# Do you hang out on other forums?



## KeganThompson (Jul 15, 2021)

This is not only the first writing forum I've joined but the first forum ever lol. Do you hang out in other forums? Or any other writing forums? I really like it here, but I was wondering if there were other writing forums you'd recommend. ( the more critique and discussion the better) Sounds like some can be a toxic dumpster fire lol
ALSO
thoughts on Wattpad? Dont know if I should bother posting anything on there or not. Or if you recommend somewhere else.


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## Bloggsworth (Jul 15, 2021)

Autosport magazine and the private site for my old grammar school.


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## bdcharles (Jul 15, 2021)

KeganThompson said:


> This is not only the first writing forum I've joined but the first forum ever lol. Do you hang out in other forums? Or any other writing forums? I really like it here, but I was wondering if there were other writing forums you'd recommend. ( the more critique and discussion the better) Sounds like some can be a toxic dumpster fire lol
> ALSO
> thoughts on Wattpad? Dont know if I should bother posting anything on there or not. Or if you recommend somewhere else.


I used to but it is no more (now bear in mind this is not counting Bianca's Smut Shack in the 90s). Every now and again I visit Mythic Scribes or Fantasy Faction or SFF Chronicles but I don't really 'hang out' there. It's just too much time investment for not enough return. Looked at Wattpad once and that was enough; the quality of writing that I saw was so low and the formatting irritated me


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## KeganThompson (Jul 15, 2021)

bdcharles said:


> I used to but it is no more (now bear in mind this is not counting Bianca's Smut Shack in the 90s). Every now and again I visit Mythic Scribes or Fantasy Faction or SFF Chronicles but I don't really 'hang out' there. It's just too much time investment for not enough return. Looked at Wattpad once and that was enough; the quality of writing that I saw was so low and the formatting irritated me


Looks like I'd fit right in


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## Sinister (Jul 15, 2021)

I've been on a lot of forums.  Jesus, nearly 7 total, starting back in the 90s with EAGB.  Which stood for Euro-Asian Game Boy forums.  Still had the same handle on all of them.

Bunch of damn drama.  Which is why I've been to 7 of them instead of just 1.  Between personal politics, power struggles, relationships and money, they all ended up dissolving in bad blood.  Even got booted from one for refusing to take a political position.  Which is fine, they didn't have a strong enough threat to force me to be political.

This forum is different.  It's based less on opinion and more on the profession.  It seems more like the University to the other forum's high school.  So I wouldn't hang out on other forums.  I hate drama and conflict.  I'm not competitive or political.  I don't care to talk religion or debate/argue.

-Sin


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## KeganThompson (Jul 15, 2021)

I agree, I like the professionalism on this forum. Topics that lean on certain "questionable, divisive" territory haven't became blood baths. Lol

Regardless of politics or if there is a world view in someone's writing that leans a certain way, pointing it out and critiquing that won't make them a better writer nor will it make them agree with you. Regardless of certain positions I think ppl need to learn to focus on critiquing, structure ect on writing. Not throwing them out because they don't like their opinion. You can still like and respect people you don't agree with.
I want to become a better writer. Disliking someone's ideas/ politics won't help me.
That's why I am asking for people thoughts on other forums. I don't want to go to one and realize it's more about politics ect than actual writing. Sad to hear it tbh. But even if I don't end up joining other forums, at least I have this one!


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## Fiender (Jul 16, 2021)

My main writing forum is Absolute Write but between a massive DDos attack and some server migration, feels like it has been inactive for most of the past year. :S
Outside of writing, I don't really have cause to visit forums these days. Does Reddit count as a forum? I'll occasionally browse the subreddits of various topics and hobbies


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 16, 2021)

For a long time this was about the only place I went on the web unless I had specific questions to look up, but more recently I have joined a gardening forum.


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## Mark Twain't (Jul 16, 2021)

I've been a member of a few forums over the last 14 years. A couple of photography ones when I took it up as a hobby in 2007, a couple of equestrian ones when Mrs Twain't got her horse and a football supporters' one. I'm also a member of the "other" WF one although I've never posted in it (haven't even looked in there since registered).


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## Xander416 (Jul 21, 2021)

Yeah, but they're mostly dead. The popularity of forums like this is dying out in favor of platforms like Discord.


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## VRanger (Jul 21, 2021)

I'm in a gaming forum on Discord, and .... YUCK. If the content was anywhere else I'd be much happier. I just dislike that interface.

Although I've been on boards going back to Prodigy, my first writing forum was "elsewhere". As years went on, I got more and more of a sour taste about that place. This is consistently the most polite, non-judgmental, positive place I've ever participated. That's why I agreed to join Staff. I want to keep enjoying this atmosphere for a long, long time, and I'm happy to do my bit to help keep it that way.


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## KeganThompson (Jul 21, 2021)

Welp, based on the comments... looks like I won't be joining other forums anytime soon 
(_Still thinking about posting on Wattpad tho..._)


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## PiP (Jul 21, 2021)

I joined a couple of other writing forums a few years back and I still take a peek 'occasionally' but I always feel, no matter how hard I try, I am always an outsider looking in.

I participate in various gardening, Covid and expat FB groups but I struggle with content layout and discussions. Okay for quick questions but there are so many aggressive trolls out there... WoW! I quickly retreat.


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## Mark Twain't (Jul 21, 2021)

Ah, I forgot all about Literotica!

I joined as an experiment to see if I could write from a female POV so I joined pretending to be female. I uploaded a few erotic stories and posted as a female and I'd say it was a success.


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## seigfried007 (Jul 24, 2021)

Prior to their demises, I was a part of both the AuthorsByDesign and Authonomy sites/forums. I also participated in the Longridge Writers Group chats prior to it changing its name. I am currently part of the NaNoWriMo forums and run a small writers Discord server that offers plot help, role-playing (we've found it immensely helpful in getting to know tough characters), and functions as a writer support group. I'm also part of a mental health Discord server.


