Isn't that good enough?  It's a start.....

I still come here occasionally. 

The tone changed, unfortunately.  It used to be fun and wacky and positive, which I really liked.  My life is too complicated and tough right now for insult-trading, personality-bashing, and people who attack others (Gabsters included) without showing themselves or having any desire to meet. Criticism is one thing, attacking someone is quite another.

It's one thing to have an opinion--for example that there is a "clique"--but then to criticize when never meeting anyone is a bit of a contradiction.

I didn't come in at the beginning, but met people and made friends later. 

I like the station and am an avid listener.  I like some shows better than others, but think in general they are delivering a fantastic product that was absent from this market.

My $.02.

You are so right Zen - we have a pretty special group of people (all whom  you listed and some that may have been forgotten) For lack of better terminology, we are pretty much the original Gabsters (we even called ourselves the G-spots!)  Without many of the personalities and bloggers you mentioned, this website would not have taken off as fast or had as many successful get togethers which has allowed the station to sell local advertising based on traffic, etc. etc..   Until recently, we had a wonderful place to gather (Mairin's Table) and have supported one another through good times and bad times. 

I can only speak for myself when I write that I had to cut down on the time I spent on the computer because of a surgery (that's now over thank goodness) as well as FB being more user friendly for folks so they could use instant messenger and other apps for gathering people together.  Also (and sadly) there were a few folks that also loved to stir up drama and trouble for individuals - Marsha is so right!  I made a decision to back away for awhile and I'm glad to see (by the looks of it today) that those people no longer dominate the blogs and contributions.  Finally, and the most important to me, I discovered that by originating my column "Wine Blogging Wednesday" here each week, I had given up the rights to my original content and it could be used without my knowledge or permission.  When you become a user on this site, you must agree to that - so my column now originates on WordPress first.  I just wanted my creative freedom to be mine.

The people I've met and hang with are wonderful.  Like Marsha, I still listen to many shows and will continue to participate in those things that are meaningful to me.....having a wonderful network of great people that are positive and supportive is awesome - so to that end I'm very grateful to have landed here.

And I know I met you briefly at one gathering - but will look forward to get to know you better in the future!

There's my 2 cents too! 

Hope to see you soon Zen

I absolutely almost totally disappeared from here, but it had nothing to do with the website rules or the new tone of the postings.  My life just got too busy.  The new job didn't allow access to the website at work and I was spending 10+ hours a day there.  I really didn't have the time or energy to log onto a computer at home other than to check email. 

I am changing jobs here in the next couple of weeks and hopefully will be putting in fewer hours and maybe have access to the site during the workday.

Thanks for including MrBunny and I on the list.  We have migrated to FB, but that is mostly to keep in touch with Ducky at college or as she is galavanting around the globe.

What what??..

I heard someone say my name..   :)

Regarding my absence, I used to pop back in occasionally, but with the lack of the usual Gabsters it wasn't nearly as fun.  AND with the negativity that seemed to be a constant dark cloud, it really became a bummer.  Glad to see that some of you are still populating the site and continuing to gather here, even if you don't have anything, outside this world, in common. 

I do miss the simplicity of the site and actually don't really feel at home on Facebook.  I have such a wide and varying group of friends on Facebook, from high school friends to college, to Gabsters, to previous co-workers, to family.. and really don't like posting when all of my various groups (some whom I'm really not close with or might share different information with) are there to read my every word.  The anomynity of Gabster was a great thing.. and still IS I think. 

And having met Gabsters in real life and starting a few groups that meet regularly (which are really just excuses to get-together for me!) has really been a treasure.  Cheers to Gabster.