Defibrillating the forum

[Mizel]

I, too, would like to see this place get back to where it was when I joined. I've heard stories about how active and awesome it was at one point in time (some time before I joined). I think I came in at the end of that. For the past few months (hell, maybe even more than that at this point) I've kind of done the same thing that BobTD said: just kind of stopped coming here without realizing it. Before that I was trying to really hard to remain active, post things that were relevant and create new threads when I thought of something interesting to share. After awhile I kind of gave up posting because it seemed pointless due to the fact that there are so few active/new members and they'd rarely get replies or views anyways :/

I do agree with BobTD about the overall mood of the forums at times. To be honest, when I first joined I sort of quit coming at first because of how some people acted. I was PM'd by someone who asked why I stopped coming. I explained to them why and they basically told me to just ignore those people and come back. I took their advice and came back. Over time, most of the members that brought the mood down stopped posting. But even more recently there are times when I read stuff that's been posted on here and think to myself, "Wow, if I was a new member or someone considering joining... I wouldn't ever come back." I realize that with a forum comes all sorts of different people, different opinions, different lifestyles and ways of expressing yourself. I also realize that we (well, most of us) aren't children and don't need someone to tell us when we're 'being mean,' but I think that mood/tone should be monitored and anyone bringing it down should at least get a PM explaining the situation.

Lastly, what I love most about this forum is the fact that it is smaller. With huge forums, everyone kind of seems to meld into one giant blob. Posts and threads gets missed and overlooked. It's overwhelming. There is less opportunity to connect with and get to know everyone on a personal level. I've made a lot of friends on this forum and still keep in contact with most of them despite the fact that they don't post here anymore.

Anyway, I'd love to see this place get back up and running at full speed. I am totally willing to help out with whatever is needed to make that happen