years ago i wrote in earnest optimism regarding what i thought could be an inspiration to invigorate discussion here on the forums. after so long a time, i can only say i am greatly disappointed. often in the past i've written very long and involved threads and posts that accurately portrayed my thoughts, but honestly at this point i dont really think i need to say anything nor do i desire to say anything as im sure none of it is read or considered anyways

i want answers. i want to hear why this website is in such a miserable, sorry state. im done trying to reconcile these things for myself and would rather hear from those who are responsible for why this has come to be

why have the whole lot of you failed such a wonderful forum that is carefully curated by its sole developer? that flash even bothers continuing to develop this place is a mystery to me, but the dedication in spite of everything is truly inspiring to me

i do agree with you, even though i'm also guilty of not being a significant contributor myself...

lately i've been turning my computer off when i'm not at home again, i've set my phone and tablet up to the point where if something goes wrong i can likely fix things using just either of them so i no longer need to be able to remote into it at any given moment, so i've been more reluctant to peek into chat at various times without triggering a join message. now during the times where i'd pop in even chat would still be relatively dead, but even then its made me notice how little activity the forum gets.

perhaps it's because i'm not very articulate in my method of reflection, making it difficult to turn it into a post beyond the once in a blue moon instance or a feeling that it's not important or interesting enough to write about, which is pretty stupid on my part regardless since it's something i tell people not to worry about in regards to posting. i've also historically been a coward when it comes to asking questions because of Formative Years Events and it feels daunting to reply when i feel i have nothing of value to add to a conversation beyond a "cool!!!!". personally, i do read and enjoy every single one of your major posts but it is difficult to weigh whether potentially replying with a "cool!!!!" adjacent type post would be desirable for you to come back to, perhaps i should try harder regardless.

i'm not sure what else to add, i'm open to suggestions of ways to encourage people to post from anyone and will also do an effort at doing better myself.

personally, i've always found forums a somewhat difficult type of social, part of it being as flash said, it's tough to have something to respond a lot of the time. this is likely why a good amount of forums implemented a sort of like/respect/thanks system, as it makes it possible for people who don't have anything substantial to add to still respond without being a nuisance... forums are a long-form content, and this means more thought has to go into it as a whole. i don't think a forum needs to be massively active for that reason too. quality over quantity, we have a chatbox already after all
aside from that i personally just find it hard to start conversations on forums and in general, i function best in small/medium sized chatboxes where everything is transient and there's very little commitment. i know that's weak, but i suppose that's the problem in it for me

-- addendum --
i do think there is merit in helping people stay up to date on the forum. currently the only type of notification is in chat, it might be nice to be able to subscribe to a topic (automatically if you reply?) and get responses emailed. this forum isn't active to the point that should be a problem, and missing replies is something i've done a good amount

upon further reflection i think my judgement here is incorrect, as in the past iterations of flashii the forum was completely dead and there really wasn't any serious discussion there as most of it took place in the chat. it can certainly be said that the forum is at an ebb currently but even ebbing there's still more participation than in the past. further, i know full well from experience that yelling at a chicken doesn't make her lay nor does beating a goat stop him from attacking you during the rut. simply being mad about the state of things does no one any good because it ultimately solves nothing and only breeds animosity altogether

over the past year or so i've been privy to many events that have made me rather bitter about people tacitly shrugging their shoulders and saying "it is what it is" when all it really takes to change these things is minor changes on behalf of many people, and truly this has been an issue i've experienced and written about at length going back probably to my teenage years. at this point i should be used to it, but there's a fire in me that just wants to shake people and make them think about such things; either way, when speaking in person there's much more nuance that is greatly lacking when discussing over the internet that it makes getting frustrated online much easier, and for me this issue has been very frustrating as this place is really the only internet type thing i still give a shit about and it saddens me to see similar complacency here as i do in real life

i've somewhat reconsidered my position on the sort of "reaction" type feature on posts, as per osk's post, as originally i was opposed to it on account of seeing it abused by circlejerking retards on facepunch, but i would like to think this place is small enough that such a thing wouldn't happen here. it may be at the very least something worth trying, as the potential for engagement from others in such a way may encourage those who seldom post to post more often, and with higher quality content perhaps

thinking about that, an idea i just had is the ability to write small post-it notes on people's posts. that way you can give a personal short response, without cluttering up the thread with the huge post body + signature etc. it'd give a "very cute thanks for posting mom" a place without making it feel unwarranted (too short for the form factor) or relegating it to an empty like button

honestly the fact that this forum still gets active engagement at all being a niche general purpose forum surrounding a singular internet user with a wee bit of intrigue is astonishing in itself. yes, it's not ripe with numerous constant long articulated posts like forum engagement of yesteryear, but theres still a lot that goes on and considering the modern internet landscape that cant be understated. its fair to be disappointed and want more, but im not sure what to tell you on that front. i do commend flash on keeping this dream alive at all, considering all the ups and downs this community has had over the last decade, and its good that the ability to post long-form is here for those who use it regularly, but i doubt itd ever become the norm as its simply just not how we commonly communicate anymore

its hard enough to get young people to speak their mind let alone write their thoughts, if it were not so i would be married by now

well, im sure fate will eventually lead you to the one you're meant to spend your future with