Well you are not going to like this

[Afire]

Ok so this is my honest opinion about this forum, granted I've been here for a very short time but this really isn't the first forum I've joined. However it's almost the most inactive one. I've got a few things which I think should be improved however I know the feedback, if I even get any won't be positive. Also please excuse my english as it is my second language. So without further ado:

1. Descriptions of the Forum sections
The first thing that striked me. It seems like very little effort was put into them. It gives me feeling someone just wrote somewhat of a description and sometimes even added personal issues into it. Possibly the worst would be the description of ,,Issues affecting you" which states: ,, Animal cruelty, Economic disasters and crippling social stupidity. All the terrible things in the world which we can (and should) complain about. All in one place." 

See this is already suggesting the topics which "should" be addressed in this section even though it's highly possible people don't care about such things. Now to "crippling social stupidity" - that's only your opinion but you are forcing that thing as a fact which should be discussed. It just states you have some problems with society and that really doesn't make a good atmosphere. Afterall who would what to join forum which serves for mods to went their complexes? No offense.

2. Introductions
First off - forcing someone to make an introduction by threating you'll delete their account really won't attract people. Not to mention you require specific things to be mention and some of them can be very personal. It is creating a pressure and you're asking a person to open up to complete strangers in their very first post. As I said very pushing and definitely not necessary. People need some time to look around, get used to this site and it's users and then freely decide to open up about whatever they like. Introduction post, in my opinion should serve for the basic introduction only.

I also read few replies in this section and you sure like to throw as many info as you can on the newcomers. That's not really a bad thing however giving too much information can cause more harm then good. If you make things look too complicated you can scare people away. Purely because of fact this is all way too new and strange for them. In my opinion it's better if people research more complex informations themselves.

3. Deleting accounts
As I mentioned above deleteing people for reason such as "no introduction within a week" or "no activity in a certain amount of time" is purely a bad idea. It only adds to pressure I already mentioned. You'll use many old members or many new who couldn't fit your requirements for various reasons. That being said I can see that person not posting anything after a week of registration can be odd however I don't see any reason why to delete such accounts. If the user isn't bothering anyone, why should he be deleted? Just let them post when they feel like it.

To summarize this: This Forum doesn't really create a friendly good atmosphere. There is constant pushing  and very little care for individuals as I've noticed most replies (by mods) could be just written by a machine since they differ in very few words. Unless I'm mistaken this should be a place to help new Otherkins to help them discover themselves in friendly and safe environment and I'm sorry to say it completely fails at that.

That is all I wanted to say, please remember this is my opinion on things and I'm not trying to offend anyone. Have a nice day.

[Neema]

1.) The description given under that specific section you mentioned is called "giving examples." If an issue affecting a person includes crippling social stupidity, well, that WOULD be their opinion after all, that's the whole point of the section- issues affecting YOU. For YOU to complain about if you want. And it lists just a few examples, which reading into it, anyone should be able to decipher that the specifically mentioned things are just examples. It seems like common sense given how the sentence is structured.
The forum descriptions are all short and to the point because no one wants to read a lengthy explanation for each section, plus it prevents clutter. I don't see anything really wrong with them.

2.) Most forums I've been on require a certain amount of information in introductions so that everyone can get a feel for who you are, and so that the mods know you're not just joining the forum to post 2 things and then leave. A forum is a place for in-depth discussion and socialization- and an introduction is something you can use to test the waters with those, so to speak. This forum in particular is about talking about this identity that affects each of us personally, so it should be assumed that everyone will want to know more about you and your experiences. So I fail to see why this is something that should be taken issue with.
Additionally, there are a LOT of newcomers to the community who are vastly misinformed on the subject matter, so engaging in informative discussion with them right off the bat to clarify things is extremely beneficial.
EDIT- I'd also like to add that I had absolutely no issues with joining. I made an introduction with the information they had requested and I was accepted with open arms. If you're having trouble getting past that first mark, it's probably on you.

