One of Us, One of Us

[Lindpen]

I lurk much more than I post, but I consider the GCD to be my home forum. I've been here for years. I used to be very active in a private guild, but it's been fading out (thankfully, several of my friends there are also friends with me on Facebook to keep in touch). It's not often that I venture outside the GCD, but I do enjoy Avatar Talk and the Dressing Room. Sometimes I browse Mini Shops, and once in a while I visit Life Issues. When I first joined, I stayed in the Books section, but drifted away.

I generally read to get the gist of forums before posting. I'm kind of shy, I guess, and I go through bouts of lots of posting and then little. Chatterbox seems relaxed and silly (not necessarily in a bad way). Avatar Talk can seem intimidating, but I like to browse it. GD is one of the places in which I wouldn't fit, so I don't really post there.

[WhipWhip]

I don't feel intimidated. I've no respect or time for people who claim a forum as their own and then shun people who aren't regulars of that forum.

The only thing I do is attempt to post within the rules. Yes, in a forum we're at the mercy of responders, usually regulars. I'm no fan of the pop contest.

I remember how I found the GCD. I remember why I stayed. I used to be a lot more intimidated once, but I grew out of that. Don't get me wrong, I love you all... I just don't like the way it sometimes feels like high school.

[Chibi Halo]

It really depends on the forum to be honest. A place like Sports is easy to dive right in after a quick once over. There's usually a pretty large thread about the current football or basketball season or someone discussing one of the English Premiere League teams. A place like Politics, Extended Discussion, or In the News you sort of have to browse it for a while first to get a feel for how it flows. The same could be said for any of the Entertainment forums. The reason being is that forums like that have a particular dynamic to them and it helps to know what topics to approach with kid gloves and how the people who frequent those forums react to things.

Now a place like the Chatterbox and the Welcome to Gaia forums it's easy to jump right in and post because they're the jumping point to being forum active on Gaia. It's fairly simple to welcome people to the site and to bump something or to be laid back about general casual things. You don't really have to worry too much about how people will react to what you post in those forums if you don't go around looking for any trouble.

If you know how a forum dynamic is before posting then you should have no trouble fitting right into that new forum even if it's the occasional postings.

[Tevokkia]

Eh, I just post as I see fit, although I rarely wander into Gaia's forums anymore ... I've finally come to the conclusion that even in my "home forum," I still don't quite fit.

So meh ... if the regulars glance at my post with a "who is that?" sort of expression on their face, it's no skin off my nose.

[Ashercroix]

I like the GCD because this is where my fellow geriatrics hang out. :U

Seriously though, there's way too much crappy posting and txttlk pretty much everywhere else (in my experience). The GCD is the place for me, even though I just lurk 95% of the time. I'd say I'm a regular by attendance, but not in presentation - I know a lot of users here, but I doubt there are many who know me.

As for posting in other forums, it's all just Gaia, though the different forums vary in speed, quality of posts, and attitude. I'll post pretty much anywhere if I have something to say, really, though I avoid the CB above all else since it's just a spambox with no real conversation.

[Kain-Senpai]

I didn't even read the OP. I instantly thought of this:


OK, now that I read the thread... I stick the places I know I'm comfortable in. I don't venture often out of the GCD, or SF. I'll lurk in the Video Game Discussion thread, and post if there is a thread about Persona. I may wander into the Exchange, but is there really any discussion going on there?

[Reoca]

★ I cannot remember the last time I posted in a thread that
wasn't in the GCD, quest/charities, or anything else art-related (e.g. freebies, shops, auctions).
That's pretty much the extent of my activity on Gaia: art, questing, and here occasionally.
(I'm not counting the site-wide event forum for these purposes because everyone flocks to those.)
I don't even know how I started posting in the mini shops which is what I consider my home forum.
The problem is, I never even click on the other forums, but I imagine it's the same as what I do here.
If something catches my interest, I'll post as long as I feel like I have something to contribute. ★

[[Meep!]]

i used to lurk around and post here a lot, but in the past while, i havent spent much time on the forums anymore. i know lurking around and talking to people was super fun but being over 18 and working i dont find time to be online here much anymore sad
i used to know a lot of regulars, but that isnt so much the case these days.
but im trying to be back more. hehe : )

[Voievoda]

.... gonk
Nope. Can't do it.
I'd have to really, really like something to consider posting there.
My posting is in two guilds, GCD, Art Shops and the Hobbit thread. It's hard enough to make myself post in those as it is.
*back to lurk mode*

Marie-Cris

Being rather shy IRL, I have to admit sometimes find it hard to branch out to different forums. I generally tend to be afraid of saying the wrong thing, which I do a shocking amount when I physically talk to someone, so I spend a lot of time planning what I'm going to say if I enter a new place. I don't stray from the GCD too often, even if I lurk here more than I post, mainly because I know what to expect from this area and am sometimes lucky enough to be able to formulate an appropriate response.

... and sometimes unappropriate, but I never know that when I make the post >_<

This.
It's like you took everything I was thinking and put it into words that made sense.
I do that thing where I say the wrong thing when speaking physically to someone too. They just come out of my mouth in the wrong order ;;.

[Sianserais]

I don't wander a lot, but I generally wait to get a feel for the forum before contributing. Unless I see something I just have to respond to immediately...

[Frothy]

I find comfort in the knowledge that with as many users as this site has, any screw ups I make will be like drops of water to the ocean- insignificant, unnoticed, and not that big a deal. I still feel totes anxious whenever I start writing a post and trying to figure out what to say, but I rarely back out once I've pushed the "reply" button and started typing.

[Miramelle]

Lurking. Lots and lots of lurking- that's just my usual response to anything new. Things outside your safezone are scary! Any forum where I'm not sure I have a strong background is intimidating. (Then I remember that it's the internet, and no one cares, and poke my head in.) I'm just barely coming out of that phase here, and I'll probably retreat into silence several more times. I do believe I wandered in here because my usual forums were empty of interesting (to me) content or slower than usual.

[Anabaena]

Oh, you crazy bird! Don't you know a lot of GCDers hardly venture out of the GCD and it's subfora?

I at least don't. ninja

[Pumpkinfrost]

I just post without worry. I find a topic I'm interested in and I post my opinion/answer the OP's question/etc. I'm not really intimidated by other forums, although I don't tend to go back to certain ones if I think there are a lot of idiots there.

[Ridley Starsmore]

VVhip

I don't feel intimidated. I've no respect or time for people who claim a forum as their own and then shun people who aren't regulars of that forum.

The only thing I do is attempt to post within the rules. Yes, in a forum we're at the mercy of responders, usually regulars. I'm no fan of the pop contest.

I remember how I found the GCD. I remember why I stayed. I used to be a lot more intimidated once, but I grew out of that. Don't get me wrong, I love you all... I just don't like the way it sometimes feels like high school.

Oh my God, VVhip, you can't just ask people why they're regs. [/MeanGirls]