Shutting Down the Forums (Blog)

[MariconesUnited]

Originally Posted by ButterflyWoman

An infinite number of them, typing out Shakespeare's sonnets? If so, can you send them round to my place to type up an essay on the ethos of the Roman aristocracy and how it contributed to the downfall of the Roman Republic? Thanks.

I got some who are just out of work. Times are rough I know

[ButterflyWoman]

[Bonadea]

Forums are A LOT of work to run trying to make sure everyone is playing fairly. I've been on another one for many many years (for something else) and I've seen them have to clean out quite a few times due to people running a muck.

My husband's a mod on one of his forums. It's a pain trying to keep up with all the posts and who's doing what they shouldn't. He's had people calling in the middle of holiday meals with high school drama type stuff. A few bad apples really spoil the fun quickly. I totally get not wanting to keep up with all of that.

However, if it is really because someone else started a new forum, that would be very hypocritical (it's OK to have multiple partners, but not multiple forums).

[Bonadea]

Are we allowed to suggest other forums (not that I have ay to suggest)?

[ButterflyWoman]

People have been suggesting other forums. At this point, there doesn't seem to be any reason not to do so. The mods who are left aren't worrying about it, and it seems Steve doesn't care (or he would have said something to the remaining mods, presumably).

In most of the sub-forums, people have asked for suggestions for other forums and some have been posted, so I'd say look for your areas of interest and see if anyone has made any suggestion there.

[Bonadea]

thanks.

[Agota]

Steve, first of all, I want to say that you've been a great inspiration to me and your insights helped me a lot over a course of few years during which I've been reading your blog. I've also met a lot of great people here on these forums. Thank you very much for that!

Now, please forgive me for being blunt, but to be honest I think that shutting these forums down is very selfish of you.

I know that most people seem to accept your decision, and obviously we don't have much say in that, but it really doesn't make much sense to me.

Many of active members here are lucky enough to have supportive friends and even mentors or teachers. Many people all over the world aren't that fortunate and have to deal with their problems all alone. These forums are the place where people who are misunderstood by their families or communities can find a supportive group who accept them without judgement and can give wise advice. Think about all the serious thread that have been started here. Think about people who come to these forums to ask for advice how to deal with extreme social anxiety, with abuse they've experienced as kids, with rape, with death or suicides of their loved ones. Think about people who are contemplating suicide and they come to these forums as their last place to go. You have friends and probably mentors. I have friends and mentors. They don't. They are alone.

Steve, obviously, you're the owner of this site and you can do whatever you want with it, but these forums aren't about you, are they? They're about community which we have here, a community where people who are going through very serious hardships all alone can find refuge. Yes, your own growth is your first priority in life..but to be in a place where you've built a massive online community where people who are dealing with abuse, rape and suicidal tendencies can find help and decide to shut it down because you don't feel like it anymore? Come on.

I do understand that you've outgrown these forums and that's perfectly fine.That doesn't change the fact that these forums have tremendous value to many people all over the world. Do you really need to shut these forums down in order to grow, or are you emotional because of the recent events in these forums?

Steve, do you really have to shut those forums down, or can you simply leave these forums to members and mods?

I don't know how much you're doing behind the scenes since I'm not a mod, but community probably won't fall down only because you stop showing up here.

I understand that these forums have your name on it and therefore you feel responsibility for them. What about dropping that responsibility by keeping forums alive but renaming them so it would be a general personal development forum, not Steve Pavlina's Personal Development For Smart People forum and then leaving the community to the mods?

Steve, really, it's your decision, but before shutting down this forum, take a look at all these threads:

My fiancee is afraid of sex

Rape consequences

Coping with the suicide of family member

Dealing with the death of my brother

Considering suicide

These are just few of the threads on really serious issues. How many more threads there are like this?

It's people who need help behind threads like that and they often can't speak to ones around them. They can speak with people here. Why take that away from them?

[Brutha]

Steve, do you really have to shut those forums down, or can you simply leave these forums to members and mods?

I don't know how much you're doing behind the scenes since I'm not a mod, but community probably won't fall down only because you stop showing up here.

