just like,,,,,,

all of what Resley said. I was so heavily involved in all of that but I would have never explained it as eloquently.

I am what one would call “An Old Boi” without really feeling like it. I’m closing in on over two years in a few weeks. I joined just before the family era, when The British Boy chat was still around and active, and when “I’m new!” posts were still accepted (disgostang Emi wtf).

I’m gonna be honest.

I don’t really care anymore. After a few users left (a while ago and recently), and things I used to enjoy on this site was lost, I just kinda stopped. It is more recent nowadays because I’m more mentally stable and finding pleasure in healthier, more fulfilling things. I understand the elitism and I can say easily that I took part in that. I can apologize to whomever I affected in that age of “I Feel Like Absolute Garbage and Have No Where Else to Vent It Out”. I changed a lot as a human already, especially past these two years in flying colors.

Lowkey I agree with both sides. There is elitism, there is a stigma, there is a restriction for newbies. But our wariness is understood. We’ve faced bad users who come in just for fucking around and adding nothing. However, users like @Owen and @Icefire, they’re wonderful! I’ve had such a pleasure to get to know them.

And because of that and the decisions I’ve made, I feel as if this site got restricted for me/I decided to leave, I’d be okay with that. What does that have to do with anything? I don’t know.

@Emi, I agree with you. Over the years, we've had our differences, (Let's not remember the con wild thing…) But I've seen you grow, and I have admired the person you've grown into. (Two years makes such a difference) I only hope you've seen similar changes in me. And @Relsey, (excuse me for not knowing pronouns) your timeline of notebook is like how I remember it. I appreciate the time you took to do that. But here's what needs to be done. We as a community, need to (metaphorically speaking) need the good ole' days to exist again (kind of, I really don't know how to explain it) like what used to be, to come back. Like where everyone was excited, and really happy for everything and everyone. (Now I know it may not happen again, but that's my opinion…) And I would like to start the changes if that is alright. They all begin in yourself as a person. So, how can I personally change for the betterment of the entire notebook community?
(I'll start it off, but other people have to try to do the same thing. I don't want to be the only one.)

idk guys, at this point i feel like we should say "it is what it is" and move on, sure things happened, but at least we still get to control what happens from here on out, that's just what i think

eet eees what eet eeesss

eet eez what eet eeeez

@Winter-Will-Be-Your-Shield
High-key, truer words have never been said.
Change starts with us, as individuals. Change ourselves before we change the world.
Just wanted to thank you for saying that, I don't think it's a common enough take.

'tis what 'tis

i cant with ya'll 😂😂

I agree.
The only thing I wanted out of this was to maybe make people realise that they're being kinda shitty and make an effort to be a little less shitty. I'm not necessarily looking for a forum reset or something. I just want people to be aware of how they're behaving. I think that self-awareness is really important and when you're stuck in your own head and in your own ways in some sort of tunnel vision, it can be harmful.

There are some points I made that were kinda stupid. Like, yes, obviously people on gonna be wary towards people they don't know especially on the internet. I'm like that and everyone should be. It's the internet. But there comes a certain point where making an effort is the right thing to do.

And, again, this isn't a call-out post towards OGs. I'm an OG if you'd call me that. I never said that all OGs are discriminative assholes. I'm saying that there's an…expectation? Whatever. If you've been around a long time there's a good chance you're an upper-class Notebook citizen. I suppose that's natural but…unnecessary.

That's all. So…thank you for all the responses. I vaguely remember the old 'versions'. I wasn't very active (maybe a little shy?). I just hope that this sticks with people.

I'm late, but I appreciate this post. Part of what makes it toxic here is people just piling on. I make mistakes and then I get yelled at for multiple pages and made fun of long after I stop.

:/ No one made fun of you.

:/ No one made fun of you.

Calling me uneducated…

:/ No one made fun of you.

Calling me uneducated…

You refused to educate yourself and pretended to know what you were talking about anyway. That's not making fun of you, that's being frustrated with you. Dragging up dead threads isn't a cute loon either. Bye

:/ No one made fun of you.

