Can we do anything as a community to make this place more active again?

[2scoopzftw]

Hey all, so as you can see by my profile, I joined here a few years back.

As a beginner at the time (still consider myself a beginner) this was a godsend. The information here, the sources, the testing, the community, etc. I am extremely fortunate to have found this place when I was first researching gear.

Over the years, I've been on here and made a few posts here and there, however, it seems like most of the actively is gone now.

It's not as active as it once was when I first joined back in 2019. This is in regard to just general posts, as well as sources here.

My questions are below.

1. What is the reasoning for the fall-off in activity over the past few years?
2. Is there anything we can do to make this place more active again?

I am asking these questions with the best intentions because SST has been so great to me over the years in finding what I need as well as ensuring safety in the process.

I would hate to see this place dry up completely and have to resort to Meso or Reddit.

Thanks yall for reading, and I look forward from hearing your comments on the topic.

 

[T&H]

Hey all, so as you can see by my profile, I joined here a few years back.

As a beginner at the time (still consider myself a beginner) this was a godsend. The information here, the sources, the testing, the community, etc. I am extremely fortunate to have found this place when I was first researching gear.

Over the years, I've been on here and made a few posts here and there, however, it seems like most of the actively is gone now.

It's not as active as it once was when I first joined back in 2019. This is in regard to just general posts, as well as sources here.

My questions are below.

1. What is the reasoning for the fall-off in activity over the past few years?
2. Is there anything we can do to make this place more active again?

I am asking these questions with the best intentions because SST has been so great to me over the years in finding what I need as well as ensuring safety in the process.

I would hate to see this place dry up completely and have to resort to Meso or Reddit.

Thanks yall for reading, and I look forward from hearing your comments on the topic.

Always viewed this board as primarily a source board, think most see it that way too. Sure there are some knowledgeable members, but prob could count on one hand the ones I consider that from reading around.

If I need legit cycle advice or have AAS questions, I wouldn't ask here. It's easy to see while the environment is low drama, friendly, overall accommodating to new aas users, it lacks the depth and experience members on other forums can provide.

 

[2scoopzftw]

Always viewed this board as primarily a source board, think most see it that way too. Sure there are some knowledgeable members, but prob could count on one hand the ones I consider that from reading around.

If I need legit cycle advice or have AAS questions, I wouldn't ask here. It's easy to see while the environment is low drama, friendly, overall accommodating to new aas users, it lacks the depth and experience members on other forums can provide.

valid points i suppose.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

While user base and traffic continues to grow it doesn’t always necessarily lead to more posting. And because we don’t lock the site behind a login, people don’t even have to make an account to order or view posts or even our wiki page.

I will say right now because shows are wrapping up and bulk season is upon us, we do always see a drop in activity around this time of year pretty much every year. Kinda funny. But it is what it is.

Would love to see more activity as well

 

[T&H]

While user base and traffic continues to grow it doesn’t always necessarily lead to more posting. And because we don’t lock the site behind a login, people don’t even have to make an account to order or view posts or even our wiki page.

I will say right now because shows are wrapping up and bulk season is upon us, we do always see a drop in activity around this time of year pretty much every year. Kinda funny. But it is what it is.

Would love to see more activity as well

I really liked the Compound Experience threads you posted, great way to try and drive some activity and posts. Hoped for a bigger turnout tho guys may still add to it.

 

[JDLift]

There's a discord server or something similar for SST now where you might find more general discussion, though I can't speak to the quality of the opinions you'll find as I do not personally use that.
As mentioned I believe this is primarily just a place for people to source their cycles and it's best to find another forum altogether for discussion of anything you're interested in. If you do specifically seek the opinions of SST users then post a thread here with your question or story and the active folks will chime in, but I don't honestly think you're going to get high quality info from the majority of people who come through here. I'm on my 2nd account because I forgot the fuckin login for my previous one so I've been around since ~2017-2018ish in this particular circle of gear enthusiasts, I throw my 2 cents in on anything that seems like it could use a serious non-BS response or if I see someone being fed nonsense that someone's just regurgitating from a youtube video or tiktok video they saw and think they're a qualified gear expert now. Mostly just avoid talking here though, the average IQ is lower than room temperature and it's not worth my time to feed the tards.

