Have you ever fallen away from the forum for a while?

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GladTidings

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Recently, I had been away from the forum for a time. I’m not sure why, really, I just did not get on one day. Or the next, or the next. Instead, I chose to learn a lot about random topics. For example, I now know more than I ever wanted to know about Ford 8n tractors, Freddie Mercury, Mount Everest, and the band, Weezer.

It seems like about once a year I end up doing this. Sometimes I think it is because I don’t feel holy or close to Jesus. My prayer life slows and I feel like I am withering up. Indeed, I went to confession today, and here I am, back at it.

Do you do this, too? Have you ever been gone baby, gone from the forum for a while? Not including a temporary suspension, that is, (pray for our moderators). And if so, how long? What made you come back? Why did you leave to begin with? Did the novelty wear off?
 
Sure, I have had periods where either I was busy and had no time, or periods where my patience was worn a bit too thin to engage.
 
I float away for a few weeks or a few months. It’s usually not deliberate, just a change in behavior.

I find myself back here when I feel like I need community in a way that CAF always provided before I had any Catholic friends. I also find myself back here in cases where I could use social media but don’t want to look like I’m in some kind of hey look how Catholic I am contest. (This is a real thing that happens in some circles).
 
Sure, I’ve been off a couple of times and probably taking another break soon.

It’s fine - forum participation does not have anything to do with one’s personal holiness, and in fact sometimes can be an impediment to holiness as the forum can cause frustration and lack of charity with other Catholics from time to time, or can take up time one could be using better elsewhere.

Regarding Internet forums in general, it’s normal to take a break from them or even quit them altogether. I’ve been on and off dozens of forums.

Regarding your faith life, I think from time to time we all feel a little dry and have to just power through it until we can get back in the swing of things.
 
Sure. Life gets in the way of things and the most important and/or urgent things must always come before the less.
 
GladTidings said:
Why did you leave to begin with? Did the novelty wear off?
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I consider every weekend a hiatus from not just this forum, but from all internet activities. The weekends are the “me” time I need to stay balanced. So while I’ve never been gone longer than a week for a vacation, for instance, I take every weekend off in order to feel fresh when I come back.
 
I have given up CAF, among other social media (cough Facebook groups), up for Lent a few times. I find that it often helps to take a break as I can sometimes get worked up and frustrated with some of the conversations I see. I’m probably on track to do something similar this year.
 
I do it quite frequently. Sometimes I get busy and prioritize other things, sometimes I need a break from the highly and bitterly polarized “discussions”, and sometimes I just don’t find any topics that interest me, so I stop replying. Everyone needs a break from this place.
 
Absolutely. I’ve spent years away. Last year I gave up social media (including Internet forums) for lent. I may do that again.
 
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I’m incapable of leaving!​

 
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CelticWarlord said:
I consider every weekend a hiatus from not just this forum, but from all internet activities.
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I do this sometimes too by turning off my phone for the weekend. I can’t say every weekend or even most weekends, but some weekends. I’m only online via my phone now, not having touched in years my laptop which is sitting somewhere collecting dust.
 
Yes, mainly due to illness (E. coli, salmonella, etc) which I felt required me to have total rest since many places I frequent online cause me stress.

So all online activity was pretty much halted apart from checking email and anything I had to check online for my mother.
 
Yes, I do not consider activity on a forum the most important of things to do. After all, there are better men than me who probably can answer serious questions better than me on here, anyway. If I were to imagine what I would consider a “dream” life for Christ, for me personally, the internet has nothing to do with it. If I have a question I may be on for a while when I see other questions.

Be sure to not make learning its own end or for vain reasons but for good and right reasons, so as to avoid the bad type of curiosity. I may not understand all the intricacies of what makes the vice of curiosity a vice (see what I mean about better answerers than me on the board?), but just in case wanted to let you know (even though I knew curiosity killed the cat, I didn’t know it was recognized as a possible vice!).

It is when we feel farthest away from God that we need to pray the most, methinks.
 
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