Comment on If only this were true. by braven

Parent Post: If only this were true. · In Reply To

braven · 3/13/2026, 1:48:35 AM · permalink

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sonatime · 3/13/2026, 6:16:59 AM · permalink

I guess I forget that in real life, one has to actively seek out people who share specific interests and are willing to discuss random topics at length. That's a big task and a big ask:) Online spaces are always accessible and maybe spoil us with the greater illusion of easy/broad connection:)  
  
From what I've seen, it's not easy to grow a site organically without making some targeted decisions about where interested users might come from. I'm not sure this site can ever grow purely organically without outreach. It seemed to have decent retention at one point, but I never felt like it was truly out of the novelty woods.  
  
It might require deliberately finding interest groups elsewhere and inviting or contacting them directly, etc. But who has the energy to invest in that when self-promotion here is so limited? Without a critical mass of users, the future looks pretty tough. I think I'd open up control of the pochas to those who want to publish and grow communities around specific interests.  
  
I never really thought much about where this place could be heading beyond just observing users and engagement. Even though free speech is still protected in the US - on paper:), pretty much everything in society and institutions is being steered in the opposite direction. A genuinely "politically incorrect" free-speech platform will certainly get targeted if it grows large enough, so a real clash is inevitable.  
  
I also hadn't really considered the group dynamic vs. individual one. If I were some kind of genius, I'd happily share deep insights and knowledge endlessly (on some farm through a speaker:)), but honestly my personal life/needs/wants feel a bit boring even to me. I'd much rather discover new things, learn, and share that. Almost everything can interesting.  
  
I've never been to AA type meetings myself, but I knew someone who went mainly for the depth and spiritual side rather than any specific habit they were quitting (at least as far as I remember). No matter how people appear on the outside, inside everyone has those core human needs:) It can be embarrassing, I am mostly cured at the moment:)  
  
 Maranatha Brother Braven:)

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braven · 3/14/2026, 5:34:38 AM · permalink

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braven · 3/14/2026, 5:35:31 AM · permalink

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sonatime · 3/15/2026, 3:24:36 AM · permalink

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braven · 3/15/2026, 4:12:21 AM · permalink

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braven · 3/15/2026, 4:23:16 AM · permalink

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sonatime · 3/14/2026, 7:40:47 AM · permalink

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brokenclock · 3/14/2026, 1:26:36 PM · permalink

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sonatime · 3/14/2026, 2:22:25 PM · permalink

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sonatime · 3/14/2026, 4:35:08 PM · permalink

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braven · 3/14/2026, 5:05:16 PM · permalink

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