This forum dead or dying?

[Robocop]

Hey Robo, very sorry to hear about your health condition and that of your father and grand-mother. I know what it's like to lose someone close, to Cancer. And yes, CPF has changed completely since the old days. I have nothing but respect for Kelly (Greta). But towards the end, before she sold CPF, the forums went from "PG" rated to "G" rated. It was ridiculous. If a disagreement got ever so slightly heated but everyone was still respectful of opposing views.... Instant lock! Later, maybe full deletion of the thread. We're talking continents away from the behavior typically seen in the CPF Underground. Didn't matter! Had to leave for work, planned on posting a reply after work. Come back, Locked! Look through the topic. No clue why it got locked! So frustrating. And, it happened often.

Having a theater that went from PG-rated and G-rated films, down to G-rated only with no official policy change; made no sense. Especially since the surrounding community wasn't made up of very religious Christian families. But mostly single, adult men. I mean who are you catering to by doing that?

I do miss some of the members who left. Others? Honestly, good riddance! I think most of the ones who left enjoyed CPF for the modding. The fun, personal stories of creating something that put the Bigger brands to shame, in terms of brightness. Discussions have clearly shifted to other topics. But it's still a great site to visit, a great community. Also, a good chunk of the trouble-makers were part of the Exodus. Don't need a Moderator Team any more. Most of the ones left on CPF, we can police ourselves.

This must have all developed while I was not active here and I simply missed all of the changes. I remember many would visit the underground area we set up where we had no mods. We had a few arguments there and then moved on. I have no social media footprint and as such do not stay online all day. I know very little about reddit and have never given BLF much thought. I have used these sites for info however they feel unfamiliar to me.

I have still found this forum to be useful even if I do not recognize many names here. I have found many things that interest me here since my return. I found a few makers to buy from that I had never used before (Lumencraft, JLHawaii, Frazlabs, MTN Electronics) and I also found a few classic lights to purchase. I have a large order from Peak headed my way as well as a few other Ebay and Amazon orders. For me much of the current CPF feels the same with the exception of much less innovation and fewer older members.

Maybe if enough of us here now make it fun enough here we can pull in more members. What do the other current options have that is so much better? I seriously have no idea how Reddit works along with Facebook or BLF. Perhaps the current owners here could reach out with a mass email to members who have been inactive. Most probably do not know of the changes made here and they may start slowly returning.

 

[Schokokeks]

This must have all developed while I was not active here and I simply missed all of the changes. I remember many would visit the underground area we set up where we had no mods. We had a few arguments there and then moved on. I have no social media footprint and as such do not stay online all day. I know very little about reddit and have never given BLF much thought. I have used these sites for info however they feel unfamiliar to me.

I have still found this forum to be useful even if I do not recognize many names here. I have found many things that interest me here since my return. I found a few makers to buy from that I had never used before (Lumencraft, JLHawaii, Frazlabs, MTN Electronics) and I also found a few classic lights to purchase. I have a large order from Peak headed my way as well as a few other Ebay and Amazon orders. For me much of the current CPF feels the same with the exception of much less innovation and fewer older members.

Maybe if enough of us here now make it fun enough here we can pull in more members. What do the other current options have that is so much better? I seriously have no idea how Reddit works along with Facebook or BLF. Perhaps the current owners here could reach out with a mass email to members who have been inactive. Most probably do not know of the changes made here and they may start slowly returning.

Reddit is cancer. It's really just a place of "midwits" (middling intelligence) who act like they know everything, so you end up with VERY CONFIDENT PEOPLE providing really bad advice. My mother once texted me, asking if I knew what Reddit was. She was looking for some information, found it, and described it as, "Everyone acts like they know what they're talking about, but everyone is an idiot, and everything they said was wrong."
She nailed it, haha.

