Moving Forward

[Henrietta23]

As I recall, when the journals were first added to the board, people were just posting on the journals and no where else on the forum. I'm glad people are still posting helpful ideas and tips in the areas they belong.

The journals do give us an opportunity to expand a conversation that might be considered "off topic" or "hijacking a thread", IMO.

I do enjoy the wealth of knowledge that everyone contributes, even if it doesn't apply to me at this point in my life. The ability to learn from, share, question, disagree with, and celebrate our similarities and differences is what makes this a good board. There aren't any experts in life... we just share our pieces of the puzzle.

I think this about where I am too. I'm trying to move our self sufficiency forward. I find it's a slow process given our situation. But I enjoy reading advice from others and tuck away ideas for when our situation changes.

 

[enjoy the ride]

OK- I haven't found many closed minds here- maybe too much of putting personal agendas into too many aspects of things.
IMO advice is something offered, hopefully out of the goodness of one's soul, and not something to inflicted. Everyone's situation and level of commitment is different and that makes it valuable.
I try to offer what good I have, am pleased when I get a response, try not to let my feeling get too hurt my what I perceive is a negative response or personal remark. And take the good from that everyone else offers.
I could wish for more hard core information, especially from people's personal experiences. I don't read journals either unless something mentioned elsewhere makes me want to get more info.

Being blunt is phrased like it is a good thing- like in I know I what I'm going to say is rude but I'm going to do it anyway because I am more important than you- which I have never found leads to anything good. Now how's that for blunt-.

I can feel this thread being closed now.

What would happen if we were all adults all the time is that we could let things go. Our opinions about our self-worth should not hinge on what people we don't even really know say about ourselves.

I think Reinbeau is right that a reminder that a little less drama is good and proper. And now I will let it go.

 

[Cassandra]

I have observed that many on this forum don't even consider the SS advice gathered by some of the more experienced. If one is not part of the "in social group gossiping about family drama" the serious replies to SS questions are often glossed over or overtly attacked.
In my case I have nearly quit sharing any advice. With the exception of a small handful, most of the rest don't have my experience in many SS ways. Yes I'm blunt, but after months of reading, it is very true. The number of closed minds I find is sad.

I don't think it's fair to immediately accuse us of being close minded because we don't jump on every piece of advice we get. Zen, just because you know you are smarter than the rest of us doesn't mean the rest of us know that. (Sort of proves your point, doesn't it?)

Personally, I don't usually pay any attention to WHO is giving a piece of advice or making a particular post. I read the information and evaluate it and decide if it is something I can implement into my life or not. Without knowing what kind of advice you give, if you are as experienced in self sufficiency as you say, I bet your particular advice tends to ... (don't know if I'm catagorizing this right) ... to require more self sacrifice, more skill, and more committment, than advice from a typical noob. In effect, it's got be harder to do!

I was reading my wart remover post a little earlier, for example and got all kinds of neat things to try. But there's a limit to what I'm willing to commit to, regardless of how sound the advice. If someone had suggested cutting it off with a scalpel... even knowing that is almost a sure fire way to solve the problem, I'm not prepared to commit to that. I don't like to think that makes me close minded.

I mostly stay out of the personal stuff, but not always, depending on how much time I have and if I read something and feel like I have a valuable insight the might help the OP. My question, though, is why do we have a journal section, a joke section, and a family section if we aren't supposed to post about that stuff?

To be honest, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if personal posts were instantly banned. But sometimes the personal information we share might be indirectly related to SS, even if it is not obvious... For the simple reason that if I'm asking a personal question on the SS forum, it's because I think more SS points of view might help me solve it better than my shoe-shopping friends or my needle-pointing friends (or whatever other groups I might belong to.) Does that make sense?

I hope no one will take offense at my comments because none were meant. I have thought and typed it in a spirit of diplomacy where everyone gets their say.

Love sent.

Cassandra

 

[Cassandra]

P. S.

Also wanted to say that the vast majority of the time it is the personal stuff and the drama stuff and the journals that get most of the replies. (Which means they get most of the page views, ad hits, etc.) Might want to take it up with the accountant before you discourage people from posting high-traffic items.

Just a totally unrelated thought.

Cassandra

 

[PamsPride]

I mostly stay out of the personal stuff, but not always, depending on how much time I have and if I read something and feel like I have a valuable insight the might help the OP. My question, though, is why do we have a journal section, a joke section, and a family section if we aren't supposed to post about that stuff?


*****That is what it seems like this thread is trying to elimnate on SS. Yet, BYC thrives because of those types of threads. I don't get it!

Now, I am a little shy to post much of anything today because it might be OT from the site.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I wasn't even going to reply to this thread but this comment irked me!

With the exception of a small handful, most of the rest don't have my experience in many SS ways.

First, each persons level of SS is different and you have no right to assume most of us don't have the experience you do. My husband I survied on an income of $5,000 last year, with $3,000 of that being generated by our own farm. I consider that to be pretty SS IMO and I don't like your insinuating that you are MORE SS than most of us. YOU aren't HERE seeing MY place so YOU don't know.

