Stake.. Stakes! What iiiiis at Stake?
Anyway. Pondering the few people I've actually added on platforms and kept in touch with, the one thing in common is that I met them on 4chan-adjacent sites like KF. The content on the site would be 90% trash and then every now and then, you'd have a post like this where people were being real. It's really nice, being upfront among the niggercalling and call-for-troon-lynching.
It makes me miss forums. I can't be bothered keeping up with Discords and group chats, yet I was the life of the chat whenever I used to play WoW and what not. Yet, this format of socializing just kills me. To have to actively banter and rant all day to be remembered 2 months down the line yet forgotten if you leave out of disinterest. It's like any third space really, needing to be present to be included, yet with none of the actual reward. "Oh man where's George? He was fun". You leave a Discord and nobody notices that your 9gag reposts in #memes aren't there.
I wouldn't say I'm lonely but I do miss being exposed to new potential that I could trim off after a few days if they got annoying. That used to be such forums. Sad.