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I see your point, Mumbles, and on that basis, I'd probably feel pretty much the same way and not wish to communicate with those persons again, either. However, I don't take life or myself too seriously these days and generally shrug it all off.  Life is too short to be upset or worried about such things, so nowadays I don't let them rock my boat and just move on to the next thing.

Another thing I am loathe to do these days is tar people of a similar ilk with the same brush... and while I would not lump all Galciv forum members into the same category (because everyone is different), I would like to think that those people wouldn't paint all Wcers, Joe Users, etc, with the same brush.  Every great communty can/will have an element of argumentative killjoy types who delight in getting a rise from taunting others... but these days I just pass such people by and find community members who are more amiable, pleasant to converse and share a joke with.

But thanks for asking the question and apparently taking the effort to bother to read a reply or two of mine.

Now the question is which of the four response types will be the predominate response to the above reply. If I were a betting man I would have to put my money on simply being ignored, but ridicule is probably a close second. Actually I can usually anticipate getting all four response types.

Another one of my favorites usually starts happening right about now when the post count starts getting close to 100. This usually occurs when it becomes apparent that the usual fare of ignore, dismiss, mis-state and ridicule has not had the desired effect of causing me to curl up in the fetal position and run crying from the thread.

This is when people start saying "why is it always about you". It's a good one which is why they save it for last. It lets everyone feel that I'm the one being the jackass and they've only responded with "righteous indignation". Whatever. Feel free to delude yourself.

As far as taking yourself too seriously, I agree and I don't. All this is, are words on a screen. Unlike many, my goal is not to "win friends and build a reputation".

It seems like this fight flares up every few months, skinning vs gaming.  One side calling the other silly, both thinking that they are more important than the other, and always crying for separate forums, or at least clear demarcation of where a thread or post originates from.  It's a battle I was even involved with nearly a year before I even started working here.

A few things to clear up for everyone involved...

1. Skinning is not more important than Gaming.  Gaming is not more important than Skinning.
   Both are parts of Stardock's business.  Both are audiences we've served for many years.  Both are passions of ours.  In terms of the business, they compliment each other quite well and there are benefits realized by both sides (DesktopX is the tech that powers the UI in GalCiv 2, Political Machine (2004 & 2008).  In terms of community, many people have started out on one side of the fence and over time discovered the other half of Stardock.  I myself came from the gaming side and later spent two years running WinCustomize.
   
   I'm honestly sick and tired of people on either side trying to claim that their passion/hobby is better, more important, more valid etc than the other.  Guess what?  It's not.  It doesn't matter if you're a gamer who sees no point in skinning, or a skinner who thinks gaming is a waste of time, don't try and insult the opposition and then get all in a huff because they attack back.
   
   Both gaming and customization are equally important parts.  All conjecture to what has the larger customer base, what deserves preference from Stardock, or what should be treated with a softer touch for whatever reason should be thrown out.  All are our customers, all are our community and believe it or not, we value you, your contributions (whatever they may be). 
   
2. Cross-posting Adds more than it Takes Away
   As ID said, cross-posting will never go away.  We have this fight with users every year or so, but it seems to come from users who want their site to be entirely self-contained and to hell with anyone who doesn't want to talk about ONLY a particular topic.  Cross-posting is actually one of the key features that keeps all of our sites so active.  Users who never neard of GalCiv may post to the Personal Computing forum via JoeUser asking a tech question, this may spark discussion from GalCiv2.com, WinCustomize, ImpulseDriven etc.
   
   You may not realize it, but many of the discussions everyone here participates in regularly are likely the result of the cross-posting forum setup.  It makes all of the forums more active and more interesting.
   
3. There will likely not be indicators on where a post came from
   The reason is simple; All sites are part of the same larger community.  The goal is to have it be seamless.  Icons or badges telling a user where the post came from creates an additional, arbitrary barrier.  Since in the cross-posted forums, there isn't anything site-specific about them, adding site-specific information divides more than it unites.  It would be like formally creating a caste system for users... "Ohh, you wear the mark of the Chameleon.  Your kind is not wanted here!"
   