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## Lawless (Jul 25, 2021)

I don't actually hang out on any forums. I don't even keep any chats open, because I can't think when distracted by messages coming in. However, I visit Vkonktakte (the Russian equivalent of Facebook) on a regular basis and less frequently Facebook and a languages forum called hinative.com.

I used to frequent two other writers' forums, but I don't like them anymore.


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## indianroads (Jul 27, 2021)

I barely have time for WF, so no.


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## Megan Pearson (Jul 29, 2021)

Nope. I might be gone a while & come back, but I come back. But being gone has to do with other obligations, not for my writing.

Before I joined here I tried out someplace else and went through culture shock. They had some wierd rewards system to reinforce millenial values that was quite repulsive & insulting. 

No one else has mentioned their in-person involvement, so I will. In-person is quite different than online. The last in-person writer's group I made the effort to join I was easily the youngest matron's granddaughter's age. Just couldn't get into the memoir thing. Also tried a creative writing course. When the instructor took the first hour and a half of class time to hold a private discussion outside the classroom door (heard everything) on the first day of class, and then I learned that not only was her own writing unpublished, but that she was more interested in celebrating indecorous stories than real life, I dropped the course. VERY disappointing. She wasn't there for the students but herself.

Not all experiences are the same, though. Years ago I joined a nifty little in-person writers group. Very fun. At that time, its electronic portion was organized around an email list exchange. Then the email list began to draw in local English & Literature freshman who knew everything about everything & brutally squashed the ignorance of us uneducated folk to a pulp, so I quit. The group is better organized now; last I looked they were incorporated & even charge a membership fee. Maybe--if I ever write something worth reading--I'll join again. (They used to put on the absolute BEST conferences & those were all free. Not sure if they still do. I should look back into that now that COVID is receding into the distant past...)

So no; no place else. I like the sportsmanship approach to writing here. In my academic world, there's a sense that we're all there to support one another. Competition, yes, but comraderie too. I get that team-support experience here. Whatever your skill level, so long as you're trying to grow, you're welcome. I like that & want to support that.


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## JBF (Jul 29, 2021)

There's a few fora I check with some regularity.  Usually for technical/historical stuff.  I'm not real active on any of them.  

I've probably signed up on a dozen writing outfits over the years.  Most didn't stick - you usually wound up with a dead board, poor feedback (if any) and moderation that would allow if not actively promote faction warfare.  The last board before WF was Scrib...some good people there, but I didn't care for the hidebound way of doing things or the sense that certain members got to run wild and some got the hammer.  It felt too much like pay-to-play, besides.  

Then again, the first thing my people did when they got off the boat in Virginia was run into the forest and start making illegal whiskey, so stuff like 'structure' and 'laws' and 'socially acceptable' are pretty nebulous concepts.


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## KeganThompson (Jul 29, 2021)

Glad I skipped over all the crappy/ lame forums and was smart enough to pick the best one off the bat


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## Ralph Rotten (Jul 29, 2021)

I have done lots and lots of forums over the year...dozens. I have even moderated a few back in the Tribe.net days.
As for writing forums, you have arrived at the best.
Avoid the water cooler. Their staff are a buncha soup nazis, and they seem to be running a review scam as well.
writingforums.com is professional, and a good spot for noobs or pros alike.
Somewhere around here is a long thread I started once about how great this forum is.


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## Deleted member 64995 (Jul 30, 2021)

I attended other forums, but I found myself badly.
This is the only forum I attend.
I like the quiet, non-competitive, bad atmosphere.
I like the homely atmosphere, when I enter the forum I feel like I am in my living room.
I do not participate much because I am introverted, and a little socio phobia.


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## VRanger (Oct 23, 2021)

Not anymore. A bit on FB is all. And if it weren't for the Heinlein Forum and Heinlein Society pages there, I'd probably have ditched that.


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## indianroads (Oct 23, 2021)

vranger said:


> Not anymore. A bit on FB is all. And if it weren't for the Heinlein Forum and Heinlein Society pages there, I'd probably had ditched that.


I belong to a local writer's guild, Pikes Peak Writers, and get messages from them via FB. We're meeting on Monday (yay) for the first time since this covid nonsense started up.


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## Theglasshouse (Oct 23, 2021)

This is the friendliest forum I have been to. So I only visit this one. People with disabilities and other conditions can talk about their problems. The only other forum I visit is a gaming website. It's called neogaf. I don't post there since they'd "eat me alive." Those are the words I remember someone saying when you mention your disabilities and mental illness "they eat you alive" on the internet. Anyway, the video-game forum is: neogaf. It's fun to read the opinions and news on videogaming over there.


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## NajaNoir (Oct 23, 2021)

I've participated in many forums. Gaming forums mostly.
I joined three other writing forums the same time I joined here, I like having options. This one has the best layout, two of the forums I haven't even fully browsed through. I hate their look, but Chronicles is heavy on the sci-fi aspect, so I continue to browse that one. I've noticed that here, people are friendly, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of sugarcoating or placating. I like that, so I've been hanging around here the most.


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## Phil Istine (Oct 24, 2021)

I did sign up to the wf.org site a few years ago, but the grass was the wrong shade.  It was like one of those sci-fi stories where someone returns to a place they know, but lots of things are a bit different and it feels odd.  Also, the software was laid out in such a way it wasn't always clear where a post ended.
Also, I use a forum for supporters of my local football club and I do use Quora a fair bit.  That can be pretty good when the trolls stay under their bridges.


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## Travalgar (Oct 28, 2021)

My first forum ever was a roleplaying site which I found through the good old-school-internet-style "Which dragon are you?" personality quiz. It has since went defunct. Greatly improved my English.

For writing, I frequent the other writing forum and also the famous critique forum. I registered for an account at the water cooler once, but it never came through. I'm slightly saddened by the perceived lack of activity on internet writing forums, to be honest. I try to avoid popular social media-based groups as much as possible because from my experience, places where 90% of people gather will have 90% of their suckage stuffed in as well.

