Why do you come on Datalounge?

For perspective more than anything.

I don't care much about celebrities past or present, nor pop culture, camp, deaths, national tragedies, certainly not group awards show watching, and barely about even a little of what pases for gay culture. Excepting maybe Tasteful Friends headers, there are few themes that catch my attention, but I'll read through a few posts to see what the hell someone is writing about (and so breathlessly), or to see if a dull or overexposed subject might take on a new light in the hands of Data Loungers. And sometimes it does.

The Southern Gothic sorts of crimes and disappearances can sometimes sustain my interest for months where a newspaper account might be interesting only to read once st the start and again at some point if resolution. DL's resident Miss Marples arrive at amusing fantasy scenarios and sometimes clever analysis.

As with so many things on DL, it's less about the story and more about a story well told. It's the little stories and perspectives of gay and lesbian lives that bring life to a thread about rural or small town living, or odd tidbits about Vivien Leigh as a bad houseguest in a thread about a $9M Upper East Side apartment for sale. (I don't care about Vivien Leigh, yet the stories engage because of the context and the presentation.)

To laugh.

I voted for pop culture/camp. However, I wish there's been an option for "humor," because that's why I really come here.

Despite the influx of trolls since around 2015, I still enjoy DL. There truly is no other place like it around. Some of the threads become quite profound (for example, I've posted about losing a parent to Alzheimer's and received quite meaningful responses; I've also shared my struggles with bipolar disorder, and found others here who get it). The inside stories from the entertainment world are great, too, especially interesting tidbits from the golden age of Hollywood. I also enjoy a lot of the "Eldergays, tell me about ... " threads: not the facetious ones, but those that give genuine historical perspective.

I suppose I could find all that stuff on another forum. What I couldn't find would be the humor. Some of the wittiest bitches on the interwebs post here.

[quote]Muriel (authenticated)

Authenticated people have a link for a name, troll.

The waters.

I come here because I found my tribe! Yes, I know "MARY" I only wish I had known about you all in 1995 when I was a senior in Highschool. The threads I would have started! "It's 1:00 am and my Best friend just showed up, he wants to take me to a truck stop, do you think he would mind if I sucked his cock?." In small-town life, you feel alone even if there are other gay guys around you you don't know if the things you are doing are even acceptable among the gays. But because of here, I know that when I was spending my summers watching Whatever Happened to Baby Jane or throwing myself onto the bed sobbing to the theme of Valley of the dolls I was down the right path to pointless Bitchery!

To be hated by all the angry gays and fag hags on DL.

No, but really, celebrity gossip. Don't judge me, Pots.

e) All of the above

I like to have some webpages up while I work so I can switch over to them for a quick break, it helps keep me from getting overwhelmed by working on one small, stupid detail for a long period of time. A forum with a variety of topics is my preference, and if you get a thread that the trolls aren't interested in, you get a good discussion going on. Unfortunately the antics of one or two people who were never properly dealt with by moderators has made it difficult to find a good discussion or to keep one going, so I find myself going elsewhere quite a bit now.

To talk about football and pussies.

Because I can't stand Twitter/facebook/IG. I just want to talk about a lot of different things where the majority of the perspectives are Gay. I've learned to just block the troll threads the result is a nice variety of topics

I'm comfortable here, I like it here, I'm staying 🙂

I come here because you bitches can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.

Makes the days here at Leavenworth just fly by

I like all kinds of topics, but the main reason I prefer to hang out here is because you can truly be honest. On other platforms it feels like you always have to add a disclaimer or censor your opinion because someone is just waiting to be offended. Of course this brings out a lot of awful rightwing trolls as well, but the FF/ignore feature is always available.

R12 but, Rhoda’s just a dog, why don’t you ditch her?

She’s scaring away your guys, no one will miss her!

She’s not going to make it after all!!!

