I was responding tonight to a thread and went looking for a post I knew I'd made many years ago. I was a little dismayed when the search showed me just two pages and gave up.
An hour later, I came back just to browse through my old posts and noticed that I was on page two, but there was still a 'Next' link. I figured out that, while my old posts (c. 2002 and earlier) are not immediately available via search, I can still browse through them manually.
I forgot about the thread I was looking for and just started browsing my old posts.
I'm an atheist, and I have been for several years. I wasn't always, though; the change in my beliefs occurred during 2001 and 2002. I was searching for information and alternative viewpoints back then, and the main place I turned was the Internet. My primary source was AT.
It is incredible to go back and read my old posts. I've been working backward, since that's how the results are displayed. First, I read through threads where I qualified my statements as saying, "I don't really believe in a higher power, but..." and then I got to, "I'm not sure if I believe in "God", but I definitely think there's some sort of higher presence...". As I went further, I got to my posts from back when I was still Catholic, but still craving more input from others. I'm still working through them, but I'm sure I'm going to find some where I'm really hostile to atheists 😉
I haven't thought about what I believe or why in years; I worked my way through those questions long ago and have been comfortable with where I'm at ever since. It's truly fascinating, though, to be able to go back and see the progression of my beliefs. I wasn't expecting that tonight when I logged on to AT...I figured I'd see if there were any entertaining threads and then move on to something else.
I'm a completely different person than I was when I started posting here. I'm married, I have a career, I'm a cancer survivor, and I own a home. When I started here, I was just working random jobs to pay the bills and trying to answer the questions we all do when we're early-twenties. I have mostly vague memories of the threads I posted and the posts I made, and it's really cool to be able to look back on those from where I'm at now and remember where I was then. It is awesome to be able to have such a window into my own mind.
I love the Internet. 😀
If you've never done so, and you've been here for more than a year or two, I highly encourage you to go back and read some of your old posts. What you read may surprise and enlighten you.
Matt
An hour later, I came back just to browse through my old posts and noticed that I was on page two, but there was still a 'Next' link. I figured out that, while my old posts (c. 2002 and earlier) are not immediately available via search, I can still browse through them manually.
I forgot about the thread I was looking for and just started browsing my old posts.
I'm an atheist, and I have been for several years. I wasn't always, though; the change in my beliefs occurred during 2001 and 2002. I was searching for information and alternative viewpoints back then, and the main place I turned was the Internet. My primary source was AT.
It is incredible to go back and read my old posts. I've been working backward, since that's how the results are displayed. First, I read through threads where I qualified my statements as saying, "I don't really believe in a higher power, but..." and then I got to, "I'm not sure if I believe in "God", but I definitely think there's some sort of higher presence...". As I went further, I got to my posts from back when I was still Catholic, but still craving more input from others. I'm still working through them, but I'm sure I'm going to find some where I'm really hostile to atheists 😉
I haven't thought about what I believe or why in years; I worked my way through those questions long ago and have been comfortable with where I'm at ever since. It's truly fascinating, though, to be able to go back and see the progression of my beliefs. I wasn't expecting that tonight when I logged on to AT...I figured I'd see if there were any entertaining threads and then move on to something else.
I'm a completely different person than I was when I started posting here. I'm married, I have a career, I'm a cancer survivor, and I own a home. When I started here, I was just working random jobs to pay the bills and trying to answer the questions we all do when we're early-twenties. I have mostly vague memories of the threads I posted and the posts I made, and it's really cool to be able to look back on those from where I'm at now and remember where I was then. It is awesome to be able to have such a window into my own mind.
I love the Internet. 😀
If you've never done so, and you've been here for more than a year or two, I highly encourage you to go back and read some of your old posts. What you read may surprise and enlighten you.
Matt
