QotD: Why did you stop posting to the fourum?

[lyleberr]

Welcome to the next Question of the Day!

The Question of the Day is a way to facilitate community discussion to help members ponder the unanswered questions of the world that are somehow relating to the hobby. Questions are many times open ended and up to interpretation. Feel free to post your thoughts in as much or as little detail as you’d like.

Helpful Considerations may or may not help some people focus their answer, these are blurred to not bother those who have their own ideas.

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Today’s Question:
QotD: Why did you stop posting to the fourum?

Helpful Considerations: Privacy? Ya’ll are insufferable? Im at odds with fourum sensibilities? I cant be bothered to keep up with the daily drama? Discord is the way?

[c0ll3ct0r]

[decoypalmette]

I’m going to take this as a hypothetical case.
If I were to stop posting, it would likely be because I decided that the hobby just isn’t for me anymore: while I genuinely like the people here, there’s the possibility that I’d prefer “moving on” entirely from Pokemon cards, since any interaction would inevitably remind me of them.

Sometimes you might have to prioritize your mental health, or life in general gets in the way, but in that case hopefully it’s just a temporary pause.

[Josh]

[Littu]

Qotd: why did you stop posting to the forum..

Expected replies: People who already stopped posting to the forum need to post a reply in the forum about the reason which makes them again start posting in the forum …

[kromaticlanturn]

I’ll add my two cents. My activity has absolutely diminished greatly over the years. One big reason is I simply don’t really buy Pokemon-related items any longer. I still love Pokemon, but the engagement with it at large just seems…different from how it was even 5 years ago and I’m not feeling it. The feel that I get from the hobby as a whole isn’t the same and E4 is more of a nostalgia time capsule for me than an active hobby site. I’m becoming more and more of a lurker. I doubt I’ll ever fully leave just because there are so many amazing people here whom I value so much. But in terms of engagement with the hobby….that’s just another thing entirely that has its own weird roller coaster of motivation cycles, if that makes sense.

[festa]

I think there are some who have chosen to take a step back from posting, albeit not necssarily altogether. I think people have become more selective about how they engage with the hobby as well.

I’m quite a private person in my personal life, and I have personally never felt inclined to share collection updates or acquisitions. That’s something I’ve remained fairly consistent with. With that being said, I do enjoy the discussions and passion people have for the hobby. I do think there are some inherent issues that come with frequently showcasing your collection or acquisitions, however.

I have found that over the years, between bouts of negativity and unsettling price hikes, I’ve removed myself at points to focus on other things. Sometimes personal things pop up and they take precedence. Because of this, I’ve had various breaks since 2016, but I always return at some stage. I’m sure this will continue on into the future and another break will happen inevitably. It’s always nice seeing new faces when I return though:)

[queendrifloon]

Discord, simply. I recently have been attempting to be more active on the forum as well but my attention span can only be consumed by one Pokemon social media space or another. I was fairly active here before I joined the discord and then it didn’t really feel necessary to post and chat in both spaces to (at least some) of the same people overlapping. And before that, it was reddit

I can’t really explain it, I’ll talk about Pokemon cards all day every day (and have, at least on e4, for the last 8 years) but I don’t feel the need to do so on a dozen different platforms. Likewise I think I just better enjoy the casual conversational nature of discord over a forum. (Y’all are too young to remember BeSeen browser chatrooms, but IRC and ICQ may still be a thing)

[lyleberr]

[johto]

I can pitch in a little.

I was lurking long before the Discourse move and then I finally joined in 2024 I think it was.

I don’t use the Internet heaps, I have no social media, E4 seemed like a place that was mature and enthusiastic about Pokémon for what it was, and not money, not exuberance, and also that everyone at all levels of enjoyment was welcome.

I was excited to join and enjoyed participating, even the 2020 boom and the way it was discussed and handled seemed mature and nuanced and everybody had their place.

Lately, I feel like certain voices and opinions are drowned out.

I feel also like there is a notable divide between those who are making bank and those who aren’t. I personally have no horse in this race but I’ve spoken to many who are feeling ostracised for being dissatisfied that things are so unachievable and that they should “make do” (to paraphrase.)

I feel like tensions are higher than usual and whilst this was also something I saw in 2020, it feels worse this time. And maybe just a greater reflection of the state of the world, but it feels like people are more agitated.

The narrative has shifted and as the site naturally evolves to bring in a new crowd (as it should, I certainly don’t wish stagnation for it), I’m just gradually becoming more and more detached from the zeitgeist that I see now.

My personal circumstances also contribute to the distance I feel from the hobby and by extension, E4, but as others have said, there are also so many positive people here, interactions, knowledge and truly joyful collection posts that I haven’t outright left yet… but I have considered asking for a delete more than once.

All of the above is why I post less now and why I interact less, but for the most part everyone here is lovely and it’s still my favourite place to be on the Internet.