Not what it used to be here

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In the few years I have been off this site, what has happened?
It used to be so busy, so much so that you could barely keep up with the posts.
Now, I see very few users browsing the forums, the site is terribly slow for me (though maybe it does not like google chrome) and it just seems to totally lack life.
What a shame.

it certainly seems that way doesn't it?

i mean i have only been here since march so i cannot say much but i go through old threads/pages and the scene there seems to be so much livelier. in fact even from april to now i notice a difference. a good chunk of the mods, and both of those with the power to whack trolls have abandoned the site, luckily we're not very infested with trolls and spammers, i'd honestly prefer a graveyard WP to one chock-full of unsightly spam.

i use chrome too and i have few problems with it, and the site in general. not much different than when i use safari for instance, except on my phone.

This place has a lot of bugs and plenty of members have complained and new mods would quit after a few months. The bugs have gotten so bad people are leaving I think and one of my online friends would keep getting banned and then unbanned and the same thing has happened to tallyman and then he quit and left. he was a mod here, admin I think.

This forum goes fast for me and slow sometimes. It even goes offline sometimes.

I don't post as much like I used to. One of the reasons is because I felt I have said everything and don't need to repeat myself.

Forums in general have declined with the advent of the social networks. That it survives at all is something I guess, and of the autistic based forums its still perhaps the largest.

Personal changes over time are probably unavoidable. But not everyone completely is gone and you never know when someone might return.

I only arrived after you departed I think (little over 2 years ago), but haven't seen much change in that time, except a slow reduction in activity over time. The only slightly objective measurement is that the number of new threads opened daily is about half of what it was when I joined.

Just coming here in August of 2013 I have noticed changes. When I first got it was pretty much looking at the good parts of Aspergers and seeing it as a difference. Then there were a period where many members hated their ASD, wanted a cure. There was widespread(or it seemed widespread to me) belief that Autism was was over-diagnosed, that people who identified as Aspie were ableist who did want to be associated with more profoundly affected Autistics, suspicion that newbies asking "Do I have Aspergers" were looking to make excuses or be hip. It even got to the point where professional diagnosis were being questioned by other and people who received them. I see definite indications that we are beginning to come out of that heart wrenching period in the last few weeks. Lately the negativity has been about the site itself.

As the saying goes "If you met one Austistic you have met one Autistic". People are always going to differ as to what defines Autism, is it disability a difference? Like with anything else what gets emphasized is going to change. People will come and go, new research will upend old beliefs, One thing will get pushed to far, that will cause a backlash which will inevitably build momentum and go to far producing a counter backlash etc etc.

I'm glad to know that someone feels the same, I knew it wasn't just me.

In my active days around 2009/2010 - There was much more activity on the forums and I think there was also less glitches or bugs on this site that anyone could use it. As the days went by, I'd gradually slowed down posting to the point I would just end up giving up WP. Nowadays, I just do the occasional posts which is enough for me.

I also noticed when I have been away, it does not feel as active because of course, focus doesn't seem to be the same then and because of my real life, it would just not occur to me so much either.

I've noticed that there is less posting here than there used to. It would be a bit sad to see this community go.

I am again going to be an outlier here and say that with my executive functioning I still find the number of posts and number of people overwhelming. If the result of the current upheaval or just changing times means this group is smaller but more close knit http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/close-knit that would suit me fine. Wrong Planet is an exception for me, as I usually seek the smallest group not only on the internet but in activities such as employment. While hopefully the result will be a better forum, getting there has been uncomfortable in that that there is not only change, but uncertaintity

Interestingly, we have more traffic now than we've ever had. The site continues to get more and more popular at least from a traffic standpoint. I don't know why it seems less active to you.