11/21/2024 - FORUM MAY BE DISCONTINUED

[admin]

We are considering the removal of this forum. After many years of running it - upon recent reflection - and after having reviewed many
of the posts here - I fear that the forum may be promoting extremely dangerous and even deadly activities.

The risk of self harm, disfigurement, severe infection or even death occurring from activities discussed here is very troubling to me lately.

This forum is free and has always been free - we do not make money from selling any product or products related to saline inflation or any of the other things discussed here.

Though it is just information - I fear that in a way it might be construed as encouraging people to engage in this activity. At the same time it feels as if allowing people to engage in the discussion may allow them to do things in a somewhat safer way - though none of this is really safe.

I'm just putting this out there to hear some of the forum user's opinion on the this. Or perhaps there are some other online forums that discuss this topic and ultimately we can redirect users of this forum to another website - or maybe someone wants to start one or a Reddit group or something.

I'd like to hear your feedback.

Thank you

[flcomputer_man]

Why the sudden about face? I haven't read anything new suddenly that I haven't seen on here for years. Even if the forum is discontinued, a new one would simply pop up to replace it. At least here there is tons of information from previous people experimenting on themselves for newer people to go off of and to make an unsafe practice safer. What particular things have ruffled your feathers as far as your "recent reflection of the board" goes?

[Want2bhuge]

Boo

[pipefitterdom]

I was just rummaging through the archives last night enjoying photos of some of the greats here. It would be a shame to lose this repository of inflation information. There are other places to find images and other enthusiasts. But those sites don’t have the knowledge base that we have here.
I would be very sad to lose this resource but I understand the liability issue as well. I am concerned that the manufacturers of IV fluids are going to become aware of recreational infusions here and crack down on sales without a prescription.
I donated almost 15 years ago when I first joined.
Would it change anything if we all started donating?

[PeachOpossum]

I personally would be sad to see the forum go. People are free to do what they want with their bodies. We are all well aware of the risks of what we do. There are disclaimers all over the site so people are absolutely aware of the dangers of these activities. But I think it's important to share what works and what doesn't so people won't make the same mistakes. Personally I have learned A TON from this forum over the years. And I learned not to make the same mistakes that others have shared. And while I'm pretty much always a lurker, I do visit often, and enjoy everyone's content. I can send a donation if that helps anything. I think this forum is a valuable resource that would be missed if it was gone.

[mRuss]

I think the forum should be allowed to continue. It is rare that topics border on actually being dangerous. For example, saline inflation can be done safely IF you follow proper cleanliness and sterilization practices. As others have mentioned there are disclaimers posted, and these disclaimers could be made more prominent. Doing that would be far better than removing the forum entirely.

Maybe a few of the long-time users should be given moderator status, so that truly dangerous topics could be locked and removed.

EDIT: This is a forum with experienced users who can give advice that people can trust. The other places people can get information is places like Discord and Twitter/X. The problem with those places is that information sometimes doesn't hang around very long. The great thing about Newart is the community that gathers here actually cares about people's health. When we see discussions of something dangerous, we tell people it's dangerous.

Admin: we know your heart is in the right place; you are concerned about the people that visit your website. We are concerned too. We have looked out for each other for about 25 years or more. I've met some absolutely wonderful people because of this place. I really hope you decide to keep the forum running. If there's anything you need us to do to help keep users safe, just let us know.

Cheers,
Russ.

[john-sydney]

While I note your concern, much of the info is good, and like everything on the internet you have to do your own research. The forum really helps me learn, and is a good point of reference.

[BowlingJim]

This forum is a wealth of knowledge.

If there are a few topics that are particularly concerning, you can set rules to limit or ban the topics and users - it's your forum. But I hope that a few post from people who are doing activities that you don't support doesn't ruin it for the rest of us.

You've created something great here. I thank you for that. I'd hate to see it go away.

[Zoom15x15PA]

Totally agree! It would be a shame of this forum with so much information disappered…

[bignlow]

Admin, if there are things on the forum now that are troubling you, I should perhaps have a word with some of the main contributors on here, you know who they are. A simple PM and get some up front views going. It would be a shame to lose it, so much information on here and everyone willing to help, bar the odd one or two. For the amount of people on here they are neither here nor there.

