It's my opinion that it may have a lot to do with this "rich people need to be punished" attitude we are seeing today in this country. Because you have money, people automatically assume you have power (which you might or might not) and this power can have a lot of influence. They also feel that because you may have this power and influence that as small people (poor or not as rish as you) their voices tend to be drowned by opinions like your. Every time you post, be it an article or just a comment on someone elses article, your comments are taken as if they are absolute just because you own the site and people don't take them as just another person posting their opinions.

Sure, you have power because it is your site, but up to this point, in the past 4 years (more or less) that I have been around I have never seen you use this power just because you have it but more because some people literally ask for it.

That's just a load of horse manure. The one thing I can say about Brad is that you are who you are. I wonder sometimes why you gamble by speaking your mind but I think that is one the reasons I really like this site. You take risks in a forum that you can't just reach in and take it back.

I haven't been on much in a while but I lurk from time to time. The last few times I have been here, it's just been (pardon) more of the same. I think I have been a member long enough to see patterns and I just don't recall seeing this sort of downturn in quantity/quality.

I miss some of the older more prolific users. They certainly weren't what brought me here (you can chalk that up to good Google search placements for the word blog) but they are what kept me coming back.

I would be really interested in the demographic information pre and post downturn. My guess is the average age dropped and that makes a big difference to me. It becomes increasingly difficult to debate with people who while informed, lack the time earned experience to express their own unique view.

I would love to see resurgence in the JU population. This is such an interesting online community. I have always really enjoyed following people like Mason while he travels around, and Tova as she expands her already amazing horizon. It's fun to watch people progress. And like a car wreck, sometimes its fun to watch them self destruct.

There were points in time that probably precipitated the downturn but while I have my own opinions I don't think they are relevant to this discussion. For now I'll probably log out and lurk some more

Uh, that was my point. Brad is who he is, but people don't see him that way, in my opinion. More often than not I see people insult him just because he's the owner of Stardock. They sometimes respond as if he did not have any right to address them just because he owns the site. In most cases when I read brads articles it's as if he's just one of us, but more often than not many people don't treat him that way. LW was one of them who felt the need to constantly challenge him just because she knew he was an authority figure here. Even I can't deny my cmments towards Brad are sometimes with great care for I don't want to cause a situation where I get banned cause I like JU. In the past I did speak up against him and while he tolerated me, I figured he knew I wasn't trying to be insulting to him but none the less he showed me how if he wanted to he could teach me a lesson. I asked for it after all.

BTW, why is it that most replies you give to my commets always start with something like "a load of horse manure"? I know you don't like me, but I can't understand why your need to always be so insulting with your first comment.

Because it is? You can avoid personal attacks without appearing to have you lips appear to be planted on someone's rear. You have never treated anyone at JU the same way you do Brad. You are predictable and easy to manipulate. How many times do I have to tell you? Anytime some dismisses what you have to say they hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

You are the puppy that likes to be kicked. Predictable.

Hmmm, so being nice to someone who has only once given me a reason to be rude to him is kissing ass? You see, the thing is, unlike most people here (including me) Brad doesn't go around name calling, bashing and using childish remarks like "horse manure" when debating his opinions. He simply tries to prove his point and in some instances will accept that your mind is made up regardless of the facts he may provide.

People like you on the other hand need to lower yourselves in order to have decent arguments. Insults, rude comments, childish replies; they all become part of your character when ever you post so it's obvious that replies of the same nature will follow. Regardless of what you may think I am not rude with people unless they are rude to me first. There are some here who deserve to be treated rudely because they ak for it and even then I don't go around insulting, calling names and using childish remarks unless it makes it more interesting. People like you lack the ability to simply reply and wait for an good reason to make insulting, rude and childish comments.

Actually the predictable one is you. I wasn't really surprised to see you attack my comments. Trying to make others feel bad so that your sad existance does not seem so bad is more predictable than anything. After all, I'm not the one who lurks on a site you seem to dislike (since you don't acually make real commenst anymore) and look for specific people to throw your "I need to make myself feel better by making others look bad" comments at. Perhaps you should stick to lurking only. Then again I would not have someone like you to make this site more entertaining (with your silly comments) when things are down around here.