5HT1A:
Dimensions Magazine is gone?! When did this happen? I've been coming and going every year or so for over a decade... I feel like an institution is gone. FF has also been a cornerstone of my personal growth (no pun, I'm a feeder, lmao), but Dims and FF served different purposes to me. They had two different cultures, I think.
I feel like a personal mentor died. Does anyone know what happened or why it's gone?
Outsider viewpoint (i’m not an insider, esp. there):
* When: i noticed it a couple of years ago. It was already like it is now back in 2018. The change might have come earlier.
* Why/what happened: founder Conrad B. moved on. Change in ownership/control (details of which i do not know). Tumult. Serious discord around political stuff in a forum i never went into called Hyde Park. An absolutely amazing person who used to be a regular here on FF and does not want to be publicly cited did beyond-human work holding things together as whichever new anonymous site owner/owners were in absentee mode. New owner/owners came back, took over. For reasons i do not understand, unlike here on FF and other sites in our community, those in charge seem to prefer hiding in the deep shadows. Their choice, but for me at least i feel less comfortable.
I participate sometimes more over there than here for one reason: Dimensions sends out daily email digests with new post excerpts. Seeing this in my email inbox every morning motivates me to see what’s new. Shouts here on FF serve a similar purpose, but i have to remember to connect to the site (getting used to doing so again).
I still feel somewhat more at home here, but truly i’m struggling to feel at home on any site in our online community.
Thanks be to the Internet Archive, which has preserved a whole lot of old Dimensions. Those of us who archived selected Dimensions pages in past years can be glad we did that.
If it’s any consolation 5HT1A, quite a number of long-time members on Dimensions are still there, or still pop up now and then. Same with here on FF. There’s also wonderful newer-to-me people on both sites (and likely other sites too). I’m grateful for all of them—
you—on whichever site or sites you prefer to frequent.