Where do we go from here?

[Hornwitser]

I wonder.  What does the community, that is you, want to build here?  A forum without activity is a dead place, though no one here can really be blamed for not making activity and I don't think that route of self pity is worth anyone's time.  I'm going to ask you this question instead: What do you want from this place?

I myself don't have much of a vision.  I wasn't part of the original Dragon Realms, so I don't know any people from there.  And I don't really have any ideas for what the new Dragon Realms should be.  All I can think of is having a fun time with some people who may or may not be a lot like me.

[NoddyTheDragon]

I originally got involved with this site because I pretty much left the Otherkin community altogether and felt like I should at least try to reconnect. 

Most of my experience with the Otherkin community has, in fact, been highly negative, because my kintype is unusual and I've had some very, shall we say unusual experiences since my Awakening when compared with most other people in the community.  My beliefs are also what some folks would call "fluffy" (basically a Neo-Pagan replacement for the Catholic Christian term "Heretical").  I've taken a lot of flak over the years for my differences of opinion from the majority, and as such it's kinda hard for me to really get into discussions here.  Even with all that, though, I do still check the forums, usually several times a day to see if anyone's said anything.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that Otherkin forums tend to be silent for long periods of time, and then you get one or two forums posts in a space of a few weeks and then you're back to months on end of silence.  It's not just this site that does it, but every Otherkin site I've ever been on (The original Dragon-Realms, Draconity.org, Draconic.com, etc.).  I've heard about the so-called "glory days" of the Otherkin community back when it was super active and so on, but that kind of ended with the demise of Rashan's forum, and IIRC, my Awakening took place just a couple months after that site shut down.  So I've never actually experienced the aforementioned "glory days," and the months of silence followed by a few days of activity followed by further months of silence in the Otherkin community is really all I've ever experienced of it.

When it comes right down to what I want, though... honestly, I just want an open forum where I can discuss my experiences and thoughts without feeling like a total idiot.  The way my experiences in life have been, I might never find a place like that especially in the Otherkin community, but at the very least I can hope, and keep trying.  Also, I've met some nice people in the community and I rather miss them, so I'm here. 

[Sendo Shin]

That seems pretty much in line with my desires, here.  Inclusive rather than insular.  Embrace diversity and learn from each other.  That seems like a pretty sweet gig to me.

[CrystalisRC]

I originally got involved with this site because I pretty much left the Otherkin community altogether and felt like I should at least try to reconnect. 

Most of my experience with the Otherkin community has, in fact, been highly negative, because my kintype is unusual and I've had some very, shall we say unusual experiences since my Awakening when compared with most other people in the community.  My beliefs are also what some folks would call "fluffy" (basically a Neo-Pagan replacement for the Catholic Christian term "Heretical").  I've taken a lot of flak over the years for my differences of opinion from the majority, and as such it's kinda hard for me to really get into discussions here.  Even with all that, though, I do still check the forums, usually several times a day to see if anyone's said anything.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that Otherkin forums tend to be silent for long periods of time, and then you get one or two forums posts in a space of a few weeks and then you're back to months on end of silence.  It's not just this site that does it, but every Otherkin site I've ever been on (The original Dragon-Realms, Draconity.org, Draconic.com, etc.).  I've heard about the so-called "glory days" of the Otherkin community back when it was super active and so on, but that kind of ended with the demise of Rashan's forum, and IIRC, my Awakening took place just a couple months after that site shut down.  So I've never actually experienced the aforementioned "glory days," and the months of silence followed by a few days of activity followed by further months of silence in the Otherkin community is really all I've ever experienced of it.

When it comes right down to what I want, though... honestly, I just want an open forum where I can discuss my experiences and thoughts without feeling like a total idiot.  The way my experiences in life have been, I might never find a place like that especially in the Otherkin community, but at the very least I can hope, and keep trying.  Also, I've met some nice people in the community and I rather miss them, so I'm here.

I hear you on this, I just got kicked from Otherkin.net and Draconia on Discord

[GreySpectrum]

I'm not really expecting to get much out of being here. I was part of the original Dragon Realms up to almost the end. I felt pushed out by all the drama and flaming going on there and found myself frequently the target of such battles. I was going through a hard time back then but even so what I got for my troubles was mostly alot of heated drama and people messaging me in private saying how displeased they were with the site. If I was to make a suggestion my one and only one is that steps are taken to prevent this sort of thing from hapening here on the new site.

Most communities I'm looking to make friends and hang out. I like a place where everyone can feel welcome whether they're new to otherkin communities in general or been around awhile. I'd also like to see a section of the forum for questions about or getting help with ones otherkin identity. From what I've seen this has become a bigger issue on other sites and frequently gets lost in other topics leading to the person needing help getting very few or sometimes no replies.

A Discord chat would be nice to have as it's the most recent platform for gaming and chat right now. The main problem with forums going silent comes usually from people either forgetting the place is around, thinking the site is dead, or just loosing interest. I'd like to have a place where I can come back to and find friends to chat with. Most of the problems I've run into over the years from the community either come from excessive heated drama being directed at me, loosing contact with friends then not being able to find them again, and getting labeled or branded without being given the chance to explain things. Not sure what else to put here. I may figure out more as time goes by. No problems with debates and such I just get tired of dealing with hot heads all the time and seeing very little to no effort being put in to stop a verbal flaming war on certain sites.

[CrystalisRC]

We actually have a discord permalink up and running, it's been running for about half a year now.

As for our moderators and administration team, it's being carefully selected by both snugglers and people who are usually warm, friendly and open as to disperse the previous air from DR 1.0

edited note:  It is also highly encouraged people start using the voice chat since IRC didn't really give us much option to work with aside from text...wouldn't really make much of a point just using Discord as a visual IRC posting images, and videos...  would also help us moderate more on a real time basis

[Rakeela]

The golden age is a myth of potential.  If you wish to live in utopia, you must create it about yourself.  Else we can wear the tatters and lounge around like basilisks in the ruins of a great city.  The difference is largely one of patience.