I also regularly visit the one and only boardgaming forum. It's lively there, with a moderation leaning towards the left and American "wokefulness" that I don't always agree with. I stuck around since it's the best place for discussions on the hobby.

My other hobbies and interests don't warrant a need to join forums, so that's about it.


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## KatPC (Oct 28, 2021)

Back in my uni days I was Mod in an RPG site. It was fun until it faded into inactivity as people graduated and disappeared now, I think.

This is the first Writing Forum I jumped into, but I also went into this namesake but with .org. That wasn't very good. Made a post and a few days later no replies. People seemed to be very opinionated and self serving when I read a few threads, which I disliked. With only limited free time, I can spend hours here ... simply going through threads and people's works ... not sure this helped me with Writing, but i take it as research and reading - It's fun.


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## Travalgar (Oct 28, 2021)

KatPC said:


> This is the first Writing Forum I jumped into, but I also went into this namesake but with .org. That wasn't very good. Made a post and a few days later no replies. People seemed to be very opinionated and self serving when I read a few threads, which I disliked.


Funny, because I could say the same thing happened here as well. Some users on this site are *extremely *opinionated to the effect that everything they posted came off (to me, at least) as highly aggresive and combative. They certainly made a point that every post they made will be saturated with the strongest conveyance of opinions they can muster.

About making posts and getting no replies, well, this has certainly happened here as well. I remember a thread where its starter made a triple-post without anyone replying to it (to be fair, those were over the course of a single day, so it might be just the case of impatience on his part) before someone finally stepped in and responded. As I've expressed above, activity seemed to be minimum in old-school internet forums these days.


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## KeganThompson (Oct 29, 2021)

Travalgar said:


> Funny, because I could say the same thing happened here as well. Some users on this site are *extremely *opinionated to the effect that everything they posted came off (to me, at least) as highly aggresive and combative. They certainly made a point that every post they made will be saturated with the strongest conveyance of opinions they can muster.


I have a couple of guesses haha but for the most part, I haven't found it hard to talk with people on here.


Travalgar said:


> About making posts and getting no replies, well, this has certainly happened here as well. I remember a thread where its starter made a triple-post without anyone replying to it (to be fair, those were over the course of a single day, so it might be just the case of impatience on his part) before someone finally stepped in and responded. As I've expressed above, activity seemed to be minimum in old-school internet forums these days.


Sometimes it takes a day, it has for some of my posts. I did double comment once cuz no one replied after a couple of days


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## indianroads (Oct 29, 2021)

Travalgar said:


> Funny, because I could say the same thing happened here as well. Some users on this site are *extremely *opinionated to the effect that everything they posted came off (to me, at least) as highly aggresive and combative. They certainly made a point that every post they made will be saturated with the strongest conveyance of opinions they can muster.
> 
> About making posts and getting no replies, well, this has certainly happened here as well. I remember a thread where its starter made a triple-post without anyone replying to it (to be fair, those were over the course of a single day, so it might be just the case of impatience on his part) before someone finally stepped in and responded. As I've expressed above, activity seemed to be minimum in old-school internet forums these days.


The mods and favored members on a forum I frequented before coming here were hostile and confrontational if you posted anything that hinted divergence to their social views. The information was good, so I stayed, and survived by remaining silent.


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## JBF (Oct 29, 2021)

Travalgar said:


> Funny, because I could say the same thing happened here as well. Some users on this site are *extremely *opinionated to the effect that everything they posted came off (to me, at least) as highly aggresive and combative. They certainly made a point that every post they made will be saturated with the strongest conveyance of opinions they can muster.



Is it rabies?  

It's probably rabies.


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## VRanger (Oct 29, 2021)

Travalgar said:


> Funny, because I could say the same thing happened here as well. Some users on this site are *extremely *opinionated to the effect that everything they posted came off (to me, at least) as highly aggresive and combative. They certainly made a point that every post they made will be saturated with the strongest conveyance of opinions they can muster.


That sort of reminds me of a thread which amused me on the Amazon Top Reviewers Forum. Someone complained the members there were SO OPINIONATED. A friend of mine replied, "This is a Forum frequented by people who give Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down reviews on hundreds and thousands of products.  What in the world were you expecting?" ;-)

By a similar chain of logic, I'd wager a good proportion of writers are not shy about expressing their views ... it's one reason they write, and they often express them effectively. But that's also been the history of online forums going WAY BACK before the dawn of the internet. Regardless, I've NEVER been involved in a Forum with so much cooperation, mutual respect, and community support as this one. Trolls are virtually unheard of, and the owners and staff through the history of the site have been pretty good at weeding out the few who showed up. Despite how much I enjoyed interaction with my friends in the TRF, there was a horrific troll infestation Amazon simply wouldn't do anything about. We took one out here a couple of weeks ago, and that's only the second one I recall in my tenure on staff.



Travalgar said:


> About making posts and getting no replies, well, this has certainly happened here as well. I remember a thread where its starter made a triple-post without anyone replying to it (to be fair, those were over the course of a single day, so it might be just the case of impatience on his part) before someone finally stepped in and responded. As I've expressed above, activity seemed to be minimum in old-school internet forums these days.


It's sort of up to members who create new threads to initiate a discussion which interests other members, and there have been select members who lean on the same subject so hard, repeatedly, that everyone else is done with that subject long before that member. Members who give to discussions are the most likely to find return participation in theirs. People eventually notice the distinction between givers and takers.

BTW, kudos to you for taking on the thread you linked.


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## Olly Buckle (Oct 29, 2021)

Travalgar said:


> About making posts and getting no replies,


It has happened to me, looking at the number of views I realised that it might not be that people were not interested in the post itself, but that I had given it a very poor title so it wasn't even getting read. I was never great with titles, I am improving I think.


