Name the point when DU "jumped the shark"

[x-g.o.p.er]

I have been away awhile, came back, and don't recognize the place.

Has DU jumped the shark? Is it approaching the ramp?

Is it not even close to jumping the shark?

[aclog]

1. I joined

[Radical Activist]

2. A few weeks after the discussion board started.

[Shine]

3. I have no idea what you're talking about, sorry.

I'm not familiar with that term "jump the shark".... :shrug:

[x-g.o.p.er]

4. It's the point where something gets as good as it ever will...

and from there starts a slow, inexorable slide.

It's from the old Happy Days tv show, when there was an episode where Fonzie literally jumped a shark with skis behind a boat. The end for that great show was near.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

[ghostsofgiants]

7. Drat, beat me to it!

:P

[Shine]

8. Cool! I'd never heard that expression before. Thanks for the tip!

learn somethin' every day, huh? well, hopefully, anyway... :)

[ghostsofgiants]

5. Here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

[Shine]

10. Thks, the OP turned me on to that same link, too. I'd never heard of

it before. Guess I'm a lame-o... :eyes: Oh well.

Hi primate1! :hi:

[ghostsofgiants]

11. Haha, you must live under a rock.

It's a pretty common expression, especially online.

[Shine]

15. heheh. but it's a cozy rock. :)

I just joined DU back in Sept. and I'd never posted on a message board before, so it's all new to me. I'd never even heard the term "snarky" before!!

but that moment the phrase "jumping the shark" refers to, on the Happy Days show, I definitely remember watchin...and thinking , "gawd, how low can this show get??"

[LaurenG]

13. I'd never heard of it either, jumped his/her bones yes but not

the shark. lol

[Shine]

16. Oh good, I'm glad I'm not the ONLY one.

Solidarity! :pals:

[redqueen]

6. Hey you cutie!

Nice seeing you around again. :hi:

[x-g.o.p.er]

9. Thanks!

Been awhile, hasn't it?

[DainBramaged]

12. jump the shark? boehner the blunt? banzai the bishy?

Grate the cheese? No wait, cut the cheese. Tank the dog? Nah, we're all still crazy here, just a little more apprehensive.

[uppityperson]

14. Cindy, cindy and more cindy

will she, won't she, what would you do if, why, why not, I think, I think, I think, you are wrong I am right, she should, she shouldn't, it is, isn't is too. Seems like one of the normal flibberties after some politically important and emotional stuff.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

17. nader on the top 10 conservatives list - but giving lieberman passes

whatever you think of ralph, he's hardly a rightwinger. however, if this standard is going to be used, why the hell hasn't holy joe ever made the list. because he has a 'd' beside his name? and how long did it take to put zell miller on there. he'd been leaning right for years, but it was glossed over til he endorsed bush

[x-g.o.p.er]

18. Good one n/t

[NNadir]

22. The statement "Nader is hardly a rightwinger" is false. You jumped the

shark.

Nader is about as rightwing as you get. He is a fraud.

Anyone who states that "Bush is the same as Gore," is engaging in Republican propaganda since it seems to imply that Bush is an intelligent, thoughtful man with character and a deeply reflective nature. Only rightwingers inflate Bush.

[graywarrior]

19. About a brazillion times ago.

[no name no slogan]

20. The second Ted McGinley joined

once he joins a show, it is doomed (Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, Married With Children, etc.)

[x-g.o.p.er]

23. Solid point...

ban Ted McGinley!!!

[merh]

21. When they let the good writers leave and refused to let them come back.

Like any good television show, the writers are the heart and soul of DU.

We have let good writers leave and their mediocre replacements seem rather bitter that they can't match their talents.

Just my opinion, of course. :hi:

[Ladyhawk]

39. Ladyhawk trudges away sulking, kicks a rock that wasn't in the way...

j/k

:D

[merh]

40. Not you darling

:hug:

I love your posts. :pals:

I do miss others who brought such life and love to the place. :-(

[Ladyhawk]

42. I was just being an attention-seeking jerk. :D

I like your posts, too. :D :hug:

[merh]

43. LOL

If we all weren't attention seekers, we wouldn't post on a public message board. :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

41. I think it was a little before that time...

This place flipped when certain members were tombstoned - and then one was permitted to come back after a few weeks. Frankly, if you're going to have rules for people to follow, they need to be equally applied to ALL, with no special dispensation.

