I wrote an article about the state of the community

As soon as you posted this article, I was more than eager to read it. I finally got my chance this morning.



Personally, I agree with you that not everything can be saved, nor should everything be saved. I myself have been disenchanted by the continuous searches for Nickelodeon bumpers and Nick JR. like content. Although I can understand the interest, I wonder if these searches are dominating the community to a detrimental level. Are we placing too much emphasis on nostalgia?

With that being said, I see no harm in the unidentified aspect of lost media searches. Sometimes the media is simply forgotten, and the mystery can be solved with a quick Google search. Conversely, sometimes a specific piece of art can touch us in such a way, that we find ourselves wanting to relive that moment without totally knowing what it was. Perhaps I'm biased, because I get a great deal of enjoyment in finding unidentified media, not to mention a lot of my own personal searches are unidentified media. 

Going back to your first point, I am uncertain what the solution is. People infiltrate this specific community for varying reasons. Some want the thrill of a big search, some see lost media as a creepypasta like experience, and some genuinely want to help archive important media. However, I think the threads here can be volatile to an extent that it wards the latter off. I myself took on the position of mod because I was quite close to exiting the community myself. I am fatigued by glory hogs who just want recognition for finding something, along with those who only self obsess over their own searches and expect everyone to help them. I find the NSFL discourse to be draining, and the constant side bickering on who knows what to be old. 

Most of all, I am tired of those who come here thinking they're the most interesting person in the forums and that the spotlight should naturally be on them. I do not care about the next A Day with Spongebob, nor do I care if your next thread pioneers such a search. I guess in the grand scheme of everything, I just want to find stuff, everything else comes second.