Ali Mahdi

I joined ShiaChat in early 2003 when I was in grade 12 and visited the forums a lot throughout university but read posts than actually contributing because as a revert, I didn't (and still don't) know much.
I haven't posted much since coming to the hawzah in Qom in 2010, due to lack of time, but I've popped back in every few months and read posts every now and then.  

Posting again.. as requested by HR!
Well, I've met a lot of ShiaChatters. I actually met more ShiaChatters when I briefly visited London in 2005 than I did when I lived there for 2.5 years! I've met ShiaChatters in London, Canada, the US and Australia. I don't think any of the ones I have met are active on ShiaChat anymore.. I can't remember all of their usernames, but just a few were Sweeter than Salsabeel, Path2Felicity, Iman, Bahlool, Baatil ka Kaatil, Curious Infidel.
Anyhow, I'm living in upstate NY and am a practicing attorney. I went from doing my graduate degree in Middle Eastern Studies to a law degree, lived in London for a few years, and now I'm back in the states. And yes, Dobby is still alive, alhamdulillah! Don't know why you all are trying to kill off my masoom cat! 

It seems this thread has basically pulled in several old members who have not posted in a while. Maybe there need to be more shout-outs and tagging and an effort to bring as many back on here. 

I joined ShiaChat in early 2003 when I was in grade 12 and visited the forums a lot throughout university but read posts than actually contributing because as a revert, I didn't (and still don't) know much.
I haven't posted much since coming to the hawzah in Qom in 2010, due to lack of time, but I've popped back in every few months and read posts every now and then.  

I joined ShiaChat in early 2003 when I was in grade 12 and visited the forums a lot throughout university but read posts than actually contributing because as a revert, I didn't (and still don't) know much.
I haven't posted much since coming to the hawzah in Qom in 2010, due to lack of time, but I've popped back in every few months and read posts every now and then.  

I joined ShiaChat in early 2003 when I was in grade 12 and visited the forums a lot throughout university but read posts than actually contributing because as a revert, I didn't (and still don't) know much.
I haven't posted much since coming to the hawzah in Qom in 2010, due to lack of time, but I've popped back in every few months and read posts every now and then.  

A reunion is indeed required. I will InshaAllah create a separate thread for that shortly. And I'll get the remaining oldies to contact whoever they are in touch with. 

@Ibn al-Hussain the mallangy brothers that I am in constant contact with, who are also former SCers, well. lets just say they probably wont be able to come back. mallang-ban-genocide and all that lol
 

I do think the site went through a period of excessively heavy handed moderation and people got banned or left. I'm not in contact with anyone from the old times anymore, but I'd love to know how some of them are doing. 

We've been discussing ShiaChat's decline ever since I became a moderator in 2014, and the main reasons we came up with at the time were (1) Message forums are dying altogether - they're all dying, and people are preferring to use WhatsApp, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Tumbr, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Viber, etc.; (2) Features at that time were not as user-friendly as most social media outlets, (3) Women felt unwelcome due to stalking and messages from guys, (4) Lack of new and unique conversation.
We tackled some of these issues by upgrading the forums, fixing the search feature, introducing Facebook integration, creating a blogs feature, making more use of the SC Facebook and making an SC Twitter, bringing the PM and chatroom post requirements down, and increasing our number of female staff. These were good moves, but more needs to be done. I'd like to see us bring visiting guests/scholars, but the people we have asked were unwilling. I also think we should add an IM feature that members can activate, where members can chat 1-on-1 with other online members (like Facebook chat), but still give the option to not get instant messaged and to block users if necessary.
There's no real way to bring SC back to its former glory. In the early days, forums were the only form of social media, there were no smart phones, and people were using MSN on their computers. I'm still active on Facebook and Skype, but most of my friends have pretty much moved on from those as well. Twitter, Instagram, and Whatsapp are just not for me.

I don't think that is the case. Since I've come to the seminary, I realized that there are a plethora of topics that are being discussed or can be discussed, or a lot of new insight that can be shed on topics, even on previously discussed topics. Most of these discussions are taking place, but they never make their way into the Western world for various reasons. 
For example, the role of history in our understanding of jurisprudence and its application, the role of ethics and human rights in our application of Islamic law, the role of the intellect in our day to day life - how balanced do we have to be between using our intellect and relying on faith. These are topics that require some degree of knowledge - but previously we had a decent number of members who would have been able to engage in these discussions.
However other social and family related issues like role of women and men in a society and within a family (old topic, but a lot of new light can be shed here, given recent changes in society's understanding), dealing with domestic violence and abuse, the future of our children's education in the West, the doubts and challenges millennials are facing etc. there are all these issues that can and should be discussed with more innovative perceptions. Some of the blog posts Br. @Qa'im makes on his blog are of extreme importance today. They should perhaps be discussed further on the forums.
Obviously you also have the Qur'anic and Hadith related topics as well that never get old and there is always new developments happening there, but once again it just seems there are not enough people of caliber left to engage in these sort of discussions.
This has been my observation.
Wassalam

The reason why shiachat was alive back then is because it was new. So all the members were exploring SC at the same time. Whereas now; there is a wide range of members in terms of oldest to newest, meaning everyone's SC journey is at different levels. 

@Ali_Imran still telling it like he sees it. Good for you! We appreciate you, Brother.