3.) They do this because they don't want immediately inactive accounts. It causes unnecessary clutter on the forum. There are countless people that will simply make an account, post one thing or nothing at all, and then leave immediately. This is an issue on any forum, not just this one. This particular forum just wishes to combat that. It's a very smart move in my opinion, I wish more forums would implement that. A forum doesn't want half their userbase to be profiles that never got used.

This forum has its issues sure, but I personally fail to see how any of the things you mentioned are issues. I think you may just need to get used to how forums generally work from what it sounds. Again, I've seen many forums like this one, inactive and active alike. This one puts more effort into warding off those that aren't serious about discussion, which is the main factor as to why it doesn't keep many new members for long. Because many newcomers to the community don't want to bother with serious discussion. So in that, I think the forum does a very good job of keeping itself neat, tidy, and promoting healthier discussions. That's just the kind of forum it is. Sorry if you don't like that.

[Afire]

Neema 1) Yea I understand these are examples however I don't think they are suitable as a description. If you have been on more than one forum as you claim, I'm sure you know these are used as descriptions. I've been on quite a few forums myself and I can say I never saw anyone using specific examples to describe a section. And for good reasons which I mentioned in my previous post. I also find puting staff like "crippling social stupidty" on display highly nonprofessional but let's not start with that. Also I don't see why couldn't you just make short and easy explanation. As I'm sure you saw on other forums it's possible.

2) It's only natural Forums require informations. The point is how much informations and about what. You may not have a problem with posting personal stuff but I know of quite few individuals who find this really uncomfortable to say the least. As I said before you're asked to give very personal and specific informations in your first post on a new site full of strangers. I've already been on forum which too specified in helping people with personal issues. However this was never their policy. As you could expect some people did wrote all of their problems in the first post, others however wrote just their basic info, then scout the waters for a while and after that they decided to share their personal info. Which brings me to testing the waters as you mention, do youi think testing the waters with something really personal is a good idea? I may as well mentioned that this forum I mentioned is considered one of the best and most active forums regarding the certain issues, not to mention they have the best community I've ever seen. The trick are very strict rules and active mods. You can enter there, share as much info as you are comfortable with and you can always come back. This is in my opinion how should Forums work. Please try to understand this point of view.

I'm not saying this is affecting everybody, afterall everyone is different. But just as you don't mind someone else does. And seeing the state of this forum it may be the very majority.

3) I fail to see what clutter that would make. Inactive accounts won't essentialy bother anyone. If something they'll make the forum look more populated which is only good. You are right there are people who post few things and leave. However they can always come back. And if they do, do you think they'd be happy about having their accounts deleted? True it won't be many but I still don't see how is deleting these accounts productive.

You don't need to passive agressive with me. Since you mentioned a kind of forum, well I'd say this one is trying to be a closed community. And yea that really isn't what I like but I yet have to see about that. As I've already said I never saw any forum using these methods and I believe for good reasons. However I accept that everyone have a different opinion. I'm pretty sure we could debate about what is and isn't a serious discussion however that is a subjective term.

I don't know for what kind of disscusion are people kicked from here so I can't judge.

Anyway as I said this was my opinion and thank you for sharing yours

[Seraphyna]

Can we take a step back here and point out that you've been a member for, what, 27 hours? Therian and otherkin forums are dying. There are barely any left and, among those with a modicum of activity, this is one of the very few of any sort of repute. If you've found active forums, they're most likely bollocks and won't be around long. If you're talking about groups on social media, those are even more bollocks and only popular because millennials and younger don't have the patience for forums and happen to be those most active.

Here's an idea: Get to know the forum before assuming you know what's best for it. I know that might sound crazy, but there you have it: an adult suggestion. This forum doesn't exist solely for you, sorry.

[Reka]

Everything you've complained about is the basis of how every otherkin forum works. Yeah, otherkin forums nowadays are not as active as they used to be, but introductions and questions from its members have always been required in my experience, and they are absolutely normal. It's a forum so you know, it's about getting to know each other, share thoughts and discuss things as adults. No one wants to offend you or attack you.

I won't go on point by point because it's already been done but I'm surprised you have so much to say considering you've been here just for a few hours.

[G.D.]

