- Joined
- Feb 6, 2024
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- #1
I think most people would agree the heyday of Master's forums would be around that 2020-2022 period during lockdowns when people were stuck indoors and had nothing better to do but be chronically online. Those were the times of 'high-culture' when user engagement and forum popularity were at it's highest, and significant occurrences were forever written into the legacy of each forum.
The fruits of the Serge/Master partnership has left an indelible mark on broader internet culture, PSL and incel terms now being a familiar sight for the average netizen—and in a sense, Elysian Fields is still riding the coattails of that monumental success, being of course a derivative of those aforementioned forums.
Of the three 'Master' forums (excluding 'that' notorious website covered by the BBC and New York Times), Neets is the only one that stands out as being noticeably different from it's other siblings. The youngest of the trio, it stands to be the least impactful in terms of popularity and influence on internet culture—it's focus on NEETdom was not particularly novel and it certainly was not the frontrunner of the culture it championed—that role was filled a long time ago when imageboards were in their nascency from the 00's to early 10's.
Although a niche forum, what made Neets so different may not be immediately apparent except to those who were actually around to witness and experience the forum during it's prime. What made it so different was that it was not explicitly 'Blackpilled' or related to PSL/incel culture. Due to the nature of the forum topic, it had closer ties to broader internet culture than anything manosphere-related (although acknowledgment of the owner's past history and exploits was still implicit among members of the forum). What resulted was an eccentric mix of personalities coming together that culminated in a distinct forum culture with it's own in-jokes, posting style and customs that was not imitative of previous iterations of manosphere forums nor a watered-down rehash of other imageboards, but something unique, built off the strong foundation of each individual regular's immense charisma.
I'm not sure what the future holds for the 'Masterverse' and other associated forums, including this one. One could, perhaps rightly, wave it all away as a nothing-burger. After all, PSL has endured for more than a decade now, and although it's popularity has dwindled from it's peak a few years ago, it's forums maintain a faithful base of regular posters. But Neets was that one bright diamond in the rough that spoke of a greater potential that could be realised within the existing forum format today.
The fruits of the Serge/Master partnership has left an indelible mark on broader internet culture, PSL and incel terms now being a familiar sight for the average netizen—and in a sense, Elysian Fields is still riding the coattails of that monumental success, being of course a derivative of those aforementioned forums.
Of the three 'Master' forums (excluding 'that' notorious website covered by the BBC and New York Times), Neets is the only one that stands out as being noticeably different from it's other siblings. The youngest of the trio, it stands to be the least impactful in terms of popularity and influence on internet culture—it's focus on NEETdom was not particularly novel and it certainly was not the frontrunner of the culture it championed—that role was filled a long time ago when imageboards were in their nascency from the 00's to early 10's.
Although a niche forum, what made Neets so different may not be immediately apparent except to those who were actually around to witness and experience the forum during it's prime. What made it so different was that it was not explicitly 'Blackpilled' or related to PSL/incel culture. Due to the nature of the forum topic, it had closer ties to broader internet culture than anything manosphere-related (although acknowledgment of the owner's past history and exploits was still implicit among members of the forum). What resulted was an eccentric mix of personalities coming together that culminated in a distinct forum culture with it's own in-jokes, posting style and customs that was not imitative of previous iterations of manosphere forums nor a watered-down rehash of other imageboards, but something unique, built off the strong foundation of each individual regular's immense charisma.
I'm not sure what the future holds for the 'Masterverse' and other associated forums, including this one. One could, perhaps rightly, wave it all away as a nothing-burger. After all, PSL has endured for more than a decade now, and although it's popularity has dwindled from it's peak a few years ago, it's forums maintain a faithful base of regular posters. But Neets was that one bright diamond in the rough that spoke of a greater potential that could be realised within the existing forum format today.
