i don't have much to add but i'm on a couple other forums for other interests of mine. while the subject of this forum is more adjacent to my interests than being centered on something i care deeply about, the other forums i am on are really just for that central interest and a lot of the socializing seems to be done elsewhere (like on discords) i thought it would be nice to join a forum with a more social focus. i'm really enjoying it for this purpose so far! forums are indeed very nice to browse as well, i would go through the recent posts on this forum for a few days before i signed up in order to get a sense of what it was like.

edit (because i always think of more to say after i hit post): i also appreciate the lack of urgency of forums compared to social media. on social media you have minutes to hours to see something on your feed and react to it before it gets buried and nearly impossible to find. on forums it's very easy to find a subject you were previously looking at you have weeks or potentially even months to respond. it takes a lot of the pressure off.

i really missed longform posting like this too. while larger social media sites can be convenient for immediacy when it's necessary, and bring a bustle of helpful networking for some, i feel like it hinders the way people do connect with one another more often than not. the pace that places like twitter goes at nowadays is on par with any instant messenger, but it being regarded as its own public "forum" by a good chunk of its userbase definitely creates this warped mentality for how people end up behaving on there. especially with its short post format. so twitter and a lot of similar places that encourage rapid-fire posting with those set limitations, make it feel like you're forced to process general (or heavier) information quicker. while formulating responses and figuring out your own emotions at lightspeed, too. all to keep up with the pace of strangers and anyone else who inhabit and prioritize these platforms that only thrive in this rushed "blink and you'll miss it" environment. which is just really unhealthy.
it builds this mentality of thinking that if you don't move fast enough, you might get left behind, and it's really tragic to see the sort of mental toll that can take on anyone. i definitely feel like it's a stress that popular modern websites purposefully cultivate and encourage in order for people to remain active. regardless if someone's participating and posting, or simply scrolling on through. which has been a huge step in the wrong direction for the modern internet's landscape.


so it's a huge breath of fresh air to come back to actual forums! i grew up lurking on a few forums when i was kid, but they were on their way out by the time i felt old enough to participate. so getting that chance now has been really nice, like making up for lost time. the fact that teensyangl is built around a lot of the things i grew up on and would've loved to talk about with a community back then, has heavily added to that too. i know niche interest forums have persevered in some spaces, but a lot of them aren't able to hold onto an active userbase, or end up being too strict with what's allowed. so while i know this forum is in its infancy, it really does make me wanna sing its praises. the relaxing atmosphere built around this place has certainly made the transition from lurker, to wanting to participate and being excited to read what others have to say, that much easier and more enjoyable for me. knowing what you're getting into given the mutually shared interests that brought people here to begin with, vs dipping your feet into the unpredictable public pool-like void of other websites, is something that also helps.
the more natural ebb and flow of a fairly active place like this has really helped me actually sit with and appreciate a post or opinion for longer, and better process how i feel and want to formulate those feelings, too. patience isn't a right you feel obliged to ask for, and it just feels like a given in a more relaxed setting like this. which all culminates into finding meaning and worth in things that you might've taken for granted or felt obligated to skip over elsewhere. at least that's how it feels for me.

i think the main thing that feels amiss in the handful of larger social media sites and apps, is this exact two-way street of conversation that actually feels welcoming and personable. people coming to talk together, instead of not knowing each others intentions and talking over each other. it's to the point that authenticity and expressing ones self here doesn't feel nearly as intimidating as it does elsewhere too.
i think there's an extra layer to all of this though. with the rapid increase of people building careers off of, or basing their general livelihoods, around public social media in the past few years. which tacks on more unnecessary stress in how someone feels they should present themselves, if ever. i feel like that aspect adds to this inability of being able to easily participate in more meaningful conversations with others in those larger sites, when so many people seem to prioritize their own personal marketability even in their own niche spaces. those lifestyles also seem to be built heavily upon promoting a "necessary" distance from others, and the forming of thick skin, above anything else for some. i can see how it ends up making a good sum of people feel like they're only allowed to talk at others and not with them and vice versa, from just how discouraged deeper interactions end up being. as if performer and audience is the standard relationship, while every day people to try and talk to and share things together is the outlier in these spaces, which becomes relegated to more private environments ie. discord. 
so the more personable communication found here that does allow for anyone to be seen and heard without all that pressure, rush, or immediate judgement, is also what makes this forum's interactions that much more meaningful and nice to look forward to for me.

old is good, new is bad.

Oh! Well I'll consider that then. 

i've never really been into social media except for tumblr, which i think was one of the first i joined. back in the day i used to spend a lot of time on a proboards for the warrior cats untold tales game–like i was an active member for two years, i think. i made some really good memories there, and there's just a charm to that kind of interaction i've never been able to recreate with any other place. that's partially the reason i wanted to join here, i had a lot of good nostalgia from proboards and it made me happy to see an opportunity to join a forum like the one i enjoyed so long ago ^^ <-- being sappy
i tend to have a really low tolerance for non-immediate gratification, but that aspect of social media also makes me really nervous. i tend to compulsively check whatever media i have open, which def doesn't do my attention span any good and makes me even more anxious DX its taking me a second to adjust to more long-form posting (aka not checking my notifs every 10 seconds o.o) but it feels more... idk, peaceful in a way

I very much prefer forums as of now as I start to get into forums for games like Flight Rising and Cat’s End. Social media feels very… limiting.