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## KatPC (Oct 29, 2021)

Travalgar said:


> Funny, because I could say the same thing happened here as well. Some users on this site are *extremely *opinionated to the effect that everything they posted came off (to me, at least) as highly aggresive and combative. They certainly made a point that every post they made will be saturated with the strongest conveyance of opinions they can muster.
> 
> About making posts and getting no replies, well, this has certainly happened here as well. I remember a thread where its starter made a triple-post without anyone replying to it (to be fair, those were over the course of a single day, so it might be just the case of impatience on his part) before someone finally stepped in and responded. As I've expressed above, activity seemed to be minimum in old-school internet forums these days.



I don't think there is a perfect template for a forum with people of different views, needs and ambitions. It is normal that opinions clash. My experience in the other was that I said a hello and for days no one replied. I snooped around other threads and new writers were replied back to with a disdain that I felt was unfair, it's hard enough for a newbie to be brave enough to post a question. In your link, you popped in to help out which I feel (in my time here) a fair reflection on the members here, which I can point out to the helpful Moderators and values the Forum has placed (by the way I don't work for this site!  )


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## Turnbull (Oct 29, 2021)

Back in the day I frequented Starcraft/Blizzard game forums.  They are all now defunct, both because of the time since the game was released (1998) and because Starcraft II's story was so bad it literally killed the franchise.  People like the game, but the story is Star Wars sequel trilogy bad.  Honestly, those forums were the rowdiest, loudest, most argumentative forums of all time.  I loved them.  I was horribly shy so I didn't do a lot of the yelling, but it was extremely non PC, to the point where the mods years later would not allow back ups of the forum to be posted online, as people could lose their jobs over their comments.  The upside of such nonsense is that they were very accepting, and you'd have to do something truly boneheaded to get banned.  I really truly miss those anarchic days.

As for writing forums, the first one I went to was super PC, basically the opposite of the Starcraft forums.  They were so dyed-in-the-wool woke that they thought it was sexist to show a man trying to get information from a woman by allowing her to complain about her boss.  They even perma banned a guy for breaking one mild rule once (a rule in a game thread), and they only knew about it because he confessed.  I would have left, but I really enjoyed beta-reading there.  But I ended up banned because I stated that women can be sexist too.  They did not like that at all.  

Writingforums.org isn't bad, but...I don't know, something about the site rubs me the wrong way.  Its vibe is less comfortable than here.  It's a fine enough forums, but I like it better here.


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## KeganThompson (Oct 30, 2021)

Turnbull said:


> Back in the day I frequented Starcraft/Blizzard game forums.  They are all now defunct, both because of the time since the game was released (1998) and because Starcraft II's story was so bad it literally killed the franchise.  People like the game, but the story is Star Wars sequel trilogy bad.  Honestly, those forums were the rowdiest, loudest, most argumentative forums of all time.  I loved them.  I was horribly shy so I didn't do a lot of the yelling, but it was extremely non PC, to the point where the mods years later would not allow back ups of the forum to be posted online, as people could lose their jobs over their comments.  The upside of such nonsense is that they were very accepting, and you'd have to do something truly boneheaded to get banned.  I really truly miss those anarchic days.
> 
> As for writing forums, the first one I went to was super PC, basically the opposite of the Starcraft forums.  They were so dyed-in-the-wool woke that they thought it was sexist to show a man trying to get information from a woman by allowing her to complain about her boss.  They even perma banned a guy for breaking one mild rule once (a rule in a game thread), and they only knew about it because he confessed.  I would have left, but I really enjoyed beta-reading there.  But I ended up banned because I stated that women can be sexist too.  They did not like that at all.
> 
> Writingforums.org isn't bad, but...I don't know, something about the site rubs me the wrong way.  Its vibe is less comfortable than here.  It's a fine enough forums, but I like it better here.


lool. The fact you got banned for saying that kind of proved your point didn't it?


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## Riptide (Oct 30, 2021)

I've been on a lot of writing forums for a multitude of reasons. Wattpad I joined because I was in with a pretty active critiquing club that I benefited from. Legendfire was a tightknit group that I enjoyed for the closeness that got defunked, but now it's back, and working its way back up.

 I thought writing.com felt too isolated, and I rarely go back there.  critiquecircle.com and scribophile are good for critiques on later chapters.

absolute and this forum I use for more questions/queries, discussion threads, and I like the opinions of others here.

I don't mind discord, and I do have a writing discord formed by a couple of my college writing buddies but we don't use it at all, really.

It sucks how dead some places are getting.


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## Turnbull (Oct 30, 2021)

KeganThompson said:


> lool. The fact you got banned for saying that kind of proved your point didn't it?



Technically no, but it does prove that they are too cowardly to speak about it and would rather ban than discuss.  Only one girl even tried to contradict me, and she ended up editing out her message before I could see it.  

I was complaining because I saw a lot of sexist hypocrisy in the stories I would beta.  In one, this girl extremely rudely rejects a boy -- "Move it along, big ego" -- when the boy politely asks her out.  We never see the boy before or after, but somehow it's okay to trash him for no reason.  On top of that, another boy politely turns a girl down when she ask him out, because he's in the middle of a task that _will help him save the world._  The girl panics and needs to be comforted by her friends at his "rudeness."  

What makes it worse is that I don't think that particular writer was actually sexist.  She was just so naive and horribly influenced by California culture that she was blind to how hypocritical this type of writing was.



Riptide said:


> I've been on a lot of writing forums for a multitude of reasons. Wattpad I joined because I was in with a pretty active critiquing club that I benefited from. Legendfire was a tightknit group that I enjoyed for the closeness that got defunked, but now it's back, and working its way back up.
> 
> I thought writing.com felt too isolated, and I rarely go back there.  critiquecircle.com and scribophile are good for critiques on later chapters.
> 
> ...



How is Wattpad these days?  I got scared off because all their stuff is automatically copied over to this bot-rip site called novelhd, but honestly I'm thinking of posting some of nonprofit stories on there anyway.  Is there still decent readership?


