SW not what it (or EP) used to be

I was on EP from 2913 until it closed. So, I kinda know what is different—- and it is not just the site. I think most of those who make the comparison and miss what SW is not also realize that [b]we were different people too.[/b] It was a diff time in our lives. We had diff needs as well.

The content was different. People were more open in sharing without the fear of being judged. EP had a bigger subscriber base too. There was a bigger pond to swim in and discover.

My great pleasure @Ontheroad

I was an early member of EP. and SW when it came out, as EP fell.
what is different has a lot to do with WHEN it was different.
consider these common viewpoints.
[quote]EP was more civil, less angry shouts,, more discourse. less single point input more nuanced discussion[/quote]
This is true.. in the first years in the "aughties" this was entirely true
But as time passed, more and more participants, in EP started to show more of not only the angry short form rhetoric, but an uptick of misogynistic men who simultaneously were sexually aggressive,, dick pics,, "show me your tits" kind of thing.

I think this was mirroring the continual advance of the Culture of Anger, that was in ascendance across America and reflected in Social Media.
Social Media itself , has fostered this Culture of Anger,, Right and left. It is one thing to be a Rude and Hateful Ass-Hat, [i]when you are anonymous or out of physical reach [/i] compared to real world interactions where a loud obnoxious and hateful person will find them selves ostracized, even from those communities they are naturally a part of.
Both "cancel Culture", and MAGA would not have been as successful, without that hard to reach nature of social media, VS real Social interaction.

So YES EP was nicer,, and smarter on the average than SW is now, but I insist much of this can be lain at the foot of that increase of left/right anger, bereft of natural Human systems that support decent civility

Is SW guilty of things? sure..
The wholesale erasure of uncounted thousands, of posts and responses, some few years back, enraged many. the thoughtful and creative content that was overnight removed, for reasons that were never made clear. the merging of groups hardly related, often into repulsive ones, was a denial of our collective creativity. I never took part in discussions of *ahem* "Bathroom Erotica" yet I found myself grouped with such, to my dismay. This WAS a mistake by the admins of SW
In addition We have lost so MANY excellent posters,, [i]educated beyond the norm[/i], full of information in detail. Often because they were either,, attractive and not hiding it, but non responsive to shallow sexual bullying.

We lost these wonderful creatives, yet KEPT those that bullied them.

We have lost many of the younger people, especially Girls, who found themselves swamped by a combination of the Misogynists and Sexually aggressive incels, helpless to this onslaught
they fled, and who could blame them? the SW system has little in place to deal with this

so Was EP better? By some measures YES
but SW is reflecting the increasing vitriol that [i]social media by its very nature[/i], encourages. when Quality is subservient to angry clickbait , driven by goal of Ad revenue.

It is my HOPE that, this post gets more traction, and perhaps can spawn
considered evolution of this Community.

[big][center]I do NOT have the Answers
perhaps we can find them together
[/center][/big]

and yes, I imagine there were be a lot of anger,, at this response as well. i hope it will be more civil than is usual.

[b]Thoughts?[/b]

I remember people used to complain about EP as well, saying how it was not like it used to be.
Maybe people keep pining for what was rather than add to what is.
Having said that, in spite of having it's lower points, EP was just friendlier with a lot more people, people were way more active on posts rather than in their smaller groups and it felt more inclusive.

Not only was EP different, but it was different times. It was happier times. The chronological feed made it so you saw every post, what you looked at wasn't being manipulated so you saw the diversity. There were also a lot more people on there who interacted. More perspective. More to relate too.

Mostly it's this feed. It's very frustrating and inconsistent. I don't want to be filtered like Facebook. I loved how EP was so much not like Facebook.

But truthfully, people weren't at war with each other like we are now. Even the trolls and people who claimed to be terrorists would chat with you. There weren't cliques.

SW was never going to be EP
You can't replicate authenticity

I used to want to connect with others ...get to know people ...and now I want to keep everyone at arms length

When it was good EP was great but when it went bad due to the numerous trolls it was bad.
Luckily SW doesn't suffer from trolls badly and for that I am grateful.

One difference is that I connnected with several very nice woman on EP who happened to live near me. I met two over a period of time not at the same time and not even consecutively there was a gap in between. Long story short in both cases we met in person, there was instant chemistry and we went on to spend a lot of romantic qualify time together and remain friends to this day. Nothing remotely close to this has happened to SW although I’m the same guy, discuss the same things. I never have actively sought out a relationship on any site those just happened organically. Something is different don’t know what exactly.

EP was a serious website designed to help people. It began to fail in the last year or so. SW began where EP ended. In the sewer.

I complained about the Beta version. This was in direct reply to the question posed by EP staff, which arrived our mail boxes.
Most of the people preferred the alpha version. Some didn't care.

We were given the impression that what we said, would actually matter.

Nope.
Very cool and unique features were nullified.

Also, I agree with CookieCrumbs' reply.

I think many people are romanticising EP from the distance of going on 8 years…I was on EP from 2009 until it closed, and there were plenty of complaints by people who thought they were being blocked "for no reason", for changes people didn’t like (when Meebo, the chat feature, was removed, for one). When the admins suspended posters without warning, on one person’s complaint (happened to me twice). When the EP app was launched and all of sudden we were overrun by teenagers (EP began as a site with a largely 40+ crowd).

Well we can't bring back EP, and would we want to if we could? Even here, we used to have more interaction, but once the feeds were changed it made it harder to interact. Many times I only have one or two feiends available in my feeds. I literally created my own list so I can go to each person's profile to see if they have posted. It makes it less fun for me. I have very little free time between work, school, treatments, and medical appointments ao I would rather just click, support, comment, and go. I can't really do that anymore though

I was in EP and here from the beginning. I think sometimes you need breaks from sites to come back with fresh eyes and perspectives otherwise it can all get a bit repetitive. Our own lives carry on changing and I think in some ways that always affects how we view and use the site. When I left for a bit it was at a time where there were so many rows and posts over Trump it got boring. Newcomers just looking to mess around either sexually or destructively and that took its toll. Sometimes a break is good.

You said it all. The good old days always seemed to be so sweet but "nowadays" everything has turned to s**t.

All (make that many ) the people who were good friends on EP have deleted simply because of a more hostile,aggressive atmosphere attitude. I used to write stories,long funny stories,now I tell joke because everything was shoved onto the main page.

And isn't it so funny to see I blocked XYZ member,lets make fun of them..TOS,whats that??

There were other EP replacements I like but they couldn't quite hold on..my two cents

I remember back on EP all the arguing, name calling, trolling and catfishing.
And that was just from MY posts!

I'm going with nature of the beast

I think I'm done mulling over the past .
It is what it is, move with it or let it go .

I think people tend to idealise the past, and resist change, (done it myself). But there is no point looking back ...what is lost, is lost - gain what you can from now .

Even with the changes here - I try not to lament them. SW is still, with all it's new gains and losses - the site I prefer over all others. And as much as I miss the old feed, it's better to have what we have - than not have it at all

Its calmer on here which I like.
Yet on EP we had more stuff to do on there.
I felt like I was entertained more back then.
Just my thoughts!

Its basically a bunch of trolls and fakes hanging out on a site

It's a mix.
It was smaller. It was more discrete. Trolls were different and not just shit posters.
People felt free to share more personal things.

But, times have changed.

Two words:

EP Allie

🫤

Ep has been gone 8 years..... people need to get over it !

This is a different site and things change, people change. It’s not EP and people need to move on from it.

Admin has made changes that I don’t like
But it’s not gonna be changed back so I have moved on from it. This is what SW is now and I am living in the present.

I think for me it just seems more quiet than it used to be.