Being a member of a forum

I'm on here, and a dog forum. I used to be on an ABBA forum, but they were weird - falling's out every week and utterly over-moderated - duplicate topics were instantly locked which was stupid as there are only so many new topics one can start about a group who haven't recorded anything since the 1980s.

H knows I'm on a forum but doesn't know specifics and he tries to encourage me to go on the meets.

Hitched is the fourth forum I've been seriously involved with, and at the moment I only use this and one other. I met my H on that other one, and I've been on it for 10 years; I was a moderator for almost 8 years so although I'm nowhere near as active as I used to be, I still feel at home there.

H knows about Hitched but doesn't look on here (I think!) He was a forum person before discovering online gaming, and still has some good friends from old forums, plus we have some good mutual friends from the forum we met on. I don't broadcast how I met H; some people know the truth but a lot of my friends still think we "met at a party."

This is the only forum I've ever used. My OH is aware that I'm on here but I'm not sure if he knows the name of the site and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know my username. I did get irrationally panicked when he mentioned to some of his friends that I'm on a wedding forum. I'm not sure why.

A lot of people think H and I met in a bar!

There is some truth in it - we did meet at a party. Of people from the forum. Which ended up in his uni halls. ?

With my post count, i dont have time for another forum!!

I dont make it a secret I have proper RL friends i met 'through wedding planning' but dont advertise the name and details !!

I've been here a year and a bit. I am not 100% sure why I joined but I think it was just to feel more wedding-y and to be inspired. WP was great, although it did make me spend more money on stuff (eg special converse for my hubby cost well over £100) but also gave me ideas, and let me feel confident in doing things differently if I wanted ( got shouted down on balloons though - totally right decision !)

i half browsed OT when the WP board got too samey or just overloaded with dresses etc. Cant remember when I switched here full-time but I come here when I can. I also half go o Mumdrum too but its not the same.

The only other forum I went on a lot was ebay! Think it was the selling pages and RT (round table) iirc. This was back when I was in that graduate but not working phase so was funding myself on selling on ebay. It was in the good old days when ebay was easier. You got less scammers, postage wasn't set on size and weight, you could snoop at people's buying etc. It was a nice board. Funnily enough I ended up going on holiday with the daughter of a guy who posted on there. Too long to explain, amd nothing dodgy, but it was a free 2 weeks all inc in Mexico and I came back without her, just a few days before Christmas! We are still friends now!

Aside from a small stint on netmums (mostly lurking) I'd say that's it. Oh, and I was on RealBuzz fitness forum when I was training for a charity trek, but I wasmt on there much. Still managed to make a friend on there who I met up ith twice, but he wanted to be more than friends so quickly left there!

Oh, and IRL I'd say nobody knows. Well, the ebay one a bit as I had to explain where/why I was going on holiday with only 4 days notice!

This is the only forum i am a member of and i found it by accident when looking at wedding venues. I stumbled across the WP forum and thought it looked a good place to get ideas and advice. I didnt discover OT until recently.

I havent told anyone im on a forum exactly but i will say ' this person on that wedding website is having this' ect. I dont want anyone to know really as I dont like the thought they could come and look what Ive posted (they would guess who i was from my name) and ive posted alot about the wedding.

When i first joined people who were already married and had been for a while were posting replies and i was confused as to why they where still on a Wedding planning forum if they were already married......I now understand lol

I do a similar trick, tell people we met on a night out in Nottingham, which in fairness was the first time we met in real life. He was with someone else that night (as was I) but we just kept in touch. I secretly fancied him from the get go.

I found Hitched whilst planning my wedding and I've been here ever since, I haven't the time to commit to any other forum but I have started to post a bit more on Mum Drum now. In terms of who knows I use Hitched, that would be H and 2 of my close friends H think it's fine, we met 12 years ago in a chat room and my friends know how invaulable this forum has been for me but I think because they've never joined an internet forum before they may think it's a bit werid but they don't say anything to me. I openely talk about Hitched, I often tell them about the lovely otter things that happen, when we all come together and try to raise a smile for fellow otters when those have gone through tough times and H thinks it's really nice.

A pal IRL told me upon my getting engaged that I needed to go on Hitched (she doesn't post tho)

I am very open about it with my friends and family and I think they are happy that I chat so much shite on here rather than chewing their ears off.

When typing up the hitched awards thingymabob OH asked me what I was doing, couldn't get his head around it and then jokingly told me I was going to get post wedding blues because I won't be allowed on here after we are married....

Well that's what OT is for of course!!

He'll never understand.