I was thinking some more about bullseye's thoughts in his Exodus blog, about seeing a number of his friends come and go here for a variety of reasons over some period of time.

One reason for the revolving door is that it's a power we all hold in here that we might wish we had in other areas of our lives ... the ability to just walk away from a negative situation. Crabby boss or co-workers? Gotta put up with them, often times. Obnoxious person in line ahead of you? Can't do much but wait. I think most people are here for an enjoyable experience. The last thing we want here in our "refuge" is to deal with crap. It's not supposed to be about being strong, needing a good reason to quit, sticking to it, getting through a rough patch. We get enough of that in our day to day life offline. This is supposed be a nice little escape from petty annoyances, or a place to vent about them. Here, we can simply walk away if it turns sour. What's the point in staying if we aren't enjoying the experience?

I tend not to form deep online friendships. Just my personal choice. It sure keeps "drama" at arms length. Yet I can relate to what you say because I've also had an occasion where a friendly voice dropped out for a bit, and it was a real drag. I didn't expect to be hit with that feeling, but there it was. This person is back now, all is well, but either one of us could drop off unexpectedly at any time. Hope not, but circumstances have a way of changing all on their own sometimes. Losing touch with an online forum, even one as addicting as Thoughts, is certainly within the realm of possibility.

I guess the thing to do is enjoy the conversations, and pleasant company, while we can. Know that for a variety of valid reasons, people will continue to come and go. The good, the bad, the ugly ... anyone that stays on board long term has gotta have a naturally high tolerance for all of these. And come to accept that the cast of characters is ever changing, even as the topics that trigger emotional and divisive responses tend to stay about the same.