LoveShack.org

Moderators will ban anyone they want to, I think. No second chances or appeals. Some posters can say almost anything, but if anyone complains, that's it.

You are nobody to them, a nameless entity, so easy to delete anything. Other forums have same issues, unfriendly censoring mods. No explanation given.
Of course, no one is really banned. Your computer is banned.

He blocks and locks you down for the most pettiest of things. God forbid you say a cuss word or give someone some harsh advice because their clueless.

Loveshack is no more. Perhaps all the negative reviews here killed it?

I liked some of the more philosophical and political discussions, and enjoyed engaging with people I didn't always agree with. That's where a site like LS can excel - in more general discussions about relationships, life and philosophy. I think people seeking advice tailored to their specific situation often ended up regretting putting their very personal stuff out there.

Was never a fan of Carhill/William. Various regulars gave him the nickname of "Carbundy" after he went through a phase of using pictures of Ted Bundy for his avatar. Every so often, I'd see a post from him where he'd express a wish to see the herd of humanity thinned out by some great plague or atrocity. Well, he certainly thinned out the herd on LS... and I'm not surprised to see that the site has finally died a death.

It's a shame it's completely disappeared though. Back in the day, before WillCarbundy took over and started banning anybody who swore, said anything remotely sarcastic or ventured a fraction outside the strict parameters he applied to discussions, some pretty great conversations and the odd bit of fun drama happened on that forum. Posters on it became real life friends, some even got married... so it's sad that it ended on such a low note.

Longtime member here and a controversial one at that lol... I miss the people, although knew the site would go down one way or the other due to lack of interest and major partiality from some of the mods. Some were forced to walk on eggshells, per se, because it felt like every word was being monitored and critiqued.

At one time most of the sections/forums were really fast paced, but about a year after Tony left it got really weird and most of the forums hardly moved at all. Moderation seemed to be acting on their mood that day or week- good mood meant everyone could speak freely, bad mood meant everyone was banned. I noticed major partiality, meaning various mods would let the people they liked slide and those with the same beliefs always got a free pass. Anyway, the extremism concerning moderation, not moderating those who really needed it (the extremely rude, crude and socially unacceptable) and constant moderation with those really trying to keep with the VERY confining unusual 'rules'.

What really irritated me the most was the 'off topic' moderations. Wow they were completely overboard with this one... many, many great conversations were ruined and God forbid you deviated slightly from the topic and it was a bad day for the mod on duty, you were banned... unfortunately most felt oppressed and when that was communicated by the members, they were told that it's a big internet out there.

To note, my review says 'average', but I think most of the members were beyond exceptional and I did hear rumors that the reason the site is down is due to the passing of the owner/operator. No one is really sure though and I hope this is not the case.

I know my 'review' sounds more like a rant, and it is, but want to say I learned a lot over the years from the members. I wish the very best for all of the members and hope all is well

Yes there were nasty comments and bad advice. Yes the mods got heavy handed - I often did not know why I get suspended for a day or two. However for me it was a place to vent toxic feelings (no advice needed), and also more importantly to open my eyes to other views, relationship styles and lifestyle choices. I learned alot. Of course nothing ever really goes away on the internet does it? (wink)

https://web.archive.org

It used to be a site I couldn't stay away from, but it became very boring and with the heavy handed moderation. Especially since this last presidential election.

Not only were we stifled (even on the political forum) - but I began to loose interest because others were not allowed to express themselves completely - or had to watch what they said.

Post after post of Trump bashing or America bashing was (however) permitted.

We appreciated your posts Carhill, but would have loved it more had you and yours allowed others to post as well. And without threatening members posting privileges.

I would guess LS had the most rigidity on conservative politics' posting than any other site. Ridiculous. Reasons were under the guise of 'off topic' or talking about the previous (Obama) administration when asked not too, etc.

Probably, members would report posts to mods that they didn't agree with. And attach it to LS reasoning.

I think Michael O has it spot on, though I'd say his one star rating is a bit unfair. William, the head moderator, is also the prolific poster known as Carhill. A character who likes to present himself as an expert on various matters, his ego is indeed an extremely fragile item.

However, he is a diligent moderator who has gathered a band of other moderators together to ensure that spams, obvious trolls and any hint of drama are deleted without delay. Credit to him for that. Nobody can accuse him of not being a stickler for the rules, but the site is a dull and humorless thing compared to what it once was.

Three stars, because it's really not a bad site - but back in the day before William or Carhill took over, it was a five star site with a really good line up of regular posters. Loveshack is the internet forum equivalent of a once great sitcom that has jumped the shark.

The site was long abandoned by the owner. A few bad apples but mostly the Mods tried to keep it going. Artcritic was always warm. Gorilla theater made us laugh. Wichwayisup and gunslingerroland didn't seem to have any other life outside of the forum. I hope they're holding up well.

Kind of bummed I didn't think to save some of my better posts, but I didn't think the site would just vanish the way it has.

I enjoyed connecting with a few people on the forum after I joined during the summer of 2015. I was still reeling from some heartbreak, so reading the accounts of others going through similar situations was comforting in a way. While my own heartbreak became more of a memory than a daily thing to deal with, I stuck around the forums and became a regular contributor.

