The impact of PSC on your life

[Frogblossom]

I more than most understand how much of a lull this has been.
Posting begets more posting, is what it comes down to.
It's also about how much the inflow of new people has slowed to a trickle.  May is half over and we've had TWO intros.  Many years ago, I'd be sifting through more than a page of intros every day.  New members bring energy that long-timers generally can't muster.  And I think that's the big reason why this place feels rather ghosty of late.

Well, that's typical. No sooner do I join this forum than I learn it's in the doldrums. It's hard to imagine that interest in Our Favorite Subject is waning; that seems contrary to human nature . . . Well, perhaps I can help liven things up a little.

Although I'm a new member, I've been lurking here for nearly four years. Not constantly, not even frequently, but consistently. Driven by boredom, or The Urges, or both, I spend six months without a single visit, then a week of hours a day. I doubt that I'm the only person who frequents the place so sporadically.

This forum has impacted my life, in a way. It's introduced me to a lot of thoughtful, intelligent people who are willing and eager to discus  our common interest. That's very refreshing. If I were deeper in the grip of a pedophilic obsession, it might be a life-saver, but I'm not desperate; like most pedophiles, I'm just lonely. Hard to find people to talk to about this.

I appreciate the honesty of the people here, talking about problems and heartaches and triumphs, not just "Where's the gvenet set #24?"

If anyone is really depressed by the current lull, I can only say, after about 25 years' experience with Internet message boards, there's always an ebb and flow. But here's the newbie, talking like an "expert;" pardon my presumption.

[stalker]

or finding another place.

The problem is that there's no another place. This is the only pedo forum I know where moderators are actually wise and decent humans, and difficult discussions, where people actually differ in opinions, are permitted and encouraged. This is the only pedo forum I know where the mod team is doing actual moderation, not fascist censorship.

I wonder what happened. Is it the death of forums in general? Young generations not being interested in discussions anymore? I sort of understand that clearnet forums die, people want to sit on social media (and are actively being addicted thanks to social media algorithms), but there's no social media for pedos.

PSC took a hit when it had to change the URLs, when it was attacked, but it would explain a momentary hiatus, not a trend.

As to the impact PSC had on my life, it's hard for me to tell, because I've been here for so long... I accept my attractions, but I don't know it that would've been the case if I never discovered PSC. So I don't know the exact impact, I only know it's been positive, and I'd miss this place if it disappeared, and I did miss it when it was down.

[Frogblossom]

I wonder what happened. Is it the death of forums in general? Young generations not being interested in discussions anymore? I sort of understand that clearnet forums die, people want to sit on social media (and are actively being addicted thanks to social media algorithms), but there's no social media for pedos.

I was very active on several large clearnet forums in the 90s and 2000s, and you just don't see them any more — not the ones where people are actually discussing ideas and issues, I mean. The exceptions are hobbyist or 'special interest' forums (not our special interest). I have a friend who's a farmer, and she tells me that some very specialized forums are healthy and very busy. Forums dealing with stuff like the care of tropical fish, for example. 

I  think that people are less interested in written communication, even Internet communication, every year. TikTok has the young people, and FB still has a lot of the older ones; but I'm guessing, because I don't frequent either platform.

I only know that the many people who were active on PSC four or five years ago haven't suddenly become illiterate, and I doubt that they've lost interest in the topic. I hope we can get the thing going again, because it's so valuable.

Yesterday I even wrote a long, wheezy post in the 'Civics' section, just to add some coals to the fire. It wasn't very interesting, but I was trying, and will continue to try!