AHHHHHH. Thank you.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately - in a world drowning in AI slop, Subeta is... real. It's thousands of users who still sign in monthly. It's these forums. You can have ChatGPT generate some pet images, but you can't generate 20 years of history, of friendships, of inside jokes and memories.

I'm not trying to guilt people into coming back to spend money here. This is genuinely just a calm place for people to hang out and be friends. I've done a really good job blocking bots.

I was 13 when I started this site. When I was 14, moms and their daughters were playing together, and I thought that was a little silly. Those daughters are still checking in now... and showing their own daughters. I'm so humbled that Subeta has been here this long - not because "oh look what I've been able to do," but because everyone here has sustained this community. Look around your towns, your cities. In the time you've played Subeta, how many businesses have turned over? How many restaurants, shops, hangout spots have come and gone? Subeta is still here because of all of its users.

The best way to show that Subeta should still exist? Post in the other forums. Social media, in my opinion, went rotten. Post here instead. Have you been knitting? Tried needlepoint? (I did... and just stabbed myself too many times.) What games are you playing? What are you watching? Post about your crappy day - I bet everyone here will lift you up. That's not something you get on Facebook or Twitter anymore. Talk about your life with other users here.

This is a place without algorithms. I'm still trying to put my finger on exactly how to say it, how to bring back friends who've drifted away over the years, but... this is something special. Not frozen in amber - something we can hold together.