Did you join fluther because you were looking for information or because you wanted to fill a void by connecting with others?

I’m a guy. Filling voids is what guys do. In one way or another.

I joined Fluther because it was a worthy replacement for another Q&A site that I was already and had closed down.

But why I do I come to Q&A sites in the first place and why did I stay on Fluther? The original reason was just chance. It was an ad on urbandictionary. I posted a few questions and forgot about for several months. Then something made me want to do it again and I got hooked.

I enjoy talking to a wide range of people. I’ve been coming on Q&A sites since I was 14. Q&A sites have given me tons of new ideas and even helped me accept my sexuality during a difficult time for me. That is part of the reason I can’t stand it when people want to restrict people from these sites based on age. These sites allowed me to discuss so many things most people my age would never have done. I got to talk to people more than twice my age, people from other countries, other faiths, etc. All these things are reasons why I continue to stay on Fluther today. I enjoy sharing my ideas and hearing the ideas of others. It’s not about filling a void, it’s about adding on to what I already have. It’s an enrichment, a bonus.

I initially came here to ask a question, about my mid-life crises I think! I had zero desire to connect to anyone, however I did. I have met some really nice people here. I also think more due to fluther. So now I have stuck around because I am bored, I like it, it’s entertaining, thought provoking. If I see a thread go bonkers I just leave the thread. (If that is what you are referring to?) . I have enough real stress in life to add more in the form of arguing or debating with people who don’t agree. I know people can’t all agree, we don’t need to have a song and a dance about it. (maybe I am totally off track here) loll. But yeah mostly I get inspired and great answers and loads of insights.

I was filling the void left from my old site shutting down. I joined Q&A sites to begin with because I value advice and it’s a quick way to get plenty of that. I also like to help others with problems.

I joined the collective when wis.dm closed. It was very difficult at first to get used to – but there were so many amazing people that I soon fell in love with it. I have been somewhat frustrated with the quality of questions of late, and coming on and seeing 99% new people. Where is everyone?

I was looking for a t shirt for my brother, got directed to the site that sells the fabulous jelly shirts, got nosey about the site and joined!!

@Zen_Again why don’t you like us?

@Just_Justine Exactly! I was fishing for input regarding the discussions going bonkers. I like the way you phrased it. This has been my first experience with Q&A sites. How lucky I am that it was Fluther, since everyone seems to prefer it over other ones. I figure that people ask questions because they want my opinion. That is what it is, an opinion. I am by no means an expert in much of anything, but I do have life experiences and maybe sharing some of that might help someone struggle through an issue they may have. If I want information that is based in Fact and not opinion, I think I would go to a site I felt would offer professional information. So I don’t understand why people choose to argue.

I just heard about it, checked it out and stayed. That isn’t an option listed, I know. Why are there so many “either/or” questions? My life is never that simple.

I joined because there are quite a few very intelligent people here whose opinions I may not always agree with but they give excellent answers that provide a different way of seeing an answers or solution I may not ever have thought of. There are also a few near and dear friends I really care for who I enjoy seeing when I pop in.

In search of wisdom.

@Just_Justine Where did I say I don’t like you. And whom do you represent when you say “us”?

@Zen_Again well I am new, as is exhausted and a few others, so you said everyone is new where are all the old people

@Zen_Again ”I have been somewhat frustrated with the quality of questions of late, and coming on and seeing 99% new people

I’ve been a part of any number of online communities over the years the proto-internet and internet have existed. On the first one I hung out on, I learned about science fiction conventions from the folks there. I attended my first one, and met some of the other folks (they were all local in BBS days). Later on I played ultimate with them.

I’ve met people to work with; people to solve computer problems with; and people in any number of capacities. So I’ve found the internet to be an excellent place to socialize for at least 20 years.

When I first heard about question and answer sites, I immediately tried one out (Askville), because they invited me to. I was actually hoping to meet people, and perhaps to become a good enough writer that someone would hire me to write. A little mental illness got in the way of that, but that got documented in the stuff I wrote—the topics I spoke on and the way I spoke, and the amount of attention I seemed to want.

