Interesting question, Arkansota.
I think it may also depend on how you approached the site in the first place. When Marshlander and I joined (all that time ago, I know...) it was because we'd been goaded into it by previous members whom we'd known from another gay site that finally shut down. Thus invited, we quickly made friends with new people, people who were fixtures at the time. We were introduced to other cool members, and there are always the ones who post quite a lot. You get to know what they're like (online at least), you get to understand their circumstances and whether they have a sense of humour or a dark story. One member who posted a lot tended to irk me as he sounded terribly immature, but then again, he had as much right to post on here as anyone else. At least, he was not a troll.
People come and go on sites like these and because I am quite a loyal person in friendships and relationships, I find it disconcerting, especially when they haven't said they were leaving. But I realise that sometimes people lose their computers or the circumstances that enabled them to post on here. So I try not to be affected. I am always glad to see them come back.
When I log in, I am pleased to be able to find some people with whom I've built a connection, even if they don't visit the site quite so often these days. It's still nice to see them post again, as if we were seeing a long lost friend. If the chemistry was there in the beginning, it's unlikely that it will have gone when they return. I have found that with certain people who are still on the site, despite leaving at some point because they couldn't handle whatever was going on at the time.
The only thing we need to be wary of is people who are not genuine and who can sometimes take us for a spin. I'm thinking of this person who came onto the site, had a rather complicated and sad story and who was reaching out for help. He got some help but the person who helped was quite disappointed when they found out the person asking for the help had not been totally truthful. You never know on the Internet whether you're dealing with genuine people, or not. Mostly, I think people who visit this site are genuine. Their problems are genuine, their personalities are genuine, even if we only see one aspect of them. What is crystalised here is probably the gay side of them, the side that can't always be expressed in their real lives. GaySpeak acts as a pressure valve for many.
So Arkansota, I don't know how long you plan to stay on GaySpeak, and I don't know you very well, but I find your questions and remarks interesting. It would be far too long to tell each one of the posters I've got to know well enough how I felt about them when they joined and how I feel about them now. If they come into the chat room, we've probably had a more personal connection and a clearer picture of who they are will emerge, but I don't think it's an easy question to answer.
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