I used to be very active on CL back in 2007-2008 or so. I've been posting things on and off over the years, but it seems like the community has changed quite a bit. It seems as the community has gotten bigger, there's less commenting/interaction of that type, and more people plugging their own palettes. I like commenting on other people's palettes and striking up conversations, but that doesn't seem to be as much the norm as before. Is it just me?

as someone who's only been around for a year, I realized this too. unless you're already buddies, it's hard to talk to people. in fact, I try making stuff for people just to get a word out of them... don't always work, but at least I try :'>

Oh yes. I've been talking about this with quite a few people and they all say the same.
Mix the lack of interaction with all of the sad events that have occurred to community members this year and CL has a totally different feel to it. At times, it's downright depressing.

I've only been here for a year and a half, definitely not as long as you have, and I've felt a big change, so I can only imagine what it's like for members like you who have been around since the early stages of COLOURlovers.


museful wrote:

I used to be very active on CL back in 2007-2008 or so. I've been posting things on and off over the years, but it seems like the community has changed quite a bit. It seems as the community has gotten bigger, there's less commenting/interaction of that type, and more people plugging their own palettes. I like commenting on other people's palettes and striking up conversations, but that doesn't seem to be as much the norm as before. Is it just me?

It's not just you...I feel the same way. I first joined back in 2009...I used it for a short time before abandoning it (mostly being that I was busy and didn't have constant internet access at home like I do now, therefore I didn't really have time for a site like CL). In August, I came back after randomly remembering this site and I noticed that a lot had changed in terms of the site itself. The social aspect seemed to have changed as well. Everything seems a lot less personal than it did back then. People used to comment a lot more.

The bigger any interweb community gets, the more impersonal it gets. It's like living in a city now, versus a small town. C'est la vie. I still enjoy this site immensely, though...

museful wrote:

I used to be very active on CL back in 2007-2008 or so. I've been posting things on and off over the years, but it seems like the community has changed quite a bit. It seems as the community has gotten bigger, there's less commenting/interaction of that type, and more people plugging their own palettes. I like commenting on other people's palettes and striking up conversations, but that doesn't seem to be as much the norm as before. Is it just me?

That is a perfect way to describe it.

moldypetunia wrote:

The bigger any interweb community gets, the more impersonal it gets. It's like living in a city now, versus a small town.

Even big cities have great little neighborhoods. Growth and change are inevitable, but the people we have here are still awesome and I'm confident they'll continue to find ways to share the love.

I've noticed this as well... I've been here since 2007. Friends have come and friends have gone, but I still always enjoy my time on here, and ultimately the community is was keeps me from closing my account. Like anything, it is what you make it. :)

Well, there is also the problem of having the same few people winning contests, and the general competitive environment that we have lately, due to the numerous contests and the popularity involved with those who are always winning them. It's unfortunately almost always the same set of people, and you'd think that as a community member, some of them would consider that after winning one contest maybe holding off before entering another to give others a chance instead of always hogging the limelight. Also, there seems to be an influx of professional designers that have made it crappy for us indie folks. This used to be a more indie/artist community. Now it's just the same commercial environment we have to deal with all the time, with few exceptions. But even those few exceptions get drowned out.

yep, that's why I don't even bother getting into contests. I'd have no chance of winning because I'm not popular enough and don't know enough people to share my entries with. that said, I probably wouldn't do that myself anyway. I'm not that kinda person. to me, it feels like I'd be forcing people to see it. I even made one for this new contest and had it on my profile... but then I removed it because it didn't feel right to have it there... eh.

Ask yourselves....


What do you bring to the community?

I think we all add to the community in different ways, some people may not be as active as others, but we all are here because we want to be. :) Some enter contests, some participate on the boards like here, some are just friendly and chat with strangers, some just want to make palettes and patterns, some just like the beauty they have found here.

