I agree 100%. There are folks here with differing views (as you said, especially the political stuff), but it does not get hateful and we leave it behind when we talk on other topics. I belonged to that other forum as well, and it was depressing trying to seek adult interaction with my peers and constantly being subjected to 5th grade playground stuff. The political issues get heated everywhere, but over there it was downright viscous.
A friend of mine steered me here. By the way, my fever broke and I am up and about. No more shots for me at all.
Very happy you feel better. I keep coming back here several times a day because everywhere else (even in most real life interactions) I feel like I am from another planet.
Being a senior implies that you are an adult and what I like about here is that everyone behaves like one. It implies maturity too, where after many years you know when to walk away from a conversation if it’s heading towards trouble. It’s knowing when to say “whatever”. (Fayes favorite word)
Over the past year I have spent a significant amount of time on a breast cancer forum, which was very helpful to me while going through treatment. Now that I'm done with treatment I find that there is less to draw me there because stories of recurrence are so frightening and depressing. I felt that I should stick around to help terrified newbies navigate their diagnosis, but it's not good for my mental outlook. I want to put it behind me, which of course will never happen. For anyone with health issues, forums specific to the diagnosis are invaluable. There are usually a handful of individuals who research and are up on the latest treatments, clinical trials, medications, etc. Plus you can commiserate about the unfairness of it all.
When I was going to have the pacemaker implanted, I joined a pacemaker forum, and it helped a lot for me to learn about what went along with the procedure; but once I was done with the implant, then I didn’t stay much longer, either. I think that probably a lot of the people in these support forums only stay for a while, and others then join and help new people who need information and support. I think that you have made a wise decision to move on from that part of your past year, and focus on the future, @Beth Gallagher .
Wonder how many Seniors, when it comes to a forum like SOC, think to themselves, "should I become a member or not?" Why? Because, sort of like what I've gone thru on this forum, sometimes. They don't want to become a member because they may be highly criticized for the thread/topic or post they do. My wife is just like that. She has seen/read posts criticizing a thread or a post I've done. I know that, what ever kind of forum it is, a thread or post can, and will, produce criticism. There are those that will say, "I love reading thread/topics, but I very, very seldom will post something myself". So, is that feeling out of fear at what people will think of their thread and/or post? Don't know, but it would see pretty logical to me. IOW, they don't like any kind of controversy, including that that could happen on a forum, in their lives.
i wouldn't feel too bad, some people i enjoy being around irl (in real life) are the same people i stay away from on the web. there's a definite possibility that the opposite would be true, but how would I know? ....unless i joined the forum.
I think that some people take seriously things that should not be taken so seriously. I know that, from time to time, someone will tell me that one person or another thinks that I don't like them, and I'm not sure where they got that idea - probably because I disagreed with something that they said in a forum thread. The reality is that, unless someone makes a habit of being disagreeable, I don't remember who said what in some of these discussions. A few years ago, someone left the forum in a huff, angry with me, although I didn't have a clue that she was mad at me until she left. Yes, we had disagreed about some things in forum discussions but I didn't know that she had taken any of it personally. I was about to ask her if she would be interested in being a greeter when this happened. Another left because I didn't ban someone quickly enough for her when, in reality, I had already banned him but I don't generally announce these things. We're neither saving nor destroying the world in what we say here. While there hopefully is an educational element involved in some of our discussions, mostly it's about entertainment, fellowship, and having something to do. I don't mind if someone disagrees with me because I feel strongly that everyone has the right to be wrong.
Well, one thing for sure, Ken, it's not just this forum that I've received my share of criticism from. It's happened on Facebook and the other Senior forum that I got kicked off of. On the other Senior forum, I was asking a member questions, that apparently, the Moderators didn't like and so "bye!" happened. The questions were not of a "personal" nature, but somebody can never tell how the other party thinks. On Facebook, I done a post, asking a question, and got pretty ridiculed for the question. After a couple of "ridicule" posts to me, I deleted the entire post/question that I done. I guess, when posting a comment or doing a thread/topic, a person is always taking the chance of disagreement, criticism and ridicule. Especially if the posting or thread is highly controversial among forum member and those in public.
So, I ask direct questions that, obviously, some members don't like. Actually, Hedi, I done a thread on this forum once, asking about doing "controversial" threads/topics. Many members said "go for it", but "controversial" threads can become arguments, name-calling and on and on.
well....i have seen in most forums...you're going to find people that "click" with your personality.... and those that don't.... there's going to be posts that don't interest you...and a few that do...it's a mix... i might voice an opinion...get a rebuttal... always understanding someone's perspective on certain subjects is just not possible..then...i just leave it alone... don't worry about it....be yourself ..
The annonimity (?) of being on-line sometimes takes away the social graces. So that kind of makes sense.