Calling me uneducated…

You refused to educate yourself and pretended to know what you were talking about anyway. That's not making fun of you, that's being frustrated with you. Dragging up dead threads isn't a cute loon either. Bye

Dead? It's on the second page.

I'm late, but I appreciate this post. Part of what makes it toxic here is people just piling on. I make mistakes and then I get yelled at for multiple pages and made fun of long after I stop.

There's a difference between making fun of and trying to educate.
Also it's not a mistake if you keep making them over and over again.

:/ No one made fun of you.

Calling me uneducated…

You refused to educate yourself and pretended to know what you were talking about anyway. That's not making fun of you, that's being frustrated with you. Dragging up dead threads isn't a cute loon either. Bye

Dead? It's on the second page.

No one had posted to it for a week or more. That means it's dead, and that everyone else had already moved on until you dragged it back up

:/ No one made fun of you.

Calling me uneducated…

You refused to educate yourself and pretended to know what you were talking about anyway. That's not making fun of you, that's being frustrated with you. Dragging up dead threads isn't a cute loon either. Bye

Dead? It's on the second page.

No one had posted to it for a week or more. That means it's dead, and that everyone else had already moved on until you dragged it back up

Ok. I didn't know.

i have so many fucking problems with the forums which we wont do into but 100% stalking this-

god this site is so entertaining i love it

Don't bring your arguments here. It's so contradictory to the message of this thread.
Don't antagonise people. Let them vent.

Again, letting go of people's past mistakes is an improvement people can make. @Vinegar-Larry
There was no reason for you to react nor say what you did. This isn't a thread for calling people out.

Thanks for making this thread, @Reblod. I think you've eloquently described a lot of the frustrations that I've seen, heard, and felt also.

And thank you everyone else, for sharing your own experiences and thoughts.

I read through this thread and wanted to take a few days to gather my thoughts before responding. Obviously, this is a complex issue that's morphed for better and worse over the years and, like with any other community (online or not), will always have some aspect of drama or conflict. As such, I think we can all agree that Notebook.ai has changed a lot over the years (and not just in functionality) – and we're still growing, and will continue to grow. This site is my passion and I work every day (and every night) on making it better, and doing my part to improving the tools available for a new generation of writers, roleplayers, and worldbuilders.

That said, I'm sorry to hear that people are having bad experiences. Obviously, that is not the kind of experience I want people to have here.

To be perfectly honest, I agonized over whether to add forums to the site for months originally before finally deciding to do it. Communities always come with huge potential upsides in friendship, shared knowledge, and experiences they can create – but they also always have the potential for downsides, too. Not just in unwanted distractions (we are a writing site, after all!), but also in more important areas like feeling welcome, feeling safe, and maintaining proper mental health.

Most people wouldn't describe me as a very social person. Many would actually ascribe quite the opposite to me. I'm usually a watcher, a wallflower, the quiet one. I know I'm not fit to dictate what a diverse, growing community of people from all over the world can or can't do, and I've intentionally taken a backseat in the past to a lot of the forum drama, preferring instead to have users work things out on their own. I think it's an important learning opportunity for many to be exposed to new thoughts and ideas and to be able to rationally debate or talk about those ideas among peers. While this moderation approach works for some, I can see it doesn't work for everyone.

This is a problem that I want to address, and one that needs more time spent thinking through how to best foster the vibrant, accepting, wholesome community of writers I would love us to be.

I have some initial ideas, but I'd also like to hear from anyone else that has thoughts, suggestions, or opinions on how the forums experience could be improved, specifically as it relates to new users trying to get integrated as well as how to preserve a beloved experience for users who've been here a while. I'd like to avoid hijacking this thread so I'll go back to being a passive reader of people sharing their stories here, but feel free to send me a PM any time.

People are complex and communities even more so. However, communities can always get better. :)

I appreciate everyone's input in identifying problems in the community and I'm here to listen.

you’ve already seen my problems andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). it’s really my only issue. don’t feel safe here anymore honestly.

Thanks for saying that andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) <3 It's really great to hear you'er listening, that means a whole lot :) Thanks for being so awesome