Best Thread of 2005 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Hookbill the Goomba · 01-01-2006, 03:29 AM

Well, a happy New Year to all.
2005 is over. Forget about it! Stop living in the past! But before you do that, I think we should pay tribute to the wonderful topics this year has seen. As always, the Barrow Wight and his staff have kept everything in order and the Forum has continued gracefully.

So, what has been the most memorable 2005 Barrow Downs moment? What thread caught you're eye? Did any rivalries break out over who took Reputation top spot?

Just to get things in prospective, here are all the top threads in each section of the Downs. Happy New Year!

Top Threads at the end of 2005:

Books:
Are You Writing Serious Fantasy? = 853 Posts

Novice and Newcomers:
NEW MEMBERS - INTRODUCE YOURSELF HERE (Part 3) = 1,986 Posts

The Movies:
Support Group for...RETURN OF THE KING = 417 Posts

Quiz Room:
20 Questions on ME = 4,481 Posts

Quotable Quotes:
Palantir of Fortune = 6,877 Posts

Middle-earth Mirth:
Crazy Captions = 9,009 Posts

Translations from the Elvish:
**Ruin of Doriath - Pre-Revision speculation/proposal thread** = 100 Posts

The Shire:
The Green Dragon Inn - Part 11 = 2,437 Posts

Rohan:
The White Horse Inn, Act III = 589 Posts

Gondor:
The Reunification of the Entish Bow - Discussion = 938 Posts

Elvenhome:
Lonely Star: Fanfiction/RPG discussion = 1041 Posts

The Barrow Downs:
Best Avatars = 1,889 Posts

Haudh-en-Ndengin:
Trilogy and Bible? = 215 Posts

Overall top topic of 2005 = Crazy Captions with a staggering 9,009 replies! Congratulations to all those that contributed.

Lalwendë · 01-01-2006, 07:05 AM

There have been a few memorable flame wars this year, those threads which have you logging on at every opportunity and yet strangely hating to do so in case you have to come up with a new argument, thus leaving important tasks uncompleted and the pots festering in the sink. Notably: What breaks the enchantment? which caused headaches Canon:what ARE we babbling about? in which davem hijacks the thread and attempts to make mincemeat out of The Hobbit's place in the Legendarium, and the often infuriatingly complex Is Eru God?

In amongst all the usual threads of discussion, which this year have included some great topics (including political analyses which I always enjoy) there have also been some wonderful left-field and deeply nerdy discussions including The Trickster in LotR, Smith of Wooton Major in Middle earth?, and You say Fairies and I say Faeries

Some of my top laughs of the year have been the ever-faithful Crazy captions, Snow Angels and What do you assign to Mordor?. But there have been plenty of funny threads this year, and funny posts dotted amongst the serious threads too, long may it continue.

A special honour for nerdy pleasure goes to Favourite edition?. Intrigues of the year? The 'Forbidden' episode, which was horrific. The 'death' of Crystal Heart. The trolls - who was tempted to feed them with bad rep just to see how far they could plummet?

Overall winner of the year for me? CbC!

It has been excellent, ensuring something good to read every single week!

Hookbill the Goomba · 01-01-2006, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

There have been a few memorable flame wars this year

There have also been the Flame Warriors. That was one of my favourite things this year on the 'How do you imagine the other B-Downers' thread.
Of course, I have to mention Crazy captions and the rise of Gandalf the grey's cloak escapades. I think it’s a running joke that will last a lunchtime.
My first Werewolf game was a huge embarrassment for myself, I wont' go into details, but lets say I'm not going to be doing that again for a long while.

And last but by no means good, who could forget Fortunately / unfortunately and the appearance of Mount Zoom?

the guy who be short · 01-01-2006, 08:53 AM

Putting aside the Werewolf craze for a moment, I can say with confidence that the thread that has interested me the most this year has been the Assigned To Mordor RPG.

I'm not sure if anything like it has been done before, as I've never RPGed before, but I think it's a bit of a deviation from the norm. And, of course, hilarious reading at every turn.

Alright. Now I'll mention Werewolf.

Firefoot · 01-01-2006, 09:14 AM

I think we would all be remiss to exclude the Werewolf games! As much as it seems they've been around forever, they only started in May. For the greatest events of 2005, I should say this certainly deserves some recognition. Locations, signatures, and avatars have been centered around it, people have arranged schedules 'just to be around to vote,' and by the time you add up all the posts in the main thread and in the separate game threads, you have a post count that fits up there with the best of them.

