Well, I originally came on here to review this tea. I don’t get a chance to sit down and drink tea and review it too often anymore. Having a toddler and two other children tends to interfere with having downtime to yourself.
But what this looks like it will turn into is a comment on the state of Steepster. The first thing I noticed was all the spam on the discussion page. Wow. I joined Steepster around 4 or 5 years ago, I think, and was entranced by all the constant reviews and vibrant discussions that seemed to be continually going on. Not to mention all the tea swaps and other sources of information and entertainment. I was very sad to see the state of the discussion board along. I decided to check out my dashboard and found much of the same. A very low amount of activity. Then I went to the people I’m following and checked in with their reviews and it seems a large majority who used to be super active haven’t posted much in the last year, if at all. (Hi to any of you who are still active here) I’m definitely guilty of this myself but it seems about a year and a half ago when I stopped coming on as often due to a new baby situation, everyone else decided that was when they stepped away as well.
I’m kind of sad to come back here and see the state of it. This was the first place that introduced me to the wide world of teas and all the knowledge that could be found here through reviews and discussion. But it seems no longer. I’m sure that is just a natural progression but it still makes me sad. I don’t know of another place that is quite like this one.
Le sigh.
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There are still some people here! But yes, the spammers are kind of out of control, and there isn’t nearly as much activity as there once was. I have to wonder whether the discussion page being so spammy contributes to people thinking this is a junk site? Anyways, I’m back after a fairly long hiatus (funnily enough – new baby is the reason I’m able to be back, since I’m no longer working insane amounts!), and noticed the same thing, but as I find this site useful for personal records, I’m sad but undeterred :)
As for me, I am not so much on the discussion boards, so I manage to avoid all that nonsense. I spend my steepster time on tea reviews and casual chat on other reviews. And yes, not as much activity, but still vibrant in spots. I think many reviews are now coming up on SororiTEAs (but no comments afaik).
Thanks to you both for responding and commiserating. I’m trying to do my part to be more present and active. Be the change, right? For me it’s a balance between time and limited caffeine intake. Looking forward to more interactions and discussions.
I balance my caffeine by switching to herbal tea after 6pm. Sometimes I feel like I’m drinking through more herbals/tisanes than the caffeinated stuff!
Mastress, I definitely do this. Unfortunately I have to stagger days with caffeine. I have ulcerative colitis and too much caffeine seems to put me in a flare which is new as of a few years ago. Oh, getting older…
Hmm, I have been having more issues with comorbid-related IBS with my migraines over the last year but haven’t thought of limited my caffeine by staggering days, since I figure I don’t drink a crazy amount as it is and a small amount can be helpful for migraine. I may need to look into that…
Couldn’t hurt to try. I didn’t realize it was the caffeine until I took an extended break and saw improvement.
@mtchyg – Yes, being the change is what I’m trying to do, when I have time! I’ve consistently been drinking a fair bit of tea, it’s the time aspect that got away from me. I suspect when I return to work after mat leave I may slow down on the reviews again unless I start taking proper breaks at work and reviewing during that time.
There are still some people here! But yes, the spammers are kind of out of control, and there isn’t nearly as much activity as there once was. I have to wonder whether the discussion page being so spammy contributes to people thinking this is a junk site? Anyways, I’m back after a fairly long hiatus (funnily enough – new baby is the reason I’m able to be back, since I’m no longer working insane amounts!), and noticed the same thing, but as I find this site useful for personal records, I’m sad but undeterred :)
As for me, I am not so much on the discussion boards, so I manage to avoid all that nonsense. I spend my steepster time on tea reviews and casual chat on other reviews. And yes, not as much activity, but still vibrant in spots. I think many reviews are now coming up on SororiTEAs (but no comments afaik).
Thanks to you both for responding and commiserating. I’m trying to do my part to be more present and active. Be the change, right? For me it’s a balance between time and limited caffeine intake. Looking forward to more interactions and discussions.
I balance my caffeine by switching to herbal tea after 6pm. Sometimes I feel like I’m drinking through more herbals/tisanes than the caffeinated stuff!
Mastress, I definitely do this. Unfortunately I have to stagger days with caffeine. I have ulcerative colitis and too much caffeine seems to put me in a flare which is new as of a few years ago. Oh, getting older…
Hmm, I have been having more issues with comorbid-related IBS with my migraines over the last year but haven’t thought of limited my caffeine by staggering days, since I figure I don’t drink a crazy amount as it is and a small amount can be helpful for migraine. I may need to look into that…
Couldn’t hurt to try. I didn’t realize it was the caffeine until I took an extended break and saw improvement.
@mtchyg – Yes, being the change is what I’m trying to do, when I have time! I’ve consistently been drinking a fair bit of tea, it’s the time aspect that got away from me. I suspect when I return to work after mat leave I may slow down on the reviews again unless I start taking proper breaks at work and reviewing during that time.