My Honest Thoughts on the State of the VHL

[Victor 11,021]

 

 

Annoyingly I have run out of multi-week Media Spots (both the theme week and the other one I had running in the background) right before a week that I am away for most of. So now I need to scramble and write something in advance in case I don't get a chance next week and I don't really have time to make it a particularly long piece which means I'll then have to write again when I'm back anyway. All in all, a nightmare scenario.

 

So with a need to ramble I thought I would do some self-reflection on my honest views on the VHL in the year 2024, its 94th (!!) season, and my relationship with it. I do a fair bit of insinuating things when I give opinions on topics around the league, a lot of it often being quite tongue-in-cheek, so I wouldn't necessarily blame you for not knowing if I enjoy being here or if I'm just a grumpy old man pining for the good old days. I also wouldn't blame you for not caring either way but look, you're here, you're 2 paragraphs in, indulge me a bit longer and maybe there'll be something useful to take away, or something you want to comment on and give me your two cents on. Forum content shall we say.

 

Let's start there actually, the ancient battle between forum and Discord. My perspective is essentially summarised as I don't really care if the content has moved away from the forums (years ago I should add, the horse has bolted, died, and its grandchildren are racing at this point). I have Discord, I have it on my phone, it's actually sometimes more convenient from a notification perspective and being completely honest, if all that activity was on the forum I wouldn't be able to keep up with it anyway because I don't spend enough time on either medium. I do sympathise with the sentiment that it was easier to catch up with big dramatic events or someone making a fool of themselves on the forums (which let's be honest is what everyone means when they say conversations get buried on Discord – it's a massive case of FOMO). Living in a time zone where I go to sleep 5-8 hours before the majority of the league, this has undoubtedly made catching up the next day more difficult but I would argue 1) if I wanted to, I could still do it and 2) there is probably just more content now in general due to a larger member base and it would have been just as tough if we were just using forums.

 

So that's where I stand on the situation now, but what would 15-year-old me think about it? That's really the target demographic, that's the guy who was super active and reading every post in every forum and knowing everyone and everything in the league. Could that young man do the same today? Well I imagine I would be using Discord as my default for all sorts of things if I was growing up now rather than a decade ago (or maybe not, maybe Discord is already too old and wrinkly for today's kids), so I reckon I would make do just fine. And I'd probably happily scroll through anything I missed just like I would have on the forums back in the day. So clearly, this is the way things are now and anyone trying to manufacture something else is raging against the dying of the light.

 

Having established that the medium we use is perfectly reasonable for the day and age we are in, how do I feel about the enjoyment of the VHL as a whole? Again, I'm thinking from the perspective of my peak activity, not today, but as someone new, looking to build up their legacy in the league. Is there too much going on for someone to keep up, regardless of how active they are? I certainly don't think so. There are 16 teams now, a lot more players, an extra league, but when I was GM I didn't have an issue keeping a handle on that, and even just coming back to a more active role as a player now, I reasonably quickly caught up on the balance of the VHL. Given more time and energy, I think it's as straightforward as ever to be involved, to follow events, create activity, and just be generally engaged. There will never be a time that everyone is at their peak activity, but there will always be someone that is, and they will continue driving the league forward.

 

I've even seen examples of significant forum content based entirely around inside jokes and VHLM events or whatever else that I don't understand but I'm happy to see people getting enjoyment out of. I would have been there, commenting back and forth on a VHL.com article or a Media Spot, and clearly there are still people who want to and are comfortable doing the same today. Those disaffected with the state of play might just be disaffected with their own inability to keep up – it's OK though, it happens to everyone eventually.

 

I didn't really know where I was taking this when I set out this article. Turns out I've taken it far enough that I can get 2 weeks out of it after all which is a big win. But I suppose I do owe you a conclusion for sticking around this long. That would be: the league hasn't actually changed a great deal over its soon to be 17-year life. What's changed is the personnel and how it communicates but the core appeal is the same now as it was in what I would consider my prime here. And I think that's a very valuable conclusion at a time of hyper negativity in the world and a nostalgia and yearning for a past which either didn't exist or is only the past for the people who grew out of it. I don't mean to sound profound or thoughtful here but I think I found a reflection of society in the VHL through this little self-inquisition and my takeaway is that things are fine. Then again, I've always tried to see the glass as half full.

