Since I've no clue where else to post this, I'm just going to go ahead and do so here, because this will no doubt turn into a rant of sorts.

As you may have noticed, or probably didn't, I haven't posted in about a week... and to be honest, I hardly noticed it either. Doesn't seem like that long that I'd been lurking. But lately I'm finding myself very frustrated and dissatisfied. The most frustrating part of all is that I can't put my finger on what exactly is causing me to feel this way. Something has been happening to me that's been very upsetting in a quiet sort of... "bleeding" way. Something that doesn't exactly hit you hard, but is... something that "works on you"... it erm, well, sort of has been eating away at my mind.

I have been all right as far as my interactions with people are going, but occasionally I sink into random "depression", and I guess that's the only word I can use here, but it's not the sitting-in-the-corner-crying kind of thing, so I don't think depression is the right word. Um, let's try an analogy here... it's like living the best day of your life, and then as the day wears on and the sun begins to sink in the west, you realize it's over. And you know that the rest of your days from that point on will be laced with sorrow. It's almost like that, but not quite, so just forget that I guess...

The point is here, I've been very frustrated and most of all, unable to articulate myself well on this forum. I begin typing, and find I can't think straight or my words don't come out right, become frustrated, and end up scratching whatever I've typed. I guess this sort of thing just continues until you realize that you haven't posted in a while... and then you can't figure out how to make your re-entry. I just chose this thread because I knew whatever I ended up posting would be a bunch of random gibberish without any topic in particular...

I've also been frustrated lately with the way the forum has been going. Upset is another word I can use, and so I will. I'm upset by the treatment of off-topic threads here. I know this is supposed to be a Lisa Simpson forum, and I respect that, but I don't think off-topic threads and/or stories and fanart are given enough quarter here. I read just today in a post that one member, I think it was Serge, would rather see more Simpsons stories and posts than off-topic ones, and is surprised by the amount of off-topic we have here.

Well, why the hell not? It annoys me to think that to be a member of this community, you're almost obliged to contribute something "simpsony" to the place. I mean, if you want to draw or write about something else, what difference does it make? I stay here on LTS not because of the Simpsons. In fact I wouldn't even consider them my favorite T.V. show anymore, I've been watching Monk a lot lately, and I'd definitely place that above the Simpsons if someone asked me which one I'd rather watch. But no, I stayed on LTS for the people.

I am just not interested at all in the Simpsons anymore. In fact... I think watching them almost religiously for a time during my Lisa-infatuation, and discussing them all the time, has made me almost sick of the show. And I just cannot feign interest in all of these Lisa dedicated or Simpsons dedicated threads we have,

I know I have no argument against those, it's a Simpsons-themed board after all. But I really feel like the black sheep here; the person who dwells on off-topic, which is not as good as Simpsons or Lisa related discussion. And I know you all will come rushing in with smiles and, and handshakes or something, and tell me that's not the case, but you really can't deny it; I've created a few off-topic threads, hardly any if not ANY of them make it past one page. It's... disconcerting.

You could argue that our biggest thread, Song Lyrics, is off-topic, but that's just one thread. All you have to do is look at the ratio of off-topic to Simpsons threads. And there's no real discussion either, just a bunch of people (actually, it's mostly me! Hah!) comparing lyrics, and 75% of them go unnoticed.

So, I'm just not sure where to turn now... some would say to keep posting here, and just talk about what I want to talk about, but then it would feel almost like I'm talking to myself, that no one cares what I have to say. Or I could force myself to discuss the Simpsons here, and treat it as a job, which I won't do. Or quit posting altogether, which I also won't do, that's no solution.

But is there any other? I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do here. Most members want more Simpsons threads, I want the opposite. Is this just not the place for me anymore?

Please, if you have taken the time to read this far down, take a little bit more time to tell me what you honestly think. I know I may seem a bit... eh... off-key, and I am right now, have been for about a week. I'm not right, none of this went the way it was supposed to, and it's carrying over to here. I guess I should've come out and said this a long time ago though, but maybe I needed something like this to happen to me to let all of this come spilling out.

So... there it is. Some of you must think I'm off my rocker about now.

GeorgeHarrison

Well, talking about about posting here in off-topic threads I can say the following. It's true that most people here not the native-english talking people. But, what's more estranging, of various age. Sinse this I bet you exactly know what I'm talking about. There's just a very various interests that different people have here. I remember Rizzy who's not around here anymore. I think that's the perfect example of the way if you want continue your hobbies and this very place is just not fits you.

But as you said most of active members come here for talking with someone who they know quite well and sympathizing of course. For me it's only two persons, the admin Dagdamor and nice young lady brakusaetsya, and it's quite obvious, I think   Both of them I know from the russian forum. But! It's not the point that I definitely don't want to know anyone and to talk too. It's absolutely wrong. You, Suusje, Empethree, Andreas, Black Raven, Casper, the newbies Paolo, Jimmy, Sylenne, and all who I doesn't mentioned, you are... nice people.

