ssanel54
Flush
@stocky
to answer your question. This site became ??? right after you left. I don't really participate much anymore, so can't really judge what is good/bad about the site or community these days, but I will say when I read this thread, or any of the number of similar threads, it all boils down to money. People just seem way more concerned with the value of their chips more than the enjoyment. Seems like once we crossed the $2 per chip threshold, it became more of a business than a hobby. Flipping for profit became rampant. Classifieds became overrun with Raffles and Auctions to ensure maximum "Market" value, and friendly gestures like harvesting became for profit services. As a result we have a much higher number of controversial deals and scams.
We also had a bunch of people become chip elitist overnight. The community used to celebrate all kinds of chips - plastic, ceramic, custom, home market, casino etc...whereas nowadays if you don't own TRK or Leaded Paulson THCs, or Star Chips your likely to see comments all over the place about how all other chips suck.
CPC doesn't seem to get the love it once had from the community, and that leads to less design threads and customs being built. Flippers drove TCR to eBay. And the term "Group Buy" has become a four letter word. I struggle to find threads that will keep my interest, and many of the posters that I enjoyed are no longer here, or just no longer post. Its good to see guys like you popping back, and hopefully you can help right the Ship!
to answer your question. This site became ??? right after you left. I don't really participate much anymore, so can't really judge what is good/bad about the site or community these days, but I will say when I read this thread, or any of the number of similar threads, it all boils down to money. People just seem way more concerned with the value of their chips more than the enjoyment. Seems like once we crossed the $2 per chip threshold, it became more of a business than a hobby. Flipping for profit became rampant. Classifieds became overrun with Raffles and Auctions to ensure maximum "Market" value, and friendly gestures like harvesting became for profit services. As a result we have a much higher number of controversial deals and scams.
We also had a bunch of people become chip elitist overnight. The community used to celebrate all kinds of chips - plastic, ceramic, custom, home market, casino etc...whereas nowadays if you don't own TRK or Leaded Paulson THCs, or Star Chips your likely to see comments all over the place about how all other chips suck.
CPC doesn't seem to get the love it once had from the community, and that leads to less design threads and customs being built. Flippers drove TCR to eBay. And the term "Group Buy" has become a four letter word. I struggle to find threads that will keep my interest, and many of the posters that I enjoyed are no longer here, or just no longer post. Its good to see guys like you popping back, and hopefully you can help right the Ship!