I didn't really expect to be a regular here and maybe in the end I won't. I may do away with forums altogether. For now though, I'm trying to adapt to the people here and looking for topics I might be interested enough in to comment on. Actually there isn't a lot of difference from the people here and the people I left at my former forum. Most of the people at my former forum either want to discuss writing or discuss peoples' works in prose or poetry, pretty much like here. The ways things are done are quite different, however; like at the old forum you only need to have ten posts with no time limitations or any critiques before you can post your masterpieces. Needless to say, they'll get a budding writer to make ten quick posts in the Lounge for example, post their masterpiece, and never be seen again. I'm guessing that's pretty impossible here- that's a good thing. I guess you're wondering why I left my former forum. Well, there was a time when I was very happy there. People were kind to each other, honest certainly, but for the most part, kind, not unlike what I've seen here. There were places to talk about real life stuff or even to be silly. For me, it was a golden era of sorts. But the climate there is changing. I've had experience near the top of the food chain at this particular forum and I fear they're going to make changes that is going to erode what goodwill is still left. A lot of my friends have already left or have one foot in the door; maybe some of them are here. Oh, I'll still pop over there in the middle of the night to see what the old forum is up to. I worry for my old friends there as some pretty radical changes are possibly in the air that will affect quite a few of them. I'll search the open boards a guest would be able to see just to have an idea to what is going on. And it's hard. I need to stop doing that. I have connections via E-Mail or Facebook with a few members and former members, but because of our real lives, the meetings are fairly sporadic. It's like having a lot of friends in High School and you have to start all over again at College. You have to make friends all over again. It isn't easy being the new kid on the block. So now I find myself peeking into the old forum as a guest to see what people are up to and to see if I can spot a troublemaker or two(they presently seem to have a winner over there as I speak). As a staffer, we no doubt would have been discussing this particular character. As a guest though, I have no idea if he's crossed their radar or not. These are things I fret about still. Are they going to drive out the people that prefer to hang out in the Lounge or Living Areas? Will they do away with the Mental Health thread not unlike the one they have here? There are at least a dozen or more people that use that thread when they have difficulty coping with the things going on around them. What does that say to them if they restrict the thread, that they're not worthy? I guess in a way my former forum will always be something of a virtual home for me, but I guess it's like leaving your parents for college. You have to start a new life sometimes. I'll get used to it though. And maybe in time, I won't have to look in as a guest anymore. If things get better, maybe I'll even sign on. If not, well, there are other things in life besides a writing forum, even one that I loved as much as I loved my former one.