 

[Neo]

While user base and traffic continues to grow it doesn’t always necessarily lead to more posting. And because we don’t lock the site behind a login, people don’t even have to make an account to order or view posts or even our wiki page.

I will say right now because shows are wrapping up and bulk season is upon us, we do always see a drop in activity around this time of year pretty much every year. Kinda funny. But it is what it is.

Would love to see more activity as well

Skool does a pretty good job of this by gamifying engagement. Not sure what's possible with this platform but something to look into below. I also tend to use other forums if I'm looking for more interaction/responses to questions. Although, selfishly I prefer fewer active users for faster T/A times on orders lol

Skool gamifies engagement through its built-in gamification and reward system for engaged users who interact with community content. This system includes:

• Points: Users earn points for completing various activities, such as creating and posting content, commenting on other users' posts, and participating in polls and surveys.
• Badges: Users can earn badges for completing specific achievements, such as posting a certain number of times, reaching a certain number of followers, or getting a certain number of upvotes on a post.
• Leaderboards: Users can compete with each other to see who can earn the most points and badges.
• Rewards: Users can redeem their points and badges for rewards, such as early access to new features, exclusive content, and discounts on Skool-branded merchandise.

In addition to these features, Skool also encourages engagement by making it easy for users to interact with each other. For example, users can easily upvote and downvote other users' posts, and they can also reply to comments and create threads. This makes it easy for users to have conversations and build relationships with each other.

Overall, Skool's gamification and reward system is designed to encourage users to interact with community content and with each other. This helps to create a more engaged and vibrant community.

Here are some specific examples of how Skool's gamification and reward system can be used to encourage engagement:

• A community manager could create a challenge where users are awarded points for posting high-quality content on a specific topic. The users with the most points at the end of the challenge could win a prize, such as a free month of Skool Pro.
• A business could use Skool to create a customer support community. Customers could earn points for helping each other solve problems and answer questions. The customers with the most points at the end of each month could win a prize, such as a discount on their next purchase.
• A school could use Skool to create a learning community for students. Students could earn points for completing assignments, participating in discussions, and helping each other learn. The students with the most points at the end of each semester could win a prize, such as a gift certificate to the school bookstore.

Skool's gamification and reward system is a powerful tool that can be used to encourage engagement in a variety of different communities.

 

[methyl mike]

These communities ebb and flow it's always been that way. These forums are not big money makers unless they are whored out for adspace like PM

 

[Gbunk]

Honestly I have wondered the same thing. When I joined forever ago, there was so much conversation and it was great. I’ve noticed that no one engages anymore and it sucks frankly. I will admit I’m not on as much as I used to be though and some of the reason is because of the low activity. In the past a lot of knowledgable people would post and now days it seems like half the people that post are idiots- No research or critical thinking or been in the game for .02 seconds giving their opinions. It is my opinion that SST has went downhill from what it used to be which is sad because this place is all you use to need.

 

[2scoopzftw]

Honestly I have wondered the same thing. When I joined forever ago, there was so much conversation and it was great. I’ve noticed that no one engages anymore and it sucks frankly. I will admit I’m not on as much as I used to be though and some of the reason is because of the low activity. In the past a lot of knowledgable people would post and now days it seems like half the people that post are idiots- No research or critical thinking or been in the game for .02 seconds giving their opinions. It is my opinion that SST has went downhill from what it used to be which is sad because this place is all you use to need.

So I took a bit of a hiatus as well, but totally agree. SST isn't the place it used to be.

New posts I see here now are like "I'm 18 and wanna build muscle. What is a good source to get steroids here?"

