Is EC becoming less active?

It's true: internet forums in their traditional sense are becoming things of the past. March of progress, I guess.

 

Yeah forums do seem to be dying out. I personally much prefer forums to Facebook groups.

 

Okay so if this is the case, are there any groups for gay/bi women? You obviously can't link but naming them maybe?

 

I haven't noticed much of a difference over the past year, but it definitely felt like it was much more active around here a few years ago. Not sure if something happened or if it's just a decline in forums in general.

 

I wouldn't say that they are dying, but they are definitely evolving. Reddit is an example of that right now. They have done an amazing job at evolving to keep up with the trends of what people need. That and the use of social media to share ideas and find people had made it so forums that don't evolve fast enough will be left behind.

I think one of the main struggles about EC is that at its core it has always maintained that anonymity is more important than anything else. And while anonymity as an option is good, internet culture has evolved in a way where people are no longer afraid of having their identities online and many people have learned how to navigate online culture way better than before. And in a way EC goes against a lot of online culture in many ways which has its positive, but it also has its negative side.

 

I hate to say it but yes. I’ve noticed a lot of people have been inactive lately and there’s a lot less replies. I feel like it was way more active when I first joined.

 

I find it difficult for people to reply to threads so I would say so.

 

I think it comes and goes in waves, I have been on EC for 3 years (joined the day I came out) and at the beginning of one's journey I think it's easier to reach out to places like EC, but once one become more established with their sexuality and how to navigate the LGBTQ+ dating life, forums like EC seem a little bit less needed.

Personally I come and go, I used to be much more active a year or two ago when many girls I found relatable were also part of the forum, now a lot of us are further in our journey and it seems like most of us have moved on from EC (a bit of a shame that EC makes it so hard for people to keep in touch outside the forum though of course I fully get why). I personally come back every once in a while more out of curiosity than anything else.

I am part of quite a lot of facebook groups dedicated to queer ladies and it's a completely different format and I can see why it wouldn't suit EC but I can also see why some people may turn to Facebook groups instead of anonymous forums. I think FB groups are great to actually reach out to actual people, make new queer friends (or more?), organize queer events while EC, due to its importance on keeping things anonymous is better to have a quiet rant knowning nobody will find out.

I do like the anonymous feature to some extent as it prevents the forum from becoming a giant desperate dating site, but it can feel restrictive at times, and I do think the format will have to change in future years to remain appealing to most people.

I think most people come to EC when they are going through a rough patch though, so I am not surprised that people can feel traffic drastically flucuate on here as it probably does.

 

I've felt like the forum has become less active than was once the case, too.

When I joined EC, it was dramatically more active than another forum I'm on. That's no longer the case.

Facebook groups, as mentioned above, seem to have gained a lot of ground.

Looking long term, there may come a day when LGBT acceptance is good enough that forums like EC won't be necessary any more.

 

It probably is happening to some degree. I imagine there are situations where there are teenagers who realize they are gay. Their families are accepting, and they have a tolerant school. So it's no big deal coming out.

 

I noticed this too! I actually have been a little sad about it because I used to lurk on here several years ago and it seemed more active then.

 

Short term memory loss here so I can't really remember what it was like entirely, but I do think things "moved quicker" now that you mention it. Like more members or replies or something. I think that was back when I was still in high school attempting to come out. Trying to remember clearly is giving me a headache...

I'm not really into Facebook or mobile stuff myself. I don't like the amount of info they ask for either. Feels like that info could easy get to the wrong person, who wants to hurt me because they're judgemental and eager for violence...