The first thing that drew me to the site was a review it got in one of the columns at FanFiction.Net. I saw the beta reading service it offered, and I was up to about chapter 3 of my novel-length fic, yet I still had no steady beta reader. So the site's most immediate appeal was the beta reading.
Elanor Gamgee turned out to be thoughtful, insightful and knowledgeable. She was just the beta reader I needed, and a wonderful person as well.
I'm not sure why I moved into the forums, but once I did and discovered that there was a kind, loving community, I couldn't leave. Other forums had frequent flame wars and nasty debates as well as a lot of immaturity. At Sugar Quill, I was able to have the analytical, mature discussions I love. I think part of that is the high adult proportion of the community, but the younger members were insightful and kind as well.
The fanfiction was great, and I grew to know and be friends with the people at the site, one of whom was my favourite author, Thing1. The authors were polite and friendly.
There are so many reasons why I stayed. But when FanFiction.Net lost its forums, I didn't feel so down. For I knew there was Sugar Quill, where I could get exactly the sort of discussion I love - mature and thoughtful. Thank you, everyone.