Shit like that would never be tolerated when i joined back in 2019.

IDK how many mods are even here anymore? I know there is definitely 1 or 2, but years ago was like an entire team.

 

[EnhancedGrappler]

So I took a bit of a hiatus as well, but totally agree. SST isn't the place it used to be.

New posts I see here now are like "I'm 18 and wanna build muscle. What is a good source to get steroids here?"

Shit like that would never be tolerated when i joined back in 2019.

IDK how many mods are even here anymore? I know there is definitely 1 or 2, but years ago was like an entire team.

Rate of intervention by moderators has been greatly reduced just as a product of increased efficiency. We've tracked user metrics over the years and have more viewership and guests than ever before as a standalone forum. We're naturally unable to compare to our days on Reddit as we never had access to those statistics.

Now users no longer need to participate as much as we've greatly simplified the process for finding sources, and we're proud of that. For every one user you see asking "where can I buy dballs" you probably have 200-300 users who simply navigate to the U.S. domestic subforum and browse a few source threads before placing an order.

I co-moderated SST in its "hay day" on Reddit. We have never had a significantly higher number of active moderators. Perhaps a lot of the moderation you're looking for may be invisible to you, as both @CaptainAmerica and I frequently clean spam. As I've grown older, however, I've been less aggressive with banning people for asking silly questions, though. So if its bloodshed you're looking for you might be disappointed, it's true.

 

[2scoopzftw]

Rate of intervention by moderators has been greatly reduced just as a product of increased efficiency. We've tracked user metrics over the years and have more viewership and guests than ever before as a standalone forum. We're naturally unable to compare to our days on Reddit as we never had access to those statistics.

Now users no longer need to participate as much as we've greatly simplified the process for finding sources, and we're proud of that. For every one user you see asking "where can I buy dballs" you probably have 200-300 users who simply navigate to the U.S. domestic subforum and browse a few source threads before placing an order.

I co-moderated SST in its "hay day" on Reddit. We have never had a significantly higher number of active moderators. Perhaps a lot of the moderation you're looking for may be invisible to you, as both @CaptainAmerica and I frequently clean spam. As I've grown older, however, I've been less aggressive with banning people for asking silly questions, though. So if its bloodshed you're looking for you might be disappointed, it's true.

@EnhancedGrappler those are all fair points, and some I didn't even consider.

I didn't mean to make my comments seem contentious at all. I appreciate all that you and Capt do

 

[EnhancedGrappler]

@EnhancedGrappler those are all fair points, and some I didn't even consider.

I didn't mean to make my comments seem contentious at all. I appreciate all that you and Capt do

No offence taken at all, I’m always happy to address any questions or concerns.

 

[JDLift]

One of the other reasons this place seems dead(er) as well is that it is a forum and not a subreddit. When Reddit took over it basically became the only 'forum' of sorts; Everyone goes right to Reddit, as opposed to the way the internet was in the early 2000s and the 90s where we all had different forums for shit. Now, it's rare to find people talk about an internet forum that isn't just R/(whatever) and additionally look at the places where people seek their info now: 6 second tiktok videos and flashy shit with buzzwords all over it. Why go to 'Steroid Source Talk' when instead you could click on "HOW TO BUY TREN (with rizz) (Link in Bio) -Sub to my Onlyfans!" and see some half naked whore dance like a retard while a link pops on screen? Even if the link is garbage ,the product is fake, the prices are shit, people will still unanimously go to that garbage instead of the common sense logical route of coming here.

Attention spans died, people do not know how to socialize even when behind the mask of anonymity, shit is just different. I bet most of us desiring a stronger forum community grew up in the aforementioned 90s/2000s internet world and simply have not yet adjusted, or do not wish to adjust to, the way the internet is nowadays. The golden days, the wild west days, shit is gone; Zoomers and forced ads and propaganda all ruined our fun place to talk about shit.

