What goes through the minds of people who declare they are "leaving the forums"?

[Pixel Stick 927]

I can't really contribute much that hasn't already been said, but my thought is that you can usually tell when someone is just trying to be polite by saying "Hey, I'm not gonna post much here anymore", and when they're rage-quitting or looking for attention.  It's usually pretty obvious which category they fall into.  The polite ones that bother to post believe they're doing something nice for the people who enjoy their company, and the messages are usually short and to the point.

 

Then you have your rage-quitters: "This place sucks and isn't worth my time!  I'm taking my ball and going home, and you all can suck it!"  Etc.  Most of the time, that's just pure venting against some perceived wrong, and after the initial flurry of responses, the person is usually forgotten.  Personally, I become tempted to say "Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out" to people like this.

 

And then there are the attention-seekers.  As I'm sure you know, some people feel they need validation from the community in order to feel like they're worth something.  When normal conversation doesn't scratch that itch, they start calling attention to themselves in various ways, like that kid in class who's always dropping things and making funny noises.  When that fails to get them the attention they want, they'll turn to "I'm leaving!" type posts, in the hopes that people will feel bad for them and cajole them to stay.  That usually works, at least to some extent, but again I usually feel like saying "Don't let the door hit you on the way out".

 

As for when someone says they're taking off, then they decide to come back later, I don't see anything wrong with that.  People change their minds, and that should be fine.  I usually regard the "Goodbye" posts as non-permanent - I figure the post will be "valid" only as long as the person actually stays away from the forum.  As soon as they decide to come back, it's "Hello" again.  Not really any different from a frequent visitor to a restaurant - if that visitor decides one day he's going to start going somewhere else, that's his choice, as is the choice to come back.

 

Basically, I don't give it much thought in general.  The bigger the declaration of "I'm leaving!", the more likely it is to be an unnecessary call for attention.

[Freewave 1,145]

Yeah it's annoying but tbh there seem to be just as many threads about observations about people leaving then there are actual people leaving. Just like we don't need a thread observing about the people dislking the people who dislike EQGirls, sometimes its better to just not talk about it then to let the drama fester by CONSTANTLY talking about it. We have 6 months or so with no new ponies, people are gonna quit and move on because their bored and have nothing new to talk about. Just prepare yourself and lets not give the attenion whores a reason to do it, lets just avoid that negativity.  

Edited May 16, 2013 by Freewave

[Ghost 173]

  I understand if people leave for various reasons, but those who make threads about it are most likely seeking attention, like others have said.  If life gets busy, stressful, or interest in MLP fades, just become less active.  The user could always return later if he or she wants to. 

 

I can't really contribute much that hasn't already been said, but my thought is that you can usually tell when someone is just trying to be polite by saying "Hey, I'm not gonna post much here anymore", and when they're rage-quitting or looking for attention.  It's usually pretty obvious which category they fall into.  The polite ones that bother to post believe they're doing something nice for the people who enjoy their company, and the messages are usually short and to the point.

  I can understand the creation of "I'm leaving" threads in this situation.  If someone has developed relationships with people on this site over time, then decides to leave, I guess it would be nice to let them know what's going on.  This could probably have the same effect if done through a status update though.  That way, if people get curious and check the users page, they will know the user has left, or is on hiatus. 

[Lunas Husband 2,777]

I guess they don't like the forums anymore.. maybe they don't like MLP anymore... or maybe they don't have as much time anymore, I would say some of the other reasons... but the other ponies on here have said it all... Drama, Bored... etc..

[Derpaholic 1,155]

Leave, stay, go either way, I don't really care, anyway.
I also don't have problem with people initiating drama.
They want to have a chance to speak their minds in a public setting, and maybe explain the reasons behind their choices. Let them do that. Have a problem with that? Then don't frigging look at those status updates/threads!

[Scootalove 10,689]

I don't really care about the drama, you can take that somewhere else. If they want to leave, that's their choice so I guess I would feel sorry for them.

[Zygen 6,066]

I think most of the time threads are unnecessary, because first of all it just feels to public, i think if i posted a status update it'd probably be enough that people who cared would see it eventuelly

 

But realistically i've never "Left" a site, i just take a hiatus, infact alot of times i just get busy and don't say a thing.

 

There was a period of time where i was busy and hardly got on here anymore for a short bit, but i just came back and apologized for being busy and stuff and yeah.

 

I don't really think i'd ever just leave, maybe take a really really long hiatus at max, but i'd never just leave. Eventually i'll be drawn back probably, so why say i'm going to leave?

 

While i'm ok with people who say they're leaving i don't really like when they say everything has gone downhill and stuff like that, it feels like drama and idk it just irks me. Its almost like they're insulting me. And all of my friends here.

 

I personally think a blog or status update is enough for if your taking a hiatus or leaving, but a thread is a bit big really.