WAY BACK WHEN it first started (Andrew Schwartz) it wasn't bad. The up/down vote system was created to filter the QUALITY of answers, and when Reddit was just a bunch of nerds using it correctly, it was great. Then, it got investors, and it's now publicly traded. It's just a data mining front like all other social media. The up/down vote system is used for group-think, and so misinformation tends to dominate. If someone says something objectively wrong, but if feels right, it will become a top comment, and people correcting the information will get downvoted to the point that their comments don't even show up in threads unless you actively start opening up EVERY collapsed replay. It's also essentially just marketing in disguise. I've used the flashlight sub to try and find beamshots of something, as Reddit is more image centric that traditional forums, but the overall quality of discussion is pretty bad, and - being Reddit - it's really just about mindless consumerism. I get the impression their mod team mostly runs review websites, and uses that subreddit to drive traffic and affiliate sales (i.e. it's just a self-promotion platform), but then they make a big deal about keeping out OTHER affiliate links, to perpetuate the notion they're "honest." I think a LOT more people over there are getting discounted and free products to astroturf that sub. Like all subreddits, there's constant trends and "flavors of the week." "The hottest new brand" will quickly be "outed" as bad, and then rinse and repeat. It's the same across Reddit. Most every "hobby" sub is just people buying stuff, and marketers milking them.

I wouldn't waste my time with Reddit. I haven't used it since Schwartz passed, because it's gone so downhill.

BUT, in more optimistic terms, I've been encouraging people to simply...ramble more, haha.

What I like about this place is that it's a traditional forum; it's a place for nerds focused on a niche passion to just shoot the breeze about it. I've noted a LOT of threads are REALLY old, and the etiquette seems to be to NOT make new threads, but to just defer to existing ones - but I think people should feel safe in starting "redundant" threads on topics that haven't come up in years. A LOT has changed.

So, I'd say, just do your part to up the traffic, up the participation, and we can probably at least get people shooting the breeze more. It might not be foundational, industry shaping conversations, but I assume MOST of you ALSO have no one in your real world life that wants ANY PART of a conversation about flashlights, hahah. I can't be the only one!

 

[Monocrom]

This must have all developed while I was not active here and I simply missed all of the changes. I remember many would visit the underground area we set up where we had no mods. We had a few arguments there and then moved on. I have no social media footprint and as such do not stay online all day. I know very little about reddit and have never given BLF much thought. I have used these sites for info however they feel unfamiliar to me.

Yup, things developed somewhat quickly. I think I have a handful of posts in the Underground going back 20 years. Go in there, everyone just tossing out 4-letter words at each other. I don't want a reflection of Reality. Screw that, and reddit is a cesspool. So is the main forum on BLF. (A few of the smaller sub-forums are worth visiting.) Not as much of a cesspool as Tik-Tok, but that's not saying much.

I have still found this forum to be useful even if I do not recognize many names here. I have found many things that interest me here since my return. I found a few makers to buy from that I had never used before (Lumencraft, JLHawaii, Frazlabs, MTN Electronics) and I also found a few classic lights to purchase. I have a large order from Peak headed my way as well as a few other Ebay and Amazon orders. For me much of the current CPF feels the same with the exception of much less innovation and fewer older members.

Definitely agree with that last part. Personally, I've got a Peak stainless steel Logan, along with one of their S.S. tailcap switches on the way. Loving the little Brass N-cell that you sent me. Finally, and not kidding, with the help of God; found N-cells for it yesterday morning! After checking the battery aisle, twice! Gave up, couldn't find them. Something told me to check the aisle, again. Found them! Nearly $10 for a 2-pak. But, love it. Definitely designed for up-close use.

Maybe if enough of us here now make it fun enough here we can pull in more members. What do the other current options have that is so much better? I seriously have no idea how Reddit works along with Facebook or BLF. Perhaps the current owners here could reach out with a mass email to members who have been inactive. Most probably do not know of the changes made here and they may start slowly returning.

That's a great idea! I wouldn't mind seeing a few of the old user-names on here, again.

 

[Dark_Hater]

My time here has definitely not been influential as I have drawn more knowledge than I’ve passed down. I do remember that this forum was the only place where flashlights of all things were discussed on the internet.
After doing a few simple mods and ordering a few good lights, life happened and I just lost interest. Then those lights were stolen along with more items with hundreds of dollars.
That got me on the hunt again and my old account was lost so I started a new one to find out what was available after some years had passed.
That search quickly led me to BLF and then to Reddit in my thirst for what was new.
I’m unsure how I feel about BLF but there seems to be a mix of all ages and levels of expertise.
Reddit seems like mostly younger users. And here of course the old salts. But maybe my senses aren’t correct. Either way I take each platform for what it is and glean what I can with a dose of skepticism at times and hopefully find the information helpful to my wants/needs. The sub forums are a benefit overall as opposed to Reddit and I prefer this format in that regard.
There’s a little rambling for you I suppose.