Interesting subject. Try not to preface it with a title that automatically implies it's conflictive. It will very much alter how people perceive the situation.

Welcome to our forum. This is, in fact, a forum. A bonafide old school internet forum that mirrors, in it's entirety, the way every forum was for a couple decades. We're sort of a relic in that respect, as we have keep the structure nearly every forum had from back then. The site is mostly intact with a majority of it's original, or similar to the original, contents (as far as I know). When forums were a prominent thing it still took up to a week at a time to have a conversation with someone. That's just how things were. Forums as a platform will never instantly gratify anyone, for any reason. Not out of reason itself, but rather the nature of the structure of these social hubs. And this can't and probably won't ever be changed. Until the owners eventually feel like moving on to a new platform, here we are. This is us. That's the thing about forums. They have flavors, and not everyone always likes every flavor of forum. Some mix, and some don't. And that's pretty OK, actually.

Secondly this is a forum that focuses specifically on not only an atypical identity to the human experience, but as a place of exploration of said experience rather than a soup kitchen of shallow gratification. Which is what most people not only want but look to expect in any sort of social environment today. Other forums within the community exist where you can show up and be immediately spoon fed some form of adoration at the door. It's a flavor. But it's not our flavor. And it wasn't the flavor of a lot of forums. Subcultures and related communities to those subcultures have always gated people. Because this place isn't for everyone. It never will be. There are social forums outside of the community that are, and they can be found with relative ease. Expecting a forum to have the same properties as IM groups and modern social platforms like facebook is only going to set one's self up for disappointment.

Introductions are mandatory for several reasons:

1. We are a gated community embedded in a subculture for atypical identities. Jo shmo who wants nothing more than a place to advertise themselves, troll, or snag people out of a community for various nefarious deeds are not welcome here. People who are detrimental to the environment of places dedicated to support and learning are not welcome here. The list goes on.

2. It helps communities learn about their members, and those new members to learn about their community.

3. When it comes to the nature of the non-human identity, most people who show up have no idea what they're talking about. And don't actually know what being 'non-human' is. Introductions allow us to asses the general knowledge base of our new members and not only correct misinformation at the door, it prevents misinformation from being spread further into the community. There's already a quasi-simulacrum being built in our community by said people who don't know what it actually means to be non-human in communities that allow them to spout off anything they want. And it's the reason the community itself is having problems.

4. It helps us comply with laws of our hosted country in ensuring people who are legally unable to be here (at our detriment) aren't allowed to enter.

If a person can't be bothered to give anything of themselves to the community, they shouldn't expect much from the community back. It takes no effort to elaborate on the nature of your identity, especially if you came to the forum for that reason, and it takes zero effort to give a few bits of information about yourself so that people can bond with you. Talk with you. Or correct you if necessary. And it's not our problem if people find 'effort' to be in poor taste these days.



Deleting accounts are necessary for several reasons:

On forums it's very easy to dupe accounts and get away with it. By making sure we have a navigable member list it allows us to keep track of who's who and what's what. Try doing that through a list of 30,000 accounts. I'll wait here. But meanwhile, while you look, I can pop onto the admin panel and search through a relatively up to date list and make sure everything's in working out. We're a ship of sorts, and every ship has guidelines to keeping it run smoothly.

It takes zero effort to comply with a set of rules given to you at the door. If you or another person has an issue with said rules, or authority in general, this isn't the place for you. And most of society either. If people don't want to be arsed to get their accounts set up, they're not going to actually be around on the forum anyways.

Not everyone comes here with good intentions. Harking back to why introductions are mandatory, deleting accounts keeps potential lurkers and people looking for scraps of drama at a severely low number. They'd have to out themselves to get in to the community. It's a deterrent, and while not perfect it does preform it's intended function.

If you're not going to log in for three years, chances are you aren't using this forum anymore. We've had members come back after hiatuses longer than the three years, though. To which they have had absolutely no issue remaking their accounts. Threads/posts usually aren't removed if their accounts are set up properly, and a lot of the old forum and old posts are still very much accessible to those members who wish to retrieve them.


