Still interested in Elvis?

[Unchained Melody]

Lately been kind of quiet around, wondering if any of you go through stages
where you don't get on messageboards, or just kind of loose internet in the ep world a little bit then make a comeback.
Do you still feel the need to discuss different aspects of his life and career.

[ForeverTheKing]

Personally I don't come here often then before...I don't know why...just lost many of my past friends here and the forum is not as it was before for many reason.
My interest in Elvis hasn't changed!!

[JRtherealJR]

I think one of the reasons it's been quiet lately is because of the hostility towards Elvis Tribute Artists by some of the members on here. A lot of the ETAs who used to visit this forum have given up and I don't think they will ever be back. These are people who had a wealth of Elvis knowlege and experiences which they could pass on, but because of the negativity of some members they have been driven away.

Any topic which is even remotely ETA related instantly gets moved by a moderator without any explanation and by doing this, the forum excludes any and all discussion or lively debate about ETA Contests, Festivals, upcoming shows, ETA news, Contest results...etc.

The Elvis Tribute Artist industry is getting bigger and bigger year after year- this year alone there were more Ultimate ETA Competition preliminaries than there have ever been and the Las Vegas Elvis Fest 2011 is predicted to enjoy it's biggest ever attendance. Just look how the Michael Jackson fans are supporting their MJ Tribute acts by an overwhelming majority and now there is talk of an major MJ Tribute show in Las Vegas....a place where up till now, Elvis Tributes have been King. If any such show goes ahead, you can bet all the Jacko fans will descend upon it in their thousands.

But of course we're not allowed to talk about all this on here.

In fact, the only ETA related topics which are not moved by a moderator are topics which bash ETAs in some way. And while topics such as a "Kissin Cousins newspaper article" are quite interesting, I also find all the latest ETA festival and contest news similarly interesting. As do the hundreds of thousands of Elvis fans who attend these events year after year.

However, I will admit that TCB world has probably thie finest Elvis Gallery and Elvis jumpsuit archive in the World. It is for this reason that I have told so many of my friends about how great TCB world is and encouraged them to visit and become members.

Any Elvis forum which tries to pretend that the Elvis Impersonator phenomenon does not exist is deluding itself and will never be a true reflection of the Elvis world as it stands today.

[KPM]

I think one of the reasons it's been quiet lately is because of the hostility towards Elvis Tribute Artists by some of the members on here. A lot of the ETAs who used to visit this forum have given up and I don't think they will ever be back. These are people who had a wealth of Elvis knowlege and experiences which they could pass on, but because of the negativity of some members they have been driven away.

Any topic which is even remotely ETA related instantly gets moved by a moderator without any explanation and by doing this, the forum excludes any and all discussion or lively debate about ETA Contests, Festivals, upcoming shows, ETA news, Contest results...etc.

The Elvis Tribute Artist industry is getting bigger and bigger year after year- this year alone there were more Ultimate ETA Competition preliminaries than there have ever been and the Las Vegas Elvis Fest 2011 is predicted to enjoy it's biggest ever attendance. Just look how the Michael Jackson fans are supporting their MJ Tribute acts by an overwhelming majority and now there is talk of an major MJ Tribute show in Las Vegas....a place where up till now, Elvis Tributes have been King. If any such show goes ahead, you can bet all the Jacko fans will descend upon it in their thousands.

But of course we're not allowed to talk about all this on here.

In fact, the only ETA related topics which are not moved by a moderator are topics which bash ETAs in some way. And while topics such as a "Kissin Cousins newspaper article" are quite interesting, I also find all the latest ETA festival and contest news similarly interesting. As do the hundreds of thousands of Elvis fans who attend these events year after year.

However, I will admit that TCB world has probably thie finest Elvis Gallery and Elvis jumpsuit archive in the World. It is for this reason that I have told so many of my friends about how great TCB world is and encouraged them to visit and become members.

Any Elvis forum which tries to pretend that the Elvis Impersonator phenomenon does not exist is deluding itself and will never be a true reflection of the Elvis world as it stands today.

