Wow. Talk about timing. The first day I ventured into Forum, people were reminiscing about their first posts. Having just taken one of those breaks Sam referred to in his post, this was the first thing that caught my eye when I finally decided to come back in and see what was going on.
I agree with a lot of what has been said here (even some of the contradictory stuff), and a lot of that factored into the reasons why I 'left'. A lot of my posts got the same sort of reactions that knivetsil mentioned, and it was hard. However, I'll freely admit that mostly that's because of my own issues. I react in the same way with my friends, always worrying and over-thinking about how I fit with them. Also, I know that a lot of my first posts weren't as well thought out, or clearly expressed, or even as proofread as they should have been.
So, I tried to get involved in other ways, one of which was by reading every forum post so I would know all that was going on. I realize that not everything does get posted, but, after having minimal Internet access last summer, I still came back and tried to catch up on the pages of posts from my absence, and it was actually beginning to stress me out. I never made a conscious decision but realized one day that I hadn't been to Rinkworks in quite a while, and I was okay with that.
Of course, I began to miss it. So I slunk back slowly, first hitting the non-interactive parts of the site that had been my original favorites. But I still wanted more. So today, I decided to have a quick look through the Forum, just to see what was happening. Heh. Seems I'm getting sucked back in.
I guess what I really wanted to say, is that there's a reason I'm back to this part of the site, instead of just continuing to do battle with the bugs in Perils. Whatever reactions there were (or weren't) to most of my posts, the time that I posted really needing a response, I got it. I feel like it would have been the same if I had gone into chat with my problem - whoever was in there would have offered me what help they could. That's the reason I want to be part of this community, and why I love this site. I don't know if anyone here is a Spider Robinson reader, but it's a very Callahan's type of atmosphere.
Whatever is happening in Chat and Forum these days (and I'll admit I have no idea), I'm willing to bet that the core of that spirit is still there. Even if some are drifting away, there seem to always be new folk who want to be a part of the site, because they recognize something here that appeals to them. I realize that this isn't very helpful with a solution, and I'm not even sure what my level of participation will be from now on. However, I do think that both Chat and Forum are valuable because there is the potential for those magic moments where someone gets helped, or great discussions that become amazing memories, and it would be sad (and impoverish the site)if they were lost.