Re: Let's DISCUSS: Ripkanistas fleeing to Facebook... - Page 4

MizKringle · ‎03-09-2010

Hi @LuckyPeach. I was a long time poster on the Q boards. I mostly posted about Ripka, Bixby and RLM, but also about other things. I enjoyed the boards most of the time, except for when the bullies came around. Eventually, I ended up on the Delphi boards for Ripka and Bixby. Then the Delphi Ripka forum folded and a new one started. I forget exactly what happened there. The nice thing about the Delphi forums was that it afforded a degree of privacy. I ended up becoming best friends with a poster on the Bixby forum. She passed away and I still miss her so much. I avoided joining any of the facebook groups for a long time, but finally joined so that I could see Bixby pics, and later I joined the Ripka facebook group since I was already a member of one facebook group. I usually don't post on those groups because I still like my privacy.

I think the Q forums were great for a long time. I loved the community of collectors we had here. But then the Q kept changing the boards so that using the boards were more complicated and the bullies and trolls made it unpleasant. The Q boards filled a void in my life for a time that I didn't even know existed. Over time, I began to post more often on Delphi and developed an actual friendship there. The amount of time required to keep up on Delphi and here on the Q boards was too much, and as the Q made it more difficult to maneuver the boards here, I posted less often and eventually began to stop checking the boards entirely. The Delphi forums also enabled us to post new items in advance - posts that the Q would have deleted.

My friend from the Delphi board passed away and my life has had a lot of other changes. I still post on Delphi, but I'm starting to feel a bit less connected there. Some of the people who used to post there all of the time aren't around that much anymore. So now I've started to check in on the Q boards a bit more, but I don't think of doing it that often. Perhaps the 'virtual' communities that are created in forums have a life of their own in terms of people coming and going - but there are fewer barriers to entry and exit than there would be in a 'real' community. So some of what you are experiencing is a natural aspect of a virtual community.

But I definitely think the Q's constant fiddling with the boards and making them less user friendly played a role in my decision to depart for a while. And my life is different now, so I probably won't ever return to the same degree of involvement as I had in the past.

jackthebear · ‎03-11-2010

@MizKringle wrote:
Hi @LuckyPeach. I was a long time poster on the Q boards. I mostly posted about Ripka, Bixby and RLM, but also about other things. I enjoyed the boards most of the time, except for when the bullies came around. Eventually, I ended up on the Delphi boards for Ripka and Bixby. Then the Delphi Ripka forum folded and a new one started. I forget exactly what happened there. The nice thing about the Delphi forums was that it afforded a degree of privacy. I ended up becoming best friends with a poster on the Bixby forum. She passed away and I still miss her so much. I avoided joining any of the facebook groups for a long time, but finally joined so that I could see Bixby pics, and later I joined the Ripka facebook group since I was already a member of one facebook group. I usually don't post on those groups because I still like my privacy.

I think the Q forums were great for a long time. I loved the community of collectors we had here. But then the Q kept changing the boards so that using the boards were more complicated and the bullies and trolls made it unpleasant. The Q boards filled a void in my life for a time that I didn't even know existed. Over time, I began to post more often on Delphi and developed an actual friendship there. The amount of time required to keep up on Delphi and here on the Q boards was too much, and as the Q made it more difficult to maneuver the boards here, I posted less often and eventually began to stop checking the boards entirely. The Delphi forums also enabled us to post new items in advance - posts that the Q would have deleted.

My friend from the Delphi board passed away and my life has had a lot of other changes. I still post on Delphi, but I'm starting to feel a bit less connected there. Some of the people who used to post there all of the time aren't around that much anymore. So now I've started to check in on the Q boards a bit more, but I don't think of doing it that often. Perhaps the 'virtual' communities that are created in forums have a life of their own in terms of people coming and going - but there are fewer barriers to entry and exit than there would be in a 'real' community. So some of what you are experiencing is a natural aspect of a virtual community.

But I definitely think the Q's constant fiddling with the boards and making them less user friendly played a role in my decision to depart for a while. And my life is different now, so I probably won't ever return to the same degree of involvement as I had in the past.

I used to belong to the Delphi forums too,but they fell apart years ago. actually with the popularity of Facebook.

Too bad because I think it's a good place if you want to start a board, there is no censorship AFAIK and no cost either.

I recently closed it actually as I changed my email and just wanted to clean up stuff I don't use anymore

culebra · ‎03-11-2010

I am a member of both Ripka groups on Facebook, but I also post here.

MizKringle · ‎03-09-2010

@jackthebear there is still a Ripka group on Delphi, but it's not very active. The first Ripka group on Delphi is defunct.

For the past couple of years, I'd check in here on the forums on occasion, but for the most part I stayed away. I still remember some of the old posters on the jewelry board and some of the other boards here. Many were very nice and some liked to stir up trouble.