why do people come and go?

Thanks for your thoughtful replies!

I agree a 'General Q&A' page could be very useful. It could also help those who are looking for answers to search the forum more easily. Though there is a general information page here: https://www.autism.org.uk/about.aspx, which includes what is autism, adult diagnosis, driving, etc. Perhaps putting direct links to these pages that people can access from the forum will also be helpful?

I think I will very likely do the same as you, even if I sometimes don't post as often. I personally would like to have an account open, so if I do take a break for a while and decide to come back some months/years later, I can always come back easily. And I agree "deleted user" is really confusing to follow. 

It's amazing you've been here for 3 years. Good job! I've been reading posts from this forum since almost 2.5 years ago, before I created an account of my own over a year ago. I remember reading your posts from those years ago 

Hmm... interesting, I've never joined an autism FB group before

I don't usually join groups that aren't school/work-related, so I only get a few (like 3~5) notifications a day, and the ones I get are often relevant. For example, when I was doing my undergraduate, the department had a FB group, which was quite helpful in learning about new events and opportunities. 

And I never read every single post on the news feed, so I don't feel the stream of updates were too much - and the ones that come up on top are usually selected by some algorithm so that posts with lots of likes and those from close friends come up first. Also groups that I haven't used for a while don't turn up in the notifications unless it's important. 

...I forgot to say the first thing I meant to say. This Thread poses a Question but then the OP gives <> all of the answers anyway. Well done & Good Thinking!

qwerty said:

Or is it because they get bored of having to answer the same questions over and over for so long?

Greetings to You from Myself. I shall freely admit that this is close to being ME, here. This is why some of Us keep asking NAS to put up a 'General Q&A' Page here, along with the "Rules", linked to when a person first signs on, here. They can do it but they will not.

qwerty said:

Or is it because they had some bad experience here?

...There are some People who... well, "Post in Anger", either deliberately or accidentally, and then they are Censored or Deleted. (The Moderators threaten the Person with "Moderation".) And sometimes a Person deletes Themselves whilst Angry or Upset.

qwerty said:

Do you think you will still be on this forum 5 years later?

...I always say that, even if I do not Post as often as I used to, I shall always keep My Account Open (i.e. not turn into a "Deleted User" which is confusing to follow.) Sometimes a person long Posting not for Years, comes back, and it is a thing to see them Post <> "I haven't been here for a while!" and if they are in good repute then it is good to see, Yes indeed.

I have been here 3 Years so far, and this is My only (safe-ish) manner of exploring so-called "Social Media", and so in Two Years Time I may reply to that Question with a sort of "YES, Thanks."...!

This is a good Thread. Thanks. (I had to open using a quote or else this reply might disappear as I type it!)

For those that are on facebook. I find the 'British women with Aspergers UK connect group' really helpful, it's a closed group where people can post any queries or issues and discuss with other group members. I also belong to 'Just Aspies please' which is worldwide in theory but predominantly American, it can get rather dramatic! I have my own group on facebook too and that's really the only reason that I made a new facebook count. Basically it's a mixed bunch with facebook groups, some are good and some not so good. I would suggest that if anyone joins any ASD facebook groups then it is best to join a closed group where posts can only be viewed by group members.

I contemplated joining one but the stream of updates about the latest from the cat put me off. Pets are lovely, but  streaming photos is not for me.

I've joined a bunch of closed groups on FB... and then left them...

• usually very 'niche'
• often quite depressing and/or 'ranty'
• not a lot that was useful
• 'spammed' my FB feed and stopped me seeing updates I was actually interested in

I wasn't really getting any 'value' out of them... ymmv...

Probably all of the reasons you mentioned. I also think it is the quality of conversation and its ability to grow, stay relevant as people evolve. I am sure there is a potential for long lasting community relevant to people at various stages, but it needs to be managed and maintained. I think Facebook had some role in it as well. There are a number of closed groups. But I don't know enough, I am not on fb.

Does anyone know what is happening on fb?

All of the above...

I think people come here when they start their journey of discovery and then stick around for as long as they 'need' to...

I'd like to say that self-diagnosed or otherwise, diagnosed as ASD or not shouldn't matter in terms of being here.

 - if you feel this space gives you something you need, you're welcome here...

 - if you feel you can give something this space needs, you're welcome here...

I hope I will still be on the forum in 5 years, but I don't post or reply as often as I used to. I am waiting for my official assessment, so I can't be 100% sure I have ASD yet and therefore feel it might be inappropriate to reply to some of them. (Ironically, when I first came here looking for help and was only self diagnosed I was less worried about that.) I am also worried that if I get too attached to it and the people on here and then find I'm not autistic and have to leave, it will be a harder blow. So I have taken a step back, metaphorically speaking. (I know that might not sound very logical to others.) I mostly just read what others have written and vote up the things I like.

My confidence was also shaken not long ago by a "war of words" which happened between some members of the forum, but I'm over that now. It did put me off for a time, though.

I think it could be for any of the reasons that you gave. Personally I need the forum at the moment to interact with other autistic adults and to help me to adjust to my ASD diagnosis. I suspect that I’ll eventually get to the point where I no longer feel that I need to post on the forum, but I haven’t got to that point yet.

I think it's a combination of most of the reasons you gave, I'm not sure any of us could answer why.

I came here for advice and to share my experiences, what I got was an education and more help and support than I have ever had. So I try to help others as I was helped, I hope I will be here In 5 years