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## Riptide (Oct 30, 2021)

Turnbull said:


> Technically no, but it does prove that they are too cowardly to speak about it and would rather ban than discuss.  Only one girl even tried to contradict me, and she ended up editing out her message before I could see it.
> 
> I was complaining because I saw a lot of sexist hypocrisy in the stories I would beta.  In one, this girl extremely rudely rejects a boy -- "Move it along, big ego" -- when the boy politely asks her out.  We never see the boy before or after, but somehow it's okay to trash him for no reason.  On top of that, another boy politely turns a girl down when she ask him out, because he's in the middle of a task that _will help him save the world._  The girl panics and needs to be comforted by her friends at his "rudeness."
> 
> ...


I haven't been on wattpad recently so I wouldn't know. When they got rid of the forums I stopped going on it regularly


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## Ralph Rotten (Oct 30, 2021)




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## Taylor (Oct 30, 2021)

Typically I don't...but because of this thread, I went out looking.  Found one...but it was definitely not as cool as our site!


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## Ralph Rotten (Oct 31, 2021)

Sounds like you found the Water Cooler.
You will never find a more wreched hive of scum and villany.


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## KeganThompson (Nov 2, 2021)

I want to 'try out' other forums but I hear they are so bleh and I've heard some forums like absolutewrite are toxic when researching. So this one is still my only one even though I've looked up other potential forums several times. maybe I should just join a class or local workshop. idk


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## RGS (Jan 3, 2022)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Sounds like you found the Water Cooler.
> You will never find a more wreched hive of scum and villany.


Late to this thread, but I joined there about the same time I joined here.

And luckily for me, I just got banned from there and it was mutual. Good riddance.


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## VRanger (Jan 3, 2022)

RGS said:


> Late to this thread, but I joined there about the same time I joined here.
> 
> And luckily for me, I just got banned from there and it was mutual. Good riddance.


Fess up. What did you write that didn't toe the party line? ;-)


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## RGS (Jan 3, 2022)

VRanger said:


> Fess up. What did you write that didn't toe the party line? ;-)


I made the mistake of running my big mouth (typing fingers?) in one of the political threads. I politely and respectfully stated my disagreement with Socialism (along with some other opinions), and the far-left crowd pounced. I stated that I wasn't going to get into the weeds on it, where we go back and forth, i.e. I wasn't going to change their minds and they weren't going to change mine. Little did I realize that they have an actual rule over there stating that when you say something, you're required to back it up. Pounced again.

Fair enough. I was willing to do that when the Admin came in and said, and I'm quoting verbatim, "_Bullshit. Get off my server._"

Interestingly enough, I had just sent him a PM asking him to delete my account because I no longer wanted to participate over there. So I guess we sort of "banned" each other.

I "_got off his server_" and couldn't be happier. Just for the giggles, I did a little research a day later and that place has a *really* bad reputation.


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## VRanger (Jan 3, 2022)

RGS said:


> Fair enough. I was willing to do that when the Admin came in and said, and I'm quoting verbatim, "_Bullshit. Get off my server._"
> 
> I "_got off his server_" and couldn't be happier. Just for the giggles, I did a little research a day later and that place has a *really* bad reputation.


Very common experience.


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## PiP (Jan 3, 2022)

Wow, that’s awful, RGS. We have a private area called Dante’s on WF. We expect members of that board to treat each other with respect so it is self_moderated. If people don’t, their permission to the forum is denied and we move on. I have found most disagreements can be amicably resolved once the curtain of red mist rises….  We all have our ’moments’   .. life can be stressful, yes?


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## piperofyork (Jan 3, 2022)

I've looked around Mythic Scribes (given my interest in fantasy writing). Some good folks there to be sure, but also some people who are very impressed with themselves, and others with some sharp edges who think they have the inside track on the gospel of fantasy and science fiction. I find it friendlier here. Also, I love the monthly LM competitions. (Heck, I wish we had two a month!)


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## VRanger (Jan 3, 2022)

piperofyork said:


> I've looked around Mythic Scribes (given my interest in fantasy writing). Some good folks there to be sure, but also some people who are very impressed with themselves, and others with some sharp edges who think they have the inside track on the gospel of fantasy and science fiction. I find it friendlier here. Also, I love the monthly LM competitions. (Heck, I wish we had two a month!)


Loved your December entry, as you could probably tell from my score.  Aiming for a voice is one thing, striking it perfectly is just great writing.


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## piperofyork (Jan 3, 2022)

VRanger said:


> Loved your December entry, as you could probably tell from my score.  Aiming for a voice is one thing, striking it perfectly is just great writing.


Thank you kindly! I love the way the competitions force me to try new things. I feel very fortunate to have found this online community.


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## bdcharles (Jan 4, 2022)

piperofyork said:


> I've looked around Mythic Scribes (given my interest in fantasy writing). Some good folks there to be sure, but also some people who are very impressed with themselves, and others with some sharp edges who think they have the inside track on the gospel of fantasy and science fiction. I find it friendlier here. Also, I love the monthly LM competitions. (Heck, I wish we had two a month!)


I had the same issue with Mythic Scribes and haven't been there for years because of it. Lots of power-abuse from people who really can't justify it (not that it's ever justifiable). Too old for that shit 

I post on fantasy faction now and again (been published via there too - *here's* an example). They're a nice bunch but their forum seems a bit up and down. 

SFF Chronicles is decent too. Both genre'd, obviously


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## piperofyork (Jan 4, 2022)

bdcharles said:


> I had the same issue with Mythic Scribes and haven't been there for years because of it. Lots of power-abuse from people who really can't justify it (not that it's ever justifiable). Too old for that shit
> 
> I post on fantasy faction now and again (been published via there too - *here's* an example). They're a nice bunch but their forum seems a bit up and down.
> 
> SFF Chronicles is decent too. Both genre'd, obviously


Thank you @bdcharles! I appreciate the recommendations. And it's heartening to hear that my sense of things at Mythic Scribes isn't some peculiarity of mine!


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## Bagit (Mar 9, 2022)

First forum activity for me was a lawn care forum. Hence the name Bagit (bag it). It was a SPaG nightmare to be sure. The horrific writing sins occurring there were unimaginable!