 

[Robocop]

Again I have never posted on reddit and have no clue about any voting process mentioned above. It does sound overly complicated and for me kind of strips away the fun factor of a forum. I agree that one of the main reason I like it here is that it is a traditional old school forum. It is familiar and a topic that I know enough about that I can participate and have fun.

Shokokeks you are correct as I also believe there needs to be more like minded people here just enjoying conversation. When CPF was at its best we were just a huge crowd of enthusiast having fun. I do not feel that CPF is actually dying however do feel forums as a whole are not as common with younger generations. If one has a question today a quick cell phone search gives the answer, The desire to research more and become immersed with a hobby is not as popular today or so it seems to me.

I am also on various watch and knife forums and while I find good information on these sites they also appear to be a shadow of what forums once were. Regardless I started here and for me it is all I need to get my flashlight fix daily.

 

[this_is_nascar]

Due to my political beliefs and lack of fear in standing up for my beliefs, I've been ban for life in most of the subs I had joined. I still look at the flashlights and Convoylight subs and so learn something every once in awhile. I picture Reddit as being a bunch of tweens, teens and 20ish year old people, still living at home, with zero life responsibilities.

Being a mod there gives them that feel of authority and purpose that's lacking in their lives.

 

[Robocop]

I have a little trouble simply navigating reddit and it just seems to be a little too big if that makes sense. I am sure my age as well as resistance to change has much to do with this however I prefer the older forum set up much more. I see many reddit threads when searching for new info however again the threads often lack the personal aspect for me that a dedicated forum has. I tried searching reddit sales threads for some older lights and quickly began to feel like a creepy old guy hanging out at a teenage party.

BLF seems to be set up well and seems to have decent people. This may sound weird however just poking around there it appeared that all the discussions were focused on much newer products. Now this is great for advancing the hobby however I still want others who like to discuss all the much more interesting older stuff as well. Perhaps I am just growing older and there are not many left with my same interests in the lighting world.

 

[Schokokeks]

I think you're right, @Robocop that traditional forums are just...not as popular. I think a lot of younger people don't have the patience for a text heavy format, as most of them don't even use computers. The idea of Reddit was that it would be a "one stop forum" for EVERYTHING.
With a traditional forum, you have to REALLY like a topic to go an make an account, go to the site, participate, etc. With Reddit? Once you have an account there, you can stroll into ANY subreddit, and "engage." So, you end up with an entire site of hobby "tourists" and almost zero knowledge, experience, and/or expertise. Factor in the demographics (young and male), and you get a LOT of VERY CONFIDENT FOOLS.

In my professional life, I've had to start dealing with the most insane thing; Zoomers are often LESS computer literate than Boomers and older. Gen X seems okay with them, and Millennials do just fine, but Zoomers NEVER even had classes in school for computers because EVERYONE said, "they don't need it, they're digital natives!"
But, since 2007, people have been online via phones, and that's now the norm, so these poor kids have zero experience with computers. I've had to explain right clicking, copy/paste, tabs in web browsers, what a "window" is in Windows, etc. to Zoomers. It's surreal. They usually don't even understand that "wifi" isn't the internet, but simply a wireless network. Ever had the internet down, but wifi was up? ABSOLUTE BRAIN MELTING situation for them.

Interestingly, young people seem to be interested in technology for the consumerism aspects, and less the technical aspects. It's more about conspicuous consumption and looking trendy than exploring the hobby itself. Rapidly changing technology is just rapidly changing fashion. I've seen this transition across all sorts of hobbies, and Reddit seems to drive it - but again, Reddit is a for-profit social media platform, so selling people crap as they harvest their data is the modus operandi.

