OK, I just spent a couple of hours poring over old threads from the FYM archives (ca. early-mid 2004) to see just how different things used to be, and here are a few of my observations based on what I've read.
--For the most part, I cannot agree with the assertion I've seen made a few times that people in general were more moderate, less partisan back then. With one notable exception of someone who does indeed seem to have become less moderate (which IMHO--so what?), I found that the same familiar people were toeing the same familiar right-leaning, left-leaning, and centrist lines respectively.
--I
did get the impression, however, that the
number of posters taking a centrist, conciliatory tack was considerably higher back then. I am not sure what to attribute this to. Part of it may be coincidental, since a disproportional number of the no-longer-with-us posters also seemed to be the same ones who repeatedly struck me as having a moderate or centrist tone. Perhaps something Really Big happened which drove them out and I just missed it, or perhaps it was random bad luck that the middle ground happened to be where the cookie crumbled.
--The overall number of FYM regulars seemed to be considerably higher then than it is now--though I admit I did not attempt any sort of post(er) count to verify this. As a side note, I also noticed that quite a few people who are still very much around in Greater Interferenceland were once regular FYM posters, but now no longer are.
--There was a notable tendency for the average post (regardless of stance) to be considerably longer and more thought-through compared to now. Similarly, there seemed to be far more instances of sustained discussion of a particular point, where contributing posters kept at it for what must have been quite a long online session.
--I can't really say that people's behavior seemed more civil and courteous overall, as I saw plenty of sniping, cheap potshots and pissiness. However, I did get the impression that the larger "middle ground" presence often saved threads from being derailed by skirmishes which probably *would* derail them today, most likely by making the more partisan folks feel a little less misunderstood.
--There was MUCH more moderating going on back then than there is now. At times, and with particular mods, I felt that this actually strayed into manipulative, invasive micromanagement on occasion--nonetheless, overall, this unquestionably seemed to be a factor which helped to keep the peace. One mod in particular was admirably skilled at heading off explosions by making each poster feel heard and acknowledged.
--Overall, a much higher percentage of threads seemed devoted to explicitly political/politicized issues, while a much lower percentage seemed devoted to anecdotal, "feature-story" type ones. I doubt that this particular factor has much to do with the resulting quality of discussion in the big picture, but still it was interesting to note.
--Muslim fundamentalism was already a loaded topic back then, the Christian variety was not. Then again, this was all before
That Election and the climate of trip-wire mutual distrust that followed (I mean in "global society" generally, not just in FYM).
--
I really regret that I was not able to get to know some of these folks before they made their exit.
Thoughts, anyone.........????