I would have to disagree on a couple of points, I do not think anyone stays away because of what the majority of fans here think about ETAs...not in the slightest. I do not think expressing the opinon that I do not care for the impersonators keeps anyone else from saying they like them.
No one here pretends the ETAs do not exist-but many think it does more harm to the perceived talent of the real Elvis, than it does good.
If an ETA is bad, and I am sorry many are-people come away thinking they have just seen a true representation of the talent and charisma of Elvis....and they in fact have not.
Some are sincere, some are better than others, some are true fans who want to celebrate his music, but that does not always translate into a good thing for the memory of Elvis Presley. IMO

[KPM]

As far as interest in Elvis, I still love to discuss him, listen to his music and watch his performances...but the real world does call me away to finish projects for work, family, friends etc.....only so many hours in the day. I am sure many are in that boat.

[Albert]

I think there are several reasons:

* the Elvis internet (let's call it that way) has grown up from simple html pages to live discussion websites like Elvisnews.com or even this site. It seems like during the past 10 years everything about Elvis now have been covered and discussed. During these 10 years almost all people interested in Elvis have participated in discussions that they wanted to on many platforms (websites, forums, usenet discussion groups).

* new import material lighten up discussions. People have an opinion about it and want to share it with others. Knowing that new material might come out, keeps you interested in coming back. For the past few years very little new import material has been released. Just compare the last few years with the late 90s - early 2000s.

* A messageboard is not only a place to find information, but also the meet other people. It's a social platform. Right now, all message boards have 'competition' from Facebook. Many of the (personal) conversations you have with a fellow Elvisfan that you've met on a forum, are now through Facebook.

* Internet has become more and more important in every days life during the past 10 years. While Elvis might have been someone's main interest in their first few years online, other interests have gotten on their way also. Websites about photography, movies, making clothes, online games, and so on... People only have so many minutes/hours a day to be online. I think the ratio between "Elvis / other things" has changed during the past years.

But it all says very little about your interest in Elvis. I still listed daily to him.

I guess these points are the main reason it's not as busy here as it once was?

[Jungleroom76]

I think there are several reasons:

* the Elvis internet (let's call it that way) has grown up from simple html pages to live discussion websites like Elvisnews.com or even this site. It seems like during the past 10 years everything about Elvis now have been covered and discussed. During these 10 years almost all people interested in Elvis have participated in discussions that they wanted to on many platforms (websites, forums, usenet discussion groups).

* new import material lighten up discussions. People have an opinion about it and want to share it with others. Knowing that new material might come out, keeps you interested in coming back. For the past few years very little new import material has been released. Just compare the last few years with the late 90s - early 2000s.

* A messageboard is not only a place to find information, but also the meet other people. It's a social platform. Right now, all message boards have 'competition' from Facebook. Many of the (personal) conversations you have with a fellow Elvisfan that you've met on a forum, are now through Facebook.

* Internet has become more and more important in every days life during the past 10 years. While Elvis might have been someone's main interest in their first few years online, other interests have gotten on their way also. Websites about photography, movies, making clothes, online games, and so on... People only have so many minutes/hours a day to be online. I think the ratio between "Elvis / other things" has changed during the past years.

But it all says very little about your interest in Elvis. I still listed daily to him.

I guess these points are the main reason it's not as busy here as it once was?

All valid points Boss!!

But I think that like every other website, TCB-World just goes through cycles where attendance is up, then down. I know there are times where I don't have time to get on for a day or two, then when I do come on, there hasn't been much going on...other times, I miss a day or two on here and there have been numerous discussions I have missed out on. It's just the "life" cycle, so to speak...

I think we've definitely picked up again though with the recent news on the YOUNG MAN box set and the new company taking over CKX and what it means for the pending changes at Graceland. There have definitely been some good discussions happening that I have been a part of, so I don't think there is anything to worry about...TCB-World remains the BEST Elvis website on the internet...PERIOD!!!!

