Where's all the people?

[Larniavc]

A big part of it is a sense of looking over your shoulder, wondering if what you post will be some sort of "violation."

Yep. I feel that way. I thought it was because I was a no good atheist. Interesting how it’s not that.

 

[peacefulseeker]

Religion is being replaced by tik tok and youtube.

 

[Postvieww]

I don't know. I've been wondering lately if it forums are worth it. Please note the plural. Part of it's feeling like there's just not a place to fit in. A big part of it is a sense of looking over your shoulder, wondering if what you post will be some sort of "violation." If you feel like you're always walking on eggshells, then what's the point? Can we even make that observation?

Like the ads. How far can we talk about them? The ads don't bother me because they were so annoying, I use a certain browser where I don't see them. Had the ads been less intrusive, I might not have bothered. Where I might have seen the occasional ad, now I see none.

Will pointing that out end up with the post deleted, the thread locked, and myself banned? Don't know. At the moment, don't really care.

Maybe that ambivalence is the answer to the question: People are leaving forums because they no longer enjoy it.

You make a great point. Woke-ness and political correctness run amuck.

 

[Rajni]

I'm still around. I like CF.

My inclination to debate things, however, has pretty much vanished, which likely explains my more sporadic engagement these days. Heck, I can't remember the last long, drawn-out, theological tennis-match in which I was engaged, to be honest. I consider that an improvement on my part.

Nowadays, I'd rather exchange ideas than waste time insisting that my position on ... whatever ... is The Correct One™, which only runs the risk of me coming across like the proverbial "Lady that doth protest too much", insecure in what I believe unless I can get others on board with it. Confidence in ones path breeds a certain peace that makes such involvement feel somehow unnecessary. Hence the quote I currently have in my signature: "Sometimes peace requires you to be quiet, even if you are right."

So, I'm still here, just a lot mellower.

 

[ozso]

What changed in 2007. That’s long before my time.

Wow you must be really young.

 

[Larniavc]

Wow you must be really young.

Lol. I’ll be 50 in a few months. Thanks for making my day

 

[durangodawood]

Perhaps if they gave 400 instead of 300 Blessing for daily activity, more people would show up.

You get 300?

Why do I only get 100???

 

[durangodawood]

-​

Any specific people or just a general missing of people.

No ones coming to mind right now. But if I saw a list of regulars from 6 months ago Id see people I miss specifically.

 

[Tuur]

You make a great point. Woke-ness and political correctness run amuck.

I don't know. I walked away from a conservative leaning forum for similar reasons. Not knowing the history of policy decisions here, I won't comment on such. One forum, with a server based outside of the US, claimed some restrictions were based on local laws. Something we Americans have to adjust to is that in a world-wide forum, things we take for granted are local ordinances.

When I said forums was plural, I meant exactly that.

 

[Brihaha]

For me there are several reasons for decreased interaction on the forums.

The biggest reason is working now. The second is due to unnecessary and unwanted stress. Many of us have more stressors nowadays and social media is proven to increase stress levels of users. Some folks likely found other people to argue with instead of random internet folks. I am starting to view online forums as a temptation to avoid myself. And of course those pesky pop up ads are not easy to navigate with chrome either.

I love the social interaction with people who are genuine and non-judgmental. This behavior has unfortunately waned online, and in society overall. I did catch an AA meeting last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. There we all have a common goal and actually accept each other as fellow, flawed mortals and help each other retain sobriety.

 

[gaara4158]

Clearly I have converted everyone over to my way of thinking and there’s nothing to talk about anymore!

 

[ozso]

Lol. I’ll be 50 in a few months. Thanks for making my day

Wow that's really old.

 

[gaara4158]

What changed in 2007. That’s long before my time.

No ads, for one. There was a General Apologetics forum where most of the clashing happened, and it was basically like those parties where there’s 30 guys and 4 girls, so each girl has a circle of guys vying for her attention. That’s what it was like with the 3 or 4 participating Christians and dozens of atheists.

Also, participation was much more gamified than it is now. There was a “currency” you earned by posting or having it gifted to you by someone (giving blessings didn’t cost you anything, rather a blessing from you was worth 1% of your total blessings balance) which you could then spend on a customizable forum avatar. You’d get a generic character and then you could buy outfits and accessories in exchange for blessings. I don’t know why they scrapped that mechanic, it was fun. You did see a lot of “counting” threads where people would post pages and pages of single numbers counting up to rack up blessings. Maybe that’s why lol

 

[SeventhFisherofMen]

They probably don't like ads.

If that were the case then Youtube would be empty, cable companies would also have no business.

 

[Robban]

Wow that's really old.

In a few days I am due to be 81,

was talking to a female police, she said,

"That's nothing, you are only halfway yet."

nice young lady.

 

[ozso]

In a few days I am due to be 81,

was talking to a female police, she said,

"That's nothing, you are only halfway yet."

nice young lady.

I was joking with Larnievc about turning 50 soon, because I'll be turning 61 soon. 81 is halfway eh? Not sure I'd want to stick it out here for 162 years.

​

 

[Tuur]

If that were the case then Youtube would be empty, cable companies would also have no business.

Some ad filters work on Youtube. As for TV, commercials is one big reason I no longer find it enjoyable. Especially the rerun of old shows are so full of ads that they're not really worth it to me.

 

[Robban]

I was joking with Larnievc about turning 50 soon, because I'll be turning 61 soon. 81 is halfway eh? Not sure I'd want to stick it out here for 162 years.

​

That's what I thought at the time, but I'm not in a hurry.

 

[SeventhFisherofMen]

Some ad filters work on Youtube. As for TV, commercials is one big reason I no longer find it enjoyable. Especially the rerun of old shows are so full of ads that they're not really worth it to me.

Is there a way to get rid of adds? Youtube has YT premium and Hulu and other streaming has a way to get rid of ads. Does CF have an option for that?

 

[Rajni]

Is there a way to get rid of adds? Youtube has YT premium and Hulu and other streaming has a way to get rid of ads. Does CF have an option for that?

If I recall right, becoming a Supporter on CF removed the ads. But I've been using ad-blockers since forever, so haven't noticed if this is still the case or not.