Then, Reddit is really built for the phone, now. They always try to force you to their app, too, so they can harvest even more of your data, which they sell. The one thing I always hated about it is that, a traditional forum displays posts chronologically, so you engage in the broader conversation, whereas with the upvote system, Reddit is just a collection of 46 individual side conversations at once, and the most popular things are sorted to the top, so it creates a "group think" in every sub, because EVERY post filters out anything unpopular or inconvenient.
Fundamentally, disagreements are where the BEST learning comes from in an exchange, and Reddit filters out disagreement in favor of conformity. That's why they all talk the same, think the same, and every sub becomes a "circle jerk," and then you end up with ANOTHER, tangential sub.

So, being phone centric, with the goal of addicting them, selling them crap, and harvesting their data, it gravitates heavily towards being a media focused site.

And, then, as @Monocrom points out...the mods. Due to their mod system, every subreddit is run like a personal blog, and you're at the mercy of the whims of those mods. Power corrupts, and the mods are Reddit tend to be the people with the least going on in life, so it's an entire community policed by the terminally online.

And if you guys want to go down a REALLY FUN rabbit hole; all of this is because Reddit is just a propaganda machine.

blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit: Get ready for Global reddit Meetup Day, plus some stats about top reddit cities and languages.

web.archive.org

This was a hilarious mistake that came up, and was quickly memory holed by Reddit.:
"Most addicted city (over 100k visits total)
Eglin Air Force Base, FL"

That's where the U.S. Air Force has it's cyber division. The U.S. government LOVES the up/down vote system of Reddit, because you can easily shape public opinion.
This is all just part of 5th Generation Warfare, and the U.S. runs a massive propaganda machine against its own population, and Reddit is a key venue for manufacturing and shaping public opinion.

So, the less time you spend there, the better.

For me, BLF has a horrible format. It's unpleasant to read through. They do get some interesting topics from time to time, but I'd agree it tends to be primarily focused on new components or products, and if you're not interested in that, it doesn't have a lot to offer. It's much better than Reddit, though, and people there at least genuinely seem interested in lights, and aren't just casually choosing their new consumerist hobby for the year.


Edit: I should also add that Reddit gets a lot of traffic from the Chinese and Israeli governments, too, so you also get a lot of insane views being pushed, in general.

 

[Dark_Hater]

As a side note. The propaganda machine is running full steam ahead now days. Data mining and privacy invasion is right alongside.

 

[Candleometry]

Reddit and traditional forums are just different. Different ways to have a conversation. Different ways to gain information. I don’t see one as better than the other.

There is a bit of a gang mentality on Reddit and, if you get more than a couple downvotes, it can unravel quickly. I don’t care so it really doesn’t bother me. Mostly it’s been a positive experience and I have learned a lot about my favorite hobbies. It’s a great place to buy and sell.

Forums are great because they have a more personal feel but can become a club where it seems like a few members are running the show. That can make it difficult for others who feel they have to conform in order to belong. Eventually forums can become toxic and lose members.

 

[Dark_Hater]

Reddit and traditional forums are just different. Different ways to have a conversation. Different ways to gain information. I don’t see one as better than the other.

There is a bit of a gang mentality on Reddit and, if you get more than a couple downvotes, it can unravel quickly. I don’t care so it really doesn’t bother me. Mostly it’s been a positive experience and I have learned a lot about my favorite hobbies. It’s a great place to buy and sell.

Forums are great because they have a more personal feel but can become a club where it seems like a few members are running the show. That can make it difficult for others who feel they have to conform in order to belong. Eventually forums can become toxic and lose members.

I agree.

With Reddit I set the order of posts so that the most upvoted isn’t always what I am shown. A benefit of Reddit is not knowing who approves or disapproves your posts or comments.
On the flip side if you prefer a community feel of traditional forums and you are well known and liked by the other members you form somewhat of a connection. Those people have a tendency to stay. The ones who feel left out or unappreciated are going to leave.
It’s two completely and distinctly different online social media formats.
One is not better than the other necessarily. They are apples and oranges in comparison.
I use both and accept the positives and negatives of both.

 

[Monocrom]

I am also on various watch and knife forums and while I find good information on these sites they also appear to be a shadow of what forums once were. Regardless I started here and for me it is all I need to get my flashlight fix daily.