TCB!
Mike

[kathy parkinson]

I listen to Elvis every day, sometimes for a little while while i'm doing work around the home, still very much into him. I also come on here daily, don't always respond, but i will always be here.
My opinion on ETA'S, if you are one, fine, if you enjoy going to see them, fine, they are not for me,but that's my opinion. My only negative thing is that EPE shouldn't have an ETA competition during Elvis Week, fans worldwide pay a lot of money to travel to Memphis to pay their respects to Elvis not an ETA performer, once again my opinion.

[debtdbruno]

Ditto to that Kathy, re Elvis week...........

I too, often have a browse every day, but don't post

...............and I don't 'do' facebook.....can't stand it.......sorry

[Tigerman1975]

I still love Elvis and always will. At times, my work schedule keeps me slammed to the point I cant get on here. Other times, the material gets bland to me. But I still enjoy checking updates and adding my opinion.

[Cliff]

I think one of the reasons it's been quiet lately is because of the hostility towards Elvis Tribute Artists by some of the members on here. A lot of the ETAs who used to visit this forum have given up and I don't think they will ever be back. These are people who had a wealth of Elvis knowlege and experiences which they could pass on, but because of the negativity of some members they have been driven away.

Any topic which is even remotely ETA related instantly gets moved by a moderator without any explanation and by doing this, the forum excludes any and all discussion or lively debate about ETA Contests, Festivals, upcoming shows, ETA news, Contest results...etc.

The Elvis Tribute Artist industry is getting bigger and bigger year after year- this year alone there were more Ultimate ETA Competition preliminaries than there have ever been and the Las Vegas Elvis Fest 2011 is predicted to enjoy it's biggest ever attendance. Just look how the Michael Jackson fans are supporting their MJ Tribute acts by an overwhelming majority and now there is talk of an major MJ Tribute show in Las Vegas....a place where up till now, Elvis Tributes have been King. If any such show goes ahead, you can bet all the Jacko fans will descend upon it in their thousands.

But of course we're not allowed to talk about all this on here.

In fact, the only ETA related topics which are not moved by a moderator are topics which bash ETAs in some way. And while topics such as a "Kissin Cousins newspaper article" are quite interesting, I also find all the latest ETA festival and contest news similarly interesting. As do the hundreds of thousands of Elvis fans who attend these events year after year.

However, I will admit that TCB world has probably thie finest Elvis Gallery and Elvis jumpsuit archive in the World. It is for this reason that I have told so many of my friends about how great TCB world is and encouraged them to visit and become members.

Any Elvis forum which tries to pretend that the Elvis Impersonator phenomenon does not exist is deluding itself and will never be a true reflection of the Elvis world as it stands today.

To me this is utter rubbish. You state that it has been quiet because of hostilities toward ETAs. If this were the case and anyone truly cared about this they would defend them, just as strongly as they would any unfair criticism of Evis. To me you insult the intelligence of TCB members. ETAs are not what TCB is all about. My feeling is that most people are indifferent to them or don't even give them the time, unlessof course, they want to share thier views on them. This is what forum is all about.
Your main topic seems to be the ETAs, and as not everyone has your own interest in them perhaps the mods take this into account. Perhaps you should start your own web page. I would be interested to see how many members you get.
As for TCB being quiet, who really knows the answer to this. We don't know what happens with people's lives on the net as we do with friends in our own cities or neighbourhoods. Things change, people move on. I do know last year there were a lot of people upset at the changes made to the TCB format. A lot of them could not understand it and because of this moved on. I notice that there have been more changes lately.Then there were the times that no one could access TCB because it went off line. And of course, there's Facebook. Love it or hate it, it's getting bigger and there are many Elvis groups springing up all the time. I already belong to eight of them and was recently given the honour of being made Administrator of Iran/Elvis.I am using this to bring Elvis music and news to the Elvis fans in Iran.
I still have a great fondness for TCB and quite often visit to see what is being disussed and, if I can, contribute something. It was on TCB that I learned how to cut and paste and to upload pics.
I want to thank Albert for bringing us such a wonderful Elvis sight. I have a lot of happy memories of time spent in the chat room and friends I have made all over the world. Many of them have gone now, but I still think of them.
Adios. . . for now.

