Weekly Forum Report: Mid-term Examinations and Community Solidarity
Date Range: 2025-11-03 to 2025-11-10
This week, the forum saw a surge of activity, generating 1,231 new posts across 45 new topics. The community’s engagement was driven largely by the high-stakes mid-term examinations for Grade 12 students. Leading the activity leaderboards were @gggggg, @nya, @nocatnozzz, @dfeath777, and @MengXIN, whose contributions were central to the week’s most dynamic discussions.
The period was overwhelmingly defined by the shared experience of the mid-term exams, which served as a crucible for student anxiety, camaraderie, and introspection. One particular thread evolved into a massive, real-time diary for those undergoing the tests, becoming a historic landmark for the forum in the process. Alongside the academic stress, conversations branched into future aspirations, personal struggles with family, and meta-commentary on the forum’s own unique culture, sparked in part by the return of a veteran member. The forum once again proved its role as an essential outlet for students to navigate both academic pressures and personal growth.
The epicenter of the week’s activity was the sprawling thread “一些些上高三的感想,” which documented the emotional rollercoaster of the Grade 12 mid-term exams. The discussion captured every stage of the process, from pre-exam jitters to post-exam analysis. Members vented about specific challenges, such as a physics question allegedly missing key information (ref) and the overall difficulty of the Haidian district exams, which @nya described as “太超模了” (too off the charts) (ref). Frustrations also arose from poor exam conditions, with @chw recounting being distracted by a classmate’s incessant sniffing and leg-shaking (ref). The aftermath was a mix of despair and gallows humor, epitomized by @gggggg who declared that nearly every subject had “爆炸了” (exploded) (ref). This collective chronicle of suffering and support was so active that it surpassed all previous records to become the forum’s most-replied-to topic (ref) and ultimately crossed the thousand-post milestone (ref), a testament to the community’s need for a shared space during stressful times.
As current students grappled with their exams, discussions about the future naturally came to the forefront. In the topic “想去哪所大学？,” members shared their goals, which ranged from ambitious dreams of Peking University (ref) to more specialized paths like chemical engineering at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (ref). This aspirational mood was complemented by insights from alumni in the long-running thread “离了我北就觉得我北哪哪哪都更好了,” where former students shared photos and anecdotes from their university lives (ref). These glimpses of post-high school life provided both motivation and a sense of perspective. However, this optimism was counterbalanced by more critical discussions, such as a thread on whether universities are becoming too much like high schools, with a focus on graduate studies from the outset (ref).
The intense pressure of examinations also opened the door for remarkably candid and vulnerable conversations about family and personal life. Within the main exam thread, @gggggg shared a poignant reflection on a complicated relationship with their father, questioning whether material gestures can mend emotional wounds (ref, ref). This resonated with others, like @Axiom, who described a different family dynamic where parents were largely uninvolved in academic matters (ref). A similar vein of raw honesty appeared in the “每日记录尖锐爆鸣” thread, where @polony spoke of the heavy burden of being a teacher’s child and the feeling of inadequacy that comes with it, describing themself as a “大型蠕动生物” (large蠕动生物) in their parent’s eyes (ref).
Discussions this week also turned inward, with members reflecting on the forum’s own culture and evolution. The return of user @konatatong, an “开服玩家” (launch player), prompted this introspection after they observed that the forum’s “戾气变重了啊” (hostility has increased) (ref). @konatatong also initiated a thoughtful topic on the community’s prevalent use of Traditional Chinese characters, a phenomenon @Adler attributed to the “名人效应” (celebrity effect) of a prominent figure in their school’s culture (ref). In a more whimsical meta-commentary, the “Suen吧文艺复兴运动” thread saw @nocatnozzz humorously characterize the forum members as “赛博宠物小精灵” (cyber Pokémon) (ref) or a collection of “蛊” (venomous insects in a jar) being cultivated by the forum’s namesake (ref).
Beyond the all-consuming mid-terms, members found time to air grievances about various other aspects of school life in the #卮言 category. Technical frustrations were a recurring theme, with complaints about the school’s restrictive management of the Edge browser (ref) and system-wide instability (ref). Exam scheduling also drew criticism, particularly the long, inconvenient hours for students taking specific subject combinations like geography (ref). Other unique school experiences were shared, such as the social anxiety induced by a mandatory Waltz dance class (ref) and a teacher’s post lamenting the overwhelming administrative tasks assigned to them (ref). Even lighter topics, like a planned botany field trip, became part of the daily chatter.
Key Insights and Trends
A dominant trend this week was the forum’s function as a communal coping mechanism. The main exam thread became a collective diary where students could vent frustrations, share anxieties, and offer support. Humor was a key tool for managing stress, from @nya’s dramatic vow to “给我家狗当狗” (be a dog for my dog) if they performed poorly (ref) to the widespread feeling of academic disaster after seeing results (ref). This shared experience, as @polony noted, allowed a “和平友爱的帖子” (peaceful and friendly thread) to unite everyone, proving the power of solidarity in overcoming difficult times (ref).
The dialogue between current students and alumni remains a vital and enriching aspect of the community. Alumni like @nocatnozzz actively engaged with the ongoing exams, offering historical context on test difficulty (ref and providing analysis of the current papers (ref). This “alumni-student bridge” provides practical advice, as seen in threads sharing college entrance exam materials, and offers a valuable sense of perspective that helps current students see beyond their immediate pressures.
There’s a noticeable trend where topic-specific threads evolve into spaces for deep personal disclosure. What started as a discussion about exam strategies in “一些些上高三的感想” seamlessly transitioned into a space for members to unpack complex family relationships (ref). Similarly, general complaint threads like “垃圾筒
” and “每日记录尖锐爆鸣” became venues for sharing highly personal struggles (ref, ref). This indicates a high level of trust within the community, where the forum serves not just as an information hub but as a safe harbor for vulnerability.
The community is increasingly engaging in meta-commentary and self-reflection about its own identity. The return of a long-time member sparked a direct conversation about changes in the forum’s atmosphere (ref, while another thread deconstructed the community’s unique linguistic quirks (ref). This self-awareness, whether serious or playful (ref), demonstrates a maturing community that is actively conscious of its culture and norms. Even old threads are being revisited to understand the forum’s history (ref).
Across all discussions, humor remains the community’s universal language. Whether it’s crafting clever insults in the “改我一字…” game, sharing memes about the high school grind (ref), participating in a homophone quiz, or engaging in political satire (ref, ref), members consistently use levity to broach sensitive topics and strengthen social bonds. This pervasive humor makes difficult conversations more accessible and reinforces the supportive, lighthearted spirit of the forum, even when discussing the complexities of societal rules.
Last edited by @suen 2025-11-10T00:57:03Z