I agree that CL has changed a lot because it HAS! I remember back when it was gray and small and friendly, (I do make it sound like a kitten...) But it has changed so much since then. But it's still a community worth being a part of. We all add something IMO. :)

It is quieter than 1,5 years ago :) But i am also quiet person :)
I do mostly templates ...so thats my way to add something i think :) Without temps there is nothing to color? :)

Well, I'm glad I wasn't the only person that had experienced this. And I'm equally glad that this started a conversation among people! I can't say anything about contests, because I've never entered, but I'm always open to having a conversation or swapping some palettes. (Do people still play 2+2=5?)

Oh feel free to strike up conversations. Sometimes someone could be quiet and just needs chatting to :)

museful wrote:

I used to be very active on CL back in 2007-2008 or so. I've been posting things on and off over the years, but it seems like the community has changed quite a bit. It seems as the community has gotten bigger, there's less commenting/interaction of that type, and more people plugging their own palettes. I like commenting on other people's palettes and striking up conversations, but that doesn't seem to be as much the norm as before. Is it just me?

^^ That's me most of the time. I'm really quiet, quite introverted but I try to love back and always respond to people when they send me love notes. I'm also easy to get along with once someone else makes the first move. Ask Mei. She barely knew me before she sent me a love note, and voila... fast friends.

*nods* Yep, I claim total responsibility. :P *hugs*

Liebling wrote:

^^ That's me most of the time. I'm really quiet, quite introverted but I try to love back and always respond to people when they send me love notes. I'm also easy to get along with once someone else makes the first move. Ask Mei. She barely knew me before she sent me a love note, and voila... fast friends.

Yup! I agree that you sometimes just need someone to have enough guts to speak up. I before was feeling a little left out too, but now I talk with several people on a regular basis and I check on a few other pretty regularly to keep up with them. Sometimes it just takes a little courage to make a "small town" community out of a "big city" website like this.

I'm shy, have a massive fear of rejection, and find it hard to connect with a majority of people. so I tend to rarely talk to anyone on my own. but I'm pretty bad at starting conversations, anyway. unless it's about video games.

but if anyone else takes the time to say something to me, I will definitely respond. I get crazy excited when people actually take the time to talk to me. :'> something I'm not too used to.

As much as I regret not having the history you guys do, I'm grateful for being new around here with a fresh perspective that can be valuable to consider in contrast with your opinions.

I only felt at home in an online (or, for that matter, any kind of) community at one particular site, ever. It has always been one of the small town sites. Eventually I drifted away from that community and I felt like an outcast for years in a new era typified by Facebook-sized metropolises.

Joining this community was the first time since leaving that site when I felt at home again. And, ironically, for me COLOURlovers did and does feel like a small town very fun to go for a walk in. I'm sure it's in part because I still have a rather small light radius ‒ to please those mostly comfortable with video game conversations ;) ‒ and I really have a lot to discover and comprehend on a social level here. It's like, even if this really is a city after all, I only see my district for now and let me tell you, it's gorgeous.

Everything was so much better back then, even when it was worse. It's human nature to feel like that. My whole point is hello! you're fucking exceptional in a fucking exceptional community so go figure. ♥

I love your statement, g@bor.

Anyway, I don't know where to began... I've been here for less than a year, but I think I realize the problem within the community, and maybe could understand how people feel.

Personally, I want to engage and communicate with people more, but I am so bad at communications, and sometimes (if not often) I'm afraid to say the wrong things, I so I often tend to be silent and probably a bit 'distant'. But like Faeleia stated before, feel free to start a conversation if you want to, since sometimes quiet people just need chatting to. There are times I couldn't respond to your messages (especially when my illness really kicks in), but most of the time, I'll try my best to respond. Somehow... I wish there is something that could read our mind, filter it if we were having those (sometimes unnecessary) running thoughts, and help convey it to text or other means of communication, because sometimes, when people leave me messages, I'll respond to them instantly in my mind, but had difficulties to write or say it for real.

Well, at least I feel home here. Even though now the community is like a big city, people seems to just post things up and not engage with others in any form, there are still people who engage with others, or at least trying to.