To summarize: We're not going to appeal to everyone. We never have. This is one of the few serious forums left that checks fluff and misinformation at the door. If forums aren't for you there's plenty of available facebook, discord, telegram, etc groups that will have what you may feel you need.

[Afire]

G.D. First off, thank you for welcoming. Second, I can see having the Forum you've put your time and effort in critised by a newcomer can be quite displeasing. However there is no need to show me the door since I'm not planning to leave so soon.

Now to the main topic - I'm kinda confused about how Quotes work here, so I'll go with the old fashioned way.

"Welcome to our forum. This is, in fact, a forum. A bonafide old school internet forum that mirrors, in it's entirety, the way every forum was for a couple decades. We're sort of a relic in that respect, as we have keep the structure nearly every forum had from back then. The site is mostly intact with a majority of it's original, or similar to the original, contents (as far as I know). When forums were a prominent thing it still took up to a week at a time to have a conversation with someone. That's just how things were. Forums as a platform will never instantly gratify anyone, for any reason. Not out of reason itself, but rather the nature of the structure of these social hubs. And this can't and probably won't ever be changed. Until the owners eventually feel like moving on to a new platform, here we are. This is us. That's the thing about forums. They have flavors, and not everyone always likes every flavor of forum. Some mix, and some don't. And that's pretty OK, actually."

Well, you're claiming Forums used to have this structure, which I can't really judge since I wasn't using Forums back in the day. This could also be a problem, seeing that Forums don't have such things nowadays there is a possibilty that people won't welcome this. Today's forums are way more benevolent about this and people got used to it. That maybe isn't a good thing however it's a fact. If you wish to keep this structure well, it's solely your bussiness. However these flavors are often the difference between an active and inactive Forums.


"Secondly this is a forum that focuses specifically on not only an atypical identity to the human experience, but as a place of exploration of said experience rather than a soup kitchen of shallow gratification. Which is what most people not only want but look to expect in any sort of social environment today. Other forums within the community exist where you can show up and be immediately spoon fed some form of adoration at the door. It's a flavor. But it's not our flavor. And it wasn't the flavor of a lot of forums. Subcultures and related communities to those subcultures have always gated people. Because this place isn't for everyone. It never will be. There are social forums outside of the community that are, and they can be found with relative ease. Expecting a forum to have the same properties as IM groups and modern social platforms like facebook is only going to set one's self up for disappointment."

As I've mentioned before I've been on many Forums before. So with all due respect your way of doing things really isn't the way it is done today. I came here fully knowing what to expect from a Forum so I'm sorry but is this site standing out of the line, not my expectations. That being said I don't think that's a bad thing general, it depends on each individual opinion. Which why I created this disscusion, not force my ideas here or just create tension because I'm "uncomfortable" here but to share my opinion.

"1. We are a gated community embedded in a subculture for atypical identities. Jo shmo who wants nothing more than a place to advertise themselves, troll, or snag people out of a community for various nefarious deeds are not welcome here. People who are detrimental to the environment of places dedicated to support and learning are not welcome here. The list goes on."

This is what interests me, do you think a troll would have problem with making up their own backstory and post few comments now and then? I don't think so thus I can't see how could this be efficient. Plus forcing people to spit a particular informations could be a good material for trolls which is easily found since it's right in the Introduction section. Other reasons are mentioned in my previous comments.

"2. It helps communities learn about their members, and those new members to learn about their community."

Yes but it also forces these members to expose everything right away and on the display right for trolls. Again I mentioned my other counterarguments in my upper posts.

"3. When it comes to the nature of the non-human identity, most people who show up have no idea what they're talking about. And don't actually know what being 'non-human' is. Introductions allow us to asses the general knowledge base of our new members and not only correct misinformation at the door, it prevents misinformation from being spread further into the community. There's already a quasi-simulacrum being built in our community by said people who don't know what it actually means to be non-human in communities that allow them to spout off anything they want. And it's the reason the community itself is having problems."

Ok I can see this being a reasonable thing to do. I take back what I said

"It takes zero effort to comply with a set of rules given to you at the door. If you or another person has an issue with said rules, or authority in general, this isn't the place for you. And most of society either."If people don't want to be arsed to get their accounts set up, they're not going to actually be around on the forum anyways.""

