No more updates to the GIMP Hall of Fame

[Ralphus]

After 7 years of creating and then updating the GIMP Hall of Fame, I've decided to step down this year. Last year's update was met with mostly silence from the members here, and to be honest, I don't really think most people care about it anymore. And behind the scenes, just getting members of the voting committee to turn in their ballots was the worst it's ever been last year, even after getting assurances beforehand that they were willing to participate.

There is one way we can keep it alive for 2024, but it's going to require someone with enough initiative to grab the reins and put in the work to update the ballots, contact the members, tabulate the results and create new hall of fame plaques for the site. I'd be glad to work with you and help you out in any way that I can.

We have a good hall of fame here; I'm proud of the page and I would love to see it continue, but I doubt there's anyone here who would be willing to take it over. In fact, I don't even expect to get much of a response to this post. Silence appears to be the rule here anymore, rather than the exception.

https://ralphus.net/special/halloffame/

[BobDarkroom]

After 7 years of creating and then updating the GIMP Hall of Fame, I've decided to step down this year. Last year's update was met with mostly silence from the members here, and to be honest, I don't really think most people care about it anymore. And behind the scenes, just getting members of the voting committee to turn in their ballots was the worst it's ever been last year, even after getting assurances beforehand that they were willing to participate.

There is one way we can keep it alive for 2024, but it's going to require someone with enough initiative to grab the reins and put in the work to update the ballots, contact the members, tabulate the results and create new hall of fame plaques for the site. I'd be glad to work with you and help you out in any way that I can.

We have a good hall of fame here; I'm proud of the page and I would love to see it continue, but I doubt there's anyone here who would be willing to take it over. In fact, I don't even expect to get much of a response to this post. Silence appears to be the rule here anymore, rather than the exception.

https://ralphus.net/special/halloffame/

Hi Ralphus,

It's been a pleasure and a privilege to contribute in the voting for the HoF that you set up and updated yearly.
It's a pity that you decided to step down this year but I do understand your argument that there seems to be little, if any, interest in the HoF.
Personally I'm too old to take it over but I hope someone younger will take up the challenge and take it over.
However, like you I doubt it that there's anyone who would be interested in doing so. I hope we're both wrong.

[yyy02]

...In fact, I don't even expect to get much of a response to this post. Silence appears to be the rule here anymore, rather than the exception.

https://ralphus.net/special/halloffame/

I'm truly sad to think it has declined due to non-participation by members. You would think the ballots would be pouring back in, given the traffic through the website!

I have long thought that you were the only one with the depth of knowledge to do it, and you have surprised and delighted me every year with your thoughtful, well written, yearly addition to the GIMP HoF.

Sadly, I am also declining to take it on due to age and that specific detail (lack of knowledge).

[wulf]

Sorry to hear you're ending the HoF, but I do understand your reasoning. Lack of participation by members here has been evident in the threads recently as well. I must also decline to take it over due available time (and advancing age).
You've done an amazing job with it and is something not found anywhere else. Something to be proud of imo.

[letvor]

And I take this opportunity to express regret that the Hall Of Fame story is coming to an end. As far as I can remember, I had the opportunity to vote two times, and I am proud of that.

Lack of support is a general problem, and content creators often lose motivation or even stop understanding the purpose of what they are doing because of it. I speak from personal experience as I owned a music forum and an internet radio station for about ten years.

On the other hand, I want to commend Mr. Ralphus for his perseverance and emphasize that he should not lose faith in this forum and what it represents because of this.

I also cannot accept to take part in maintaining the Hall Of Fame project due to a serious lack of knowledge and the fact that my proficiency in the English language is not at a native level.

Sincerely, letvor

[Edukator]

The main issue I can see is that there are only a handful of active (contributing) members in this forum and any survey/poll is meaningless if you only have a very small quantity of votes.
But it's a shame seeing it disappear nevertheless...

[thx1139a]

As someone who has been around here since 2000 or so, I echo the thanks for all that you've done for this group!

I wonder if the declining interest is because of lack of interest in new candidates...? Are there many that are award-worthy like there used to be? Certainly there are some but it seems like the field isn't what it used to be. It's like the music industry... most of what I hear on radios and in public places is the same classic rock that I bought when it first came out 40-50 years ago... the new material doesn't generate the interest because it frankly much (but not all) just isn't as good, IMHO.

And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go watch a Lexxi video or two...

[petelobo]

Like many of the others who have posted, I've been around for a long time, posting material and enjoying some of what others post. Even prior to the big attacks on the past few years, it was pretty clear that the great majority of those who post are pretty long in the tooth. I'd love to know what the distribution of members all into age categories below, say, 50 years. Even more, how many are 30 or below. I'm guessing the numbers would be disappointing.

There are perhaps 10 of us who provide the majority of material (and even fewer who, like Wulf, respond to posts of others. I strongly doubt any of those are cumming up through the ranks. I agree that the material being produced is dramatically limited (with a few notable exceptions like Cruel World and Red Feline), and much of what is posted is already older than the models featured in it.

So much of what I and many of us, I suspect, treasured--small things like free speech, political process, a clear sense of what women were, etc.--are fading into history, and GIMP may do so as well. But heck, we can still see what narcissists are eating on Facebook.

Ralphus' commitment to our (and his) tastes for many years has made an important (if hidden) part of my life. I offer here my thanks for all he has done, and perhaps a suggestion that the unanimous selection for a voice-vote hall of fame membership go to him!

[bakerboy]

I want to congratulate Ralphus for keeping the spark alive for so long. There are three things in my opinion ( or maybe more??) contributing to this apparent disinterest:

1) Shift from forums to a social media. Pedro is the best example. After years here, and all the support he got, he deserted this forum and went to Telegram.

2) Monetizing GIMP is more and more difficult due to the various Politically Correct and WOKE influences on the likes of Visa and Master Card . NOTE: Very few make a GIMP content just because they love it. Imagine if somebody made a movie akin to the original Story of O ( recent inductee into HoF) they would be crucified. No theater in the World would be screening it. For this reason the availability of a NEW GIMP content is sparse and members keeps recycling mostly the old stuff.

3) A general apathy and laziness of the younger audience. They look and move on, rarely they contribute anything.

... so I hope that at least this forum would continue and thrive .

[skullchaser]

I was wondering what happened to the HoF and why I didn't get a ballot. I thought maybe it was just an administrative oversight, or if Will Smith had slapped Ralphus on stage during the award monologue. Sad to see it go.

Meanwhile, here's my favorite scene EVER. Even if the awards go away, we'll always have Lana Clarkson getting her nipple tickled in "Barbarian Queen".