Are things slower around here?

[Garamonde]

I miss the great stuff that used to pump out of this place, and when everyone was getting along, it was great,
But the overwhelming hostility scared me into not posting for over 2 years, I'd never really used a forum before this one, really dangerous waters to venture for a first timer

TSR was my first forum, too
only I wish I was as aware as you were back then
in fact it was the debut of my internet days once I decided to expand past Facebook
I originally joined because I had gotten into the hobby of ripping sprites and wanted to submit them, so I joined the forum to do that (prior to this I didn't even know TSR had a forum)
I had joined in January '11, but didn't post until February to submit my rips, and it wasn't until late March that I started to explore the forum past the Resource sections

it was then I was met with assholeyness unlike any I'd ever seen, as you could imagine if you knew my history here
I was very new to the internet, and during this time I was at a "midpoint" in my past life
I was sheltered to a sickening extent and as a result of this I had no social experience, thus why I was so awkward and defensive
I didn't know how to socialize, and it showed. as a result I was often the laughing stock of the old asshat users (and most everyone else, really) and also criticized for being "too nice" (because of this I stood out a lot)
things were really rough for me up until late '11

that's when people started realizing that nice people do exist, so they started warming up to me
and once I started learning things, I became a good member and before I knew it, a moderator
I actually don't know why I stayed, but maybe it was because there were a few good-hearted people here who understood and supported me
I guess one important thing to remember is never to give up even if things are rough
all in all, I didn't have a very good introduction to the internet here, but I guess it turned out to be a good thing that I dived in as a fresh internet user
because it's helped me realize what life even is, how to make my own decisions, and perhaps even played a role in me getting a new life.
TSR pretty much changed my life drastically.