Hellobee Boards

@Anagram: exactly what you said. I joined in 2014 when we were pregnant with our first and I would check multiple times a day because the boards would move so fast. You’d recognize names and ‘get to know’ the regulars personalities and they would be tagged to help answer questions or give insight. You’d get to know peoples history with their kids and lives and it was a crazy supportive community that was so positive compared to other mainstream ones. I lurked for a long while before posting because I often felt like I didn’t need to post because someone else already answered or talked about it.

Birth month clubs would be posting constantly and I followed the December 2014 group but never posted. When we got pregnant with our second, I joined the September 2018 club but it just fizzled out. No disrespect to the September club! Lots of us had other kids and I think were just busy. I think that’s what happened here too in general: the group in the early/mid 2010’s were on their first kids and it was so active but now the kids are grown and without active enticement/engagement from the bees, new hosts or bloggers, I think everyone’s just moved on. I think likely a new crop of people don’t find HB as easily now as there isn’t as much content to drive the site. I know if I stumbled on the site now I’d be like meh? Baby centre and other places are more active I think.

I still check in maybe 1-2x per day but I can go a long while without posting. I’m more confident in my parenting now my kids are 5 and 15 months so I don’t need the support as much.

I think there were more silly/funny threads (grapefruit anyone?!) that just brought everyone together to have a good laugh amid the more serious stuff. It was really fun!

I've been here since 2014 and was in the December 2014 mom's group which was an awesome group
There used to be more posts, and more blog posts as well, I miss having a few blog posts each day vs. each week!

There were also more polarizing users with extreme views (I think MRA was the most extreme). Or disagreements turned nasty pretty quickly.

It's slower now, but I think more supportive and welcoming!

@graceandjoy: @josina: I’m here too!

Much busier and more active before. There is a certain level of decorum and education here I have not seen anywhere else online, that's why I love HB! I feel like a lot of the users were younger and TTC, instead of a lot of us now navigating school and stuff!
I do get a little triggered tho here- posts about sleep, circumcision and illness have me

@josina: I really miss the blog posts! That was primarily what I came to HB for when I was pregnant with my first. I really wish I had been more into the boards back then (2015). I didn't start really reading the boards until I was pregnant with my second and by then it was really starting to slow down.

I’ve been on here since 2013 with my first. There was way more activity back then. More blogposts and more board activity. There were a lot of regular posters and everyone got to know each other pretty well.

I think as the kiddos from back then have grown and more siblings added the regulars sort of fizzled out. It’s too bad.

Even though it’s not as busy I usually pop on once a day to see what’s happening.

You can go back and see all the old posts from forever ago. I just randomly did a number in the 2000s and there were 3 pages of posts all with a last update of the same day, whereas now it takes up like half a page. As others have said there were more people and more threads on different topics. The due date boards would have 30+ people on them where my current one has 5.

@graceandjoy: I really appreciate your efforts trying to keep things busier and I do think I feel a slight uptick!!

@muffinsmuffins: @Kemma: oh man, the grapefruit thread. So fabulous and yet I wish I could unknow that...

@Miss Ariel: hey you!!

@Kemma: hahaha oh the memories!

I def agree there is a natural cycle of people leaving and coming in no matter what. I know I wasn’t posting as much as my youngest is now almost 3 but I def picked back up when I got pregnant with my 3rd. I think the POAS/Due Date boards really hone people into joining a community; the Kindergarten thread has been good too.

I didn't realize so many of us joined around the same time! I used to be under another username, and I didn't change it b/c of HB drama, but I joined in 2013 probably at some point after I got married and was soon going to start TTC. Kind of miss my old account to see exactly when I started posting!

I'm def committed to trying to make this community better! I feel like HB has been the best resource. Even with ALL the FB groups I'm in now, I still feel that way. Some of the mom groups I'm in on FB get REAL catty REAL fast...

Oh, another thing that used to happen were meet-ups! I never made it to one but I think that's how some bees got really close. I lived like an hour from the Bees back then and so badly wanted to make it to a meet-up!

I joined (under a different username) in early 2014 before we were about to start TTC #1. It was absolutely more active, with cliques, passive aggressiveness, more interesting posts, the Bees were really involved, things moved quickly. Like politics and social issues were brought up a lot. A lot of posts about material wealth. We had anonymous and gold threads so people could get really personal. We had more "interesting" users who would post stuff and get backlash, condescending comments. There was definitely a "core" group. There was a ton of drama, people left, but it really seemed to get worse once the Bees moved (not judging, just how it is.) I remember being worried about saying the "wrong" thing and have people jump on me. In fact, there was even a snark site called GOMI Hellobee. I never participated but followed along. I'm sure no one posts on there anymore about HB. I mean...what is there to say really?
This is not to say that HB is awful now. Just different. I feel like the people who are still here are here for information, support, ideas...but not the entertainment/social factor it once was. I don't think HB will ever get back to that. I do notice things have been more active lately.

@crazydoglady: this^^

I also joined in 2014 and I mostly lurked and when I did post it was ghost silence. I honestly almost left but I'm so glad I didn't. I actually appreciate that there are no more drama inducing posts (at least not purposefully) and I appreciate the help and insight from others. My kids are getting older, DD is now 6 but I STILL come here daily and I still get info and ideas and help here. I think as with all things it will ebb up and down... as new members join and start to feel comfortable posting and if we welcome all new posters I think it will continue to be a valuable site.

ETA: I think back then some posts were made simply to incite snark and disagreements.... for me i don't miss them.. I mean it was entertaining but I'd rather have open, helpful, friendly posts.

@Litebrite: Yes! I remember! I remember that she posted a question and other members asked if it would be used on her blog and she got upset.

@Ajsmommy: Absolutely! I remember people posting passive aggressive memes and all that. I pretty much stayed in my little TTC circle because the rest intimidated me.

@crazydoglady: I remember this happening! And GOMI is 100% still an active snark site but I don't think the HB thread has been active in a long time (I haven't checked and I didn't participate back then when it happened).

I joined in early 2012 when I was pregnant with my first. I followed the WeddingBee bloggers a lot but wasn't really active in those forums. The boards here have always been more of the draw than the blog but I have also noticed an ebb and flow in activity. I was on here less and less after my first LOs early years. My workplace blocked the site and I didn't even have a smartphone back then to access it so much so it faded from my online life.
But, when I got pregnant with my second this was the first place I came to find my due date board. I'm still IG friends with a lot of ladies from back then and it's so sweet to see some of you here still, and follow our lives together as our kids have grown and we've added to our families.

@graceandjoy: I didn't participate in the drama. I was too new at the time to be a "cool kid".

@crazydoglady: bahahaha I only got mentioned once but at one point yes I scrolled through WAY TOO MANY of those GOMI pages.

I joined in 2014. HB was a nice place for me to vent and ask questions when going through the IVF process. I learned so much about the technical aspects of IVF. It was also really helpful during the first few months of DD's life when I felt like I was doing everything wrong!

i joined in 2016 but it took me a while to start using the boards vs. just reading/searching old blog posts. i think i didn't really get into the boards until they were a lot less busy than at the peak and honestly i really appreciate hellobee so much for what it is now, regardless. i have gotten information and advice that has been materially helpful to my parenting, and i just feel like it's such a smart, caring group. it is just miles apart from anything i've seen on similar type forums. i really appreciate the effort folks have been putting in to get the boards a little more active, and will try to do more of the same myself--but even at the current level of activity it still feels like a very worthwhile daily read to me.