like, when i joined *laura's* back in late 2008.

oh! if anyone ever in in crisis and/or needs someone to talk to, they're still around, kinda! i believe laura passed away and the site merged with another place and then became a discord community. here's a permanent invite: discord.gg/wAJEEnHxDq i see stu there! he was a mod when i joined. 💕🌈🦄

*brings me to my knees (negative)

i broke myself down thrice doing crisis work. i pitch in now where i can but even a short session brings me to my knees. i was always so glad i landed at Laura's. i already had read that awful stealth essay and needed a life goal beyond being stuck in the wrong box and shoved back into the closet.

transmed? i honestly don't remember, but i think so, thus having to demonstrate satisfactorally that i was *actually* transsexual. but i can 100% say that that place's entire vibe was exclusion and superiority, and that was as much due to the folks that were there as any rules that were in place.

i don't remember much because i didn't go but a few times i only remember feeling so constricted and restrained there compared to Laura's and i didn't like the way they treated people that didn't fit their criteria.

and because we were transsexual and diagnosed they let us in but it was made clear that certain topics were not ever open for discussion.

and the main purpose of the site was to help people in crisis, and we did a lot of that but it was also just a bunch of lovely trans and gnc folks hanging out and trying to find a bit of what we've found here at bsky, community. now. we also just wanted more places! and we heard about Susan's.

okay! storytime only just the outline. we got lucky. when we were about to transition, we stumbled into Laura's Playground. it had its issues for sure, but we did crisis counseling and from the beginning from what we heard, and certainly by the time we joined (2008) it was completely inclusive!

MEAN PEOPLE SUCK!