Running the forum on a separate domain without Steve wouldn't be a problem and there are enough people to do the necessary work.

It seems like Steve neither wants the forum to exist outside his control nor under his control where it costs his attention.

[Luvyourlife]

Originally Posted by Agota

Steve, first of all, I want to say that you've been a great inspiration to me and your insights helped me a lot over a course of few years during which I've been reading your blog. I've also met a lot of great people here on these forums. Thank you very much for that!

Now, please forgive me for being blunt, but to be honest I think that shutting these forums down is very selfish of you.

I know that most people seem to accept your decision, and obviously we don't have much say in that, but it really doesn't make much sense to me.

Many of active members here are lucky enough to have supportive friends and even mentors or teachers. Many people all over the world aren't that fortunate and have to deal with their problems all alone. These forums are the place where people who are misunderstood by their families or communities can find a supportive group who accept them without judgement and can give wise advice. Think about all the serious thread that have been started here. Think about people who come to these forums to ask for advice how to deal with extreme social anxiety, with abuse they've experienced as kids, with rape, with death or suicides of their loved ones. Think about people who are contemplating suicide and they come to these forums as their last place to go. You have friends and probably mentors. I have friends and mentors. They don't. They are alone.

Steve, obviously, you're the owner of this site and you can do whatever you want with it, but these forums aren't about you, are they? They're about community which we have here, a community where people who are going through very serious hardships all alone can find refuge. Yes, your own growth is your first priority in life..but to be in a place where you've built a massive online community where people who are dealing with abuse, rape and suicidal tendencies can find help and decide to shut it down because you don't feel like it anymore? Come on.

I do understand that you've outgrown these forums and that's perfectly fine.That doesn't change the fact that these forums have tremendous value to many people all over the world. Do you really need to shut these forums down in order to grow, or are you emotional because of the recent events in these forums?

Steve, do you really have to shut those forums down, or can you simply leave these forums to members and mods?

I don't know how much you're doing behind the scenes since I'm not a mod, but community probably won't fall down only because you stop showing up here.

I understand that these forums have your name on it and therefore you feel responsibility for them. What about dropping that responsibility by keeping forums alive but renaming them so it would be a general personal development forum, not Steve Pavlina's Personal Development For Smart People forum and then leaving the community to the mods?

Steve, really, it's your decision, but before shutting down this forum, take a look at all these threads:

My fiancee is afraid of sex

Rape consequences

Coping with the suicide of family member

Dealing with the death of my brother

Considering suicide

These are just few of the threads on really serious issues. How many more threads there are like this?

It's people who need help behind threads like that and they often can't speak to ones around them. They can speak with people here. Why take that away from them?

My thoughts exactly.

Although I don't contribute to this forum (except on the very rare occassion), I have been a regular visitor for the last 2 years. It was in fact this forum that started everything for me. I first stumbled across it when I did a random search for something. Some of the topics being discussed were completely new and exciting for me and it suddenly opened a million new doors. My personal growth has not stopped accelerating since then and I mostly have this forum to thank for that. Its always been a great comfort for me to know that this forum is here. Its one of the only places I can go to find real meaningful answers when my life feels like its in turmoil. It will be so tragic for people like me to see it go.

I looked up to Steve like a mentor. He challenged alot of my beliefs and as a result I have broken down a lot of barriers. This has not always been easy. I have been through depression, even considered ending it all when it got too much but the people on this forum helped me unknowingly and got me past the difficult times. I have directed friends to this forum who I know have also gained a huge amount of value from it.

I know Steve does not know me personally and he doesn't care about other peoples feelings right now, but I can't help but feel hurt and let down by this. Steve has been my inspiration for so long and I just can't understand his actions. People such as myself had NOTHING to do with whatever happened that has resulted in the closure of these forums yet we will be the ones feeling left completely alone and lost as Agota said.

The main reason I don't contribute is because I find that topics I am interested in have already been discussed in depth and I just need to search for it to get the answers that I need instead of repeating the same thread again. I also feel that I cannot offer any particularly valuable advice to anyone as I'm still very new to this myself. Maybe if I had a bit more time, I would have gained the confidence to make more posts.

