phase, I'm going to pick bits to reply to as there is so much that you've raised that deserves to be addressed and discussed further. Also, please excuse me as I head off on something of a tangent.
Good Point. I'm not sure that completely explains why there is so much contempt shown towards others' preferences etc. and I don't wish to indicate specific examples here, but from what I see, a good many comments are made in relation to media articles or responses to them. A lot of these stories stir up emotions in us all, and so it's quite natural for expression to run wild. However, it doesn't help those who shy away from this board because such comments touched a nerve, so perhaps we need to examine the root cause in relation to thread/post topics.
This is something I notice all over the site actually. People don't tend to see themselves just as drug users, they see themselves as stoners, or tweakers or pill poppers and when it degenerates to the level of name-calling and stereotyping, it really sets us back and puts us in the wrong direction. Spending energy fighting against each other when we really are all in the same boat.
We can't institute rules that forbid stupidity and small mindedness though.
I've heard Bluelight described not long ago as being like the Coldplay of drug forums. Meaning that while this place was once smaller and more specialised in it's focus, both in drugs (mainly ecstasy) and by region (formerly a lot larger Australian contingent) it's now far more American/European and the drug users finding their way here are younger and with a much broader focus. A reflection of what's happened in a wider context over that time as the rave scene died off to be replaced by a mainstream dance music and festival scene.
If the Aus DD of 1999 to 2003 was a reflection of the people getting into "party" drugs back then, then in a way, the Aus DD of today reflects what has replaced that scene, and all that PLUR.
On the one hand you have an increasing normalisation of drug use in young people, and on the other hand you have little or no real movement in drug policy or even a glimpse that things might change... which leads us to today's situation; an acceptance of the current status quo and individuals who have resigned themselves to make the best of their lives within those terms.
Added to this the fascination we've had for the last few years with TV shows like Underbelly and the glamorisation of criminals, what we see in the forum is an increased interest in anything to do with drug law enforcement, and often the most popular threads are about things like bikie wars, how to deal with law enforcement, how to deal with sniffer dogs and so on.
I think you'll agree that while all of these things have their place, or they wouldn't be here, it is perhaps time that they took up less of the discussion here.
My girl recently exclaimed that she's losing interest in helping people who've got enough money to buy tickets, booze and drugs at festivals and then wind up needing help, when there's so many unfortunate people out there for whom disadvantage is far more than simply the result of lifestyle choice. I have to say, when this place was thriving, HR was on everyone's lips.
Over the last year, something that's taken me aback slightly is the number of requests myself and the mods of this forum have received asking us to close threads, or delete posts, that they fear might bring attention to a particular drug or a particular vendor. Often the messages are worded like this:
"Can you please close thread x because it's bringing attention to this vendor"
or
"If this becomes too well known, this drug will be banned and I don't want that to happen".
This sort of me-first mentality seems to be fairly common these days with little or no recognition from some of these folks as to what Bluelight is actually here for.