Originally Posted by
Dash
I'm not sure how anyone else older views it, however, this is how I view it.
The reason I used to like vets was because I was surrounded by people of a similar age.
The reason that can sometimes be important is because a lot of this site is made up of significantly younger members. Now, don't get me wrong, some of the maturest and my most favourite people are/were significantly younger than me so this is not an age thing. However, probably due to the fact I used to teach up to 18s, I didn't used to feel comfortable with having any 'child' (sorry) of that age supporting me. I felt it was my 'duty' to look after them, help them stay safe, be there for them, etc.
Going to a place where I didn't feel I had to 'protect' other members meant it was safer to be honest, and I would expect that honest advice back.
Nowadays it matters less because I don't have a huge clutch of teens that I support, and if I post it's generally people of my age who reply anyway so its less of an issue, but that was why I liked vets and felt safe there. It was a place I could be me. Given a lot of the adults also have children, some of whom are the same age as members of this site, it is entirely possible that they also feel the same.
I also think that a place for general chatter away from general chat would still be beneficial which is where a merged vets could potentially be useful. Just merging it with the rest of the site would lose a lot, I think. Although, not as much now as previously.