The main moderators team on BLF is more like a Rogue's gallery of gate-keepers than anything else. Often, one of them will intentionally rile up a new member, just to get them to lose their cool; then ban them for doing so. Sometimes they even openly brag about it, outside of the sealed off moderators ONLY sub-forum. So that every member can see their antics.

WatchUSeek had a mass exodus years ago! Maybe just over a decade now, when Ernie sold the site to some sort of Holding Company or corporation. Ernie was rather strict regarding which topics could not be discussed on WUS. But moderators were a bit more laid back. Just a bit. After he sells it, there was a topic made by one of the new owners discussing Bowie knives and their historic use. While I did contribute accurate info. to that topic. I knew that Ernie would never remotely allow such a discussion while he was in charge. Massive number of members left. Including all of the online friends I had there. I stayed for a couple of years more, before I left too. Always did stay late until the party was long over.

As far as phone use.... The answers that younger generations get is from a stupid machine. Not from an individual, genuine expert with decades of knowledge and experience. Yet, the current generation doesn't seem to realize that very real issue.

 

[Candleometry]

The main moderators team on BLF is more like a Rogue's gallery of gate-keepers than anything else. Often, one of them will intentionally rile up a new member, just to get them to lose their cool; then ban them for doing so. Sometimes they even openly brag about it, outside of the sealed off moderators ONLY sub-forum. So that every member can see their antics.

WatchUSeek had a mass exodus years ago! Maybe just over a decade now, when Ernie sold the site to some sort of Holding Company or corporation. Ernie was rather strict regarding which topics could not be discussed on WUS. But moderators were a bit more laid back. Just a bit. After he sells it, there was a topic made by one of the new owners discussing Bowie knives and their historic use. While I did contribute accurate info. to that topic. I knew that Ernie would never remotely allow such a discussion while he was in charge. Massive number of members left. Including all of the online friends I had there. I stayed for a couple of years more, before I left too. Always did stay late until the party was long over.

As far as phone use.... The answers that younger generations get is from a stupid machine. Not from an individual, genuine expert with decades of knowledge and experience. Yet, the current generation doesn't see to realize that very real issue.

Ahh, WatchUSeek, a perfect example of how to destroy an online forum. What a shame.

 

[jtr1962]

I do not feel that CPF is actually dying however do feel forums as a whole are not as common with younger generations. If one has a question today a quick cell phone search gives the answer, The desire to research more and become immersed with a hobby is not as popular today or so it seems to me.

This is a perfect example of how technology shapes society. Yes, the forum format is not common among younger generations. Not long ago I was showing a 37 year old I had been texting with for a while some of the stuff I posted on forums. She was amazed that such a thing existed. A phone doesn't lend itself to creating long, detailed, well thought out posts. It just doesn't. The small screen, lack of a real keyboard, difficulty adding links and photos and so forth makes a phone good mostly for superficial conversations.

 

[jtr1962]

And yes, CPF has changed completely since the old days. I have nothing but respect for Kelly (Greta). But towards the end, before she sold CPF, the forums went from "PG" rated to "G" rated. It was ridiculous. If a disagreement got ever so slightly heated but everyone was still respectful of opposing views.... Instant lock! Later, maybe full deletion of the thread. We're talking continents away from the behavior typically seen in the CPF Underground. Didn't matter! Had to leave for work, planned on posting a reply after work. Come back, Locked! Look through the topic. No clue why it got locked! So frustrating. And, it happened often.

Having a theater that went from PG-rated and G-rated films, down to G-rated only with no official policy change; made no sense. Especially since the surrounding community wasn't made up of very religious Christian families. But mostly single, adult men. I mean who are you catering to by doing that?

This was probably THE single biggest reason I reduced my time here. It shows a profound contempt for a person's time when you'll delete an entire thread where some had detailed, well-thought out posts because a few people in that thread had some minor disagreement. I complained about this several times. I even suggested why not just delete the offending posts, leave the rest, and lock the thread? Or perhaps do that and give some warning before locking it?

It also annoyed me a great deal how so many topics leading to interesting discussions were completely off limits. Maybe if the average age here was 12 that may have been appropriate.

