Is this place enjoyable in the long run?

@SandWitch that's a good point. And it mostly attracts people with social anxiety and not a whole lot going on offline too, which kinda limits the topics.

@NerdyPotato
I fully agree with you. There was a time that I was convinced that SW was a place that psychologists and psychiatrists refer their patients to following rehab, because almost everyone on here had exactly the same thing in common... alcoholism, drug abuse, employment issues, depression and anxiety. Those people typically don't participate in life like those of us who are abstainers and who otherwise have our life together.

@SandWitch interesting theory! 😅 Personally I think it came together more naturally though. This being the only place on the internet (I know of) without a particular purpose, it attracts people with feelings they can't share anywhere else. And there's still a taboo about not enjoying life all the time, so that's something not suitable for any other site.

@SandWitch "There was a time that I was convinced that SW was a place that psychologists and psychiatrists refer their patients to following rehab, because almost everyone on here had exactly the same thing in common... alcoholism, drug abuse, employment issues, depression and anxiety"

That was the idea on EP which SW inherited. It was clearly stated on EP.

@SandWitch oh, there's a lot of people sharing a whole lot they wouldn't say to their mother. 😅 (At least I hope they wouldn't.) But others seem to hold back a lot more indeed. It would be great if everyone were completely comfortable with the middle ground. SW certainly provides for that.

@eMortal wow, that was EP's official purpose? (Or one of its purposes.) I didn't even know that, but that's pretty awesome.

@NerdyPotato Yup, it was the Experience Project.
The original MeToo

@eMortal
Actually, what you're saying about "That was the idea on EP which SW inherited. It was clearly stated on EP", is completely false, eMortal.

What was clearly stated on EP had nothing to do with alcoholism, drug abuse, employment issues, depression or anxiety and not one of those issues was ever listed in EP's mandate from 2005 at EP's inception, to it's final day in 2015.

EP was a website wholly dedicated to young persons with muscular dystrophy who were home-bound or bed-ridden.

The whole idea of Experience Project which was started by a Physician, was for worldly people who travelled a lot to share their travel experiences online with his muscular dystrophy patients. His young patients then lived an imaginary life vicariously through reading about those true stories from people who traveled the world on business and vacation who volunteered their time in support of his EP website idea.

That is why EP was called "Experience Project". It was a project that enabled muscular dystrophy patients to experience an imaginary life of their own through someone else's true experiences in life.

@SandWitch oh, that's even better!

@SandWitch It was place where people suffering emotionally could find like-minded. I don't know if you were there, but that's primarily what drove people to site. Sharing experiences. It may have started in the way you listed but it didn't grow in that direction. Don't be that police. Use your strength for the greater good.

@eMortal
I was at EP from the time I was 13 years old which was the minimum age one could join EP.

What you're saying about what SW inherited from EP is categorically false. The only time that like-minded people were encouraged to share like-minded experiences, was found within the buzz-feed of Similar Worlds when they launched this website back in 2016.

Back then, SW self-professed itself to be the 'official replacement for EP' which was nothing but pure BS in the making and SW never did arrive at that sacred place.

Prior to SW's inception, EP never once advertised that it was a place for people to come who suffered emotionally, who could find like-minded individuals who shared common experiences. None of that rhetoric started until the inception of SW which only started 10 months after Experience Project had ended.

Rather than pretend that you know all about the history of EP, use your strength for something you know is true for sure. Don't ever speculate about things you know absolutely nothing about because it will come back to bite you in the ass every time.

@SandWitch I joined EP rather late, when it was already removing features and only a shell of what I heard it was, so I don't know a lot about that. But I do remember that SW opened only a few days after the final shutdown of EP. I think it was a week, maybe two, but definitely not 10 months.

Granted, SW was extremely basic at that point. No nested replies, no PMs, I think even blocking wasn't supported at the launch yet. And of course EP's announcement of closing came much earlier than actually disabling posting. Maybe there was 10 months between the announcement and SW's opening.

@NerdyPotato
EP was shut down for a full 6 months before SW was even thought of on paper.

It then took another 4 months for the webmaster of SW to get a plan together and he only did so because so many people were complaining about the loss of EP which was expressed through websites called 'RelateToThat' and then later in 'YahooAnswers'.

When SW then got started, it never even imported some of the basic things that EP had because the website platforms were totally incompatible with each other, which means SW had to start a website plan right from scratch and used old technology instead of something upgraded to what EP at least was.

@SandWitch I checked my emails and found a question to the EP helpdesk about the effects of them disabling logins on April 21st, 2016. I received an email from SW about someone replying to a story of mine on April 27th, 2016. So it was at most 6 days between the real shutdown of EP and opening of SW.

@SandWitch Well I joined EP in 2014, I was going thru hard times. I was looking for some emotional support. My googling lead me to EP. It looks like many people joined in the same way. It may have turned in some dark subreddit or 4chan but a lot of folks join EP because they were looking for some kind of support and google lead them there. I never claimed SW officially wanted to do the same. I said since SW intends to replace EP, it is not surprising to find the same kind of individuals here. EP was officially intended to be a support site for people in pain physically and emotionally. Any one can still google old news articles. Why the heck are even arguing about this?!

@NerdyPotato

That is false. Produce the emails and let's have a look.

@SandWitch ok, here you go:

@NerdyPotato
None of that is valid after you've obviously altered the content.

@SandWitch I haven't altered anything. I only censored some names that are irrelevant. Is it only valid if I show everyone my email address? 🙄

@NerdyPotato
...right... 🙄

Run with whatever works to serve your agenda, Nerdy.

@SandWitch what agenda would that be? It's okay to make mistakes. Just admit you remembered it wrong. It happens to the best of us.

@SandWitch I already did post the emails without altering their authenticity. I'm not going to repost them with my email address visible, especially because I have a feeling you'll just find another excuse then and still won't admit that SW did open 6 days after EP's closure. The proof is there for anyone else who doesn't remember though.

@SandWitch but hey, if you don't believe emails, here's one of the first posts with comments from April 27th, 2016:

https://similarworlds.com/groups/admin-announcements/2-Welcome-to-Similar-Worlds-We-hope-you-enjoy-your-s

Completely unaltered and uncensored 👍

And the official statement about EP closing on April 21st, 2016:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160609050230/http://www.experienceproject.com/until-we-meet-again

Also completely unaltered and uncensored.

@SandWitch crickets now huh? 🥲