I am really sad about this

[relaXman]

Originally Posted by Agota

Steve, first of all, I want to say that you've been a great inspiration to me and your insights helped me a lot over a course of few years during which I've been reading your blog. I've also met a lot of great people here on these forums. Thank you very much for that!

Now, please forgive me for being blunt, but to be honest I think that shutting these forums down is very selfish of you.

I know that most people seem to accept your decision, and obviously we don't have much say in that, but it really doesn't make much sense to me.

Many of active members here are lucky enough to have supportive friends and even mentors or teachers. Many people all over the world aren't that fortunate and have to deal with their problems all alone. These forums are the place where people who are misunderstood by their families or communities can find a supportive group who accept them without judgement and can give wise advice. Think about all the serious thread that have been started here. Think about people who come to these forums to ask for advice how to deal with extreme social anxiety, with abuse they've experienced as kids, with rape, with death or suicides of their loved ones. Think about people who are contemplating suicide and they come to these forums as their last place to go. You have friends and probably mentors. I have friends and mentors. They don't. They are alone.

Steve, obviously, you're the owner of this site and you can do whatever you want with it, but these forums aren't about you, are they? They're about community which we have here, a community where people who are going through very serious hardships all alone can find refuge. Yes, your own growth is your first priority in life..but to be in a place where you've built a massive online community where people who are dealing with abuse, rape and suicidal tendencies can find help and decide to shut it down because you don't feel like it anymore? Come on.

I do understand that you've outgrown these forums and that's perfectly fine.That doesn't change the fact that these forums have tremendous value to many people all over the world. Do you really need to shut these forums down in order to grow, or are you emotional because of the recent events in these forums?

Steve, do you really have to shut those forums down, or can you simply leave these forums to members and mods?

I don't know how much you're doing behind the scenes since I'm not a mod, but community probably won't fall down only because you stop showing up here.

I understand that these forums have your name on it and therefore you feel responsibility for them. What about dropping that responsibility by keeping forums alive but renaming them so it would be a general personal development forum, not Steve Pavlina's Personal Development For Smart People forum and then leaving the community to the mods?

Steve, really, it's your decision, but before shutting down this forum, take a look at all these threads:

My fiancee is afraid of sex

Rape consequences

Coping with the suicide of family member

Dealing with the death of my brother

Considering suicide

These are just few of the threads on really serious issues. How many more threads there are like this?

It's people who need help behind threads like that and they often can't speak to ones around them. They can speak with people here. Why take that away from them?

As a creater of the world, God is going to eliminate it without asking people.
As a creater of this forum, Steve is doing same.

It should be seen to this matter also from this perspective ;

[Luvyourlife]

Steve, I don't think you realise what you've started here. This is not just a forum. Its a support network for some people and suddenly closing it down will be like kicking us out into the dark, feeling completely lost and alone and not knowing where to go from here.

I'm sorry to sound so dramatic but thats the reality of it for some people.

I understand that you might have bitten off more than you can chew with creating this forum but now that so many of us rely on it, don't you feel some sense of responsibility to at least TRY and keep it going or find some solution that takes the pressure off of you.

I really couldn't care less about those members that wanted to start their little elite group. In my oppinion thats not what this forum is about so let them go and move on.

[glow]

Aww...
Thats kinda sad. I suppose this is for the better. After hearing this news I feel the same feeling of loss I did after reading the last book in Harry Potter series, or after making it to the final Chapter of Gone with the Wind...

This also sort of reminds me of a Quote mentioned in the Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows book...

“Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal.”

I love you Steve, Erin and all the nice people on this forum!! <hugs>

[Crash]

Good bye and thanks for all the fish!

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by ButterflyWoman

An infinite number of them, typing out Shakespeare's sonnets? If so, can you send them round to my place to type up an essay on the ethos of the Roman aristocracy and how it contributed to the downfall of the Roman Republic? Thanks.

No, sorry... just two.

[Bliss Sage]

Oh my God - leave the forums for a month and look what you come back to .

Please, please at least leave the posts online! I depend a lot on much of the information that is posted on here as reference! In fact, that is what brought me back here tonight! Think of all of ALG's posts and the posts in the health section and just...so many of the threads have such value! I mean, just the "what are you grateful for today" thread is so, so valuable - just by reading through it you get uplifted.