I too have met many people through this forum, In person, by Pm and through that some via e-mail and from around the world. It's a community collective of a few common aims and goals.

I must admit, i've seen a few things on here that i think are a bit way out there, lets be honest, there are some silly people in the world. If the few are a problem, lose them, you are admin, you have the power. As others have said, there are other sites but some are extreme with things that don't go on here. This forum is generally a safe place for all concerned, any idiots are usually shot down by the users themselves. By all means keep an eye, i'm sure there will be more than one of you and if there isn't, a list of people off to one side that the rest of us don't need to know about can flag things up in your direction. I'm quite sure there are people on here who would gladly take up that background role. 3 or 4 volunteers who are regular on here and un-named can quickly inform you of anything that might be off piste so to speak and something for you to look at directly instead of you having to constantly search the site.

Losing this would be a great loss. I've recently just introduce a couple to the site and they're both starting out in the world of pumping, at the moment through me but you never know, they could be members themselves one day, maybe as a couple i don't know but new people, following advice from more than me, one half is female, the ladies have far more information on their stuff than i do. At the same time they might just come up with something others may follow. You never know.

Here's hoping the site continues, it's a wealth of info' and generally a friendly place to be, i'm sure it can be kept that way with a little help and the possible removal of the odd one or two that are on the edge.

Bignlow.

[admin]

The discussion of people injecting all sorts of things - or doing all kinds of risky things that could maime them, leave them disfigured, cause illness or even kill them trouble me. I fear some young person coming here, reading a few posts from others who have claimed "success" in doing something and trying it themselves because they feel reassured by "advice" they are receiving here. I read about some guy who is regularly injecting ky jelly into his testicles... or people that try to make their own at home "sterile solution" for self injection in their home kitchens. Things like this trouble me.
If you notice or have noticed the boards are largely not moderated. So the first response from people is just "well let's just moderate it" and remove "certain" posts. I have resisted taking that approach for years - at some point years ago I gave up on the extremely time consuming effort to "control" what was going on - on the boards - with people arguing or having stupid fights with each other. I'm not looking to go back into that. The board is free and has always been - but this particular subforum is about a particularly dangerous aspect. There is nothing but potential liability here for me. I picture some young guy visiting it - reading some of the posts here where every one is encouraging him to do something that is very dangerous (you see it all the time - the excited people who want to see pictures! "pictures please!!" "looks amazing" etc etc etc) and the kid ends up dying or something, and then the family comes looking to blame someone for it. I'm not 4chan - and I'm not operating this for profit and I'm not implementing any of the crazy "protections" sites like that do in order to protect themselves from liability issues. So for me this is all risk and zero gain...
I'm sure the users would find other sites to migrate to - I'm not delusional that this site/forum is the only place people have to discuss such things...
The site has been running since 1996. I'm older by a lot now and have less patience or empathy or desire to take unnecessary risks for the sake of "making others happy" Sorry guys...

[BowlingJim]

If you do decide to discontinue the forum, can you publicize the date you plan to shut it down? That will give the community some time to come together and find a new home.

I'm hoping that we'll be able to keep the conversation and history alive in this forum. And I wouldn't be surprised if someone from this forum is willing to become the new owner or admin to keep it running.

But I do understand your concerns about liability and the extreme measures some people take.

[Es2244]

I would be very sad to see the forum go. There is lots of good information for people and about the only place on the internet that is good for this stuff! I would be willing to step up and help however I could.

[flcomputer_man]

I would like to second BowlingJim's Idea of us being able to clone this subforum's data to move to a new home if you shutdown this site. Please let me know if this will be possible as I would love to back up this data for future install on a separate phpbb installation.

[cma_throw]

That would be a bummer if you close this forum.

If you don’t like the idea of moderating discussions, how about a tagging system where potential unsafe practices are flagged as such. Reddit uses a similar approach.

Each subforum could have its own team of volunteer moderators who flag any comments promoting risky activity. There could also be a sticky post that outlines Do and Don’ts, Best Practices, etc. for each subforum.