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This forum is like a shopping mall, and we can't lose our anchor store(s) (!)

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Posted 9/7/2018 8:44 PM (GMT 0)
A few years ago there was a fairly large shopping mall (maybe 15-20 stores) on the east side of town (where I live ) here in Gainesville. It had an "anchor store" (that is, "a department store that is the principal tenant of a mall or a shopping center") (from googling "define anchor store") which was a large WalMart. And, as is the norm for anchor stores, it played the role of drawing most of the mall's customers, accounting for most of the sales made at this mall.

This along with the usual anchor store side effect of customer spillover into the other, smaller, stores also in the mall. That is, the presence of the anchor store was a primary reason for the economic survival of the small stores there, who benefited from the "side-visits" of customers who had come primarily to shop at the anchor store.

Then this Walmart anchor store decided to up and move to the west side of Gainesville, where the bulk of the city's population is. There was much hue and cry about this, with laments that this departure would leave this eastside shopping center without a draw, and the smaller stores would suffer sales declines.

And that's exactly what happened. A few months after the WalMart move across town, that mall unfortunately turned into but a shadow of its former self, now with even some more empty stores, which had moved away, due to reduced business, and the mall parking lot barely half-full now most of the time.

I guess you see where I'm going with this. By analogy, our forum is a mall, with a couple of anchor stores, one a "Tall Allen Walmart Supercenter," the other a "Home Depot InTheShop," alongside a number of smaller stores. (Maybe posters like me are a little flower boutique a few doors down).

So if TA and Andrew relocate, they take along with them much of the knowledge and humor that has flourished in our little forum/mall, much as the departure of an anchor store takes with it so much of the money.

Yes, the forum/mall goes on, but it's just not the same. As when a mall's anchor store leaves, and what's left behind is maybe not bad, but it's just not as good.
Posted 9/7/2018 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
I was here before TA and this forum helped me immensely. don't put the forum down in the process of elevating TA. it deserves better.
Posted 9/7/2018 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
Walmart appears to have changed their (his) mind. That's a good thing
Posted 9/7/2018 9:23 PM (GMT 0)
“Cela est bien dit, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin.”—Voltaire.

Well said, but we need to get back to business: advising and comforting those who come here seeking advice and comfort. If we do that, our community will thrive.
Posted 9/7/2018 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
I have noticed that TA is still with us.
Posted 9/7/2018 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
"I have noticed that TA is still with us.'

good! i'm getting sick of all these stupid threads cool
Posted 9/7/2018 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
That’s usually how Internet forum power plays go, blows up, blows over. Forum survives, power bases realigned, life goes on.
Posted 9/8/2018 2:48 AM (GMT 0)
Well there must have been at least 1/2 dozen very strange threads during the last couple of weeks. I did not read all of them because they seemed a bit of a stretch and were wearing me out. Apparently some other stuff happened that I missed and a bit of a crisis has arisen.

Personally, I have long been amazed at what some members(or at least one) were never called out on their comments, at least I never saw it. Things that I thought blatantly broke the rules, things the rest of us would never get away with. And do I have this right: finally there was some editing or deleting and/or closing(including one that was reopened, I never saw that before either) and the offended party threatened to leave? Do I have that right so far? And now, there appears to be some sort of massive melt down due to that threat? Well, all I can say is that the rules apply to all. One person is indeed a source of much useful data, but that is by no means the only source I have been helped by. In fact I got a ton of help from many other sources here from the get go. I'm not sure if it is the optimum situation if one person is considered the essence of a support forum. And certainly not if he is considered so important that he is above the rules. And maybe that is not the case. If so, good. It shouldn't be the case.

Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 9/10/2018 8:35:41 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/8/2018 10:57 AM (GMT 0)
I've drafted a couple of comments for these threads--and BB says most of what I was going to say. I guess my only additional thought is that sometimes the insults and violations begin in small ways, and the person who gets publicly corrected is only responding to aggression, and the aggressors, because of their time on board or perceived expertise are rarely called on their behavior.

A few years ago, there was a popular song out called "high school never ends"--and an internet forum is like that.
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