I think it's interesting you think of those discussions as relatable to history... I see no real history in the posts I have read... just theory and speculation and subjective assessments.


History is about the coming and going of various events, cultural trends, attitudes, and all other things.  Our discussions about decade boundaries are essentially pinpointing these societal shifts.

History is about the coming and going of various events, cultural trends, attitudes, and all other things.  Our discussions about decade boundaries are essentially pinpointing these societal shifts.


Yeah, but she's talking about how our discussions are explicitly on the 2000s, along with its pop culture and years. While we do talk a little bit of the 50s-present, we mainly talk sheesh about the 2Ks.

Yeah, but she's talking about how our discussions are explicitly on the 2000s, along with its pop culture and years. While we do talk a little bit of the 50s-present, we mainly talk sheesh about the 2Ks.


History isn't explicitly confined to time periods before you were born, and even the 90s get discussed here quite a bit.

For the most part, no.

I mean, a lot of the threads here lately have that feel but I don't think that that makes you "decadeologists."

The whole "decadeology" controversy started with a member from several years back who would post 10+ new threads a day asking if 1985 was like 1966 or 1972 was like 1996, or if 1990 was more of a 1980's or 1990's year, or if the 1990's began in 1991 or 1992, or other stuff like that, all the while acting like he had made some groundbreaking scientific discovery. (He's the one who came up with the term "decadeology.")  And it wasn't a big deal at first but he just kept bombing the sh*t out of this site with inane and redundant threads which irritated the hell out of the regulars. And we'd call him on it and I think he got to the point where he posted more and more inane and redundant threads just to irritate us even more, until he ended up getting banned.

Thus, the continued resistance to decadeology (although the old-timers have all but given up the fight).

However, again I don't consider you newer members to be "decadeologists," and the reason I say that is that I don't believe that you're starting all these threads for the sole purpose of annoying people. It's more of a generational thing than anything else.

1. Decadeologists: roughly aged 20-30, with seemingly no other interests, trying to point out the huge and extreme (cultural) differences between one year/month/decade and another - when really there isn't (you'll see what I mean in ten to twenty years from now). By now, by far the largest group on the board.
2. PBG fanatics: a handful of people that have been around for ages, who keep the Penguin Board Games alive (much to the annoyance of others).
3. Others: mostly people with a 10-year (plus) history on the boards. They've a broad interest, and would like to keep things the way they were when they first arrived (i.e. diverse). Sadly, they've become outnumbered. Mostly in their 40s or over, they don't understand the appeal of decadeology, and never will.


Team #3 here. Almost. If you account for guest accounts, I got it earlier this year, but on this particular account I still have a few months to go before my 10th anniversary actually triggers.

I don't really get the appeal of decadeology, but I'm actually OK with 'em.  My memory's hazy because I'm old, but I remember the reason why it became an issue as the results of one poster who repeatedly/excessively posted redundant threads on all the boards.  I don't mean three or four people splitting hairs about 2004-2007, I mean literally 100 threads a day, one thread about music of 19xx, another about music of 19yy, ... and after 10-15 threads had been posted, another series about the movies of... well, you get the idea.  It was like, well, #2: The Penguin Board Games.  Except that every thread was started by the same guy under a different alias, and contained only one or two posts.  It was really that bad.

I usually start my browsing here, to make sure I don't miss anything: http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?action=unread;all

If I take a few days off and see 800 new posts in 100 active threads (20 threads per page, so 5 pages of new threads to skim over), that's pretty good. 

Instead, I find myself taking the same time off and seeing 800 posts in 400 active threads (100 threads of people talking to each other, and 300 threads spread out over another 15 pages, consisting nothing more of bots posting words that match a pattern specified by a subject line.)

Say what you will about the new gang of people we label decadeologists, at least they're communicating.  Some of us might be too old to care about what high school was like in the 2000s, but guess what?  We did the same thing -- whether we split hairs over Blondie was punk or new wave, or if Van Halen's use of synthesizer keyboards in the title track on 1984's "Jump" meant they were new wave or if we could still think of them as metal -- it's just that we didn't have the USENET internet and alt.music.lyrics to get the answers and try to figure it out with our friends online; we had those debates in the cafeteria and forgot about them, until we came here to reminisce. 

You say we waste our lives away, but we lived 'em to the full.
And how would they know anyway, decadeolo-youngs?
Why don't they care about the things we did back in the day?
They could age twenty years, right away!
So they say "We don't need, no (no no no!) parental guidance here!"

Every thread we scream at them to keep the decades low,
Well, if we keep on screaming, we'll miss dubstep, we know.
We always chew them out because they stay up late.
Until our three-piece suits come back in date,
We should get straight: They don't need, no (no no no!) parental guidance here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsIfkdDnRf4

There's no communication,
I'm tired of explanation,
Is this message getting through?
We went through the same thing too!

Don't we remember what it's like at 24?
Hang up our jacket now that we're too old.
Or post some more: They don't need, no (no no no!) parental guidance here!