Then I started thinking of RPG's. Shadow of the West certainly sprang to mind, though all the other RPG's I have participated in and am now have/are excellent as well. Island of Sorrow has been very enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing it to its conclusion. Lots of good writing there. And I have to mention my first ever owned game, Sailing Away - and that brought to mind one more infamous event of the year, the Crystal Heart Fiasco, or 'CHF' as it has been officially shortened. Now that will really mess with an RPG. I also had much enjoyment in Red Flows the Sirannon, where I played my first ever Orcs - they had quite a following. I think I received more rep on that thread than on any other single thread, and I even received a pm at the end begging me not to kill them off.

And even though the CbC was already mentioned, I shall do so again. Though my own participation was rather sporadic, I enjoyed the parts I was able to post in/read along with.

And, of course, Palantir of Fortune, a longtime favorite. It should be mentioned that with a much smaller core of posters and the turn-around time that comes with all quiz or quotes game, it managed to take in roughly 3/5 the number of posts of Crazy Captions (3117 in PoF and 5420 in CC) - no small accomplishment.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Edit: Cross-posting with some people...

Azaelia of Willowbottom · 01-02-2006, 09:32 AM

It really does feel like Werewolf has been here forever...And I'm very surprised to hear that it has only been here since May (though in retrospect, I guess I knew that, too). I definitely vote that the WW threads go on the list of best threads. A new tradition has been made

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-02-2006, 09:58 AM

Though the CbC discussions have been the center of my forum focus during this past year, they started the year before, so are not strictly 2005 threads. However, I would like to nominate alatar's Sequence-by-Sequence movie discussion posts. I enjoy reading his insightful, humorous and sometimes caustic comments!

Hookbill the Goomba · 01-01-2006, 09:05 AM

Here are some end of year Downers statistics.

Top ten Posters at the end of 2005:

1) piosenniel - 6,410
2) The Saucepan Man - 6,242
3) Firefoot - 5,364
4) Estelyn Telcontar - 4,409
5) Child of the 7th Age - 4,057
6) HerenIstarion - 4,011
7) The Barrow-Wight - 3,746
8) Nilpaurion Felagund - 3,517
9) mark12_30 - 3,396
10) The Perky Ent - 3,317

Top Ten Downers in Reputation at the end of 2005:

1) Lalwendë
2) Boromir88
3) The Saucepan Man
4) davem
5) Bêthberry
6) Eomer of the Rohirrim
7) Fordim Hedgethistle
8) Formendacil
9) Estelyn Telcontar
10) Hookbill the Goomba

Congradulations to Saucepan and Estelyn for being in both lists. Quantity and Quality.

01-01-2006, 03:29 AM	#1
Hookbill the Goomba Alive without breath Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: On A Cold Wind To Valhalla Posts: 5,912	Best of 2005 Well, a happy New Year to all. 2005 is over. Forget about it! Stop living in the past! But before you do that, I think we should pay tribute to the wonderful topics this year has seen. As always, the Barrow Wight and his staff have kept everything in order and the Forum has continued gracefully. So, what has been the most memorable 2005 Barrow Downs moment? What thread caught you're eye? Did any rivalries break out over who took Reputation top spot? Just to get things in prospective, here are all the top threads in each section of the Downs. Happy New Year! Top Threads at the end of 2005: Books: Are You Writing Serious Fantasy? = 853 Posts Novice and Newcomers: NEW MEMBERS - INTRODUCE YOURSELF HERE (Part 3) = 1,986 Posts The Movies: Support Group for...RETURN OF THE KING = 417 Posts Quiz Room: 20 Questions on ME = 4,481 Posts Quotable Quotes: Palantir of Fortune = 6,877 Posts Middle-earth Mirth: Crazy Captions = 9,009 Posts Translations from the Elvish: Ruin of Doriath - Pre-Revision speculation/proposal thread = 100 Posts The Shire: The Green Dragon Inn - Part 11 = 2,437 Posts Rohan: The White Horse Inn, Act III = 589 Posts Gondor: The Reunification of the Entish Bow - Discussion = 938 Posts Elvenhome: Lonely Star: Fanfiction/RPG discussion = 1041 Posts The Barrow Downs: Best Avatars = 1,889 Posts Haudh-en-Ndengin: Trilogy and Bible? = 215 Posts Overall top topic of 2005 = Crazy Captions with a staggering 9,009 replies! Congratulations to all those that contributed. __________________ I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket... Last edited by Hookbill the Goomba; 01-01-2006 at 07:16 AM.