   It's only a small set of users who know or care about the cross posting, and for most of them the only solution they'd be happy with is the elimination of the system.  The badges won't make those folks happy, and they'll just draw attention to the system from folks who never noticed or cared before.  It would create problems where there currently are none, and would in part defeat the purpose of the system.

You're all part of the same large community, like it or not.  Going after each other, biting at each others heels and trying to stir up trouble won't get us to bend to your personal view of how the sites should be run.  Learn to live with it and play nice.

No thanks needed... I read the thoughts, ideas and of opinions of others here, yours included, to broaden my own and to see how they tick.  This better enables me to communicate respectfully on a one a one to one basis, and thus it lessens the chance of what should be a mutual conversation devolving into something unpleasant and ugly.

Furthermore, while I may not share your interest in games, nor you with my passion for desktop customisation, I do agree with your views regarding respect/consideration for a given opinion... so obviously I do not like it when those who take delight in shooting others down in flames decide denigrate them publicly, such as in a forum.  It's gets even uglier when a mob mentality gets behind them... nobody profits from it, but they still do it regardless, like their popularity will soar if they're backing the 'supposed' winning team.

My (tongue in cheek) response to that would be: "Because I'm special... aren't you???  Hehe!  That's what I mean about not taking such things or myself too seriously.  If a bit of nonsense like that broke the ice to restore some respect and civility, fine, but if not, then that's where I'd part ways and move on.

Well there you go!  Despite having different recreational interests, we're not too dissimilar after all.  I do not come to the forums to win popularity contests or friends, but to share some of my thoughts, a bit of humour and maybe a little something to spruce up somebody's desktop.  If I contribute something to help brighten someone's day, that's enough for me... and if I get a thank you here and there, well those are very nice bonuses.

Also, because I have moved between states over the last 10 years or so, I've lost touch with many people I knew as friends or acquaintances, so now I would say that I have many more acquaintances than I have close personal friends, both online and in the real world.  However, as you do, I consider a few who I've met online to be friends, not because I came looking for them, but rather that those relationships mutually evolved that way over time.

Oh, and I have a policy about being ridiculed.  Rather than have someone heap it on me as a matter of choice, I decide to act the fool and bring it upon myself... cos it's better to volunteer on your own terms than get drafted into somebody elses. 

In any case we've had Jafo, Island Dog and now Zoomba all read the riot act and I think that's plenty enough for me for the moment.

Apologies to putradi for hijacking his blog, however I've heard that there's no such thing as bad publicity other than your own obituary so on that basis he probably should be thanking me.

I guess im the missin link then. Former #1 mechwarrior pilot in the world, MS Game Zone Team Owner, and a skinner/Former Litestep dev all wrapped up in one. (Currently mastering Asphalt4 Elite Racing on my IPhone, While trying to make a few Widgets)

silly me...  I guess I should hate myself then

*smacks him self around with a large trout*

Now that I think about it, that's absolutely correct. Without cross-posting we could never have these lively little chats.

I was done with this thread but i'll add a few more things.

Why is that 3 Stardockians after reading this entire thread can only focus on "Skinning VS Gaming"?

That was never the debate and was only made the debate by Jafo when he took one persons opinion and ran with it. Mumble said, and i'm going from memory here, that to him, skinning was vanity and he had nor saw any use of it. Thats an opinioin folks, if your all (those who have at least) going to get off your high horse over someone's opinion, i suggest never going outdoors and conversing with anyone ever again....It's life that people will see things differently than you, it does not make them wrong or you right. It's shocking that i needed to point that out........

Since when is an opinion an insult. I thought everyone was entitled to their opinion, or is it only when that opinion happens to be the status quo? I have no use for Myspace/Facebook/JU/Livejournal.....i see them as a waste of time and only for the tweens that can't bring themselves to get out into the big wide world. Are they a waste of time? Obviously not, all those sites are quite successful, it just happens to be my opinion, wrong or right it's how i see it.

