Ever feel like you've seen it before?

That's because you have. Including my headline and tagline here.The older you get, the more you've seen, and so the harder it becomes to be really, truly impressed by something so original or so outside the box, you've justneverconsidered that line of thinking before.At least these days for me in the PUA/Manosphere, it feels like that.I understand how PUA morphed into the Manosphere because there's only so much you can write about how to overcome the obstacle in a two-set or how to do an approach. So, talking about general bitchiness infield expands into a more general philosophy of female behaviour and an enabling society. Fair enough and all very interesting.I found a lot of the posts around that transition pretty interesting. Around 2010. I was never sure if half of what Heartise was saying wasn't just shit-trolling, but his comments sections sure thought it was all for real. In that regard, I found Heartise more 'avant garde' than Roosh. In fact it was from Roosh's site I found Heartise, and of the two, I regarded it as the more entertaining site - as sacrilege as that may be to say to some.Despite reading Roosh since the DC Bachelor days, I didn't join the Roosh V forum (RVF) when it started. To be honest, I didn't think it'd prove all that popular, and thought it'd never amount to much. Little did I know. Also seemed a bit, well, self-indulgent to create a forum named after yourself. That just didn't bode well in my opinion. That puts you in the follower box straight away, not the member one, at least to my way of thinking.Maybe the forum was needed to take up the slack where the blog left off, I don't know because I didn't follow it, but I've looked in on the open threads over the years.What I've seen is pretty much what I've observed on all forums; the owner and mods get their his e-dicks sucked, and high post contributors who start off as they mean to go on - as insta-gurus from post one - who pay the correct homage to the right people, will go onto to be forum Princes to the forum King.That's not a specific jibe at RVF, it's just a dynamic that plays out on almost any forum of any subject.It's interesting, though, how the social dynamic plays out. How people are willing to fall into line and toe the social group's line. And how those who rise within it expect it.However, it kind of gets a bit darker and off-putting when dissent isn't tolerated, by way of bannings. Like I said, I look in on RVF now and again, and there's hardly a thread I browse that doesn't have at least one forumite with a strikethrough against his name. For why I don't know, but there sure are a lot of them, and some with very high post counts so I can't assume they're troll accounts, or that would've been apparent much sooner.A well run forum membershipThat kinda strikes me as not all that healthy an atmosphere; not exactly indicative of an air of free discussion.In terms of forums, I've played the member and the owner. It was my previous experience on the old Scotlandlair forum that precipitated the creation ofScotlair. The guys just couldn't criticise or question the mods running it, not without the ban hammer coming down. Didn't matter how politely it was done. So, as good contributors got booted, I started up an alternative forum, with a commitment not to silence any discussion. I copied an aspect of the old Venusianarts forum and instigated a "Fight Club" subforum where if discussion got too heated, it could be trimmed and go there. Or start there if the beef felt was strong enough.What I didn't want to do, and what the people contributing didn't want to see, was more hair trigger moderation; censorship masquerading as keeping the place "positive." All for everyone's good, just like it is in every dictatorship where people disappear in the middle of the night.Scotlair wasn't, and isn't, a large forum, so moderating it has always been easy. Especially as I don't view it as "mine." I've never treated it that way, as a place for the followers of VB to gather and give homage(!) That would've never taken root. It is what it says on the tin: "the home of the Scottish pickup community."Not my little Moonie community dedicated to the cult of VB.In that regard, I've never kicked anyone out for saying my Game's shit or my ideas and posts worse. Or saying it about anyone else. Some of the threads that have wound up in 'Fight Club' are my favourites in fact. Even years later, they're still good for a laugh.But, you know, maybe I missed a trick with that. Maybe I should've opened the forum up publicly like we've only just done in recent weeks,yearsago. Made capital on the traffic and grown the place out. Instituted myself as Lord High Poobah with all the answers, and anointed my duly deserving disciples...I've seen flickers of the sort of ass-kissing from newbs over the years, desperate to ingratiate themselves, which means I could've