01-01-2006, 07:05 AM	#2
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	There have been a few memorable flame wars this year, those threads which have you logging on at every opportunity and yet strangely hating to do so in case you have to come up with a new argument, thus leaving important tasks uncompleted and the pots festering in the sink. Notably: What breaks the enchantment? which caused headaches Canon:what ARE we babbling about? in which davem hijacks the thread and attempts to make mincemeat out of The Hobbit's place in the Legendarium, and the often infuriatingly complex Is Eru God? In amongst all the usual threads of discussion, which this year have included some great topics (including political analyses which I always enjoy) there have also been some wonderful left-field and deeply nerdy discussions including The Trickster in LotR, Smith of Wooton Major in Middle earth?, and You say Fairies and I say Faeries Some of my top laughs of the year have been the ever-faithful Crazy captions, Snow Angels and What do you assign to Mordor?. But there have been plenty of funny threads this year, and funny posts dotted amongst the serious threads too, long may it continue. A special honour for nerdy pleasure goes to Favourite edition?. Intrigues of the year? The 'Forbidden' episode, which was horrific. The 'death' of Crystal Heart. The trolls - who was tempted to feed them with bad rep just to see how far they could plummet? Overall winner of the year for me? CbC! It has been excellent, ensuring something good to read every single week! __________________ Gordon's alive!

01-02-2006, 09:32 AM	#6
Azaelia of Willowbottom Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: By the Sea Posts: 446	It really does feel like Werewolf has been here forever...And I'm very surprised to hear that it has only been here since May (though in retrospect, I guess I knew that, too). I definitely vote that the WW threads go on the list of best threads. A new tradition has been made __________________ "Wherever I have been, I am back."

01-02-2006, 09:58 AM	#7
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Though the CbC discussions have been the center of my forum focus during this past year, they started the year before, so are not strictly 2005 threads. However, I would like to nominate alatar's Sequence-by-Sequence movie discussion posts. I enjoy reading his insightful, humorous and sometimes caustic comments! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

01-01-2006, 09:05 AM	#8
Hookbill the Goomba Alive without breath Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: On A Cold Wind To Valhalla Posts: 5,912	Pointless statistics Here are some end of year Downers statistics. Top ten Posters at the end of 2005: 1) piosenniel - 6,410 2) The Saucepan Man - 6,242 3) Firefoot - 5,364 4) Estelyn Telcontar - 4,409 5) Child of the 7th Age - 4,057 6) HerenIstarion - 4,011 7) The Barrow-Wight - 3,746 8) Nilpaurion Felagund - 3,517 9) mark12_30 - 3,396 10) The Perky Ent - 3,317 Top Ten Downers in Reputation at the end of 2005: 1) Lalwendë 2) Boromir88 3) The Saucepan Man 4) davem 5) Bêthberry 6) Eomer of the Rohirrim 7) Fordim Hedgethistle 8) Formendacil 9) Estelyn Telcontar 10) Hookbill the Goomba Congradulations to Saucepan and Estelyn for being in both lists. Quantity and Quality. __________________ I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket... Last edited by Hookbill the Goomba; 01-01-2006 at 11:33 AM.

01-01-2006, 08:53 AM	#4
the guy who be short Shadowed Prince Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Thulcandra Posts: 2,343	Putting aside the Werewolf craze for a moment, I can say with confidence that the thread that has interested me the most this year has been the Assigned To Mordor RPG. I'm not sure if anything like it has been done before, as I've never RPGed before, but I think it's a bit of a deviation from the norm. And, of course, hilarious reading at every turn. Alright. Now I'll mention Werewolf.

01-01-2006, 09:14 AM	#5
Firefoot Illusionary Holbytla Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 7,547	I think we would all be remiss to exclude the Werewolf games! As much as it seems they've been around forever, they only started in May. For the greatest events of 2005, I should say this certainly deserves some recognition. Locations, signatures, and avatars have been centered around it, people have arranged schedules 'just to be around to vote,' and by the time you add up all the posts in the main thread and in the separate game threads, you have a post count that fits up there with the best of them. Then I started thinking of RPG's. Shadow of the West certainly sprang to mind, though all the other RPG's I have participated in and am now have/are excellent as well. Island of Sorrow has been very enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing it to its conclusion. Lots of good writing there. And I have to mention my first ever owned game, Sailing Away - and that brought to mind one more infamous event of the year, the Crystal Heart Fiasco, or 'CHF' as it has been officially shortened. Now that will really mess with an RPG. I also had much enjoyment in Red Flows the Sirannon, where I played my first ever Orcs - they had quite a following. I think I received more rep on that thread than on any other single thread, and I even received a pm at the end begging me not to kill them off. And even though the CbC was already mentioned, I shall do so again. Though my own participation was rather sporadic, I enjoyed the parts I was able to post in/read along with. And, of course, Palantir of Fortune, a longtime favorite. It should be mentioned that with a much smaller core of posters and the turn-around time that comes with all quiz or quotes game, it managed to take in roughly 3/5 the number of posts of Crazy Captions (3117 in PoF and 5420 in CC) - no small accomplishment. Happy New Year to everyone! Edit: Cross-posting with some people...