The highlighted part is of importance here. Your damn right i come to GC2 to talk about only one particular topic. It is the official site and forums for GC2. Why would i go there to talk about the affect of X on Y. Or to listen to other people thoughts on Z. IT IS...WAS...A GAME SITE, OF COURSE I EXPECTED TO CHAT ABOUT A GAME THERE. The site is not galciv2andothertopicsfromtheworld.com....

I don't go to Myspace to sell the junk laying around the house. I don't go to wincustomize for the latest weather reports. I find it completley logical to go to a site and be there only for said sites purpose, in this case GC2.

Now this thread was civil and about the cross posting with neither GC2aholics or wincutomizers berating, biting or fighting about anything, untill Jafo over reacted to an opinion and now more and more Devs are following suit.

Now you guys have made it perfectly clear that the cross posring will if anything become more prominant instead of being dialled back, and that you guys believe it is better this way. Did you ask the users of those sites? I bet not, but since you guys own the sites you don't need to. Which is why many, many users are not coming back or at the very least not as much as they used to....

Saying.. * dude you suck* is an insult as well as a opinion..

opinions can be stated without the need to belittle other people or their past times

They sure can. It's a shame your in the few that can recognise that fact.

Well thank you, I appreciate the thought.

That's fair enough... besides, sometimes it is good to step back so that you're better able to focus on things of importance/etc to you.  Irrespective of whatever else has been said here however, whether or not we pursue different hobbies, yours is as valid as mine and I've enjoyed conversing with you. 

Furthermore, we held an intelligent discussion where neither of us bored the other with the intricate details, whys or wherefores of our particular interests (one of the reasons given against cross-posting).  Rather, we spoke purely on a human interest level and, despite whatever difference we each may have, we were still able to find agreeable common ground and show one another respect. 

Hopefully, this is an example others of the wider community can/will follow... that mutual respect for one another's differences cost nothing and make for a happier environment for all.

No doubt that we'll meet again, Mumbles, so until next time...

And it still is the "official" site and forums for GC.  The overwhelming majority of posts on there are about GC and gaming.  Personal Computing is quite relevant especially when dealing with PC gaming specfiically.  Lets remember, nobody has to view or participate in the forums that don't interest a specific topic.

I think we have a better community that we are integrated. 

I am certainly on record as preferring less cross posting rather than more or at least of having a more obvious line of demarcation between what is cross-posted versus what is limited to a single site.

However one thing to point out is the GalCiv1 site. The GalCiv1 site is currently the only site that I've found that is totally independent (other than neowin which is another special case). However being independent is another way of saying isolated and while more isolation is actually something that I desire, there is a downside to it.

The downside of being isolated is that the site essentially has been left to wither and die. I'm not making a judgement here, merely an observation, and for all I know there are plans to revamp the GalCiv1 site and incorporate it into Stardock's "family" of forums. However failing that the GalCiv1 site seems to me to be a relic of the 1980's where you don't have to go very far down the "recent" post list to find posts over a year old. The surprising thing is that there is any traffic there at all.

While I would certainly prefer to see more organization and control in how (and which) forums are shared, I feel confident that as long as the GalCiv2 site is "part of the family" that at least it will not have the same fate as GalCiv1. For me this is a mitigating factor that certainly needs to be considered.

PC Gaming, yes i agree with you. Not sure what you are pointing to with that pic but if you recall i mentioned the recent posts list. The recent posts list as i look at it now, does not do much for my point, ATM, but it is very easy for all 10 links to have nothing to do with GC2. More oftne than not GC2 related topics are overwhelmed here and go unnoticed.

I think i have made my point and we seem to be hashing the same topic over and over.

Thats your opinion, and that is fine. I simply disagree as the intergration makes my GC2 community experiance worse off than without it.

I will except that SD community on the whole may be enhanced by the intergration, but the GC2 experiance suffers from the numbers of posts from other sites. Again that's my opinion and nothing else.