I used to hang out a lot at the Backwoods Home Forum, until I discovered this one. The other had a lot of good info, but it was too hard to keep up on, and there were some unpleasant moments. This one is more focused and lots more friendly and easier to post on, so I haven't been on the Backwoods forum for several months. No big deal. BUT....

I got an E-mail from some web site promoter, saying that they could improve my web-site there (didn't know that I HAD one there! I have one, with my art work, but it is somewhere else). They gave a URL to the site in question, so I punched it to see "my" site. It took me to a site that says that it was restricted....I couldn't get in. Evidently, the promoters did! What was in that restricted site, anyway?

I have read that several of you visited the Backwoods Home site in the past. Have you gotten this message? I wonder what they are talking about, and how they got my info from a restricted site????

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000

Answers

If you go to a typical web page, the only email address is typically the webmaster or owner of the page. Spammers (people who send out mass mailings of ads) know this had have special web search engines for gathering addresses from as many pages as they can find. Of course when they hit a forum or a directory page, they are not getting the page owner, but what do they care.

Anyhow, don't worry about it. They probably have an old list that was based on one of the forum pages from when you were posting there.

Whatever you do, do not reply to the email. Especially if it gives an address to reply to be removed from the list. They do that to verify that they have a real address and that you actually read enough to reply. They will then send you even more spam and sell your address to others.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), October 15, 2000.

I have posted on the BH site, but do not llke it as well as this site for several reasons. First, the threads are tedious to read as you cannnot just scroll down as you do here (they are changing that). Secondly, the way they list the topics it is difficult to tell what the subject matter is. Thirdly, I am not interested in many of their topics. I have subscribed to BH for years and learned alot about homesteading, but do not enjoy their forum that much. Perhaps that will change after they implement their new format.

-- connie in NM (karrelandconnie@juno.com), October 15, 2000.

If you like this forum style, you might also want to have a look at the forum for our new website, The Almanack. The address is:

http://www.thealmanack.com

The site is sort of an online version of a traditional paper almanac, but there's also a Reader's Forum as well. We'd be glad to see you there!

-- The Almanack Webmaster (webmaster@thealmanack.com), October 15, 2000.

I enjoy both the BACKWOODS HOME forum and this one.

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), October 22, 2000.

I too, use both sites although I use bhm more. I lurk here more than at bhm. There are some really great and knowledgeable people on bhm and they are changing the format to something like this if I understand correctly. I enjoy both sites. Faye.

-- Faye(AL) (rcart@millry.net), October 22, 2000.