They serve great cookies 🤗

Huh? I'm just here to deliver Muriel's daily bottle of scotch and her Lucky Strikes

[quote]I come here because you bitches can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.

Funny, I'm the opposite. To me DL is living in New York, without actually having to.

Can’t choose one of those things, although all of them interest me at times. My favorite thing about this site is the variety of topics and personalities. I use Twitter, Reddit, FB, & Instagram, but DL is the best. The gay aspect is important. I come here for current events, entertainment, advice, support, perspective, amusement, information and [italic]je ne sais quoi[/italic].

I come here because this place has some of the meanest and most irrational cunts I have ever encountered. You can dissect the minutiae of an I Love Lucy episode in one thread, get into a fight about flip flops in another thread, while discussing US and world politics in another.

Politico removed the comment area.

Figure skating, politics and snark.

I too, have found my tribe. I love coming here. I can't choose just one reason. For example, I LOVE our threads about family holidays. I love the advice threads. I love the current events, the politics, the celebrities, the hot guy threads. I love our bitchiness and our compassion. I love that I come here and find useful information about all kinds of shit. And Muriel you are the SUPREME BITCH. Thank you for your hospitality. You have kept me Sane. I think I would have neve got though the Pandemic, or all the other terrible shit like really bad Oscar dresses, without DL. And that's the absolute truth. A note: If you aren't a paid subscriber, become one.

Please don’t take my Datalounge away.

[quote]Why do you come on Datalounge?

I come on whatever's handy, bitch.

I want to clean up for r25

With all the running gags and expected bitchiness, it's like hanging out with old friends.

Over time, you lose touch with people and people go in and out of your life. But, even if the folks behind the posts change, the posts themselves have the same feeling as when you get together with people you've known forever. You know what to expect and can laugh.

And, even now because, you know, everything was better a long time ago, when the wit is on point, it's razor sharp and better than anywhere else on the web.

It also reminds me of a close old friend who died. We used to joke about stuff we saw on DL and accuse each other of being various r - insert number and thread title. I miss him.

r27, you sum it up for me perfectly

I miss Umpty. I hate to say this, but it's going around. People say Muriel killed him for his cat. Understandably.

People complain about various hated posters.

Personally, I think of them the same way you think of that crazy uncle or cousin that no one wants to come to the family holiday party, but always does and always causes a scene that years later we still talk about and now can laugh.

I learned a LONG time ago on DL to simply scroll past posts that I don't want to read.

From poo shoes to any number of "he who shall not be named" to PMBT, they all added to our collective lore and history.

I find most real-life gays boring. They won't discuss taboo topics. They are rabidly pc. They don't have strong opinions. They find camp distasteful and only want to look forward- not back (humor can lead to laughing).

It's my lifeline to the gay world. To ideas. To aspects of culture. To bitchiness.

I love my big gay DL.

R32= Frau post

I'm here every day. Sometimes you're the only people I talk to.

R5 = Misinformed

In times of trouble like when someone famous dies, like Ray Liotta or maybe even when Liza dies, we need to be here. Larry King is gone. We need some where to come and sit Shiva and gossip and grieve. No one grieves and gossips as well as the Gays. I love us. Right now we are on the edge of precarious times. Barbra Streisand is old. Jane Fonda? Old. So many. Without DL we would need currently non existent mental health services. Affordable ones. Where else can you get both therapy and abuse for $20 a year? Ya know?

^ This is what I love about DL, all weirdos accepted 🤪

"Give me your drunks, weirdos and wackadoodles..." - Muriel's Crede

^ Creed*

Earrings...caftans. And the nacreous layer of permacum, silly!

It can be a lot of fun, but there have been a lot of troll threads recently, being deliberately provocative over pointless issues. Some people need to get out more or get laid.

^ SUPERSPREADER!!!!!!

I come here to get called stupid, pathetic, needy, desperate, and to be told I should die in a grease fire, apparently.

Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II will die soon. I know this for fact. IMO this is just as important as the Oscars so I would again, petition Muriel to not paywall us at least for 48 hours. Now, I am paid up. So I am doing it on behalf of all of you who for some reason think the annual fee too onerous, or you can get all the wit and wisdom and pointless bitchery for free. Pigs. I get it. Some of you are in the closet and are too young for your own credit cards so you share one with Mummy. Never the less. There are ways to subscribe. You need to be inventive. Get a debit card. Secure it with you birthday money, or the money you get from furtive gropings and blow jobs.

For me, need a break from work or the day....

I always hope that the genuinely entertaining posters will make an appearance.

It's got a purty mouth.

I originally came for the gossip as DL attracts an older, more sophisticated crowd who don't focus on the Kardashians and YouTube/Tik Tok "stars". That is not to say DL doesn't have some weird obsessions. Along with the gossip are threads on a variety of subjects frequently offering good advice from life experience and wisdom. The love of animals and the kindness expressed when someone is suffering is wonderful. The threads on Meghan and Harry help me with my insomnia and of course the pointless bitchery.

Keeps my sheets from getting crusty.

for all the Lucy Ball and Vivian Vance threads

But most of the time, it's said with love, R42. With love.

I don't know about you, r49, but I have sufficient.

I have been coming here since 2000. I come for all the reasons listed. Compared to the shit on twitter DL is the Algonquin round table. Beneath the pointless bitchery are people with heart. Russian trolls aside, I love you all.

Straight people lie, obscure, double-talk... The LGBTQs throw it down: we will suss-out the truth and shame you to filth.

[quote] I only wish I had known about you all in 1995 when I was a senior in Highschool.

So do we.

Barbara was a Datalounger.

To laugh. I like that we're not obnoxiously PC yet still have general social awareness, apart from a minority of Fox-ed up trolls.

^Also you can be as big of a sarcastic bitch as you want and people generally aren't oversensitive

Like r44 i come here to take a break from life and work...by calling r42

[Quote] stupid, pathetic, needy, desperate, and to be told I should die in a grease fire, apparently.

Don't take us too seriously r42 but you forgot we also call you slut, whore, fatty, Mary...

Love you! Mwah!

[quote]Russian trolls aside, I love you all.

Xenophobic dick.

^ Good morning, Boris, isn't it time for your vodka break? 🤪

For the pure r43 of it.

You could've pulled your first two sentences outta your ass. So fucking what.

All I know is they have the ring of credibility to them, no matter if you were merely observing "for fact" that any 96 years old human is going to die soon, or, you DO know some info specific to Q E II that she is going to die soon.

I believe you on either count.

And that post distills pop culture, gossip about the famous, and a situation that brings out DLs best bitchy, accurate, informed and hilarious posters- a televised funeral of a famous person.

I've posted it before and I'll do it again- Q E II may out live me. But if I'm alive when her State Funeral happens a nuclear crow-bar would not be able to pry me from the threads and my TV.

The DL in full gear.

^ You know the comparisons between Diana's funeral and the Queen's will be classic DL

That bitch can't die fast enough for me.

Yup, r62.

^ Good morning, Charles 😂

^ For r63

r65, lol!

Perfect, and what i'm talkin' 'bout at r61.

and I write that as truly adoring Q E II, and I like Prince Charles. I've always liked him.

R47 Ahm definutly one a them more sophisticated ones. Swear to God, I never, not one time in my whole life, ever farted aound othe people without making some kinda noise to cover it up.

Muriel, you loopy bitch!

I come here to see how the threads I start are faring, to see how many ludicrous bigots I can block in a single thread (usually something about money or "The Blacks"), and to troll for witty vulgarians I can seduce and bring home to daddy.

Loneliness.

This may sound silly, but I feel like you "know me" I can come here and relax and visit and it makes my life less lonely.