As for the bans - I'm glad Angela was finally banned (it took long enough!). She was harsh and cruel and she is the reason I stopped posting here so much, and she was the reason I never came back here for help with personal issues. I have also exchanged pm's with some other members over the years who were hurt by her nastiness when they made themselves vulnerable asking for help in threads. None of them stayed here. They made a few posts and left because of interchanges with her. Who knows if the forums had welcomed people like them and me instead of having been so harsh and hostile, maybe the forums would have become a more peaceful and growth-oriented place.

These forums were definitely only made for a certain type of person and from the first time I came here, they were cliquier than cheerleaders in high school. And I never fit in.

[SunnyDays]

Thanks for the opportunity you provided Steve

[cassiopeia]

Wow, this was unexpected news... I agree with Agota's post, I can't believe a community of this size, especially one focused on helping and supporting people in their personal growth, is shutting down because of one person. I could understand if it were being transferred to another domain and taken over by someone else, but this is really drastic!

But hey, what can you do. I haven't posted much, but I've been a regular visitor of this forum since I signed up, nearly three years ago. For me, it's one of my top internet 'hoods, I visit here almost as often as I visit my Gmail Inbox and my Facebook.

But weirdly enough, I have been starting to feel out of sync with my favourite forum, Intention-Manifestation. Like I don't really resonate with most of the posts there as much as I used to. So this definitely means I'll have to find a place that is more congruent with my current LOA practices.

But still... I'm going to miss this place, all the familiar faces... Like I said, I haven't posted much over the years, but it's still like a second home to me.

[Rose of Cairo]

I just want to say thank you. Someone told me the forums were closing so I wanted to say goodbye appropriately.

Thanks Steve for creating the forums and keeping them up all this time. At some point on my path this place was very important to me. Almost like family. Even after I didn't resonate with you anymore and stopped reading your blog, I still stayed around for a long time just for the love of the community. At some point I really didn't resonate with the forums anymore and left. But I am very, very thankful for them.

I met many wonderful people on here that I am still connecting with via Facebook, G+, Skype, email or in person. With some of them I formed close friendships and lasting bonds.

I also met my man on here. He noticed me here on the forums, became one of my blog readers, we got to know each other, talked a lot on Skype, fell in love, I jumped on a plane and flew to Brazil to meet him, and now we are engaged and about to get married. I will be eternally thankful to you for that.

On these forums I also met lots of psychics and spiritual healers and eventually became a spiritual healer myself. I had not even heard of this kind of work before joining these forums. For that too, I will be eternally thankful to you.

Thank you Steve.

Thank you Erin.

Thank you to all the mods who, over the years, did an amazing job behind the scenes.

Thank you to all forum members who contributed to making this place what it was.

Thank you to all the lurkers who, albeit silent, did play their part, too.

Love to you all. Bye bye. Go in peace. <3

[Jose]

Thank you Steve. You changed my life for the better and forever in 2008, and although I never posted much, I will forever be grateful.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Running the forum on a separate domain without Steve wouldn't be a problem and there are enough people to do the necessary work.

It seems like Steve neither wants the forum to exist outside his control nor under his control where it costs his attention.

Didn't Steve say that everything he's created, is free for anyone, to do with as they see fit? Seems that Steve doesn't really care what's outside of his control, or he has multiple personalities.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

Didn't Steve say that everything he's created, is free for anyone, to do with as they see fit?

What makes you think that what he says is necessarily what he really thinks?

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

What makes you think that what he says is necessarily what he really thinks?

I always figured him to be an honest guy. I mean, he did announce it, and he did allow anyone to use his information. I don't know if that's legally binding tho? Either way, a sad and selfish situation all around.

[Laurenaus]

Agota I completely agree with your sentiments. It's a selfish move on Steve's part. I wish he could just pass the baton onto other people who could do the forum admin, instead of breakup such a strong support network for so many people around the world just because of his current emotions. Angela always rubbed me the wrong way and I wasn't sad to see her go but thats besides the point, to abruptly shut this whole forum down is going to affect lots of people. If this forum is preventing people from SUICIDE then lets be honest, it's creating lots of value for people whether Steve feels it does or not.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Laurenaus

Angela always rubbed me the wrong way and I wasn't sad to see her go but thats besides the point

Angela, Angela, Angela. Everywhere I go, I keep hearing that name.