 

 

now let's just throw in a completely misleading YouTube video at the top

[LucyXpher 1,585]

I think the balance is actually pretty good between the forum and Discord, like you suggested.  The forum is where I tend to look for more complete thoughts/posts and the discord is where all the unfiltered ridiculous banter tends to end up.  The plus side of that is the forum doesn’t get cluttered with silliness, but there’s still a place to get involved in that if you so desire.  It also kinda gives teams a bit more of a personal club feel as the chatter there is more immediate and things happen in real time.  …why am I rambling? I agree with you, lol thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[Victor 11,021]

1 hour ago, LucyXpher said:

I think the balance is actually pretty good between the forum and Discord, like you suggested.  The forum is where I tend to look for more complete thoughts/posts and the discord is where all the unfiltered ridiculous banter tends to end up.  The plus side of that is the forum doesn’t get cluttered with silliness, but there’s still a place to get involved in that if you so desire.  It also kinda gives teams a bit more of a personal club feel as the chatter there is more immediate and things happen in real time.  …why am I rambling? I agree with you, lol thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Yeah I actually had you in mind when I was talking about the interactions I've seen on the forum. There's like 2 pages of things I have no context for on VHL.com articles but looks like you guys are having fun so who am I to judge? I'm sure I would have a better idea if I was more involved.

[Beketov 9,102]

3 hours ago, Victor said:

What's changed is the personnel

 Not in all cases

[Gaikoku-hito 2,135]

4 hours ago, Victor said:

Yeah I actually had you in mind when I was talking about the interactions I've seen on the forum. There's like 2 pages of things I have no context for on VHL.com articles but looks like you guys are having fun so who am I to judge? I'm sure I would have a better idea if I was more involved.

Even being involved last season with Halifax; I still had no clue but I think that is because I am old!!

Preference for talking about cigars, whiskey and old man stuff!!! But everyone finds their spot within the league.

Edited July 4 by Gaikoku-hito

[LucyXpher 1,585]

2 hours ago, Victor said:

Yeah I actually had you in mind when I was talking about the interactions I've seen on the forum. There's like 2 pages of things I have no context for on VHL.com articles but looks like you guys are having fun so who am I to judge? I'm sure I would have a better idea if I was more involved.

lol so much for not being cluttered with silliness!  
tbf I forgot about some of that…

Edited July 3 by LucyXpher

[Triller 1,688]

As an older, I certainly appreciate the forum.  A callback to the internet I grew up with but also the way I feel my brain organizes things.  More optimized though lol but the forum makes sense to me.  Discord moves a mile a minute and I tend to ignore most of it.  It seems to be driven by the types of personalities I likely wouldn't relate to, that and they are just much younger, which as you say, let them have their fun!  I had a great LR with like-minded people and knowing that those types exist here is enough for me to recreate eventually.  Discord was great in facilitating that.  Rarely did I pop in to find I fell behind but that was only due to my teammates chatting at a respectable pace.

 

You've been here a long time!  I would have never had the time back in the day, don't realistically have the time now with one kid and another on the way but I'm good at my job which allows me the time to pursue my VHL interests lol Glad you continue to find a reason to stick around.  Hopefully you've got someone lined up to take over once you've decided to step away.  It might be the only thing that keeps this place going one day.  Name your successors when you still have the chance! Lol

[Victor 11,021]

1 hour ago, Triller said:

Hopefully you've got someone lined up to take over once you've decided to step away.  It might be the only thing that keeps this place going one day.  Name your successors when you still have the chance! Lol

Like all great successions, it will be botched. 

[frescoelmo 1,282]

20 hours ago, Victor said:

forum content

 

bb @ me next time

[Victor 11,021]

15 minutes ago, frescoelmo said:

 

bb @ me next time

This was a test and you passed xoxo

[animal74 1,855]

21 hours ago, Victor said:

raging against the dying of the light.

So poetic...

 

Nice read. If you think everything is fine, it must be!

[Will 4,662]

17 hours ago, Victor said:

Like all great successions, it will be botched. 

 

Hmm...I can't disagree 

[Victor 11,021]

Week 2 of 2