I will admit, I have been MIA for a long while but GEEZ... I get back and this is what this place has come to? Where is everybody!? Unbelievable!!!! I lost all of my comments on my profile and there isn't even a way to place encouraging comments for others or check in with my old friends. They changed this place around a lot, that's for sure, and not necessarily for the better. I barely even recognize the place! It sure seems like it is a lot more antiseptic and stale around here. And I don't know about you but they've certainly succeeded in making it a lot less fun! In addition to that BecomeAnEx.com doesn't promote much interaction and a way to meet others in the same boat as you are in order to get support. Also gone is the comradery of the past. Unless, for some strange reason, you get your thrills off reading random disorganized blogs of people you don't even know that show up in the queue according to how recently they were posted, I'm not seeing how this site change is anything even remotely close to an improvement.
Am I the only one who remembers and misses the old site and the way things were? I don't know about you, but I greatly credit the site the way it was before with how I was able to eventually quit smoking once and for all. And much to my amazement, it's been almost 500 days since I have even done so much as touch one of the deadly "cancer sticks". Thankfully, I was able to experience all of that and was able to interact with many of you and get the support that I needed. I'm not sure if I'd still be able to quit again if I had I been stumbling across this site as it is today.
As a side note, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this site funded by an extra tax that they mandated to be put on cigarettes? Isn't Philip Morris or someone else responsible for this BecomeAnEx.com? And isn't it just an attempt to appease the US government and do some damage control to their already tarnished reputation? If so, it's not a surprise that they have made it more difficult for those of us who need support to get what they need and actually quit this horrible habit. Things that make you go hmmm...
Feel free to comment me your thoughts about all of this. Let's see if this place is a ghost town now as a direct response to all their changes (which I believe are for the worse). Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if nobody even reads this because of this new annoying format they have decided to adapt... Let's just say that as an early web user with more years than I'm willing to admit of experience of visiting and becoming a user and regular contributor on sites such as this one, I am not impressed with these changes whatsoever. There's so much competition on the internet today with social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and others all fighting for a piece of the market share. In case anyone is listening or cares, I'm leaving this site today feeling a little baffled/annoyed and I am pretty sure I won't even bother coming back except maybe to check in on how many days it has been since I quit here and there. If this site remains as it is, those quick visits will be few and far between. Especially since I didn't receive any sort of explanation that these changes were going to occur. I'm a bit pissed that I wasn't given the heads up so I could go thru all of my comments and compile a group of people with whom I wanted to keep in touch with.
Sorry to go off ya'll. This might even get me canned from this place but I felt that something should really be said. And unfortunately, I can't even chalk this up to a nic fit since I was able to quit. And let me end this long diatribe on a positive note and just breathe in a big deep breath and let out a sigh of release and say thank goodness for my being able to quit. Much gratitude for that! I put some contact info on my profile just in case anyone wants to try and find me. I'll be around. Be well and I wish nothing but peace, love, and happiness to each and every one of you. Happy quitting! 🙂
XOXOX,
BB
