I sometimes get that feeling when I run across someone’s personal blog, and it hasn’t seen updates in quite a long while (yeah, like in ten years or so). However, as with most of the other replies here, I tend to just assume they’ve lost interest and moved on.

I’ve had some blogs like that myself, and I’m certainly still alive (I hope, lol!) Some of them already gone with the sites themselves like Multiply, if you ever remember that, also, Friendster blogs—all this in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. Then there’s some Wordpress blogs I used for a while back in 2015~2018. I just got lazy, lost interest, and so left them in the dust.

Thus, yeah, I simply assume they’re doing just fine, and have just moved on with their lives.

However, there’s a different feeling for when I browse the blog/social media profile of someone I definitely knew has already passed on. It hits different. It’s like a frozen snapshot of their life. Their final post just there. A lot of times, the final post doesn’t even indicate anything. Their lives just went on as normal until it didn’t, and it just hits me differently than someone who I would just assume have just stopped posting.

I dont. I get a sense of happiness when I read through old threads and blogs because I’m basically looking through a portal to that year. Its like reading an old book it gives you perspective of how people felt at that moment in history.

I don’t. I assume they’ve gotten older and have less time to fuck around online and prefer it that way.

I used to get that feeling now and then, not a need to “investigate” them, but a small sense of lonliness seeing that a place that was bustling with conversation and community isn’t anymore.

I think it lessens as you age though.

There are countless situations in life that can cause people to move on from a group, hobby, social circle, forum, etc. I’d argue that most of them are perfectly normal and healthy, like having kids, moving, finding new hobbies, changing jobs, life events changing free time, making new friends, finding a new partner, etc.

Sometimes people find their way back, sometimes they don’t.

People don’t stay the same forever, so their interests and how they spend their time won’t either. I think life would be very boring if that wasn’t the case.

I’ve got ancient blogs and comments left on ebaumsworld from when the internet and I were still children. Every now and again I like to revisit the site and see the ghosts of the era. It’s probably been 5 or so years since my last visit. It’s a particular feeling for sure.

I do this with old musicians. I listen to a lot of Indy type stuff and ill see they haven’t released in years… It makes me wonder. At the same time the entertainment industry and life is pretty bullshit so good on them if they left it.

Also old YouTuber before things were viral and completely soulless.

I bet the Germans or the Japanese have a word for that feeling that can’t be translated in any other language.