TimeMeasure
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2017
- Messages
- 101
Just musing, really, not expecting an answer is possible, but was thinking about this over the past couple days, and coincidentally, the "Goodbye" thread today by Meadbh brought it to mind again:
It would be interesting (if it were even possible) to compile a list of what some of the long-time posters are up to, who have "retired" from this forum - a la the old "Where Are They Now?" series.
Even as a relative newcomer here, less than a year, one can see prolific posters ("Blue Collar Guy" comes to mind) who were actively taking part in the dialogue - and who then simply vanished. And researching older topics, sometimes one realizes others also vanished, years ago (e.g. "cute fuzzy bunny"). Did some stroke of misfortune befall them? Did some comment offend them? Did they just grow weary of repetitive topics? Did they land a position as an oligarch? Did they have to go into deep cover? Who will ever know?
It's striking because, on the whole, this is such a welcoming, even warm, set of people, very convivial even when points of view differ, and so it's easy to have the sense that there is community... but it seems that people can vanish without a trace, sometimes almost unremarked. And although that's to be expected, and probably many of the people here like some degree of anonymity, still, the contrast between the overall rapport and the unmissed vanishings can be a little jarring. Something about how one is not truly gone, until one's name is no longer spoken...
End of musing. Back to the regularly scheduled program.
It would be interesting (if it were even possible) to compile a list of what some of the long-time posters are up to, who have "retired" from this forum - a la the old "Where Are They Now?" series.
Even as a relative newcomer here, less than a year, one can see prolific posters ("Blue Collar Guy" comes to mind) who were actively taking part in the dialogue - and who then simply vanished. And researching older topics, sometimes one realizes others also vanished, years ago (e.g. "cute fuzzy bunny"). Did some stroke of misfortune befall them? Did some comment offend them? Did they just grow weary of repetitive topics? Did they land a position as an oligarch? Did they have to go into deep cover? Who will ever know?
It's striking because, on the whole, this is such a welcoming, even warm, set of people, very convivial even when points of view differ, and so it's easy to have the sense that there is community... but it seems that people can vanish without a trace, sometimes almost unremarked. And although that's to be expected, and probably many of the people here like some degree of anonymity, still, the contrast between the overall rapport and the unmissed vanishings can be a little jarring. Something about how one is not truly gone, until one's name is no longer spoken...
End of musing. Back to the regularly scheduled program.