I do miss some of the members who left. Others? Honestly, good riddance! I think most of the ones who left enjoyed CPF for the modding. The fun, personal stories of creating something that put the Bigger brands to shame, in terms of brightness. Discussions have clearly shifted to other topics. But it's still a great site to visit, a great community. Also, a good chunk of the trouble-makers were part of the Exodus. Don't need a Moderator Team any more. Most of the ones left on CPF, we can police ourselves.

Agreed. We can self-moderate in the main forums and let it all hang out in the PRC forum. Best of all worlds.

 

[Robocop]

I remember a time we had at least 20 highly active modders making some very neat stuff all at the same time. Some of these projects were original items while others were improvements on existing designs. Everything was getting smaller and stronger and we had the hotwire guys as well as the new breed of LED technology. It was a fun time. I often wonder what happened to many fantastic modders that I remember that just kind of one day were gone. Members like DSpeck, Datiled, MillerMods, Jets22, Chop, LitFuse, MrBulk, LarryLight, MilkySplit and many others that were just amazing to talk with.

Surely many of these amazing past members still tinker with lights even if they are no longer active here. I can not remember the actual forum however it was a vehicle related forum that I was on many years past. It was either a Mustang forum or perhaps a Toyota Tacoma forum not sure however I was fairly active there at first. Although it was many years past and again I do not remember which forum I do remember an e-mail I received from the forum.

I was absent from posting there for a long period and out of the blue one day received a message from the forum staff. It may have been an automatic generated message however I still appreciated the effort. It read something along the lines of "we have missed you and noticed you have been away" It also said we hope you are well and maybe you could visit and check out a few changes we have made. It was unexpected and actually pretty classy to simply check in on me.

Perhaps some of us older members could actually take an interest here and attempt to contact other past members that we may have known. Maybe just give them a heads up and hope they could visit sometime. If the younger crowd is not as interested in the concept of an old school forum perhaps some older members who are interested would stop by. Maybe the current ownership could reach out with a blanket e-mail to all inactive members with a similar message.

I was inactive for some time not because I had a problem with staff here but more so as some other life problems required my attention. Over the next few years I just kind of stopped posting. It was an actual message from a fellow member checking in on me that jogged my memory of what a neat place CPF was. One day in my e-mail the message read "Hello Robocop heard there were some serious tornadoes in your area and hope you are ok" I remember thinking holy smoke this is from my CPF friends and I guess the forum remembers me. I was immediately back in after that and have enjoyed my return greatly. I do miss older members my age however there are enough old timers remaining for me to still enjoy and some new members that I enjoy as well.

Just a thought however each and every one of us could maybe attempt to reach out to that one old friend we may have had here and just say hello and stop by sometime. I have done this recently with a few past members that I have contact info for and perhaps they will eventually see the message and just may visit again sometime.

EDIT... I forgot to say was the member checking in on me was none other than Mister Ed himself and I appreciate the effort to reach out to me.

 

[Schokokeks]

I agree.

With Reddit I set the order of posts so that the most upvoted isn’t always what I am shown. A benefit of Reddit is not knowing who approves or disapproves your posts or comments.
On the flip side if you prefer a community feel of traditional forums and you are well known and liked by the other members you form somewhat of a connection. Those people have a tendency to stay. The ones who feel left out or unappreciated are going to leave.
It’s two completely and distinctly different online social media formats.
One is not better than the other necessarily. They are apples and oranges in comparison.
I use both and accept the positives and negatives of both.

Eh, see the comment below. Reddit is just for superficial commentary, not nuanced or deep conversations. Yes, they're different, but also - one is better.
Forums are about conversations, Reddit is about...chats...at most.

Also, the sorting of comments got turbonerfed by Reddit like...a decade ago, so there's still really no real good options for easily seeing all the posts. Why should I have to put in so much extra work to see ALL the opinions?

I'd also argue NOT being able to see who is downvoting people is part of the whole problem. Bots and paid downvoting accounts proliferate the platform. Heck, I'd almost guarantee some Chinese flashlight brands have accounts that JUST downvote competitor products and comments. There's really no way to hold anyone accountable for that, and that was a already becoming a problem YEARS ago, before LLMs and bot nets, and account farms overseas.