That, and the slowly creeping acceptance of profanity.
(when I first came here, you couldn't say "Fuck" - at least not in a post title.)

[DS1]

24. I'd have to go with this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4055551

oh, the irony

[Deja Q]

25. I'll let you know

:)

[Blue-Jay]

26. *snort*

Will Pitt grandstanding?

That'll never happen.

[x-g.o.p.er]

29. What was that about?

Excuse my ignorance, but does Will no longer post here?

I thought he was a good writer. What happened?

[DS1]

30. Read the replies

It'll make sense. Sortof.

[x-g.o.p.er]

35. Wow, that's fucked up

Was it Free Republic, or some other fucked up site?

Rest in Peace, Andy.

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. Oh wow....I had no idea amazona had been banned....

:hi:

[DS1]

34. oh

I remember that name, hadn't noticed :hi:

[XemaSab]

53. That whole scene was fucked up

WAAAAAY too many people getting WAAAAAY too angry at other people with the best intentions.

Poor Andy. :(

[GalleryGod]

27. Not the same since BIG left

But that's only IMHO:blush:

[leftofthedial]

28. when people actually replied to my posts

for the first time in 4 years of posting.

[Skittles]

36. I never threatened to kick your ass in FOUR YEARS?

:o

[leftofthedial]

37. I said "people"

:hide:

:-O

[Roon]

31. I know exactly when

right after the 2004 elections.

[x-g.o.p.er]

32. We might have a winner...

but I need to read that Will Pitt post.

[spacelady]

38. How about when I chimed in just about NOW.

OK, now it has jumped the shark, but only if you let it. IMHO (I learned that here) DU could only JTS (jump the shark) if everyone went their separate ways, foregone all the connections, and gave up--Not gonna happen. So before y'all call me a Pollyanna, just think about it.

And yes, I love what DU does!

[x-g.o.p.er]

44. Pollyanna j/k

[spacelady]

45. Alrighty then, Fonzeee.

So when do we have the pep rally to burn Skinner in effigy & then where is the sock hop w/the keg?

[Redstone]

46. It hasn't jumped yet.

If you think is has, it's probably just unfamiliarity from your time away.

Redstone

[BlueIris]

50. That's what I say.

We may be in a "rebuilding, redefining" season now, ala the third years of Friends and ER, but we're not about to pull a shark-jump ala the eighth year of Friends, the sixth of ER or the ninth of The Simpsons. Not there yet. As long as Admin doesn't make any major changes, we could survive another twenty years, like Gunsmoke.

[CanuckAmok]

47. When Ted McGinley joined (as HEyHEY)

.

[Dave Reynolds]

48. A reply from a banned stalker:

picked up from the site where losers end up.

"Once they started banning the long term, donating Lounge Lizards.

One by one we started dropping off like flies.

Sadly, some of the worst toads are still there, in the Lounge.

Still there are some of the most beautiful butterflies there, who, as delicate as they may be to me, still live in the conservatory, and have never seen the flowers outside the greenhouse."

[BlueIris]

51. Jesus.

That is INSANE.

I had no idea banned crazies were THAT bad. Well, I mean, I did, but MAN. That's some heavy delusion, there.

[rucky]

49. When they added a robot to boost ratings. n/t

[Borgnine]

52. When some forums became a liberal dick wagging contest.

Seriously, there are some discussion forums here that are filled with posts that do nothing but bait others so they can argue who the bigger liberal is.

I still love DU though, mostly for Latest Breaking News, the Lounge, and the smaller forums. Those sections have never jumped.

[BlueIris]

54. Huh. That's interesting. Maybe it's because I just haven't been

paying attention to that shit, but that is one trend on these boards I haven't actually seen at all. In fact...what?

[billyskank]

55. When JimmyJazz left