Howdy from an old member

Not sure how long I've been here. Since the late 90s, I think. I've seen many personas come and go. There was a time when this place had a golden age. We had verbose individuals who spouted out wisdom as though it were their jobs.
Even the posting page has changed. It's more like a job application. :-)
Back in the day you had other discussion sites, like the PLF (Pedofile Liberation Front) and Fresh Petals. The internet was the wild west back then.
Now, everything is about "protecting children" except no one is protecting children. They are more concerned with protecting guns and religion. The only thing children are being "protected" from are education, books, healthcare, critical thinking, safe foods, clean environment, and a future worth living for.
All I have ever wished for was meeting some of the individuals who populated this page and having some frank and open discussions and simply live in freedom.