The Changing Dynamic Of Phatmass

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Every so often, we sit back and reflect on how PM is changing. I think it might be time to do that again.

For those of you who are new, PM used to be a site rich in youth who knew tons of apologetics, were ultramontane in their love of the pope, and listened to some rap and shout-outs on the Phatmass Radio while chatting on paltalk.

Now, it seems we're a site rich in young marrieds who are more interested in spirituality and Church politics, are moving into a less personality-driven view of the papacy, never talk about Catholic rap, and enjoy talks on tinychat.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

I guess Phatmass has grown-up, but I'm a little worried it's also grown self-interested. The Fuzzy Bunny Crusade is gone. We don't try to evangelize people any more. We're kind of into our own little culture and if people swing by, we either invite them in or push them away. On most issues, we've become little parrots for one another. I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm locked inside when I come here. The gray drabness of the phorum, the same 20 topics making circulation through our consciousness, the same negative attitudes. I feel like some bishops described the Church before the council. We need to open a window and get some fresh air. We need an aggiornamento and a ressourcement. We need to get back to our roots and rediscover why we came to this site in the first place.

I came here because I found people who understood me and my crazy beliefs that we need to be faithful to the Church's teachings. I stayed here because I felt Phatmass was making a contribution and I wanted to be a part of it. Now I'm not so sure.

Your thoughts?

[Laudate_Dominum]

[Winchester]

[quote name='Raphael' date='07 May 2010 - 06:39 PM' timestamp='1273271954' post='2106485']
Every so often, we sit back and reflect on how PM is changing. I think it might be time to do that again.

For those of you who are new, PM used to be a site rich in youth who knew tons of apologetics, were ultramontane in their love of the pope, and listened to some rap and shout-outs on the Phatmass Radio while chatting on paltalk.

Now, it seems we're a site rich in young marrieds who are more interested in spirituality and Church politics, are moving into a less personality-driven view of the papacy, never talk about Catholic rap, and enjoy talks on tinychat.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

I guess Phatmass has grown-up, but I'm a little worried it's also grown self-interested. The Fuzzy Bunny Crusade is gone. We don't try to evangelize people any more. We're kind of into our own little culture and if people swing by, we either invite them in or push them away. On most issues, we've become little parrots for one another. I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm locked inside when I come here. The gray drabness of the phorum, the same 20 topics making circulation through our consciousness, the same negative attitudes. I feel like some bishops described the Church before the council. We need to open a window and get some fresh air. We need an aggiornamento and a ressourcement. We need to get back to our roots and rediscover why we came to this site in the first place.

I came here because I found people who understood me and my crazy beliefs that we need to be faithful to the Church's teachings. I stayed here because I felt Phatmass was making a contribution and I wanted to be a part of it. Now I'm not so sure.

Your thoughts?
[/quote]

I mostly agree. However, it seems we're a site rich in young marrieds who are more interested in spirituality and Church politics, are moving into a less personality-driven view of the papacy, never talk about Catholic rap, and enjoy talks on tinychat.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

I guess Phatmass has grown-up, but I'm a little worried it's also grown self-interested. The Fuzzy Bunny Crusade is gone. We don't try to evangelize people any more. We're kind of into our own little culture and if people swing by, we either invite them in or push them away. On most issues, we've become little parrots for one another. I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm locked inside when I come here. The gray drabness of the phorum, the same 20 topics making circulation through our consciousness, the same negative attitudes. I feel like some bishops described the Church before the council. We need to open a window and get some fresh air. We need an aggiornamento and a ressourcement. We need to get back to our roots and rediscover why we came to this site in the first place.

I came here because I found people who understood me and my crazy beliefs that we need to be faithful to the Church's teachings. I stayed here because I felt Phatmass was making a contribution and I wanted to be a part of it. Now I'm not so sure.

Your thoughts?

[Era Might]

[quote name='Raphael' date='07 May 2010 - 06:39 PM' timestamp='1273271954' post='2106485']never talk about Catholic rap[/quote]
Bring back the rap talk!!!!!!!

Edited May 7, 2010 by Era Might

[CatherineM]

Raph-you of all people should know that being a highschool or college age person is really tough in this world, but being a young married couple is harder. Many people your age still live in their parent's house. They aren't dealing with kids and pediatricians, daycare, while being squeezed on one side by student loans, and on the other side by baby expenses.

When I was your age, people did get married and have kids, well, except me. Now, you are as counter-cultural as it comes. You are the minority, and as a minority, you need a place where you can hang out with people who understand and support your decisions instead of asking you why you aren't using condoms. You also serve as an example that people can have children and not have it be the end of the world. Young people are constantly told that children will ruin your life. We need those examples of how children can be blessings instead.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Winchester' date='07 May 2010 - 07:01 PM' timestamp='1273273303' post='2106494']
I came here because I found people who understood me and my crazy beliefs that we need to be faithful to the Church's teachings. I stayed here because I felt Phatmass was making a contribution and I wanted to be a part of it. Now I'm not so sure.[/quote]
No doubt about it, I was compelled to create an account and post for one reason: to debate heretics, schismatics and heathen. I hardly knew Open Mic existed back in the early days. I think after the initial debate phase I became more interested in discussing Catholicism, more of a Transmundane and Q&A board guy. It has been six years or so and I hardly find myself interested in serious debates. I really am becoming a lol cat. What if phatmass is destined to become a website of lolcats, bunchies, satchel men and lolwut pears?