In 2009 I joined WF. I needed experience/growth with this writing bug in me. Shortly after I joined Writer's Beat. Both sites helped me tremendously. I shudder at the thought of where my skill and knowledge would be without the two forums. I'm published in the Beat's Quarterly e-zine, which has been on hiatus for many years now, and was able to help with editing on the last few copies.

Definitely met some interesting characters around the majestic halls of WF and the Beat and I'm sure that will continue to hold true if I can dedicate more time to both.


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## PiP (Mar 10, 2022)

Bagit said:


> First forum activity for me was a lawn care forum. Hence the name Bagit (bag it). It was a SPaG nightmare to be sure. The horrific writing sins occurring there were unimaginable!
> 
> In 2009 I joined WF. I needed experience/growth with this writing bug in me. Shortly after I joined Writer's Beat. Both sites helped me tremendously. I shudder at the thought of where my skill and knowledge would be without the two forums. I'm published in the Beat's Quarterly e-zine, which has been on hiatus for many years now, and was able to help with editing on the last few copies.
> 
> Definitely met some interesting characters around the majestic halls of WF and the Beat and I'm sure that will continue to hold true if I can dedicate more time to both.


I took a quick look at Writers' Beat and it's nothing like WF. I was horrified to see posts in the classified section listing porn fetishes and another for 'young girls posing'. WoW, just wow... a thread in the intro forum: foreplay sex!  WF and WB are like chalk and cheese.


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## VRanger (Mar 10, 2022)

PiP said:


> another for 'young girls posing'. WoW, just wow


Not only would that not live here longer than it takes a Mod to see it (or see the Report of it), but I'd also be sending an IP Address to the FBI.


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## indianroads (Mar 10, 2022)

It’s been a while since I looked at this thread.
I’ve belonged to a few forums over the years. 

My biker club forum is still around, but most of the traffic is on FB now.

I was on a programming forum, every one tried to out-nerd the rest.

Martial arts forums, where everyone argued that their style was better than the rest.

One writing forum where the mods insisted that everyone had to include all varieties of POC and sexual orientation. I jumped ship and landed on a literature forum, where their butt holes were so tight that when they stood up, the chair came with them. Then I found WF, paradise.


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## Foxee (Mar 10, 2022)

The first message board_ (sounds like hundreds of years ago)_ of writers that I found was a humor forum on Writers Write. I don't think there are forums on that site anymore but at the time the humor forum was a really great group of people that became good online friends. I still have a couple of them on Facebook from when we added each other years later. I especially love my one Southern friend who lands herself in FB jail quite often. A little-known fact is that humor writers are often quite passionate and hostile...they can just make you laugh about what they're angry at. It's a gift and a talent.

Unfortunately, that forum was dissolved by the owner and I think I went to Authors by Design from there. Because of some good critique advice I took a free online course (which I also think doesn't exist anymore) to get some basic skills together. Through that I met someone who pointed me to WritingForums.com because there was a play-by-text RPG that was about to start and we decided to join in.

Over time I've tried out Absolute Write (they still send me a birthday email every year), Critique Circle, and I played RPGs on WritingForums.org (no relation) until all the drama, bad blood, and general stampeding. A friend and I ran an RPG site for a small group until that died after a few years. I moderated and adminned here until I burnt out and just had to go not be on forums for a while.

I also have been on truckers' wives forums when my husband was over the road, it was a good support at the time. I've done NaNoWriMo and I'm still there but I think that season is over. I did the free trial membership of Jerry B Jenkins's writer's guild website and loved it but I just can't afford it right now.

Now that I'm back on forums this is the only one I bother with. Like someone else said, I don't really have a lot of time even to be on here, I want to be serious about writing and too many places to hang out is going to be a distraction. WF is worth it, I get some decent feedback here and I do like the community.


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## PrairieHostage (Mar 10, 2022)

I'm in a Facebook writer's group, my guild and this forum. It's all and more than I need.

A few months ago I joined Absolute Write but I did an about face and marched right out when a mod greeted me in the most school marmish manner. No. It was more a prison matron vibe. Her post was the length of an essay, filled with rules, rules, rules and more rules. I felt I'd done time in Apodaca prison by the time I'd finished reading her list. 

In my intro post I said I'm a senior writing a YA so she took it upon herself to direct me to a thread entitled _Old People Writing For Teens_. lmao I'm not kidding, that's the name of the thread. I'm a proud thang & thought wow, how presumptuous. For all they know I raised teens or worked with youth. A jarring example of ageism.

I feel good here because both young and older adults place love of the craft before age, race, gender, religion or any other nonsense flying in the ether.


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## KeganThompson (Mar 16, 2022)

Sorry ya'll, I didn't realize this thread come back to life. I caught up with all the comments now!
I still haven't found another forum btw. I've looked at other groups (not forums) including local ones but still haven't joined anywhere else. Looks like WF is home sweet home for me


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## RGS (Mar 16, 2022)

PrairieHostage said:


> I'm in a Facebook writer's group, my guild and this forum. It's all and more than I need.
> 
> A few months ago I joined Absolute Write but I did an about face and marched right out when a mod greeted me in the most school marmish manner. No. It was more a prison matron vibe. Her post was the length of an essay, filled with rules, rules, rules and more rules. I felt I'd done time in Apodaca prison by the time I'd finished reading her list.
> 
> ...


Yep. That's what they do. I had a member PM me my first day there, implying that I was posting a lot in an effort to beef up my post count so I could reach enough posts to ask for critique. I explained that I never seek critique (because I actually don't), but that I was new and saw a lot of threads in which I could participate.

The entire place came across as very hostile to anyone who wasn't in their snotty little clique.


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## Bagit (Mar 16, 2022)

PiP said:


> I took a quick look at Writers' Beat and it's nothing like WF. I was horrified to see posts in the classified section listing porn fetishes and another for 'young girls posing'. WoW, just wow... a thread in the intro forum: foreplay sex!  WF and WB are like chalk and cheese.