It was a nice feeling to know others found some value in my posts, as I would often get private messages from people letting me know as much. I don't think the mods agreed, though, as I was the recipient of more than a handful of moderator-imposed posting limitations.

I began to drift away from the forum late last year, in part because I grew frustrated with how often my posts were edited or outright deleted by moderators. I understand the need to maintain civil discourse, but it often felt like the mod team took that aspect far too seriously, often shielding anyone from well-meaning tough love.

The final straw for me was having a post deleted and my posting privileges restricted for a week without any sort of explanation from the mods. Having your posts go through a mod filter and then often appearing a half day later when the conversation had moved well past the talking point made contributing a pointless exercise.

If this really is the end of the forum, then I'm grateful it served as something of a sanctuary for me during those early days and allowed me to maybe help or amuse others in the years that followed. Still, the sanctions imposed by the mods made the place increasingly difficult to contribute to, and I feel like maybe it's best to move on for good, even if the forums do return.

This site was very helpful in 2013 when I faced my first heartbreak and needed advice, comfort and empathy that I could not find in real life. I did learn a lot about relationships, society and humanity. There were times when people were rude and harmful to those who were seeking out help. Many posters just wanted to be heard rather than help people, or wanted to provide 'tough love' when it was not in order. There were a lot of anti-feminists on there who use the word 'feminist' as an insult. The 'like' button was probably a bad thing. You give some advice and receive 0 likes, and the popular cool kid gives exactly the same advice 3 pages later with 10 likes. It is true about people ganging up on others, and if you stand up to the bullies then they will come after you. I like the spin-off site and found it so good and supportive but didn't realise they were just laughing behind my back. Heaven forbid your political opinions differ, or you challenge someone else's views. Most of the facts of life and relationships seem to be social, not brute facts. For many posters, there is no grey - just their own truth. I am sad that it is gone but I had enough of it anyway. Reading about problems all the time starts to get you down. Hard to let go of the site as it was the last chapter of that relationship I am still clinging to.

I mostly agree with previous reviews. I first found the forum around 2007 and I enjoyed reading the many high spirited discussions. Around 2011 I had a family crisis that made me forget about the forum for a couple of years but when I did visit again I was surprised to find it dead and dry. Almost a ghost town compared to what it used to be. I quickly figured out why when I started being moderated for ridiculous reasons. I finally had my fill when I was placed on 5 days of moderation for using the word slut. Context is everything. I never called anyone that name, I was defending someone and said they were wrongfully accused of being a slut. I was shocked at how punitive the moderator was. A simple reminder would have sufficed. That site was ruined by the moderators.

Thought the place was pretty cool on the whole; lots of larger than life characters, great wealth of experiences, good banter (thanks for the laughs, Haydn), though a bit too conservative for my liking in terms of politics - got a 'temporary restriction' on my account in early 2017 for saying something a little naughty about the USA Prez and was still unable to get back onto the site by March this year, so obviously 'temporary' is subject to interpretation ... Never been in trouble previous to that - thought the mods were pretty harsh on that one :( . No regrets though, the mods got to do what the mods got to do!

I didn't like the armchair mental health diagnosing at all (my bug bear) or the political echo chambers on either side of the political spectrum (civilised political debates were near impossible) but I'll definitely miss getting so many perspectives on the same issue (all very informative and a huge help in trying to make sense of human behaviour).

I was a member for some years until it crashed or died for good in late march 2018.

I was quite enthusiastic first, the forum then seemed like a mostly good community. Some pretty blunt and direct posters -- if you said something out of the line or plain dumb, but no worse than other forums on the internet.

I was also moderated fairly often, I was put in the cooler a couple times for profanity though never aimed at anyone, then I learned about the very strict policy of William and Robert to never use cuss words. All good, so far. I was barely moderated for the last year I was there.

Some genuine and insightful members contributed over the years, others were bullies, probably unhappy with their own lives and ten of thousands posts on an obscure vBulletin forum that was probably going to die someday, since PAUL (Founder) abandonned the ship many years back anyway and never seemed to care much about his own site anymore.

Not going to further bash William or Robert, they did a good job at getting rid of trolls, spammers. I don't know how or why the site died, but it's a closed chapter for me, even if it's back someday.

I've had good times on LS, "met" a few lovely people there, and have had several posters talk to me privately to tell me that I helped them. That, to me, is one of the best feelings in the world - knowing that you made a positive difference in someone else's life.

Unfortunately, for much of the last few years there, I've had a similar feeling while posting there that I did while living in a country that was run by a dictatorship who controlled the media and internet, where you had to watch every word you say otherwise you would be hauled in for questioning and jailed without trial. Having been on several other forums at the same time, I will say that I have never quite encountered such a draconian "enforcement" of rules. That was not the case several years ago, but really ramped up circa 2014 or so.

Yes, of course, there are other forums. I am surprised that anyone would be surprised by this. It's a free world (for most of us) and adults can do as they please. Posting on one forum does not mean you are not allowed to post on other forums. If the mere existence of "another forum" suffices to "pull posters away from LS", perhaps one might want to consider that they are having a better experience in the "other forum" than they are/were at LS, for a variety of reasons.

Anyway, RIP LS, and I hope the owner is doing okay. It's certainly not his fault, what LS became.