Three Year Anniversary

It is roughly three years since the Psience Quest forum was founded.
One way or another, we're still here. Personally I'd like to thank all members past and present and readers / lurkers too for keeping this venture going. The future is as yet unwritten. Let's see what it brings.

Yay anniversary!

That's cool. Glad it is still around.

[Laird]

It's glad you're still around too, chuck. Or at least, I am. Sometimes I get the two confused. 

We started this three years ago to distance ourselves from Skeptiko and the direction that forum appeared to be taking. We brought along quite a few of the regulars from there. Lately it seems to me that the level of interest has been on the wane and I can only speculate as to why. Is it because, like Skeptiko, other subjects such as conspiracy theories have come to the fore (that would certainly drive me away)? Or have people gradually returned to the Skeptiko fold? Or have we exhausted the discussion of these subjects? I must say that I have not been posting for several months because I feel I don't have much more to add that I have not said at length in the past. But I call in regularly and hope to find some new gems of information which might spark the embers.

I hope this forum survives and, indeed, revives so if anyone finds an interesting book or video or article or research activity, please post it. And, again, I'm talking about the main focus of this forum, not about Covid conspiracies or politics.

Skeptiko is unrecognisable to me now. I wouldn't go back on there under any circumstances, no matter what happens to this one. I occasionally look in if I'm searching for old information but it's hard to work out what's real and what's fake--or who's real and who's fake and just generally, what the hell are they talking about. That large brown dog seems to flourish there, though. 

I actually see Psience Quest continuing for as long as the founders/members see fit if the modest funding can be maintained. It doesn't have to be buzzing all the time, does it ? As to posting articles, the problem is always getting permission which is not easy. Laird's rules are very strict, stricter than mine would be, but to be fair it's his name on the saloon bar so it's understandable.

[Laird]

I actually see Psience Quest continuing for as long as the founders/members see fit if the modest funding can be maintained.

It's nice to read that positive prognosis, tim, and I don't think that the funding of the forum - which as you say is modest - is ever going to be a problem. Both Ian and I would probably have been happy to simply provide it all ourselves if the rest of the members had not been kind enough to say, "Hey, we'd like to pitch in too". We still have savings after that initial funding drive to last us another year or so.

It doesn't have to be buzzing all the time, does it ?

I guess not - the only potential problem is that longer periods of inactivity might lead to members checking in less frequently, in turn leading to a sort of downward spiral. But our average count of members visiting over the prior 24 hours has been stable at around the mid twenties for a few months now, so perhaps that is our new, stable normal (it has been higher in the past, especially in the early days).

As to posting articles, the problem is always getting permission which is not easy. Laird's rules are very strict, stricter than mine would be, but to be fair it's his name on the saloon bar so it's understandable.

I was tempted to say, "Hey, I'm just one of the founders - don't blame me in particular", but in fairness, I did drive those rules, and I doubt that in my absence the other founders would have given copyright issues much thought. And yes, as one of the administrators of the forum, I would be one of those to cop any legal flak from any copyright issues. I really appreciate that you have been willing to work with the rules as set up even though as I know you strongly disagree with them, tim.

No need to post verbatim. A summary with a link is fine. And links to videos or even whole websites. Haven’t we always allowed those posts?

No need to post verbatim. A summary with a link is fine. And links to videos or even whole websites. Haven’t we always allowed those posts?

Is that aimed at yours truly, Dave ?

I wish I could post more sometimes. I was writing up the second of my big three full transitions which I'm calling "Aheadjro" which I didn't have too much issue with, certainly compared to Loderunner, when covid lockdown hit and forced me to see it and many other past thought processes in a very new light and I stalled on it. I have lots of other things partly written or that I could write up but haven't yet. One of the biggest being the "nightmare spider" full transition. I do wish more people would do experiments or practice, write up their dreams and experiences, and so forth. There's lots of things that could be gleaned and tested if they did. Without new avenues of research there probably isn't much more to post.