No doubt. I agree. I was horrified also. WB no longer stands up as a writing forum. It's slow and pretty much dead. I went in as a long standing moderator a year ago (hadn't been active for like five years) and cleaned the boards for a week, off and on. (mostly just hateful/idiotic stuff. The porn headings started popping up a few months back in my linked email--I figured they were being taken care of)

I pushed for old and new members on FB (it worked for a few, but they really didn't stick) I tried resurrecting old member through the site itself by "liking" (email linked) stuff (it worked for a few. Again no sticking around) I burnt out and went back to the shadow realm, then appeared here. I'm hesitant to go back at all, at the moment, because I'm likely to blow up and it's just bad distraction.

EDIT:

Sorry. I edited this and it double posted me?


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## Bagit (Mar 16, 2022)

Bagit said:


> No doubt. I agree. I was horrified also. WB no longer stands up as a writing forum. It's slow and pretty much dead. I went in as a long standing moderator a year ago (hadn't been active for like five years) and cleaned the boards for a week, off and on. (mostly just hateful/idiotic stuff. The porn headings started popping up a few months back in my linked email--I figured they were being taken care of)
> 
> I pushed for old and new members on FB (it worked for a few, but they really didn't stick) I tried resurrecting old member through the site itself by "liking" or other means (email linked stuff) (it worked for a few. Again no sticking around) I burnt out and went back to the shadow realm, then appeared here. I'm hesitant to go back at all, at the moment, because I'm likely to blow up and it's just bad distraction.


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## indianroads (Mar 16, 2022)

I was on AW for perhaps a year or so - I'm a slow learner and at the time I thought AW was the only game in town. I survived as long as I did by keeping my head down and avoiding touchy subjects like the plague. 
As evil as I am, I was amused when they went down under the DDOS attack. It was the excuse I used to look elsewhere, and I'm glad I did because I found WF.


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## Llyralen (Mar 16, 2022)

Yes, I do. I even learn from forums that aren’t my style.  I can learn the vibes and trends as long as I figure out how to categorize what is going on in each.

My longest-standing hang is PeraonalityCafe which is not a writer’s forum, but in the NF forum might as well be, as almost everyone writes and the poetry threads are awesome. This is a varied group of people, various ages and cultures from around the world, and for the most part a intelligent crowd. This is a group that is fascinated with the differences and similarities between people and open to delving deep into the human experience. People speak personally and vulnerably and are answered reciprocally with thoughtfulness and matched vulnerability in the areas that I frequent. There can be an alt-conservative bunch on the political sites, but it’s a huge forum  and you can find your niche and those niches are challenged respectfully by others. You can agree to disagree but work to understand each other. For the most part everyone respects each other’s unique opinions and experiences. You can argue respectfully and without danger of being thrown out, you can ask people questions about life and you can express feelings through poetry and writing and people are respectful and attentive. I met my real life best friend of 4 years here. The only thing that is not okay is disrespect and or threats. I have it too good there— but it has shrunk over the last few years too. It’s kind of ruined me for other forums. I adore respectful persuasive arguing— that’s true freedom there.

Absolute Write— you can learn about current trends there and there are some successful authors and up and coming folks there.  For the main vibe it is “woke” but without research or discussion. Individuals are worried about their image and individual “street cred” as far as I can tell and aren’t able to really discuss things to understand deeper and there can be big misunderstandings and knee-jerk reactions and dog-piles. I dislike that, obviously. There is a already strong culture of what is good and what is not that it takes time to learn. I like to get in deep into things and research different perspectives and experiences which isn’t done much there. However, there are a few excellent feedback threads.  There’s the “First 3 lines” threads which are fantastic if you want real feedback on openers and to understand your reader’s experience. There is also the query threads which are really good to learn from.
I don’t think AW is nearly as diverse as PersonalityCafe. There are a few people from other countries but it’s mostly English-speaking as a primary language (plus the brave few) and I might say they are generally young, although the moderators seem older and some seem jaded. With it being young and a lot of kind of shut-in 20ish year olds, they can be great writers but many don’t have much life experience. This is annoying to me sometimes, especially since the culture is so strong. They will glorify an idea about “being a nurse” or something like that and it becomes a bit obvious that they have no experience whatsoever and can’t listen to reality. That can get annoying. I like ideals but I like depth in reality and complexity and nuance.  This is, mostly not a crowd for that. Most of the writing craft itself is good though. But it’s a huge site. You can meet some great souls anywhere and I have.

Here— this site was really hard for me to figure out at first when I got into it about a year-ish ago. Like I said, I’m used to talking very deeply and personally and vulnerably and others doing the same and really delving.  I had to figure out what the goal here was.  Of course my goal is to write, but I figure I write better if the kaleidoscope of human experience is on the table for me to learn from and anyway… I don’t think I will say more.  You guys are individually great— I just have a different vision due to my past experiences on PersonalityCafe.  I can tell at one time there was more of what I wish for going on.  Every site has been depleted with discord, I think, and it’s not like I can’t make a difference. 

Anywhere I go, I should take what I can and see what I can contribute. I also know my goals are different than they were… I made a huge dent on PersonalityCafe but it took a lot of my time. My goals have changed slightly towards producing more writing content.  20% producing writing on my own 80% gathering info about people. That’s more balance than before for me.


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## RGS (Mar 16, 2022)

indianroads said:


> I was on AW for perhaps a year or so - I'm a slow learner and at the time I thought AW was the only game in town. I survived as long as I did by keeping my head down and avoiding touchy subjects like the plague.
> As evil as I am, I was amused when they went down under the DDOS attack. It was the excuse I used to look elsewhere, and I'm glad I did because I found WF.


I stayed out of their We Love Socialism Political section (or whatever they called it) until my big mouth got the best of me one night. Sure enough, within an hour I was banned. Boohoo for me.


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## Theglasshouse (Mar 16, 2022)

As much as I respect people who talk about other forums out there. I remember absolute write. I was once a member. I left after 50 posts. The members were hostile. They didn't seen encouraging to someone who had no grammar skills. It was like being in a toxic relationship with a person in real life. I gave up on them. I respect again the opinions of people. I also used to be a member of writer's beat. One of the member's there recommended Janet Burroway's book on craft. That was really good on their part. Although I never used the book as intended and had bought it at least they were friendly.