There are people who still post win stuff all the time. I enjoy the majority of Lil Red's threads.

It may be different for everyone, but the golden age for me was when people such as Aloysius, JeffCRC(sp), phatcatholic, Myles, et al., posted on a regular basis.

[quote name='Era Might' date='07 May 2010 - 07:04 PM' timestamp='1273273456' post='2106495']
Bring back the rap talk!!!!!!![/quote]
NEVER AGAIN! jk. The rap talk was fun sometimes.

Notice that even dUSt seems to avoid phatmass now? We must be really lame.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='07 May 2010 - 07:13 PM' timestamp='1273273999' post='2106501']
Raph-you of all people should know that being a highschool or college age person is really tough in this world, but being a young married couple is harder. Many people your age still live in their parent's house. They aren't dealing with kids and pediatricians, daycare, while being squeezed on one side by student loans, and on the other side by baby expenses.

When I was your age, people did get married and have kids, well, except me. Now, you are as counter-cultural as it comes. You are the minority, and as a minority, you need a place where you can hang out with people who understand and support your decisions instead of asking you why you aren't using condoms. You also serve as an example that people can have children and not have it be the end of the world. Young people are constantly told that children will ruin your life. We need those examples of how children can be blessings instead.
[/quote]
If it were not explicitly condemned by the supreme pontiff of phatmass I would have created the CatherinM Phanclub long ago.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='07 May 2010 - 05:13 PM' timestamp='1273273999' post='2106501']
Raph-you of all people should know that being a highschool or college age person is really tough in this world, but being a young married couple is harder. Many people your age still live in their parent's house. They aren't dealing with kids and pediatricians, daycare, while being squeezed on one side by student loans, and on the other side by baby expenses.

When I was your age, people did get married and have kids, well, except me. Now, you are as counter-cultural as it comes. You are the minority, and as a minority, you need a place where you can hang out with people who understand and support your decisions instead of asking you why you aren't using condoms. You also serve as an example that people can have children and not have it be the end of the world. Young people are constantly told that children will ruin your life. We need those examples of how children can be blessings instead.
[/quote]
I completely agree with this.

When I first started posting here, I was single, living in a tiny apartment over a garage, and a few months into RCIA. I was on fire for my new-found faith in the way that newlyweds are on fire for each other.

Now, I'm married, a mom, and a few years into being Catholic. I still love my faith, but in a deeper and richer way than I did at the beginning. Because of the experiences I've had, I understand it in a different way than I did when I started out.

My personal opinion is that even though we aren't organizing things like the fuzzy bunny crusade, we are still learning about our faith and road-testing it in real life. I am not on nearly as much as I used to be, but when I do visit I pretty frequently see people wanting to know how to respond to real-life situations they're facing, and that sort of evangelization is just as important as evangelizing online. Perhaps it's even more important, because it's evangelism that springs out of relationships that are fuller than what we have with people online.

I think, too, that as more of us are young marrieds/parents with young children, we have less time to dedicate to online diversions like phatmass. And frankly, even when I do have time, I'm often mentally fried and don't want to get into long, dramatic debates. I've watched some of the latest dramas on PM quietly, and just been glad I'm not part of them. Debate (which is really what most evangelization efforts turn into) takes time and energy, both of which are in short supply these days.

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='07 May 2010 - 06:19 PM' timestamp='1273274379' post='2106507']
If it were not explicitly condemned by the supreme pontiff of phatmass I would have created the CatherinM Phanclub long ago.
[/quote]
I would never belong to a club that would have me as a member.

[goldenchild17]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='07 May 2010 - 05:53 PM' timestamp='1273276409' post='2106534']
I would never belong to a club that would have me as a member.
[/quote]

woah. deep, I like it.

[Socrates]

Was it Groucho Marx who said that?

[Vincent Vega]

I feel like that's a Churchill quote. Is it?

[MithLuin]

I joined Phatmass because when I googled the order my sister was discerning with, a thread from Vocation Station popped up. But you can't post there unless you have an account and 10 posts to your name, so I had to post elsewhere first. I am a fairly new member, and I flit in and out, but I do feel this is a place where I can discuss events that impact the Catholic community in a unique way. Meaning, a lot of the conversations here are low-level, under-the-radar Catholic news; you're not going to hear about this stuff unless you're paying attention. So, there's not always people around in real life who are interested in discussing it.

I do feel, though, that some of the commonly expressed opinions here are polarizing. I suppose that's the result of not having other people around who understand - to come out pretty extreme.

I was not around in the early days, so I don't know how things have changed. I am not a student, and I am not married. I don't mind not quite fitting in .

[Apotheoun]

Life is like an onion: you peel it off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.

[Tridenteen]

JMJ
I don't like how when things come up, one can't state their opinion without having a bunch of nuttie people scream that you are "sitting in judgement". I followed phatmass for three years before I joined, and it seems to me that it was more open to the opinion stating stuff, and debates, and discussion...not so much of the we must all agree no matter what, and that means you must hold my opinion.
However, the CTT is still cool, and I get an absolute kick out of it. VS seems a bit different, or maybe that is another one of my thoughts. But awhile back there was much more stuff. Whatever happened to the Future Nun Support Thread?