So it's not even the question why we are here. Definitely not only because of the Simpsons or even Lisa. It's like a habit, I suppose. And to talk about something. The main subject as you know is the forum's name. All talks about something what he knows better. And I'm very tranquil towards the subject that I doesn't know or understand much and that's my big shortcoming.

Summing up I want to say if you feel you want to be here you have to find the forces to overcome your apathy and depression and just to continue posting of what you like. And people will understand it. If not I think you must find another place, but again that needs forces...
(hell, that was a crappy speech! )

Well, it's good to hear that at least people are able to understand my views on off-topic.

Last night was a bit rough for me, my mind was pretty askew, felt like my thoughts were thrown about helter-skelter, so I'm sorry if I seemed like I'd lost some of my marbles. I still feel the same way about the issues on LTS that I've mentioned, and am glad that I was able to get out there and say it.

Unfortunately I can't see there ever being "changes" made on this issue, one reason being that I wouldn't even know how to change the situation. On one hand we have people who are loyal supporters of the Simpsons and participate heavily in every discussion thread, people like Serge, Bra, or Ygg. And on the other hand, people who distance themselves almost entirely from Simpson-related things like myself, Rachel, or Laguna. It's impossible to satisfy everyone...

Well, I have no "methods" per se for solving this little dilemma, but I'll let the admins look this over and make what they will of it.

I am one of the people that thinks off topic is a valuable part of this community. I count most, if not all, of the members here and friends. And a lot of the time I want to share something good with my friends, be it simpsons or not.

I could post these things on another board, what are the chances of people beign members of the same boards as me, virtually none. No disrespect to Serge or Marco at all.

As long as things are kept in correct forums and they are not spam or offensive then there shold be provision for it. As long as a large proportion of the topics posted overall are related to Lisa and the simpsons. I think this place is more than just a Lisa forum, it is much more. we are in many cases a sort of "family" People move on to other things, and some people have decided to stay and be a part of it. And thats what makes this board special. Lisa and the sense of community therein.

I see a lot of people talk on MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ect. I find it kind of humbling to fid that the people who have moved on to new things still choose to engage in conversation, and just be good friends. I value this forum extremely hightly, I have been through hell, especially in the last few months, and this forum ands its members have kept me from doing something stupid. Remember if anyone does feel like a chat feel free to add me to MSN/Yahoo/AIM.

I will admit when i first saw this place it crossed my mind that it was a place for obsessive nutters, but I have come to realise this is a place for friendship, discussion and generally a good time!

SimpReal
I most certainly am not trying to feel out of place. Why on earth would I want that? It just doesn't make sense.

All I'm saying is that from time to time I get tired of discussing the Simpsons... I find it interesting to discuss off-topic things, with the members on this forum. There is hardly a more respectful and intelligent place on the internet than LTS, which is why I am a bit discouraged by the fact that off-topic threads are given little attention.

I guess I just feel like I'd rather know these people beyond what they think of Lisa's hairstyle.

SimpReal
I think opening a new board for off-topic posts would do little to curb people's interests. If a thread interests you, you'll reply to it, no matter what board it's on. You're probably right about people's interests being separate from each other, but then again we have had some interesting replies in threads about War vs. Peace, Religion, even a discussion we had about music half a year ago, although that was done entirely in the "Song Lyrics" topic.

There's plenty to discuss, it just seems like not enough people participate, or keep the thread going. It could be a lack of interest, but somehow I find that hard to believe. Maybe I misinterpreted this, but it seems like some of the members on this forum wouldn't pass up an opportunity to discuss something like that with other members.

And if these random drops in activity are because people are tired of discussing the Simpsons, well... I've often wondered how long you can discuss characters and places that don't exist. How long you can analyze the show for before it just becomes regurgitation? By the looks of some of our topics, not very long...

I heard a story of one "System Shock" forum. It was probably the best place for a true hardcore fan, maybe even as great as the LTS forum. Everybody there spoke to the point, everyone had something to say about their favourite game, and, due to rather strict moderation, there was no place for trolling, flames, flood and offtopics there.
But the problem was that there were only two games of the System Shock franchise, so finally, after a certain period of active discussion, there was nothing more to discuss. People discussed everything, wrote a big bunch of fanfics and discussed them, and finally, left the forum. And it died.
I don't want to be a wet blanket, but Lisa Simpson is a very particular subject to discuss. Restricting ourselves to discussing her and only her may very well lead us to the heat death or whatsitsname. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I feel that I have already said almost everything I had to say about Lisa and, to be perfectly frank, the Simpsons in general.
(Fulbert suddenly listens to the audience)
What? Nobody thinks we should discuss Lisa only? Oh crud...;-)
I'd still suggest creating a separate forum for offtopic. I'd like to discuss the problem badger of breeding in the conditions of volcano eruption aftermath with people on this forum;-)