My question, though, is why do we have a journal section, a joke section, and a family section if we aren't supposed to post about that stuff.

Exactly! The whole section Me, Myself, and My SS Family tends to let a person believe that we can post about our family life, whether it be SS or not.

But, I've taken this to mean that those who are more SS than the MOST of us would rather we not post about our non SS lives because apparantly our entire existance should be SS and as should all of our postings.

So I think because my feelings are pretty hurt and I'm pretty upset and I know I shouldn't take it personal, but I'm going on a vacation from SS until I've got over myself.

 

[the simple life]

As far as all this goes, and its getting way off base here. It has been stated that there are members who prefer that you don't air your dirty laundry in the public forums and that should be respected and not argued with.

I came here for ss info and in the beginning, (and I have been here since the very beginning) so I know for a fact that this is what it was all about. It had alot of great information and just a little of the personal stuff. It had balance.
Somehow it has evolved into a coffee klatch and its out of balance.
That is the issue here, a few people pushed for personal journals and got them, but now are not content to keep their personal lives confined to them.
Now, you ask about why can't you post in them, no one said that but some of it is getting tough to take.
As far as the Me and My Family section, that has always been about introducing yourself, explaining what you are doing and what you hope to accomplish, its been like that in all of Rob's forums.
This one is now about stuff that should be in your journals.
If kept in the right context it would have been doable,if people do not want to read about your personal life they do not have to.
If they choose to see what goes on in your life then they can go to the journal section, as that was the original intent to begin with.

To say that you are "too shy" to post because it will be off topic, then you answered your own question.
If you can't find a forum here that your post fits into then I don't know what to say.
If you have a journal thats where the personal stuff goes, so what is the problem?

By the way, to say that BYC thrives because of those types of threads is kind of ironic since so many people are over here because they stated they didn't like the mindset over there and all the personal drama.
I am sure I could find some of those posts where members here have stated how they didn't like all the personal ramblings that go on there and how they go there just to talk chickens and don't like the cliques that are formed there.

The statement of bring it up with the accountant, who are you referring to? Rob?
I can't speak for Rob, but he did create this forum to discuss self sufficiency and I don't know why he would have any issue with members wanting to limit the amount of personal rants.
A handful of people begged Rob for the journal section and he gave it to them, it wasn't his idea to begin with.
I know that he expected people to keep their personal threads confined to them, he said as much.
It seems to me that the members are now deciding which way this forum is going.
A select few should not decide which direction this forum will take. People asked for changes and they got them but they should be considerate to the rest of the members who didn't ask for the change.

So what is the issue here? Why are people so upset that there are other members of this forum who don't care to sift through all the threads to find some that pertain to self sufficiency?
It seems really odd to me that people would complain about not being able to post about their personal problems in the wrong forums.

As far as all those threads getting the most views or hits, could it be because there was nothing much to choose from?
It is most likely that the forum was lacking any informative threads so you end up hitting on someone's personal post out of boredom.
I noticed that the minute these journals hit the forum the informative threads went right down hill, people were so consumed with creating their journals that it threw the forum out of whack.

No one is saying that you can never mention your personal life in a thread, as long as it is relevant to the topic then it doesn't matter. When you create a thread in the wrong forum to rant about your life then its rude.
If anyone is coming here just to post in their journals or just to read other people's journals then the solution would be to create your own blogs off site.
I think its absurd to argue about really.
This forum is out of balance, members are leaving and I don't see all these new members breaking our doors down.
So there is obviously a problem here, something that is detrimental to the success of this board.
The moderator of this board pointed it out and asked us to be more considerate, why is this being argued with?
I have also seen alot of arguing here lately, rude comments etc. many of them are due to off topic stuff so maybe that is also a concern.

 

[PamsPride]

My husband I survied on an income of $5,000 last year, with $3,000 of that being generated by our own farm.

*****You are my hero QA!! I only have one more child than you (and she is still just a bun in the oven) and we certainly are not to that point!! Some day we will make $$ off of our property!!

 

[PamsPride]

I have also seen alot of arguing here lately, rude comments etc. many of them are due to off topic stuff so maybe that is also a concern.

***** I think I may have to take a break and step away from this site as well because so far the last couple of days my most attacking comments that have said I am wrong or way out of line are from you (The Simple Life.)

 

[dacjohns]

I just skimmed, and I mean skimmed, through this thread so I missed most of what everyone said.

I personnally skim through journals and occasionally post on them. I think there are some things in the journals that could very easily be in their own thread. Pasture rotation comes to mind.

I have enjoyed the wealth of information FarmerChick has been posting. Thank you.

So my suggestion(s).

It will mean a little more work but if something in your journal also applies somewhere else then put it the other thread also. Kie if you have a favorite recipe that comes up your journal then also post it in recipes.


Hmm, I just posted some stuff about firewood in my journal. Maybe I should also post it somewhere else also.



I just read over a few of the posts. I just want to some of you but I have too much for all of you to do that. Come on folks, quit fighting and taking things personally.