I haven't been part of a forum for a a long time. Nearly a decade, I think. I think I stopped because most people sort of moved on to Facebook, at the time. And what was left behind was a very tight clique that, due to them being members for a very long time, enjoyed certain privileges. Basically, mods would turn a blind eye to everything they did as long as it wasn't an openly hostile interaction, and even those would often resulted in a cheeky "warning." I didn't enjoy that atmosphere, so I left.
Fast forward to now. I still enjoy many things I did back than and enjoy talking to people about them. Games, anime, tv shows, books, you name it. I'm a bit of an entertainment hedonist, you could say. I also found myself enjoying a lot of Escapist content, which is how I stumbled upon this place. So I thought, what the hell, based on the types of videos Escapist produces I assumed I wouldn't be met with "gamers." But things haven't changed much from how these forums used to be. There's still a clique, they still get away with things, they still gaslight, argue in bad faith, and insult every opinion that disagrees with them or challenges them. And I do know what this sounds like, but feel free to check my post history and see for yourself. I have tried being as nice and cordial as I possibly could. But was mostly met with bad faith arguments, gaslighting, and insults to my character. Which, admittedly, isn't the best. But I did try.
I've been here three days, I think, and in that time one creepy "legacy" member has decided I was so horrible he started following me to every single thread I posted in and liked the posts of everyone that even slightly disagreed with anything I said. Three days.
Anyway, I don't want to see what would happen after a week so I'll be off. I just wanted to share my experience, brief as it was, and maybe offer an insight about why new members don't seem to stick around. I haven't made many posts, but feel free to peruse and see if what I'm saying has any merit.
All the best and best of luck!
P.S. "Peruse" actually means; read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way. examine carefully or at length. Only learned this recently. Always thought it was "cast a casual glace." Huh. Language, amirite?
Fast forward to now. I still enjoy many things I did back than and enjoy talking to people about them. Games, anime, tv shows, books, you name it. I'm a bit of an entertainment hedonist, you could say. I also found myself enjoying a lot of Escapist content, which is how I stumbled upon this place. So I thought, what the hell, based on the types of videos Escapist produces I assumed I wouldn't be met with "gamers." But things haven't changed much from how these forums used to be. There's still a clique, they still get away with things, they still gaslight, argue in bad faith, and insult every opinion that disagrees with them or challenges them. And I do know what this sounds like, but feel free to check my post history and see for yourself. I have tried being as nice and cordial as I possibly could. But was mostly met with bad faith arguments, gaslighting, and insults to my character. Which, admittedly, isn't the best. But I did try.
I've been here three days, I think, and in that time one creepy "legacy" member has decided I was so horrible he started following me to every single thread I posted in and liked the posts of everyone that even slightly disagreed with anything I said. Three days.
Anyway, I don't want to see what would happen after a week so I'll be off. I just wanted to share my experience, brief as it was, and maybe offer an insight about why new members don't seem to stick around. I haven't made many posts, but feel free to peruse and see if what I'm saying has any merit.
All the best and best of luck!
P.S. "Peruse" actually means; read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way. examine carefully or at length. Only learned this recently. Always thought it was "cast a casual glace." Huh. Language, amirite?