Where have all of the veteran Jellies gone?

They’re living it up in the 10k mansion. All that luxury makes them reluctant to return to hard physical labor—like typing.

Don’t worry, though. Someday the champagne will run out and they’ll have to return to the commoner’s Fluther.

I’m here. I’ve just been busy with, uh, other stuff and I feel insanely guilty for neglecting Fluther.

This is OUR house! Let the fun BEGIN!

See? They’re coming back already. Now it should get interestin’...

I’ve wondered that too. When I look at old threads, like the CIA one, I see some jellies I haven’t seen in a while and wonder where they went.

Yes, me too.

Perhaps the influx of AB’ers had something to do with it. Maybe?

Crap, I just now realized an error in my question up top. Too late for an edit.

Gone with the wind, I suppose.

It comes in waves. Often I’ll wonder where people are and I’ll notice that they’re just lurking.

It is still a lot of fun on the site, but I have noticed some old faces missing.
I’m not sure if I qualify as a veteran, since you have been here longer than I have.

@andrew You can see us lurking? creeper

<heh heh heh>

@jmah I have been feeling the same way. I kind of wonder if it has something to do with the sheer volume of questions right now. I come on and I find 60 questions in the queue and I only respond to a few of those. If it wasn’t for my Fluther connections on Facebook, I would be losing track of some VIJ’s (very important jellies).

@andrew, I have to agree with casheroo. Definitely a peeping-tom quality about that ability.

I received an invitation to join a different site. Maybe other jellies did too, and jumped ship.

@YARNLADY Yes, I saw that other site, too. The polite way to put it is that it wasn’t really up to par.

I’m still here, but whether I am a veteran is questionable.

@chyna I agree

I noticed that after I got back from my hiatus. It seemed like in the course of a week, any number of people had vanished. I’m not sure who they are, but in general, that’s my impression.

Perhaps if we sing a song…

Where have all the jellies gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the jellies gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the jellies gone?
Gone to Askville every one,
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

psssh, i’m right here!

I don’t know if I would be considered a veteran although I have been here for over a year, but I lurk a lot. I’m at school so I am a busy gal!

in the jelly mansion with a candlestick.

Several have simply re-invented themselves with new profiles, or just new screen names.

I don’t think @andrew was saying he can “see” lurking, but when you check a profile, you can see that last date someone visited the site. Sometimes, people check in but don’t ask or answer anything.

I have been a Flutherite since April 8th, 2008 (663 days.) In that time I’ve written 2428 responses, at an average rate of 3.662 answers per day, or 25.830 answers per week.

Lately (past one month) I’ve been averaging something closer to 1.56 answers per day, or 11.75 answers per week.
(And a number of those have been a simple “congratulations” on a 10K question, or a [mod says] response. In fact, I’ve been racking up quite a few +1 for visiting two days in a row with no great answers in between lately.)

If anything, I’ve actually increased the amount of time I spend on the site. That time is simply more often spent in the chat room, on modding, or simply reading through discussions (lurking, as Andew would call it.) I haven’t gone anywhere, but I do post much less than I used to, which decreases my visibility.

@jmah: I’ve noticed this too though. A lot of the old regulars seem to be around much less lately. One aspect of it is that perhaps some of them have said all they have to say on particular topics. I know I used to participate in more controversial discussions than I do now. But by now I’ve said all I have to say about them in one thread or another.

Then there’s the question of how long one can hang around on a website, no matter how dear it may be to one’s heart. I think about it a lot—will I still Fluther in five years from now, ten years? Will I Fluther as long as there is a Fluther on which to Fluther? I have a hard time imagining that I’ll continue swimming here the rest of my life. It’s odd to think about. At some point, it seems like I will swim on. (I have no plans of doing that any time soon, but still. It’s bound to happen, isn’t it?)

I’m not sure if others (Jellies who’ve been here for a while) feel this way, but, I no longer feel that sense of community here (not like how it used to be). It just doesn’t feel the same anymore.

I know what you mean.

It’s such a strange thing. I’ve been a part of this community for 1 year, 9 months, and 23 days, and it’s been weird seeing the changes that it has gone through.

You probably remember as well as I do, or better, considering you’ve been here longer than I have, when the sum of a day’s questions didn’t fill up the front page. I used to read just about every single new question and response posted on any given day. That’s just not feasible anymore.

I do think there was a greater sense of community in those days; how could it have been otherwise, with such a small number of people, all so alike in so many ways? We were fewer of us back then, so of course it was more intimate.

It’s not that I wish things were the way they were “back in the old days,” or anything like that. I am grateful for all the new jellies and the new friendships I’ve made with them. But I do kind of miss those days when there was such a strong sense of intimacy between all flutherites. I’ve gotten to know quite a few jellies very well through the chat rooms and through off-site venues, but back then just in the discussions themselves we were able to get to know each other so well.

The community has held together remarkably well, in my opinion, considering the number of new jellies who have joined us. Fluther is an awesome site, an awesome community. It wouldn’t be a community if it were static. It’ll be interesting to see the changes it goes through as it continues to grow.

That was longer than I expected. This is the first time in a longgg time that, true to my name, I’ve Fluthered while under the influence of marijuana. I tend to get quite a bit wordier (and a bit more reflective) when I’m high than when I’m sober.

@Lisa: I think Andrew can see if we are following a question. He called me out once for not answering a question he knew I knew the answer to.

@Pete: Ditto most of what you said. I’m here 2 years 6 months and 5 days with way less than 2000 responses written. But I feel like I still fluther as much, my voice is just much smaller in the growing crowd.

<————lurker lurking

Firstly, may I ask who qualifies as a veteran? Just trying to work out whether I am qualified to answer this question myself? Only yesterday I was wondering where RedPowerLady was as a I saw a question that she would have been able to answer in detail.

@Leanne1986 I’ve been wondering about her too, but I think she was due to have a baby this month.

@Leanne1986 Yes, she’s due in February, I haven’t seen her around here or another site that we frequent. She may have had the baby.

@janbb and @casheroo OK, that would make sense! I hope she comes back at some point, I enjoy her input.

@petethepothead Wonderful answer.

I think also that people develop cohorts on fluther—people who join or are a bit more senior when you join—and there’s a lifecycle to them. Many times I’ll think back and wonder where peedub went, or wildflower, or perchik, and then I’ll look at their profiles and see they’re still logging in occasionally.

Either that, or 2012 is looming.

@andrew i hereby officially offer my “cohorting” abilities to any female flutherites, ages 18–24 who need some personal assistance.~

@andrew I agree with you. I’ll sometimes look at an old question and think, “Oh, that person was so great, wonder why they’re not here anymore?” Lives change, people move on, some of us stay—stuck- happily in the collective

@Leanne1986 She posted on Facebook yesterday “28 days to go!”. :)

@jonsblond Thank you for sharing, I’ve been wondering too.

@jonsblond Thank you, I am pleased that she is well.