It may have been going well for some, and it's true that many people miss it.
But the truth is that it became too dysfunctional. The two main problems were trolls, and men hassling women for online sex and not accepting a clear no. It led to endless complaints to management. Eventually, so many people left that it became inoperable.
Since then similar social sites have popped up in its wake, like Answerbag which didn't last, and answerMug which is still going but tends to have a smaller and older demographic.
So far SW, seems to be having more success than the others in terms of attracting people. The new design makes it harder to stalk people, and easier to block tactless, rude, crude or unwanted approaches.
@hartfire I suspect there are a number of factors around the polarisation. Such as: 1. Traditional media started it years back, when some abandoned any pretence of neutrality. 2. The consistent use of outrage to attract listeners. 3. The demonisation of anyone who disagrees (eg, feminazis = a term created by Alex Jones. According to Pew Research they barely exist, but this site is evidence very many believe almost ANYONE who believes in gender equality is a rabid, man-hating feminazi.) 4. The creation of false stories and circulation with no editorial control about (insert right wing or left wing extremist idiots at work). 5. Growth of social media and anonymity to express my 'outrage' at the idiots (right or left wing or whatever) who are ruining the world...
The three major reasons were this incident that hit the papers where a guy and a girl met IRL having supposedly chatted on it. She was then killed by this guy. 2. In the aftermath of the 9/11 enquiry, it was determined that much of the supposed communication between terror-cells was by way of users being anonymous on social-media websites and passing information undetected that way. Laws were subsequently changed so that you can no longer be anonymous. Every site you now visit requires a registered E-Mail account. Thus you have an Internet footprint that can be traced. E.P was asked to supply a list of it's users complete with ISP addresses and E-Mail account details. They refused. On the grounds that (in their words) it wasn't their info. to give ! They were told "Do it or we shut you down !"......they refused, it was closed down. 3. The third reason was funding. Tough time trying to attract advertisers and insufficient revenue streaming.
@Deadcutie You're kidding yourself. Anonymity doesn't exist however much you might like to hope otherwise ! If you created your fake e-mail on your phone or your PC or even at a random Internet cafe. Your data. Your ISP. Nearest server. He'll, if you're daft enough to use Google, they even have keystroke recognition systems in place ! They and Amazon and Facebook will know every device you use !!!
Jason Nisbet was sentenced to 42 years for the murder of Chelsea Martinez....But try and find any ACTUAL news coverage reports ! Trying to access such information brings up a 'Legal notice'
Who really knows why they shut down, but here are the considerations. EP claimed it was for privacy issues. They didn't want people to have to reveal themselves, because the idea behind it was being able to share personal information about yourself. There's also the case of a lawsuit. Perhaps one was filed against them or they thought about that happening in the future. CL has a little more support behind them. But even they have come under scrutiny, especially based on the new CL site. And as others have mentioned, the simple cost of running the site. It could be one or all of these reasons.
I miss EP, I met some great people on there and even got to vacation with a friend from there. I also miss that people on there shared more actual experiences where this site feels like it's more flirting and horseplay. Which I have nothing against personally. Although someone said that most of the people on here are from EP, I find that hard to believe because it's just to different of a vibe.
The murder didn’t cause EP to be shut down, people meet on Facebook and other social sites and kill eachother all the time...
Like most sites, they depend on revenue.. maintaining servers and the website isn’t cheap.. once thier revenue scheme fails, the money dries up and they are forced to close.. similar worlds will eventually suffer the same fate...