 

[Fnomegucker]

I just don't want to sound stupid XD how are yall doing today ?

 

[EnhancedGrappler]

One of the other reasons this place seems dead(er) as well is that it is a forum and not a subreddit. When Reddit took over it basically became the only 'forum' of sorts; Everyone goes right to Reddit, as opposed to the way the internet was in the early 2000s and the 90s where we all had different forums for shit. Now, it's rare to find people talk about an internet forum that isn't just R/(whatever) and additionally look at the places where people seek their info now: 6 second tiktok videos and flashy shit with buzzwords all over it. Why go to 'Steroid Source Talk' when instead you could click on "HOW TO BUY TREN (with rizz) (Link in Bio) -Sub to my Onlyfans!" and see some half naked whore dance like a retard while a link pops on screen? Even if the link is garbage ,the product is fake, the prices are shit, people will still unanimously go to that garbage instead of the common sense logical route of coming here.

Attention spans died, people do not know how to socialize even when behind the mask of anonymity, shit is just different. I bet most of us desiring a stronger forum community grew up in the aforementioned 90s/2000s internet world and simply have not yet adjusted, or do not wish to adjust to, the way the internet is nowadays. The golden days, the wild west days, shit is gone; Zoomers and forced ads and propaganda all ruined our fun place to talk about shit.

Absolutely. New subreddits have a very low barrier of entry if you're already using Reddit to begin with. In some capacity we fully endorse referring to Reddit.com/r/steroids as one of the best resources for broad discussion of Anabolics. If it were up to me SST would still be on Reddit. As it stands, however, Reddit was not sympathetic to our argument that it's in the best interests of steroid users to let us stay on their platform. I don't blame them either.

Our goal isn't and will likely never be to try to monopolize the entire discussion of anabolics or performance enhancing drugs. We seek only to serve as a resource to be leveraged for safe access.

I would still contend that most users on SST primarily visit as guests, find a source they'd like, and place an order. I think that's great. It means we've constructed an efficient venue for our goal.

 

[Aoi_611]

I’ll be honest, I really like SST. I got into it just before it got shut down on Reddit. I think it’s great that it became its own thing because, let’s face it Reddit is Reddit.

Many times I’ve used this place exactly as described above - it is super conducive to just coming in here as a guest, finding a great source, and locking into someone that provides great ugl gear with great t/a time. It’s great and I have yet to find another place with that ease of access. I might be able to find that at meso or some other place but I don’t like the feel and the vibe of those places. Never really tried either, because I didn’t need to go there. That’s really speaking to how good this place is for sourcing.

As a forum, I really like how you guys broke the place up and created additional sub-forums like the compound thread, cycle critiques, training and nutrition. Really cool. All stuff that interests me and it’s stuff I love talking about. I do a lot of browsing and I really only try to speak on stuff I know something about - to help someone out.

With that said, I have a guilty pleasure of having a few drinks on the weekend and possibly shitposting in threads. The intention is good and if you see it, just realize I’m an idiot just trying to help someone. Great forum, just needs a little more activity.

 

[methyl mike]

I’ll be honest, I really like SST. I got into it just before it got shut down on Reddit. I think it’s great that it became its own thing because, let’s face it Reddit is Reddit.

Many times I’ve used this place exactly as described above - it is super conducive to just coming in here as a guest, finding a great source, and locking into someone that provides great ugl gear with great t/a time. It’s great and I have yet to find another place with that ease of access. I might be able to find that at meso or some other place but I don’t like the feel and the vibe of those places. Never really tried either, because I didn’t need to go there. That’s really speaking to how good this place is for sourcing.

As a forum, I really like how you guys broke the place up and created additional sub-forums like the compound thread, cycle critiques, training and nutrition. Really cool. All stuff that interests me and it’s stuff I love talking about. I do a lot of browsing and I really only try to speak on stuff I know something about - to help someone out.

