Hello; I have been reading this forum for over a year because I really enjoyed the magazine and I thought this would be a good place to meet others. I might add that I have post several questions and recieved many helpful tips. It has come to the point in recent months that folks out there are more and more out to trash others.If this is what this forum has turned into then I will just go back to reading my magazines and getting my infomation from the black and white pages of a great magazine. Thanks for listenin

-- Lisa-Zion,IL (magpie@fsi.net), July 14, 2001

Answers

It's still a great forum, Liza. That's why we need to try to keep this forum free from trash and name calling. It's a great magazine, and the forum and archives are full of great info for homesteaders, or gardeners or folks who just wanna be. We all are still learning and trying new things, even if we've been at it for a while. Spats like this last one come and go and things settle back down. It'll all be allright. Most forums do get hit on from time to time, just something we have to deal with in cyber world.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), July 15, 2001.

Hi Lisa

Missed the last spat..to busy having puppies. Read only post of interest and the spats become few and far between.

This forum has undergone some changes over the past several months. It'll be ok.

Theres a lot of different forums including several here on LUSENET. Read them all and I'll bet you can get the info you need.

Suns out, puppies up, gotta run.

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001.

Hey Lisa, relax and sit a spell.....small towns get a little too big too fast sometimes and people move in and learn how to adapt or move back out. No big deals unless we make them big deals. We all have our moments when we are more "ouchy" than others. Real trouble causers don't really last all that long here, they get bored unless there is a lot of controversy and move on. It has probably been said a hundred times in a hundred different ways, what you just said.......I guess we either learn to take the good and leave the bad or this is not good place for us. Hope you can find what you need here and leave the rest.........take care.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), July 15, 2001.

Lisa

I agree with all post in answer to you. Here are some suggestions that I will be trying to adhere to:

Steer clear of threads that obviously don't pertain to your homesteading interests; this will prevent you from being baited. And you know a tree that falls in a forest doesn't make a sound.

Try not to make assumptions about people's intentions, speak only on issues. Do not engage others who's post directed at your questions or answers can be taken as flames.

The truth about these forums is they are moderated by individuals who must police them virtually hourly to prevent chaos.

I followed the rules of a similar forum, but they elected to block all but those with a password from even being able to view the forum content. An E-mail Friday to the moderator has not recieved a reply, so I guess I am not going to be allowed to participate.

A similar fate could evolve here, but more than likely, with it's ties to CS, this Forum would probably just die.

-- rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001.

Now Rick, try to encourage the girl, not discourage her! CS forum is not going anyhere, and we ALL need to work hard at keeping it good. It's a group effort. It's up to us to keep the positive attitude flowing. No more negitive thoughts now, we are all lucky to have this place, and we need be thankfull for it. I know I learn allot here in the archives, I am a loooong way from knowing everything.

I went thru a terrible crisis at the beginning of last week, and believe me, real life is important, and very real. I wish I could have just solved the problem by pushing a delete button, but it dosen't work that way in real life. Let's count our blessings.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), July 15, 2001.

I think it is just because we all feel like we "know" each other so well that the spats begin. This is a tight community and sometimes I guess we feel we need to jump to the defense of someone else and it just seems to blow up from there. It is like kids in a family...they all fight and argue but will be there in an instant if someone needs something!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), July 15, 2001.

Cindy I agree with you access to these Forums means easier, more informed and efficient, and therefore more self-sufficient living. I gave some positive advice on how to surf and share here. Losing access is naturally very frustrating. As a poster in another thread mused, life goes on.

-- rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001.

Another hint: Give the benefit of the doubt. Try to think of a positive way something could be taken, or at least a neutral way. Sometimes our own "quick take" on a situation causes us to misread (been there, done that!).

If someone doesn't respond to a thread or an email right away, realize that some people can't come in here every day, or are away, or are experiencing some crisis. Some also lose track of the threads. It ain't easy, sometimes, remembering what you posted where!

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), July 15, 2001.

Just be patient Rick. Maybe the moderator has a lot of requests for the password, or maybe he hasn't been on-line this weekend. I've been posting on that other forum pretty much since day 1 and I don't have the password yet.

-- Sherri C (CeltiaSkye@aol.com), July 15, 2001.

Thanks for your thoughts Sherri.

Good Luck to you.

-- rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001.

OK... i'm lost, don't always read all the posts, what is this new forum that needs a password, sounds not only intreging, but interesting.

bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), July 15, 2001.

I too try to stick to topics that have to do with what I am interested in, avoid any spats (usually don't know about them until its all settled). Posting a reply in print when people can't see your face or read the inflection in your voice can be tricky by times. I love the cozy, everyone-knows-everyone -else atmosphere on the forum and in the Mag and pray it never goes anywhere or changes to something less personal.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), July 16, 2001.