[Diane]

I still sign in and browse most every day, sometimes several times to see if there's anything new. I'm sad to see several people gone or rarely here but I've seen it happen before and most come back. In the meantime I stick with TCB because I've grown to care a lot about the people here and I firmly believe it is the best Elvis site in the world, new format or not. As far as the posts liking or not liking ETAs....it's not an important issue ELVIS IS and has no bearing on the posts getting slack.

[Donut]

I also still read the posts and comment on them from time to time. But after a few years discussing the same things and with the same people it comes to a point when you know almost exactly what the others are going to say about a subject, and the others what you are going to say yourself, so many times I don't even bother to give my opinion.
On the other hand, I think many people that used to post here (me included) enjoyed talking about Elvis' private life the most, but a year or two ago it became a "little difficult" to speak about some things here and you had to measure your words and theads too much in my opinion, so eventually you get bored and give up. It's really a shame this happened beacuse this place was great exactly because you could talk about everything Elvis and wasn't just another Elvis site where you can only say how great his songs are or how perfect he was. I miss the "old" TCB-World because of this, threads got a little heated sometimes but the opposed points of views were what made worthwile following them and being part of the conversations. What I find strange is that many of the people that were against talking about this kind of topics don't seem to post anymore, so I don't know why they wanted to "change" the way this site worked then...

[KPM]

I also still read the posts and comment on them from time to time. But after a few years discussing the same things and with the same people it comes to a point when you know almost exactly what the others are going to say about a subject, and the others what you are going to say yourself, so many times I don't even bother to give my opinion.
On the other hand, I think many people that used to post here (me included) enjoyed talking about Elvis' private life the most, but a year or two ago it became a "little difficult" to speak about some things here and you had to measure your words and theads too much in my opinion, so eventually you get bored and give up. It's really a shame this happened beacuse this place was great exactly because you could talk about everything Elvis and wasn't just another Elvis site where you can only say how great his songs are or how perfect he was. I miss the "old" TCB-World because of this, threads got a little heated sometimes but the opposed points of views were what made worthwile following them and being part of the conversations. What I find strange is that many of the people that were against talking about this kind of topics don't seem to post anymore, so I don't know why they wanted to "change" the way this site worked then...

You are very correct about knowing the positions of others after a while, I also just do not like repeating myself and it happens very easily when you talk about the same subjects enough....so I don't want to bore people with the same thoughts.
I think also with certain people it was hard to get a point across and then the threads ended up going on and on (I recall a thread about "why no world tour" that was like that)
I tried to always make it clear it was not personal when threads got heated but I was always afraid someone would take it that way.

[Tigerman1975]

Lately been kind of quiet around, wondering if any of you go through stages
where you don't get on messageboards, or just kind of loose internet in the ep world a little bit then make a comeback.
Do you still feel the need to discuss different aspects of his life and career.

I dig your signature. Its pretty much true lol.

[Donut]

You are very correct about knowing the positions of others after a while, I also just do not like repeating myself and it happens very easily when you talk about the same subjects enough....so I don't want to bore people with the same thoughts.
I think also with certain people it was hard to get a point across and then the threads ended up going on and on (I recall a thread about "why no world tour" that was like that)
I tried to always make it clear it was not personal when threads got heated but I was always afraid someone would take it that way[/B.

Yes, many threads seemed to have no end but it was fun IMO it made you want to check the board everyday and be part of the conversations.

[girl-do]

I wasn´t here the last half year because i had a busy time doing school ,meeting friends ,bad times in my family etc. .Now i hope i will have more time to check this Board again and of course my interest in Elvis is still the same :-)

[Diane]

Yes, many threads seemed to have no end but it was fun IMO it made you want to check the board everyday and be part of the conversations.

I feel the same. In spite of some heated arguments we all had a high old time on this site and many many laughs...I will always miss those times.

[Joe Car]

For me, I've been extremely busy it seems so posting on this wonderful site, isn't always easy. That being said, my interest for Elvis never wanes!

[elvisia]

I`m Still very interested in Elvis and always will be. Right now I`m planing to go to Memphis in january and also has just bought tickets for two Elvis in concert shows in London march 2012. I keep up with everything Elvis news at all times