[burrahobbit]

The changes to the Downs have been brought on not by a movie, I think, but by time. When the board started every topic was new and fresh, unless you had done other boards and other places. Even if you had, though, it was still fun to talk about it here for the first time. One of the first threads was about Balrog wings, another was about Tom Bombadil. The popular questions are popular for a reason. New people come and they ask the popular questions. I have my own answers, but I don't want to say them again every day. What the movie did was bring more people to the Downs. There are more stupid questions than before, yes, but there are also a lot more stupid people. Some of the older people become frustrated by the dumb posts while there are still loads more good threads than at the start.

I'm in sort of a unique position. I came here on day one, literally. Only BW and I can say that. I used to be one of the top posters, you can find an old thread that talks a bit about how I had something like a third of the total posts. That was more than two years ago. More than one year ago I stopped coming at all. I returned in April of this year. I was around before and after, but not during. The differences, such as they are, were thrown into a sharp relief for me. Some people bemoan the current state of the Downs, say that all of the newbies are ruining it for the serious posters, but I don't see that problem at all. The real problem is that the Downs isn't new anymore, and that it will never be new again.

The chat room is a bit different, though. Generally, it was never the place for serious discussion. I would say that the chat room is the same as ever, just three times more popular and always full.

The movie hasn't changed me personally in any way.