Season’s Greetings from Curious Chaser

Another year has almost reached its conclusion, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank a number of people who have helped make Curious Chaser an essential resource for those who are interested in bug chasing and gift giving and also for making this a warm and welcoming community for those who might be struggling to understand why they are attracted to a virus that currently has no cure. By being part of a community that features like-minded people on the same path or who might have already walked this path before us, can help each of us understand ourselves better and also appreciate that we are not alone on this journey or this way of thinking.

There are many people I would like to thank for making this website the best that it can be and I would like to start by thanking Jim for his amazing support. Jim became an administrator throughout the year and has contributed a significant amount of his time to help make continued improvements to this website and he also promptly approves new members and pending posts in the forums to keep everything moving as smoothly as possible. Jim has also provided some amazing insight into what it’s like to become HIV-positive through his online diary entries, after his successful conversion throughout the year, which happened with the assistance of Will and Shane, who are also valued members of this community.

I would also like to thank Duane for his moderation assistance at the beginning of this year before he later retired from his moderating role, which was quickly picked up by Tony. I am very grateful for the assistance of both Jim and Tony, as administrator and moderator roles involve a lot of work, because it’s important for us to approve requests as quickly as possible, especially now that we live in a world where real-time is considered the norm, so nobody wants to be sitting around waiting too long for something to be approved. Even though these roles involve a lot of work that is constant, not many people will understand or appreciate the level of work that goes into these roles, but I am acutely aware and I want to express my appreciation for the time and effort that goes into this.

Interaction is what makes this website special, so I would also like to acknowledge Todd for hosting the fantastic Zoom meetings. I have only been able to attend a couple of these and I have enjoyed them, but I am a big fan of how these meetings introduce another element to the conversation, because we can ask questions and discuss topics in real-time, which is extremely important. These meetings also make us appreciate that we come from various parts of the world, with the theme of bug chasing and/or gift giving bringing us together through the common theme of HIV. Todd tries to host these meetings at different times and days so as many people as possible can attend, and even though we can’t make a time that’s perfect for everyone, I appreciate his efforts to include as many of you in these meetings as possible.

As a further extension to the interactivity that’s offered at Curious Chaser, I would also like to thank Thomas for creating Cum Tales, which is a real-time chat and messaging system hosted at Telegram, which is a great place for everyone to get to know each other better. It’s also a place where you can share multimedia and also have a chat with other likeminded people. Curious Chaser does not have a live chat feature yet, but this is something we are looking at adding in the future, so thank you to Thomas for creating this Telegram group in the meantime to fill this gap.

If you have participated in the Bug Chasing and Gift Giving Survey throughout the year, I want to thank you for taking the time to complete the survey and share your responses and comments if you left any. You have given your trust when sharing this information with me and I will continue to ensure each individual response is added to the total number of responses received to protect your identity. I have been busy collating the survey responses, which currently requires a lot of manual work and in January I will be publishing the full results, along with some commentary, which you are welcome to get involved in as well. If you haven’t yet participated in the survey, you have a few more days to get involved, so click here if you would like to participate so you can become a part of the 2023 survey. A new survey for 2024 will be released in January for you to get involved with if you would like to participate.

This would not be a community if it wasn’t for everyone who is a part of it, so I want to thank everyone who has visited Curious Chaser throughout he year and I would also like to thank those of you who are active in the forums. This year we tried to make some improvements to the forums by created two access levels, that way those new to bug chasing wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by some of what is discussed and at the same time we want everyone to be able to speak freely. I acknowledge that we carried out this transition in a clunky way and I am sorry for those of you who were frustrated by this change. We figured out a way that would have been smoother after we implemented the changes after gaining the insight into the process, but this was too late and led to the frustration that was experienced.

Bug chasing can bring shame and stress to a person who might be first starting to explore why they are interested in becoming infected with a virus that has no current cure based on the way many people view bug chasing. I felt the shame and anxiety when I first wondered why I was attracted to HIV and had tried to overcome these thoughts, but after many years I wanted to learn more, then struggled to find resources that could help me understand myself better. This is why being a part of a community where you can learn more can be helpful and a good way to understand yourself better. So when you take the step to read through the articles or create a profile here to access the forums, this is a massive step and one that takes a significant amount of courage, so thank you for doing this, rather than feeling alone and struggling trying to figure things out by yourself.

Curious Chaser has been online for just over two years, with 75 articles and over 6,500 forum posts that have helped this website grow and this has improved our knowledge and understanding of bug chasing and gift giving. It’s important to continue to respect each other and know that it can take time for each of us to figure things out, so we should never feel pressured by others to rush into anything. As you are solely responsible for your decision making and actions, it’s imperative that you fully understand everything so you can make the right decisions, which can take time, so accessing as many resources as possible to help you do this is so important, which is what we aim to do here by providing information and links to further resources that are supported by health professionals.

The festive season can be a time of joy, but it can also be a time of sadness, especially if you are alone or you have lost friends and family along the way. That’s why this time of the year can bring different meanings and feelings for each of us, so please know that our community resources will be here for you as long as possible and also know that you don’t need to be an active chaser to be welcome here. Everyone who is at any stage of bug chasing, from curious to passive, former to inactive, it doesn’t matter, because not everyone will take the step to actively chase, yet they may still feel aligned to bug chasing in some regard, so just know that if you have any interest in bug chasing, you are welcome here, so you can learn more and understand yourself better. Season’s Greetings and we wish you the very best for 2024.

Featured Photo: Image by senivpetro on Freepik.
Article ID: CC075
Version Control: 1.0 – December 25, 2023: Original article published.