You're overplaying her role. Try to understand this. Her name comes up only because someone started a thread "Angela Banned?" and asked why Angela was banned, and then Steve replied blah blah blah.

Now, just in case you didn't notice - Angela was banned around the same time as Zephyrus, Elucidate, Indiana, Mariana Trench, Ssandra and God knows how many people.

That other forum doesn't belong to Angela. It wasn't created by her. She's just one of many, many other members there. Try to understand that.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

No, sorry... just two.

Ah. Probably wouldn't write a very good essay, then. I guess I'll just have to do it myself. Bummer.

[Lanya]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

Didn't Steve say that everything he's created, is free for anyone, to do with as they see fit? Seems that Steve doesn't really care what's outside of his control, or he has multiple personalities.

Actually, he was very specific about what's "free for anyone, to do with as they see fit." Releasing My Copyrights

Originally Posted by Releasing My Copyrights

I hereby release my copyrights to, and place into the public domain, all of the following:

the 1000+ articles I’ve posted to my Blog and in the old Articles section (all are linked from the Archives page)
the articles I’ve published in my Newsletters
the podcasts I’ve posted in the Audio section
the Videos I’ve posted to YouTube
the articles I posted on my old computer games site that I wrote from 1999 to 2004 (site is no longer online)
the compilation of tweets I’ve posted on Twitter and the status updates I’ve posted on Facebook
the forum posts I’ve written (just my posts, not the ones made by other people)

[Laurenaus]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

Angela, Angela, Angela. Everywhere I go, I keep hearing that name.

You're overplaying her role. Try to understand this. Her name comes up only because someone started a thread "Angela Banned?" and asked why Angela was banned, and then Steve replied blah blah blah.

Now, just in case you didn't notice - Angela was banned around the same time as Zephyrus, Elucidate, Indiana, Mariana Trench, Ssandra and God knows how many people.

That other forum doesn't belong to Angela. It wasn't created by her. She's just one of many, many other members there. Try to understand that.

I get it. And I'm really sad that I won't be on this forum with you any longer ALG ): you were such an inspiration. It really sucks when you feel like everything is so out of your control.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by Lanya

Actually, he was very specific about what's "free for anyone, to do with as they see fit." Releasing My Copyrights

Well, one can say, that Steve had no idea that he'd close the site, and that while owning it, there was nothing to release. But, seeing how he released pretty much everything, that was able to be released, then it can be assumed that the forum would also be one of those things. And there was no need to Bold, what you bolded. Obviously, he can't release something that was created by other people. In theory.

But, again, that wasn't my point. My point, was to show that he doesn't really care what people do with his ideas and information associated with his name. So there wouldn't be an actual need, for him to stick around, and make sure everything goes just the way he wants it to go. If he cared, then he wouldn't allow his work, to be used by anyone, for any reason.

The fact that he decided to have an emotional meltdown towards the forum, throws an unforeseen screw into the gears of the machine. Unforeseen by us, and also by him. Erin said that's it's illegal to sell the forum. Which is a bunch of crap. Forums are sold left and right.

[Harmonium]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

No, sorry... just two.

Originally Posted by Chris_1977

Well yes, these kind of messages remind us that humanity is in very many respects a monkey tribe. Which evolutionary makes lots of sense, really.... If anyone wanted a proof of the theory of evolution. It is right here. We need to live with the knowledge that we are monkeys with an add-on capacity of doing a bit of reasoning sometimes..... And as soon as we are in even the smallest amount of distress the monkey takes over.

Tribal dispute, poop throwing, etc. Personal Development for Smart Monkies

[Erin Pavlina]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

Erin said that's it's illegal to sell the forum. Which is a bunch of crap. Forums are sold left and right.

Maybe they are, but I for one would not appreciate if a company sold my information to some other company without giving me a chance to opt out. So illegal or legal, I think it's unethical.