done it, gone down that road. Would've lost some people, but there would've been others happy to fill their shoes. If I'd opened the place up, made it easier find some eight years ago, who knows, maybe I could be banned from certain countries now too!But the whole Jim Jones thing, like I've said in the past is just not me. This blog is my first foray into "promoting" myself, and I only created it because I wrote a book, and the accepted wisdom on author forums was to get yourself a blog.Me moderating ScotlairBut I did all that a bit arse-about-tit. I should've started a blog, grown that, started a forum, then published. Except I created a closed forum, neglected it, wrote a book, and then started a blog.And you know what... I don't give a shit. Because the forum was never for my self promotion or creating my ownLord of the Flieslittle Kingdom. The book was a personal project, and I wasn't even thinking that much of intended audience, or primarily doing it for money. The blog I thought of as something supplemental, but the more I've got into this, the more I've taken to enjoying it. I think I'm starting to find my voice now, too. Whether anyone's listening to that voice is another thing, but I'm starting to put "me" into it, and speak more and more from my life. It's quite cathartic.Blogging is a clique, though! Since doing this I've Googled up many a handbag fight over turf and credentials ha-ha! I find that amusing because I don't much think that way. Sure, I can be possessive, but over posts / ideas in the ether of the net?!This is where I get back to what I said at the start of this post: is anything all that original? Going to be honest, I enjoyed early Roosh, andBang, but it was all unacknowledged Mystery Method. Like early RSD, just minus the magic tricks. Heck, speaking of RSD, there's even a Game Tips link on Roosh's blog, the very first tip being a rip-off of a classic Tyler Durden post! Not saying the whole of the man's output is plagiarism, but just saying what's staring me in the face. We get influenced, we like ideas, so we repeat or re-spin them. It happens. I mean, is it a criticism if I point out that any weight lifting or diet plan isn't original work either?! Shit just gets too precious in too many people's minds.But some of the advice I've read on some of the blogs out there, that gets massive kudos... I just think some people maybe need to expand their reading material beyond the Manosphere. One gem I read on creating a best selling book, the advice was on a par with me posting that the way to get thinner is to lose weight! Holy-fucking-revelation!Of course such sacrilege is to invite a bashing, but whilst mindful of web traffic, I don't think it gives authority or says anything at all about the quality of advice. If it did, we'd all pack up and surrender to Jezebel. Instead, I just view it as a "voice". Like my own. With as much weight.I'm not Buddha by any stretch but I don't tend to overly covet. Like I look at my friendirishand I like what he's got going on in his life over in Singapore/Jakarta. But I'm not thinking I can't do that or because he's done that, that I have to lie down and prostrate myself because I want to follow suit! I give deserved kudos. I can learn - but beyond that so what? That doesn't "lower my value" in all other things.LikeSergei. He's given me weight training instruction. While he's not the next Schwarzenegger, he's still in great shape, and I find that inspiring in the same way. Like, me lifting less doesn't make me place him "up there" or make me feel there's some sort of imbalance or teacher/student dynamic going on that I buy into.And Gabriel. I'm more likely to approach than him in Game but he can drive way better than me. I've never met anyone with the complete package yet in my life, witheverythingI want to be, and I sure haven't encountered that dude on any forum or blog as yet. But all my friends have something I admire and I hope I can reciprocate in some way.It's the same two-way street I take to forum moderation and blogging. I'm just a dude saying his bit, not pretending to be the Oracle of the ages.Something else about forums that I feel the need to point out. Like I said, I've had Scotlair for coming up on nine years now, in that time I've always tried to encourage and cajole it, so that meant posting more than the average member... and in almost nine years I still haven't broken 1,500 posts.There's dudes on some forums that have racked up post counts in the three to five thousand range in a few short years, whilst commenting on a multitude of blogs, other forums, Tweeting and maintaining their own personal blog! And all the while writing about how to enjoy a "rich and fulfilling" lifestyle?! Maybe if being plugged into the internet à la the Matrix 24/7, living in a life-support pod, is your idea of it.Little wonder then, that I feel like I've read so much of what's out there before.