Grammarly is devoid of snark so I post here to have my grammar, punctuation and syntax snarkily corrected

I'm not sure "snarkily" is a word but I am sure I will be chastised by a Grand Poobah DLer if it isn't.

To find a guy.

I come to piss you off.

I come for the dessert buffet....

Because I love:

Threads about favorite actors in which we wonder about their gayness potential. Since 2013, when I joined, those have included Jake Gyllenhaal, Tim O’Tay, Aaron Tveit, Topher Grace, and most recently, Andrew Garfield (loved the interview today w/him and Zendaya [Variety website], though I thought she could have talked a lot less). He is my favorite actor.

The Midwestern Midday Marvels. Let’s just leave it at Ol’ Lucy, Lady Eyes-a-buggin, and Donna Love. And I can’t leave out Andrew Dixon. Or Ada’s dish rag (wouldn’t that be a kick in the cunt?)

The dish threads. I love every single person who posts in them. Lately we’ve been considering Corelle, but we have so many other threads we can refer back to.

Random cute boys who get posted about, such as Dead Boy Snatch in Akron, or the Disordered Eating fellow (WaPo by way of Stanford).

Certain food posters, such as Bronze Age Gay, the Marcella Hazan Troll, and, of course, Greg.

What I Hate:

Any thread that forces me to look at that evil man’s picture. You know the one I mean. He’s gone now, but he’s not gone? That one?

The “right wing/Republican talking points” accusers. I am middle-wing, but I have never voted Republican. I don’t know how a gay person could vote Republican. But I am not woke-yoked. These people don’t necessarily know what they’re talking about when they opine. And opine they do. With blinders on.

All things BRF. I cannot see why they would be interesting to anyone.

These last three make me wish we could go back to being able to block threads instead of thread starters, who sometimes say interesting things about interesting people and things in other threads.

R33, well that's a first. Never been called a frau before. I feel honored.

The gay male stereotype is 98% unadulterated frau. Decorating, cooking, knowing what hat and shoes to wear and how to use a shrimp fork, secretly lusting after meaty penises. It's just the frau who is permanently set in the 1950s middle/upper middle class and believes the modern frau is devolved.

So, the hate is part sexual jealousy, part projection and part self hatred.

I used to know why.

Now I wonder why.

🍟🍕🌮🥡🍝🥧🍷🍹🍶🍩🍰🎂🥞

To find out where the best parties and picnics are.

To improve my grammar.

Loneliness. Comfort . Alone in my bed with DL. Scroll through … laugh, cry , love elder gay celebrity stories …..makes the day a little more bearable as I can always turn to you guys … I just ignore the haters

🤓 For [italic] Breaking News !

There's something for everyone here. Snark is honored here. I love to laugh with everyone. It's like my big dysfunctional gay family, and I love it. I've learned a lot about gay history here also, not to speak about my daily grammar lesson. Irreverent at it's best, dramatic, hilarious.

Not that any DLer will notice or care but this thread is a good one to post the answer to my own question of Why Are you Leaving Datalounge?

Assuming I outlive Queen Elizabeth II, I'm sticking around for her death and funeral threads.

I'm outta here immediately afterwards.

I stand by my post at r61. The DL still can offer some of the best discussion of current events and pop culture.

The infestation, however, by Trumpers, the Reich-wing and some of the BRF posters has prevailed. I take no pleasure in writing those words but it's true.

It's too much to try to find the gold nuggets of discussion in a pile of shit-covered gravel.

In my 20 years here, I've had many, many moving, hilarious, exasperating moments, reading all of the smart, informed posts of DLer.

Thanks for the mammaries.

There isn't a category for the anti-trans lunatics and Royal loonies.

Seems like a pretty big oversight considering how prolific they are.

I’ll miss you Della.

There is no place like DataLounge, even despite the RWNJ infestation.

And ElderLez, r87, you’re one of the posters whose smarts, humor and astuteness I’m better for having had the opportunity to experience.

Smoooches, Doll