The ER was a website in the early internet days, I think its lifespan was like 1995-1997 maybe? It was a part of a website that was I believe suicideweb.org and a guy named Tom, who I think was from Maine started. It was like I dont know maybe reddit but less threaddy. You could go, register, post and read anonymously to a group of people about depression, suicide, self harm etc and get support. This website literally got me through the latter part of high school and the college when I attended. Tom closed down the site when he I think got married and felt like the site was more a hindrance in ways than it was a help. I would actually agree in hindsight, but a place that netted me my best friend and at least 2 other good friends was worth it.
When the ER ended the PP began, picked up by a user of the ER named Pete, from Flordia. He created a new site same premise. But I and my group of friends ended up being admins for a bit, until he and I had a falling out. I dont even recall the specifics, but it happened. The starfish story was my idea to include, and he never removed it; so there's that. The starfish story isnt my story, i have no idea who's story it was but its appropriate for that type of site.
The screen cap is from the internet archive, but the ER is too old to have been cached....
Here's what was nice about these places, the community. With very little exception everyone could relate to someone and more often than not to many. Yeah there were cliques but you can't help that, as much as you'd like to you cant. These were people I was brutally honest with about how I was feeling and what I was thinking, and I still talk to 3 of them today. Many of the things experienced nobody else knows about, with the excpetion of those 1998 entries. But thats extraordinary if you think about it, like read some of those entries, I was not a happy person or a particularly likeable person but I have 3 people I'd still consider friends. Aubrey chief among them, who is my best friend, despite some pitfalls she's always there for me, if i need her. And I'll be there for her, we're like sisters from opposite coasts. This is really where we met, though my answer of "in college" isnt a total lie, we mostly met in college though we were technically both in High School for the ER days. But she did go to NYU and I to NASC and we were close enough in proximity for the story to be plausible.
I dont think a place like that quite exists any longer. There werent trolls, I think maybe there was 1 or 2 but they werent of the malicious variety you find today. Its how the internet could work.
