; lurker since. . . 2004? Maybe 2003?

 

[Touchofevil]

It is interesting that so many lurked for a number of years before diving in. I don’t do the social media thing and yet this place grabbed me more than keeping connected with people I already know.

 

[BlackDahlia]

11 years for me. However, I went silent for a very long time and had to start a new account. Hi everyone!

 

[Edward]

I know of no one who leads a “vintage lifestyle,” if by that we mean eschewing all contraptions made after, say, 1945, or some other arbitrary date.

Even the more atavistic among us, the ones with a firmer grip on reality, suffer no illusions about what times we are actually living in. They know that while some goods really were better-built back when Grandma was a girl, they also know that nothing lasts forever.

They know that the reason a hat or a suit made 70 or 80 or 90 years ago survives in like-new condition is because it rarely if ever got used over all those decades.

In other words, while they may find a certain magic in those surviving artifacts, they aren’t magical thinkers.

I knew a few people who took it to relative extremes (though not the *total* immersion) and burned out on it. Yeah, most of us know where to reasonably draw the line before it becomes OTT. The ones who raise my eyebrows are the 'vintager than thou' types who use the internet as their primary means of telling everyone else how much more vintage they are than the rest of us.

Not to mention what happened to Myspace?

What happened to mySpace? Mark Zuckerberg.

 

[Zombie_61]

...The ones who raise my eyebrows are the 'vintager than thou' types who use the internet as their primary means of telling everyone else how much more vintage they are than the rest of us. ...

This is one of the reasons I lurked for so long before becoming a member. Aside from already being a member at three other forums like this (different subject matter) and the time that occupied, I'd lurk here for a while to get a feel for the place when a thread or two suddenly took on a "dressier than thou" attitude that I found unpleasant because I have an extremely low tolerance for snobbery, so I'd stay away for a while. Then I'd come back, and it would happen again. The fifth or sixth time I came back it didn't happen, so I finally signed up.

 

[DOGMAN]

Lurked for a short time.Joined Dec 2011.