One thread.
And I'm gonna post it up.

#1: Henk's right.  You will go through the same thing too.
#2: Addressed above.
#3: Thanks for reminding me I ain't getting any younger :)

Maybe we could all use a shot of Judas Priest from 30 years ago.  1986 was an age when if most  of us old metalheads had known Rob Halford was gay, we wouldn't have been caught dead listening to him.  Not because we didn't like the music, but because we'd be worried about what our friends would say about us.  (Yeah, today us Xers laugh at the 50s anti-civil-rights demonstrations where our grandparents held up signs saying "race-mixing is communism," and in 1986 we were being every bit as stupid all on our own! ) 

If we 40-60somethings ran out of things from our teenage years to talk about while we were in our twenties and thirties, let's at least hang around and enjoy the conversations of people who are still young enough to be interested in understanding how they came to be?  The reason I take it easy on the decadeologists is because I know they'll go through the same thing too.  Speaking of which, Judas Priest kept on rocking; Redeemer of Souls came out in 2014, it was freakin' awesome. 

Thanks, new crowd, for reminding us what a message board is for.  Agree with each other or disagree with each other, or just lurking and smiling as we see the reins being handed over to the next generation, we're at least communicating.

However, again I don't consider you newer members to be "decadeologists," and the reason I say that is that I don't believe that you're starting all these threads for the sole purpose of annoying people. It's more of a generational thing than anything else.


Yeah, you got a valid point there.

Say what you will about the new gang of people we label decadeologists, at least they're communicating.


That's actually another valid point.


Some of us might be too old to care about what high school was like in the 2000s, but guess what?  We did the same thing -- whether we split hairs over Blondie was punk or new wave, or if Van Halen's use of synthesizer keyboards in the title track on 1984's "Jump" meant they were new wave or if we could still think of them as metal -- it's just that we didn't have the USENET internet and alt.music.lyrics to get the answers and try to figure it out with our friends online; we had those debates in the cafeteria and forgot about them, until we came here to reminisce.


I don't recall ever doing that, but maybe I AM getting old! ;D
 

I never heard of the word until I entered this website.

http://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/doug-baldwin-hands-up.jpg


I have to keep reminding myself that it's been nearly 10 years since the Great Decadeology Controversy of 2006, and that many newer members won't have a clue what all the fuss is about.

AL-B and Foo Bar laid out the details quite well, but to summarize: There was poster that joined the boards just before I did in January 2006 that was quite fond of those overly analytical "Is 1989 more '80s or '90s?" type topics. It wasn't really a big deal at first, and I actually joined in many of these threads myself as someone who enjoys decade talk. But, as the year progressed, things started getting out of hand. This poster began to spam the boards with dozens of new topics daily, and totally ignored the growing complaints of other members. By the Summer of '06 pretty much everybody was tired of it, and the poster was ultimately banned.

In a vacuum, I don't think that discussion of "decadeology" is any more or less annoying than any other topic, but anything in excess is a bad thing. I don't mind posting in those types of threads myself, but given the past, I can understand why others are more wary.

I have to keep reminding myself that it's been nearly 10 years since the Great Decadeology Controversy of 2006, and that many newer members won't have a clue what all the fuss is about.


Good Lord, was it really that long ago?  :o :o :o

Good Lord, was it really that long ago?  :o :o :o


Yep, it'll be ten years next summer since You Know Who was banned.

I joined this forum when I was just out of high school, and now I'm almost thirty! Time does fly indeed! :o

Are they posting specifically to annoy? No

However many of the new posts are identical to other new posts so their isn't much variety in the discussions happening adjust rehashing various veins the same topic over and over.

I think there is a distinct difference in discussing new wave vs punk  than discussing early 00s vs late 00s

Why is it important to look at tm1992 and compare it to 1997


The that really gets me is am I 90s kid or an 00s kid because I was born in 199#
Why do they care? Why can't they define themselves however they want.
Why does it have to be "you're an 00s kid because your formative years were spent in the 00s" "I don't want to be an 00s kid I hate the 00s I feel like a 90s kid". "Well you can't be a 90s kid so deal with it" "I don't want to deal with it" "okay you're a 90s kid" well I'm probably an 00s kid because I remember more 00s stuff"

Yeah the boards are thriving because they keep
Posting and maybe I'm just an old lady who wants the kids off my damn porch but the truth is i miss the old boards and the people who left left primarily because of the shift in posts and so I fully admit I'm holding a grudge because of it

I was never bothered by the decadeology sh!t. If people want to talk about it, it is no skin off my nose. Have at it and have fun. I'm just not interested. What I DO have a problem with (which is the main reason why it got banned here) is the spamming of the boards:  "Why is 1982 like 1998" "Why is 1983 like 1998" "Why is 1984 like 1998" etc, etc. However, I have not seen anyone do that for a long, long time.



