So I've been a member of Dev.to since 2018. I wrote my first post on Aug 17, 2018. Just to give you a reference that I've been on here for a while.

When it was first starting up, it was so easy to get your post to grab attention and to get feedback. Not saying that's not the case for some of us still but I can imagine some of us feel it much harder now.

I've been feeling a little lost in the crowd when Dev.to grew to what it is today. A name that everyone in the industry knows and loves.

Many of us rely on for news, socializing and learning. But the spark for me was some what lost when I started finding that the place I once knew had started to change and the people I interacted with seems to also be pushed away or perhaps grew tired of the lack of attention to their post.

Change is a wonderful thing, it's brought so much great things. At the same time change can be a little uncomfortable for some of us.

My own personal story, I felt like part of something special. I had a voice to be heard, where now it can often feel like I'm in the middle of the crowded lines, trying to tell my story over the voices of the crowd hoping to be heard.

I'm sure it's probably just me feeling this way but for the slight chance there are others out there that feel the same way, I'd love to hear your story.

What are some ideas on how platforms can grow, while still making sure that their users feel valued across the board?

I dream of when I have this problem in the future when my own projects take off (fingers crossed!) and I hope to learn from all of you on what you think it would take.

One idea I had was to open up additional parts of the site for those who have been here (selfish thought? or just an idea 🤷🏻‍♂️) for a certain period of time or maybe meet some other criteria (make it fair as possible).

Does that push others away to feel unfair? It's not an easy topic to solve and I would imagine that they've had some long hard discussion over some of these issues already as Dev.to.

Perhaps that is why we have badges and mod center, but I feel like they do not answer the issue of how to keep your user base feeling welcomed? The more users you get the harder it becomes.

I was just wanting to vent and reach out in hope it kick starts my journey back to Dev.to posting. I would love to be inspired again.