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## Lawless (Mar 17, 2022)

Theglasshouse said:


> I remember absolute write. I was once a member. I Left after 50 posts. The members were hostile.


I too was put off by the hostile atmosphere there.


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## Bagit (Mar 17, 2022)

Theglasshouse said:


> I also used to be a member of writer's beat. One of the member's there recommended Janet Burroway's book on craft. That was really good on their part. Although I never used the book as intended and had bought it at least they were friendly.


Hey. I noticed you joined WF in 2013. Were you at WB around the same time? Just curious.

I consider 2000 thru about 2013 as being the busiest hours of WB. Then a few mods left. The Quarterly mag was put on hiatus and the place slowly eroded, collapsing into the ocean like Atlantis. It'll always hold a place of my heart--surely the reason I cannot let it go yet.

I feel WF has good atmosphere. Friendly staff and members. The boards a welcoming site, with writers serious about furthering their career/experience. Exactly the ingredients to succeed.


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## Theglasshouse (Mar 17, 2022)

Yes I was. I was casually going. Sometimes I'd post my stories there. I'd mostly post in their workshop which I have forgotten its name since it's been some time since then. Sometimes my stories were too long. It had to be shorter they told me. They had a friendly staff as mentioned. I wish they were still around. Our memory erases because of time what we use to know. Their feedback would have been given around these years. I remember I would dig up old stories from my email that were of 2013-2014. One of those stories I posted there of those years. I have a great fondness for how they treated people. I am not sure I remember my handle which I'd need to search my email. Anyways, I will remember that place with fondness.


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## Splinter (Apr 18, 2022)

I only frequent a handful of forums and came across this one purely by chance, liked the look of it and joined up. It's a friendly welcome, members are decent to each other and admins seem to be hands-off, so to speak.
There is another writing forum with a similar name and .org on the end, but I faded away from that one due to wokeness.
The others are my own expat forum which I started after being banned from another expat forum for asking too many questions about forum policy (such as why did they delete my posts, lol). They also had banned words and also read ALL our PMs, so I was glad of the sharp exit.
The other is a computer geek forum, mainly for gamers and hardware freaks like myself.


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## indianroads (Apr 18, 2022)

Forums can be a mixed bag.

Martial Art forums are usually filled with arguments about which style is better and who is biggest and baddest.

Biker forum are kinda similar - Outlaw groups boast about how tough they are, Owner groups talk about the new chrome thingy they put on their bike - that they rarely ride.

Some forums for writers are intolerant (the woke problem @Splinter mentioned). THIS SITE THOUGH is by far the best I've encountered. I've been here for ... I dunno... maybe a couple years, and surprisingly I've not been kicked off, so they must have thick skin and a high tolerance for my brand of idiocy.


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## Darkkin (Apr 18, 2022)

I'm on an autism forum and another poetry forum.  Poetry discussion on here are actually quite a bit more in depth.


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## DailyLunatic (Apr 18, 2022)

This is the only Writing Forum I have ever been on.

In the last 10 years I've been active on forums dealing with Aquariums, Thailand, General Photography, GiMP (photo processing software), Scuba Diving, Shooting Sports, T-Shirt Screen Printing, and both X-Carve & OneFinity (both DIY CNC Routers).

Some I dropped because I dropped the hobby, some because they seemed to devolve into some form of infighting.

The tone here is very welcoming.  I hope to be here for some time still.

-sterling


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## Parabola (Apr 20, 2022)

I used to hang out on a psychology forum, had been a member for over a decade before I decided to take an extended break. Truth bomb? I'm slightly antagonistic, usually up for a debate, and it would get tiresome to run into "values-y" personalities (not ideology specific and would say my mode of interaction was more puckish than anything). Believe it or not, though, that antagonism usually had a higher ethical purpose. Kind of regarded it as a prolonged social experiment, except much of the time debates would play out in an intellectually dishonest way, usually descending into social shaming/social jockeying etc.

Anyway, this forum seems to suit current needs the best and plan on sticking with it for a while.


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## Quelhallow (May 10, 2022)

Other than participating in NaNoWriMo every few years since 2004, I have not joined any other forums. One provides enough distraction.


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## Joker (May 28, 2022)

I lurk on GTPlanet (Gran Turismo, a racing video game) once in a while, but otherwise no, not any other traditional forums.

I moderate two Discord channels, one for history, science and (geo)politics, and another for cars. I tried a bunch of other Discord channels for the same topics plus writing, but without fail all of them were overpopulated vipers nests of SJWs, neo-Nazis, Islamists, teenagers and other assorted freaks. I'll stick to channels of ~50 people I can control, thank you very much.


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## Gyt Kaliba (Jun 19, 2022)

Forums used to be an incredibly big part of my online life, to the point that I even created one of my own that lasted a good while. Long story short though, that was a long, long time ago. Over the years, I've sort of fallen off posting on forums for the most part due to how addictive it can be to just sit around and post on them - which is entirely ironic as I now realize that's basically what Twitter is too..._ahem_ At any rate, nowadays I more so browse than anything else - joining this forum has been the most active I've been intending to get on one in some time honestly.

Just off the top of my head, other than my old long-forgotten forum, I've been a part of the FUNimation forums (a forum about anime), the Kanzenshuu forums (a forum about specifically the anime/manga 'Dragon Ball'), the Technodrome forums (a 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' forum), an Animorphs-based forum that I can't remember the name of anymore, and...that might be about it off of the top of my head.

Probably pretty obvious by this point what a huge nerd I am, I suppose.


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## arkayye (Jun 19, 2022)

Fora butterfly here.


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## indianroads (Jun 20, 2022)

Gyt Kaliba said:


> [...]
> 
> Probably pretty obvious by this point what a huge nerd I am, I suppose.


Nerds rule.


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