Cat

Hey ... Has this thread actually been high jacked with a semi-real discussion?  :o

I also think this type of thread has a place here. I would normally just skip it though. People have all different
types of interests. These guys aren't silly because they like to get deeper into the decades. I DO hope that they have other interests though!  ;D

Just not my thing ... that's all. Like others though, I find it annoying when this type of thread occupies too many of the new threads on the front page.

As someone who's been around awhile I think yes.m you guys are decadeologists.  Call it nostalgia of you want but you 90s/00 kids  (yes I'm lumping you together because there is no difference in my  book  are pretty much doing the same thing over and over.

You analyze the hell out of a particular year or 3 years or 5 years and feel the need to divide a decade to the nth degree.

Early middle late
First half to second half
94 to 96
04 to 06

Etc.

It's just the same discussion repackaged and reposted over and over and over and over again.

It's a large reason the old members left and a huge part of why I wonder why I keep checking in. Occasionally someone posts something interesting but generally speaking it's annoying.

I don't speak for everyone on the board I speak for
Me.  And I know some of you 90s/00s don't do this stuff at all but you're in the minority lately.

Damn Q, you lumped us all in together! ;D ;D ;D

types of interests. These guys aren't silly because they like to get deeper into the decades. I DO hope that they have other interests though!  ;D


If we didn't have any other interests, we wouldn't be able to elaborate so heavily on our nostalgia for the 90s and 2000s, nor would we be really be able to discuss decade sub-eras in the first place.

Frankly, I'm just more annoyed that because of the antics of one poster from almost a decade ago, now everybody who comes in with fresh interests and perspectives is basically treated as being part of this board's decline.  The reason I'm so sensitive to the d-word is because it's basically used in a derogatory way by the old school members here, as if we're shallow lowlifes as the originator probably was.  I know this website used to be much more popular when when it actually was in the 00s, but I still don't want the sins of one person to justify any condescending treatment towards newer members.

That said, I do feel significantly relieved that the still-active moderators at least acknowledge that the new school community is having a legitimate discussion, disinterested as they are in the subject.  Not everybody from the older generation has had quite the same open mind.

If we didn't have any other interests, we wouldn't be able to elaborate so heavily on our nostalgia for the 90s and 2000s, nor would we be really be able to discuss decade sub-eras in the first place.

Frankly, I'm just more annoyed that because of the antics of one poster from almost a decade ago, now everybody who comes in with fresh interests and perspectives is basically treated as being part of this board's decline.  The reason I'm so sensitive to the d-word is because it's basically used in a derogatory way by the old school members here, as if we're shallow lowlifes as the originator probably was.  I know this website used to be much more popular when when it actually was in the 00s, but I still don't want the sins of one person to justify any condescending treatment towards newer members.

That said, I do feel significantly relieved that the still-active moderators at least acknowledge that the new school community is having a legitimate discussion, disinterested as they are in the subject.  Not everybody from the older generation has had quite the same open mind.



You do make valid points. Yeah, this one member spammed the board even when they were told not to which got that banned. But, that wasn't the end of it. That same person kept coming back again & again & again & again... So, when somebody new comes in with similar type threads, us "old timers" are suspicious that it could be him again. It has been a few years since he has made an appearance but we are still on our guard that he could come back again.



Cat

I agree with Snoz ... I don't bother with the year comparison threads (unless I feel like a troll that day ... or, is it that year?  ;)).  I have no idea what you all find so fascinating about the 90's or 00's.  It was arguably the dullest time in music and movies.  Maybe just a single thread could suffice. Something like " How dull were the 90's & 00's?"  See .... problem solved .... and I could actually contribute to that thread in a big way.  :)

Anyway ... those threads are like spam (to me) and I just skip over them. Not too much 'meat' in the posts these days.

... and a big purple dinosaur won't fix this issue!!!


The 2010s are fun, fresh and amazing though, right? :D

I was never bothered by the decadeology sh!t. If people want to talk about it, it is no skin off my nose. Have at it and have fun. I'm just not interested. What I DO have a problem with (which is the main reason why it got banned here) is the spamming of the boards:  "Why is 1982 like 1998" "Why is 1983 like 1998" "Why is 1984 like 1998" etc, etc. However, I have not seen anyone do that for a long, long time.



Cat


It's like they keep repeating the same things over and over.

The 2010s are fun, fresh and amazing though, right? :D


I actually do feel that the 2010's have been more creative.

I actually do feel that the 2010's have been more creative.


In any way, how are they more creative than any other decade?

I'm just waiting for the old school gladiator games between the 90s kids vs. the 00s kids and in the winner of said battles will take on the early who will then be joined with the late who then will fight to the death.  ;)

I'm glad the board is moving (I guess), I wish I had more to add to it, I basically don't remember much about the 90s - 10s (the literally all blend in together for me.) I guess I was busy working and marrying and divorcing and dating and marrying again, to really notice much around me.  Either that or I just don't have the need to compare anything to anything else.

You kids go on with your shenanigans.  I'll be over here in my rocking chair.