We gotta be nuts.

That doesn't just include those I have been arguing with for the past few days -- it includes me as well.

I discovered FT in July and started posting because I wanted to share my Delta experiences. I got to know a lot of good people and that kept me on the boards.

A few months ago I went to Omni for the first time and found myself enjoying the exchanges.

Then I started letting things become TOO important to me. What I saw as unfair moderation really bothered me.

Some person, hiding behind a fake user name, made a libelous attack on me. I replied. Why? Do I really care what somebody I don't know, sitting at a public computer in a California Kinko's, thinks about me?

The Omni mods had pissed me off, so I posted pissing them off. Other people got involved, bringing in issues not even related to what was being discussed.

The mods became very defensive, talking about how they are sacrificing their time and effort for the forums. In turn, more charges were leveled against them.

All of this in connection with a board which should be a pleasant pastime for us -- posters and moderators alike.

Nobody is threatening our lives or livelihoods. It simply is not worth the aggravation. Not for me. Not for those who supported me. Not for those who opposed me. Not for the mods.

I announced that I would not post on Omni anymore. I am certain that came as a relief to some. Others wrote to me asking me to change my mind. I won't. Partly because of the reasons that I originally stated but even more because I won't take the chance of again letting a pastime become too important to me.

Folks, let me make this one suggestion: Relax. Don't let your pleasure turn into your problem.

As one former Omni poster wrote to me, "if a computer bulletin board makes you go to bed mad, it is not worth contributing."




[This message has been edited by Dovster (edited Jan 26, 2004).]

Dovster, I completely agree. FT is not our careers. It is not our families. It is not our religious faiths. It is an IBB - admittedly, one where I have met delightful people, made some very good friends, and from which I have learned an amazing amount about how to improve my travel experience.. When I feel myself caring too much about unknown posters and their opinions, I give myself a mini-FT break - and come back ready to have fun again.

No, you don't have to be nuts; but it certainly helps! Omni is a wonderful escape from the stresses at my office. I never knew how much I truly enjoyed it until Omni was gone for a period of a 1-2 weeks due to egos getting in the way of pleasant posting and reading experiences.

For me personally, I spend an enormous amount of time on technical conference calls. I am in sales and thus am really not needed to participate whatsoever on these calls but my presence is required by the client even though my contribution is zero to none. Participating in Omni truly fills that sense of boredom.

With any open-ended bulletin board, discussions seem to veer toward politics. It always happens. What is bothersome (and I know that I can get myself entangled sometimes) is when a civilized discussion becomes personal. Most of the time, the moderators catch it and nip it in the bud. Sometimes they don't. Keep in mind, the moderators are donating their own time to play policeman. They may not be perfect but they are generous enough with their time to care about the board in which they moderate.

Perhaps not participating in Omni is the right decision for you, Dovster, although I will miss your posts. If Omni annoys you or if you feel your point of view is not taken seriously or is mocked, then it makes perfect sense to find other areas of participation. Nobody needs aggravation.

Enjoy the parts of FT which make you happy. Avoid those which don't.

I was thinking of making a similar post.

There's too much bickering going on. Relax, enjoy the fora and threads you're interested in, skip over what you aren't. Don't take things to personally and refrain from attacking other members.

Eventually, we all take something personally here at one point or another, and it's upsetting, but it's not worth losing your cool or getting upset about.

Maybe rather than having all these requests for a time-out for this person or that person, it's time to have a time out for complaining.

d

[This message has been edited by Doppy (edited Jan 26, 2004).]

I think this is covered in other threads.No need for a (same) new topic for a new day.