For as long as I have been a member, Sociopath Community has been dependent on the social opioid known as drama. When I look back on my whole time here and think of all the times it was most active (winter 2017, fall 2018), what I have observed is that those times had a very high amount of drama, and when it was most dead, everybody got along. Now I could stop right here and say that SC is just a community full of drama whores and call it a day, but that wouldn't explain why some people stay so long or eventually come back (and what makes them leave).
See, periods of high drama can be very fun, but it can also much like dancing around an open flame- you might get severely burnt, and that might make you want to leave. It is very possible that you will be doxxed, leaked, or just plain bullied out of the forum. But then..... why come back? This is the other side of the coin- despite the very prevalent and frequent fucking-overs, SC members seem to have a certion comradery, call it honor among thieves. It isn't friendship in a traditional sense either, it's less emotive and attached. Like a mutual enjoyment of personalities, debating, ideas of people - but you don't see as much heart in it as normal. Some friendships are founded entirely on teaming up to troll other people and get more drama supply, for example. A friendship like this is not going anywhere emotionally.
That's not to say there aren't ATTEMPTS to form such an genuine attachment, however. They just usually do not go right for the party looking for them. Example such as delora and Trypt, TPG and Alice, CS and Jim, Xadem and Scarlett and others exemplify this. Only issue is, one person just is not feeling it.... and these instances when made public, kindle the flames of the problem with attachments SC has had since its creation: it markets to sociopaths.
qNow I'm not saying that everyone here is a sociopath, but the very fact that you chose to come here and stay presumes certain assumptions-
1. At the very least you don't MIND being among sociopaths.
2. You ARE a sociopath.
3. You are interested in the concept and would like to observe sociopaths.
Now, we all know what a sociopath is- somebody who specializes in deceit, who cannot form emotional bonds, fake charm, aggressiveness, ect. So, coming onto a site called SOCIOPATH community, even if you know you are not, all bets are on the table for anybody else to be. Everyone is a suspected sociopath, even the ones who appear not to be so (because sociopaths can charm people, right?). Now, if you suspect EVERYONE to be a sociopath, it might invoke a certain errrrm.... paranoia. Consequently you may actually avoid forming ANY ATTACHMENT to the people here because you are paranoid of their possible sociopathy.
And then you got the people who BELIEVE they are sociopaths and therefore can only relate to and love other sociopaths, only to be very publically hurt by anothers' sociopathic tendencies when you seek a relationship with someone here. These instances serve as a warning for everyone else, who in turn become even more paranoid and less likely to get too attached to anyone. This makes SC an emotionally sterile place, and when combined with the lawless "no rules" policy, it allows malignant individuals such as Jim and Waltz to create mass amounts of drama on a daily basis against virtually everyone, and nobody really reacts too strongly. And, back to that point- the drama is often quite fun to engage in until you end up actually hurt, and when this happens the result is often the person who ended up hurt actually leaving.
So why come back? Because despite all this, we actually like the personalities and interactions with many of the members here on a cerebral level and that can be enough to bring people back. It is also perfect for a narcissist, whom does not even need emotional relationships as long as they feel admired by everyone. Essentially, people don't mind the emotionally shallow friendships because they are fun and for the most part in a contained online environment, and this leads them to return after awhile out of boredom or curiousity. SC toes a fine line between the excitement of the drama and the desire for friendship, no matter how shallow.... but somehow, it makes it work.