Posted by Toph on January 3, 2020, at 12:18:50
As a retired Psycho-Babble participant and enthusiast, I return to this website out of boredom and nostalgia. The only thing I want to share is my perception, contrary apparently to some cynical hangers-on, that Bob created this site primarily motivated by professional imperatives, a burgeoning internet opportunity, and the possibility that a shared need for support combined with anonymity could foster a therapeutic milieu.
It did.
I advance a benevolent purpose for PB based on my experience with other members here and despite my somewhat contentious relationship with Bob. I believe that he treated my periodic dissent rigidly and punitively, an intervention I found anti-psychotherapeutic. He was nonetheless consistent (guided by some bazaar formula that attempted to lend a scientific means to his madness), but what moreover seemed to be motivated by a genuine interest in maintaining a safe place for a diverse group purportedly seeking psychological support.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Bob twice in person with other babblers in Chicago. He was as engimatic as ever both times, though transparent in his delight to put faces on individuals he knew in the cyber world he had created.
My waning involvement in Babble was a function of several factors. My primary cohort of friends here dissolved, Babble's ineptness in dealing with trolls, and the rapid expansion of social media drew me away from a place that was once as important as any, either in real life or in the cyber world.
This place was special to me and many others for years. I miss it, my friends here... and Bob.
poster:Toph
thread:1107647
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20190715/msgs/1107647.html