About the only thing it's maybe good for is checking what is currently popular. I will concede that, while that has little utility for me, that COULD be of value to another, and that platform excels at determining what the groupthink approves of.

This is a perfect example of how technology shapes society. Yes, the forum format is not common among younger generations. Not long ago I was showing a 37 year old I had been texting with for a while some of the stuff I posted on forums. She was amazed that such a thing existed. A phone doesn't lend itself to creating long, detailed, well thought out posts. It just doesn't. The small screen, lack of a real keyboard, difficulty adding links and photos and so forth makes a phone good mostly for superficial conversations.

That reminds me of the one thing I hate the most about Reddit; "Oh my god! No one wants to read a book!" to a comment that is 100 words long.
"TL;DR" is literally the Zeitgeist. If you can't chew their food for them and spit it into their mouth, they won't eat it. It's like an entire website of people who only think in "bumper stickers." I'd be more frustrated at how gullible they can be, and how many times they fall for the propaganda they consume, but I actually think they WANT to be propagandized to. It attracts the kind of people who are PROUD of being part of a hive mind, and HATE the idea of having to think critically and independently. "I just need to say whatever gets me the maximum updoots!"

Also, I'd imagine someone 37 is just more confused cause way less women tend to use forums (historically, too). That's someone about my age (I have people in my "I grew up with them" circle of friends younger than that), but I do think most of my fellow Millennial female friends would absolutely find forums weird, haha. They tended to gravitate much quicker to image based content like Instagram and Pinterest...despite most of them also being avid readers, haha.

I don't know many women who get into non-fiction, though. It'd be interesting to find out if forums attract non-fiction readers, because that would be my guess, since you end up spending so much time reading...non-fiction...so you can keep talking about whatever hobby you're into, haha.

 

[F89]

I’ll confess that I do all my CPFing via my phone. I seldom (close to never) look at or post on CPF from a PC.
This likely makes my engagement/contribution or what have you more limited, I’ll agree.
Gen. X for statistic purposes

 

[Robocop]

I still often will leave my home without my phone for short trips. I never carry it on me when I do have it and it remains in my vehicle. I will check for missed calls and messages every now and then and I hate doing any type of transactions by phone. Weirdly enough I also hate drive through fast food and will almost always order inside.

On duty my shift knows to reach me by my radio as again if I am away from my vehicle I will not have a phone. It is actually very refreshing to not be stuck to my phone daily as I see so many others that are. I have trouble doing anything online if it is not from my desktop computer. I do not even have my email set up for my phone as it would just get on my nerves.

I actually remember not having a cell phone until the age of 27 I believe and the reason I got it then was my employer required me to have one. I very vividly remember using a public phone booth for quick calls on the road. I believe I am much more happy without any social media footprint and my cell phone bill is dirt cheap as again I never use it and only need a basic phone.

 

[F89]

I still often will leave my home without my phone for short trips. I never carry it on me when I do have it and it remains in my vehicle. I will check for missed calls and messages every now and then and I hate doing any type of transactions by phone. Weirdly enough I also hate drive through fast food and will almost always order inside.

On duty my shift knows to reach me by my radio as again if I am away from my vehicle I will not have a phone. It is actually very refreshing to not be stuck to my phone daily as I see so many others that are. I have trouble doing anything online if it is not from my desktop computer. I do not even have my email set up for my phone as it would just get on my nerves.

I actually remember not having a cell phone until the age of 27 I believe and the reason I got it then was my employer required me to have one. I very vividly remember using a public phone booth for quick calls on the road. I believe I am much more happy without any social media footprint and my cell phone bill is dirt cheap as again I never use it and only need a basic phone.

Also didn’t get a mobile phone until in my 20’s.
No (anti) social media, no other forums (although I have been a member of other ones in the past).
I use a PC as little as possible these days and while I’m not glued to engaging with my phone constantly, I do carry it for various reasons most places I go.
If it wasn’t for my phone I’d likely not look at the forum at all.

Come to think of it I’d go back to life before phones (and all the other BS) without question.