I think a lot of us were around the same age (college aged in 2000 or so), and that created a lot of camaraderie. But, maybe those who are in college now or are recent alums have that camaraderie still.

Also, I think we just got more sensitive to the GC world spilling out into real life. Between the Vs and people actually finding out about PNMs rushes, it seemed like less of a good idea to put your personal information out there. Back then, it was easier to have your first and last name out there and not have it come back to you--today, between Google and FB, it's totally easy to find someone based on small amounts of information.

Most of the old GC-ers I would miss, I contact fairly regularly. There are some that I briefly wonder where they are.

I remember when PNM's would post their name, school, and rush opinions and it was really no big deal. At the most they'd get a "You better hope the XXX's at MSU aren't reading this", hell now you'd have 20 different members forwarding every message the PMN says to every chapter of XXX. We also had much more memorable trolls back in the day as well... anyone remember Fred Hatchett or that guy who collected rituals? I will say that people are a lot more combative/cynical on here now than they were in the past but it may be just a sign of the times than GC in particular.

Oh don't get me wrong, there definitely are some great conversations going and still going...but like PiKA just said, now there is so much more "tattling" to chapters at different schools. I do remember saying "GO DG!!" in so many recruitment threads before that became a faux pas.

But times have changed and we have all changed. Haha, hard to believe I've come from college PNM to alumna, wife, and mother. Aaaaand still posting on Greek Chat. :p

There is definitely a level of censorship (self or otherwise) now that wasn't around back then. But for the most part, I don't mind. The internet has changed a lot since the pre-2004 mark mentioned here... I mean, I joined GC before Facebook! And I joined Facebook when it was still restricted to .edu email addresses. Now the idea that my parents, coworkers, etc are on Facebook? Crazy. I have, however, met people through GC, Facebooked people I met on GC, and gotten more involved in Kappa because of GC.

I stopped coming to GC for a few years, somewhere around 2004 or 2005. Given that I have more perspective now (on life, family, priorities, Kappa, Greek life, whatever)- I do feel like I get more out of my GC experience. Not sure what drew me back, but I'm glad it did.

And regarding cynicism... This is not necessarily the place for newbies with no information. There are more expectations to do your research and learn on your own before adding to the pot. That's pretty reflective of society in general today... whereas before internet forums were much more of a cool novelty & welcomed everyone immediately. After all, a small community needs members to survive! Now we don't need more members to survive, which probably makes many of us less interested in that aspect.
ETA- I agree that most members "back in the day" were more around college age. Now there's a really broad mix of ages- which is great but does change the dynamic a bit away from a bunch of crazy actives who have little clue what happens after graduation.

If there's more censorship, it's because there are just plain more people on the internet. If we're leading the way on that, I don't think it's something to be ashamed of. I would rather never read another rush story or for that matter, another post, than have what someone wrote on here interfere with their REAL life.

Unfortunately, LJ is kind of dead as a method of anonymous communication between members and so are the private sides of many groups' websites.

I think I joined in 2002, before I became a Gamma Phi. I received a lot of friendly help and support, which I appreciated.

I, too, miss LJ and the funny stuff that went on there.

Hi everyone :)

When I joined it was 2002.

I'm an ooooooold lady now! haha

Great thread, WhiteDaisy!
I just looked and wow, I joined TODAY in 2003.
But I have been an internet nerd since around 1993. That's a l-o-n-g time in internet years. Back then, you'd think nothing of posting your real, full e-mail address on a forum. As a result, I'm still getting spam from 18-year-old posts. Not cool.:eek:

As much as people complain about hearing the same old questions and why don't new posters read first, that's the way it is when you have 16- and 17-year-old kids posting. Remember how you were at that age? Your parents knew nothing, everything was different, they just don't know how it is now? (Yes, you. You know you did it, too!:p)

I, too, think people here have gotten more snarky. That's why I like the stickied threads. You can post a link and refer a newbie there, without things developing into a snarkfest and scaring the poor baby away. :cool:

I'm floored that you still have the same email address from 1993! My first was in 1997 or so when we got AOL. Oh, it was the COOLEST thing ever, with awesome chat rooms. And I totally met people there, became pen pals with several members & sent small gifts back/forth, shared pictures, had phone conversations, and even met one person (okay, not the smartest idea). But I got rid of that email address pretty quickly, it would sound like it's porn related today. But back then user names were much harder to figure out because it was a totally different naming convention... whoops!

I still use an e-mail address from 1997. I also have a gmail, thank GOD, because the 97 one is pretty immature (high school freshman AOL address).

I joined in 2001. I so miss the old school GC. But it's cool watching ourselves grow up within the last decade.

In my opinion. GC's golden years were 2001-2004. Sorry, if you joined 2005 or later, that is not old school. :)

I joined with this nickname in 2003 but I lurked here with a different nick for about a year before that. It's a little bit shocking to realize how many years I've been posting on this darn board. However, I've developed some great relationships with other Alpha Gam alumnae through my years on GC and that has been really wonderful!

I concur. If someone has to explain to you the awesomeness of "Ho be lookin' like Predator," really anything involving KABillyMac (the original Fratty but he was awesome) and you can't access the original thread, then you're not old school.

#icant