I've never I said I have a problem with rules, I just don't agree with having to write the exact informations about my personal life to my introduction post. If you can't see problem with that I'm afraid we'll get nowhere. Also I don't have any problem with authority, I wonder from where you even got this idea. Although I may know.

And a little side note: I really don't agree with your logic about "arsing" people to do something, afterall that never ends good.

Other than that you changed my mind about deleting accounts. So thanks for the correction.

And I think we could end this topic on this note, obviously nothing will change and I see no point in arguing here about our opinions of certain things.

Also Seraphyna I know it might sound crazy but I've seen functioning Forums regarding very personal topics without using methods which are being used here. And I'm still active on most of them.So don't worry I know what I'm talking about.

[Falkirk Raven]

Well, you're claiming Forums used to have this structure, which I can't really judge since I wasn't using Forums back in the day. This could also be a problem, seeing that Forums don't have such things nowadays there is a possibilty that people won't welcome this. Today's forums are way more benevolent about this and people got used to it. That maybe isn't a good thing however it's a fact. If you wish to keep this structure well, it's solely your bussiness. However these flavors are often the difference between an active and inactive Forums.

Forums back in the day, and until relatively recently were structured like this all the time. Even today some forums mirror the old school blueprint, not just ours. Activity, or lack thereof, within forums is based on the interest in the members of continuing their connection with those on the forums. Not about whether or not they like how it looks or how one of the descriptions and examples is written.

Trolls are easy to uncover, they aren't original and even the better ones get bored trying to play the true part eventually. Our desire to ask questions and get to know the members who will be joining us prevents trolls from simply running amuck. If you look at similar forums within the community who have knocked down the gate, the fluff, and trolls, and misinformation that is prevalent now runs rampant through them, and once reputable forums are now nothing but fluffy nonsense and garbage. Today's forums are less "benevolent" as you called them, and more lazy.

Yes but it also forces these members to expose everything right away...

Everyone is free to give as little or as much information as they so choose. Our guidelines help new members learn what will let us get to know them quicker. If something is very private to you, we won't demand you tell us. But we will ask questions to help us clarify things we might not understand or to see if you have picked up misinformation along the way that we want to help correct so you learn the correct information.

You're a brand new member, and while fresh eyes can sometimes be good in spotting things that may be problematic for those used to the way things are, in this instance, you're simply airing personal preferences on how you think a forum should look or function, not promoting anything that would be helpful for the forum itself. It's not a bad thing, either, to have personal preferences, everyone does, but coming out with a novella of changes after barely a day of being on the forum itself (hardly enough time to see how it runs and how we interact) is presumptuous and a little arrogant. There's a decent number of originals on this forum still lurking, and some members like myself who may not be original but have been around for a bit. Most of us are lurkers, our lives and the amount of energy we have to keep the forum running as actively as some other forums abundant with teenagers does not lend for keeping this place entirely active. Most of us have been in the community so long that lurking is really the best option for us because we're simply tired of trying to fix what's going wrong with it. We also don't need to have the constant communication that is so prevalent in today's society, especially the younger factions where if you don't respond to someone's IM within five minutes suddenly you must obviously hate them. We float in and out as we please, it's a much more relaxed atmosphere that appeals to older members.

If you don't agree with a rule, you have a problem with it. That's how that works. But as stated earlier, we don't demand your deepest, darkest secrets. We simply want to understand your journey to the best of our ability and give you guidance if something doesn't fit within the definitions of the community. The members that are still here, and have been for some time, don't have a problem with being asked personal questions. We read the rules and agreed to them the moment we signed up to the forum.

[Kerguelen]

I'd say you should spend more time here before you judge it. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to like it, but most of us don't have too many problems with the way this forum is structured and run.

[Deleted]

Thanks for pointing things out Mate.
I want to make sure i dont get kick because this is the only therian site that works

~from Husky

[Sylverwings]

Don't worry, we don't kick people for asking questions. That's kind of what this place is for. Asking questions about who you are, and finding information.

~Syl