EDIT: Let me add that my loss of faith is not in Newgrounds itself, or the creative community, both of which are probably stronger now than they have ever been. This is mainly just the way voting works and how users work with it.
I hate to be this kid, but I have to this time. I once made a depressing and nostalgic look back at the "good times" on Newgrounds, and every day I yearn for what it was. I looked today at the top 50 best submissions of all time and wanted to cry. It's as if "OF ALL TIME" means nothing anymore, considering nothing but less than a hand's worth on the list came before 2007.
As of this writing, the top ten are as follows (from 1 to 10): More Brawl Taunts, Epsilon, Apples., Deep Sexy Space, Sonic Shorts Volume 3, The Last Stand 2, Tankmen Infinity, Waterlollies, Metal Gear Awesome 2, and TANKMEN 2. Okay, now look about three inches to the left and you'll notice that the top 5 weekly are now also the top 5 of all time. This happens every week. The All Time List is no longer reserved for the best of the best -- of cartoons that made an impression on the community -- they're just last week's winners.
I'm not calling any of these top ten submissions bad. Most of them, I have written favorable reviews for. But nobody could make the case that Sonic Shorts Volume 3, or More Brawl Taunts, or Apples. best Waterlollies, part 2: synj vs horrid, or The Story of Khale without using such trumping arguments as "it's a matter of opinion," which it may happen to be.
As it stands, though, this isn't to say that this stuff is getting undeserved praise. But rather, nothing is getting real praise. Being on the top 50 used to mean something, and holding a position for a long time was something authors were proud of. It's a signifier that you made something important to people. But now, like some funny analogy I could use to juxtapose two situations, everything is looked upon with great admiration, then moved aside for the next. Everything of decent quality is praised, placed on a weekly list, and then placed at the top of the all time list, then waits until next week when the next five or six submissions push last week's submissions five or six spots down, filtering out the old cartoons with the new. Eventually they'll slip off the end of the list, regardless of whether they were important or not.
So, now I have to give some kind of cathartic idea; an answer to a supposed issue. But, what's actually happening? Is it overzealous voters who merely vote 5 or 0? Is it a growing strength in submissions on this website, and not a problem at all? Is it a shift in the community's focus of what makes a "great" submission? Am I just a bitch? Maybe.
I don't know what the cause is of this. All I know is that it's much harder to feel proud of a good score anymore.
Thoughts?
ngfan14
If you think about it Epsilon is new. I just put a 0 on it and guess what happened. It went down by .01 It's not really a lot but I"m only 1 user. Those flashes cannot keep those high scores for long.
KupaMan
That doesn't solve the problem. Outweighing 5s with 0s is a bad thing. I would prefer it if people voted as they believed it deserved. I must be the only person who still gives 3s and 4s to decent submissions.