When Askville went South, some people mentioned fluther, so I tried it out. I was in the midst of a depression, and people here were very caring. They quickly accepted me (although they may have regretted that later, when I went though other depressions). And really, that’s what I was here for—the people. I wanted friends and support. I needed people to care for me. It didn’t feel like I was getting any of that in the real world. I was in bad shape, and the support I found here made a significant difference, I believe.

People are supportive of just anyone. I took my responsibility…. take my responsibility to answer questions, and more than that, just to be as helpful to others, including us as a collective, as I can be. I just want to be useful, and if that means asking questions, I’ll ask questions, and if it means answering questions, I answer questions, and if it means holding someone’s virtual hand, I’ll do that. And I do it happily and with a constant concern to do my best. It helps me to feel connected and to feel like I matter.

Yeah. Mattering. The toughest issue I face, I think. fluther is set up to reinforce that sense of mattering, and I think that is one of its great strengths.

@wundayatta and you always are!

Seeing 99% new people and missing my old buddies is hardly saying I don’t like someone. In fact, check with the newbies and you’ll find that I usually am the first to welcome them.

And I have been frustrated with the quality of questions – haven’t you all?

Check this out and read Andrew’s comment: http://www.fluther.com/disc/80028/is-anyone-else-feeling-that-fluther-is-losing-ground-in-the/#quip1272816

ZEN OUT

Thanks everyone for your responses, they reinforce, in my mind that I have made a good choice to stick around and share with such wonderful people.

I know some stuff. It’s useless, though, just sitting in my head and not helping anybody.

When another Q&A site I belonged to was going to the dogs then one of the members posted a link to fluther and asked if any of us had heard of it or were already members, many of migrated over from there. Ours had been a pretty tightly knit group comfortable enough that many actually met irl to form friendships, some dated and others found lasting romance. There was an illusion of safety and looking out for one another to where we often exchanged photos of ourselves and activities. It was great while it lasted but really could have used the moderation and no tolerance for trolls and stalkers that fluther has.

I’m crazy about many of the people I’ve met here and enjoy the opportunities for exhibiting both wit and wisdom, but there does seem to be a falling off in quality lately and I’m not sure why. There are certainly many great newbies as well as there were great oldbies…..

What is this void people are always talking about? I joined because one of the other sites I was using shut down and I was looking for something to do. I have no voids in my life to fill, something always has to move in order for something new to be added.

Neither, in my case. I was looking up something through Google several years ago and stumbled onto a site called FAQfarm. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at, but I wrote an answer to a grammar question and then went away and forgot about it for a year and a half. Somehow I happened back again and found that the site had turned into WikiAnswers and that my little answer had attracted some number of points. So out of curiosity I stayed there for a year or so until I got completely fed up with the poor quality and the structure and left.

That’s when I went looking for Q&A as a concept for the first time. A quick search led me to Askville, which sounded good because of its association with Amazon (books! reading! intelligent users!) but turned out to be a waystation on the road to hell. People were fleeing, and some came here, so I followed.

I wasn’t looking to fill any void, but I think I would feel one now if something took me away.

I joined Fluther because I am a sucker for a good Q & A site and this one ticked all the boxes when the last site I was a member of shut down. I have been a member of Q & A sites since I was about 16 years old and so far, this is probably the best one I have come across. I don’t necessarily need the interaction with people but I do love discussing topics that make me think and reading what other people think about the same topic.

This is the second Q&A I have used. The first was http://ask.metafilter.com/. ask.mefi is alive and well but a bit more formal. I still visit ask.mefi multiple times everyday. It is the place I go to learn answers to questions I never knew I had.

Fluther is mostly opinion now and not based on answers to solvable problems. For the most part ask.mefi is questions with real answers and I prefer that.

I have room in my life for both. But if I have a problem that needs to be addressed I will hit up ask.mefi first. For me Fluther isn’t a Q&A site anymore. 25% might be legit questions. But stuff like, “Did you feel the earthquake in California?” suck.

But, it isn’t my site and they can run it however they want.

Attention self important flutherites:
When you start posting about how you’re so much smarter than anyone here, it might be time for a time-out.
Or a nap.

@Captain_Fantasy, your comment concerned me enough that I went back and reread every post in this thread. And then I read them all again (making it three times in all). I can’t see even one that seems to me to call for that rebuke. Were you referring to something in this thread?

@Jeruba I thought the same thing! Thanks for saying what I was thinking.