With that said, I have a guilty pleasure of having a few drinks on the weekend and possibly shitposting in threads. The intention is good and if you see it, just realize I’m an idiot just trying to help someone. Great forum, just needs a little more activity.

If you want activity you gotta create it. Yes that means helping guide the clueless and answering the same questions again and again. At least we don't have to delete spam lol.

Fuck I just had a flashback to when I was a mod and back then sources were guarded secrets and we had to vet the forum members so narcs didn't get their email addresses as we referred them one by one.

Cash in mail bro, that was some shit. If we fucked up someone was getting popped. I'm glad those days are gone. Checking IP addresses and registered emails, reading posts looking for clues someone looking for a referral was being deceptive. IP address resolves to Langley, VA DENIED. This was before vpns existed. Encrypted email didn't exist. First there was pgp encryption with the weakness being how to securely send the encryption key to the other party. And then, there was hushmail.

The mod forum all we talked about was which new members were suspicious and what sources were offering what for kick backs. Who turned scammer, what to tell pissed off people who lost money etc. It wasn't as fun as I had hoped. Millard bought the forum and we weren't needed he just absorbed all the members and content......

We had to figure shit out ourselves as a community because IFBB pros werent talking and so we had to figure out what works and go to extremes just because. I remember the first time I had heard of a guy taking 100mgs of dbol every day. Likewise E2 was the first to experiment with ultra high dose trenbolone. Can't remember how high he went probably like 500mgs a day or something like a lunatic. I remember him stopping due to muscle tears like just walking up a flight of stairs he'd tear a calf or tear a lat doing pulldowns. How else could we know right?

Before that time if you wanted tren you had to use DMSO and it wasnt great. Smelled like garlic. Then conversion kits circulated and we were making injectables ourselves and the first UGLs were born. The first product produced by UGLs was tren acetate. The concept was insane at the time, home brewing. I can write, it's therapeutic for me. Lot of things about my life that I don't like and cant seem to change. Don't mean to ramble.

 

[2scoopzftw]

If you want activity you gotta create it. Yes that means helping guide the clueless and answering the same questions again and again. At least we don't have to delete spam lol.

Fuck I just had a flashback to when I was a mod and back then sources were guarded secrets and we had to vet the forum members so narcs didn't get their email addresses as we referred them one by one.

Cash in mail bro, that was some shit. If we fucked up someone was getting popped. I'm glad those days are gone. Checking IP addresses and registered emails, reading posts looking for clues someone looking for a referral was being deceptive. IP address resolves to Langley, VA DENIED. This was before vpns existed. Encrypted email didn't exist. First there was pgp encryption with the weakness being how to securely send the encryption key to the other party. And then, there was hushmail.

The mod forum all we talked about was which new members were suspicious and what sources were offering what for kick backs. Who turned scammer, what to tell pissed off people who lost money etc. It wasn't as fun as I had hoped. Millard bought the forum and we weren't needed he just absorbed all the members and content......

We had to figure shit out ourselves as a community because IFBB pros werent talking and so we had to figure out what works and go to extremes just because. I remember the first time I had heard of a guy taking 100mgs of dbol every day. Likewise E2 was the first to experiment with ultra high dose trenbolone. Can't remember how high he went probably like 500mgs a day or something like a lunatic. I remember him stopping due to muscle tears like just walking up a flight of stairs he'd tear a calf or tear a lat doing pulldowns. How else could we know right?

Before that time if you wanted tren you had to use DMSO and it wasnt great. Smelled like garlic. Then conversion kits circulated and we were making injectables ourselves and the first UGLs were born. The first product produced by UGLs was tren acetate. The concept was insane at the time, home brewing. I can write, it's therapeutic for me. Lot of things about my life that I don't like and cant seem to change. Don't mean to ramble.

you were a mod at meso?

 

[Deleted member 21405]

People are growing pretty hostile on this site. No actual discussion just flexing. Pun intended. @EnhancedGrappler could you be so kind as to delete my account?