Let me start this little rant of mine with a Happy New Year. This year has been very tough for many but all of us still here today somehow got through it. Next, let me get to the point. Scrolling through the suggestions board and a lot of other places, for as long as I have known about this site at least, I continue to see people attempting to introduce the idea of change. The idea that if their new and innovative plan was put into place, everything would get better. A lot of these ideas consisted of ways to make The Dollars more popular. "That's how we should change to help make The Dollars more successful" They falsely placed their hopes in this idea, and of course, any attempts to replicate this plan inevitably failed. Why is that? No matter how many people are here, no matter how many people know about The Dollars, they aren't going to want to do anything without a reason. Every single country, or business, or organization that has ever existed has had someone to unite people under a single goal. A leader. Someone who will take charge and introduce direction and form to an otherwise chaotic existence. A group without direction is a group that is doomed to accomplish nothing. This idea is not new and has been introduced before, only to be met with controversy. Some argue that it wouldn't be The Dollars anymore, that it wouldn't be authentic. Others argue that it wouldn't make a difference, that The Dollars as a concept is doomed to fail. As much as this pain's me to admit, the original Dollars concept IS doomed to fail. A group cannot possibly function without a leader. Any successful attempts to do so are fantasy, as displayed by where the original concept of the Dollars came from. but of course, in saying any of this, I become a hypocrite. Why would I say any of this, yet don't necessarily provide a solution? I will probably just end up becoming just another in the countless archives of people saying similar if not the exact same thing as I am. I am putting this idea forward to hopefully spur on or at least introduce the idea of change. The idea of New Beginnings. The idea that we, The Dollars, CAN succeed. That it's possible for us to become great with the right conditions. Again, most will just disregard this little rant of mine as just another in the sea of ideas never to come to fruition. However, if there is anything at all that some of you will take away from this, I would like it to be this. Without direction, without form, without a leader, nothing will ever change. Happy New Year, I wish everyone luck that the rest of the year will be great. Thank you for listening. Good day, and for some, good night.

I totally agree, you summed this up perfectly. With no leader, there's kind of no goal to be met. I think it would be cool if we saw how many people still considered themselves a dollar, or at least see how many people are still active. Maybe some new missions could be brought, just to keep us still going.

well i'm new here so maybe i just don't understand the original idea but wouldn't it be enough to make the goal of something very general like spreading altruism or something like that something everyone could want to do to make the world better. and when it comes to motivations / benefits, introduce a counter of completed missions people's instinct is always to show their social position, so the desire to appear in the organization can be a sufficient motivation?

>>3 While that idea sounds good at face value, it goes back to doing something without a cause. Doing something like that would be like a game holding a competition for who gets the highest on the leaderboard, but when someone wins there is no reward. No one would want to participate because they gain nothing. Sure maybe some dedicated few would go above and beyond for bragging rights, but overall participation would be low or at least lower then desirable. In introducing a reward, then it becomes all about the reward rather then the act. It would no longer be genuine and when the reward stops, so does the participation.

Dollars members talking about the meaning of being a member of Dollars be like.

I for one have come to accept that our Dollars isn't on the starting line, but at the finish line. We're not waiting for some big breakthrough to happen, that time has already passed and we're only here to pick up its scattered remains, desperately trying to put together these remaining pieces in the hopes of recreating that initial blast which happened at the starting line, to no avail.

There were only a few members left, why not just hang out with them? Get to know them, let their written thoughts influence your views, let your written thoughts influence their views. Help them, get their help, crack jokes together. And maybe just maybe, it will be a time well worth spending, making each other's days better even if just a little bit.

Also, if you know them, you can count them. How many members that are actually still active, that is.

It makes sense we are in a time where lots of members aren't active anymore and the dollars aren't what they used to be. That's just how time works, but then again maybe more time will pass and people will become active again. Im really just curious how many members are still active, that way we could all get together through this website and do something. Something that has a greater impact than time is having on us right now. I think the dollars can make a change, even if its small, a change is still a change.

I agree with >>5 and half-disagree with >>6. >>6 is a tad idealistic and naive. The regulars who stick around here don't necessary seek change. When you say you want to make a greater impact what does that mean? The regulars here I consider my friends, maybe I'm also a bit naive in the sense that it almost feels like a second family on the RTT in Random. My point is that there doesn't need to be a reason to exist, we don't need to make impacts or change. The greatest joy comes from simple relaxed conversations with your friends. The Dollars don't need to be anything greater than a place to dollar around.

>>6 i agree and hello dollars im back i havnt been on for a while but im back and ready to make a change im here to stay ive been in dollars for 7 years

hey so as my name implies I'm new. I just finished the anime. I honestly don't care much about making any change through this platform. Seems like it would take a lot of effort and little would be accomplished. Im just looking to see if theres any cool people to talk to here lol

Change won't happen on a grand scale from thus BBS. Not anymore. There are too few Dollars left. Sure, anyone can call themselves a Dollar, but where do we draw the line? The Dollars have maybe a dozen active members worldwide, that's it. Strangers who just came here for a place to talk to a stranger anonymously. We aren't the same group as in 2010.

The dollars has always been about gathering information and giving it to each other in the hopes of accomplishing good for the world. I feel like it is on us to use our leadership skills to gather people to the causes that we care about. Being a dollar is about committing to the ideals that you were inspired by that lead you to join us. A “be the good you want to see in the world.” Incentive if you will. We all saw something that we thought could help us and yeah it’s sad that this place isn’t filling the ambitious role that it desired to accomplish but it serves a purpose which I personally think could cultivate a much better ethos for Anarchist action than most models of internet forms that exist today. A great place to discuss queer bipoc resistance, workers rights, causes we care about. This place is a love letter to a dream of a better tomorrow and I feel so lucky for having been a part of it all these years.