It's only R&E

[Rhiannon]

This is a post that I've been thinking about making over the past few days...even as I sit here typing the opening lines I'm not sure if I'll hit 'post' or not. But whatever.

I'm not sure how many years I've been posting here for now, but one thing that struct me recently is that posters change, and that is a reason why this place works. People's views shift, maybe just subtly, maybe not; their lives change. There's always something new to learn.

The world has changed. We blink in incomprehension at Trump just as we do at Brexit. That change brings a need for new understanding, new ideas.

Sometimes it can feel like Groundhog Day, but then something will open up that I find myself thinking about and pondering - it is enriching, actually, to pick over ideas and events with posters here. We are blessed with some great writers and some great personalities. And I didn't have the first clue how to make an argument coherently til I started debating on here. Feel free to say that I still haven't, but honestly, I've learned so much. And I've laughed a load too. And cried on occasion.

There are posters I like, posters I miss, posters I think of as friends. I'm glad that this mad little outpost of the interweb thingie is still going.

[Gordon]

I have a similar view: have learned a massive amount here and encountered some interesting people, some of whom have become personal friends that I can't now imagine not knowing.
 
It feels like a kind of private members club where the familiarity is oddly reassuring, and though there is repetition I wouldn't get the chance to talk about some of this stuff were it not for here. It also has an addictive aspect.

No idea why this places survives - but for a long as it does I can't imagine not being part of it.

[torridon]

This is a post that I've been thinking about making over the past few days...even as I sit here typing the opening lines I'm not sure if I'll hit 'post' or not. But whatever.

I'm not sure how many years I've been posting here for now, but one thing that struct me recently is that posters change, and that is a reason why this place works. People's views shift, maybe just subtly, maybe not; their lives change. There's always something new to learn.

The world has changed. We blink in incomprehension at Trump just as we do at Brexit. That change brings a need for new understanding, new ideas.

Sometimes it can feel like Groundhog Day, but then something will open up that I find myself thinking about and pondering - it is enriching, actually, to pick over ideas and events with posters here. We are blessed with some great writers and some great personalities. And I didn't have the first clue how to make an argument coherently til I started debating on here. Feel free to say that I still haven't, but honestly, I've learned so much. And I've laughed a load too. And cried on occasion.

There are posters I like, posters I miss, posters I think of as friends. I'm glad that this mad little outpost of the interweb thingie is still going.

Nicely said Rhi, there's nothing fake about you, we need more Rhiannons in the world 


<looks for hug smiley>

[bluehillside Retd.]

Rhi,

If the opportunity arose I'd buy you a nice cream scone and a pot of tea for that (English breakfast, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, you choose)   

[Roses]

There is something about this forum which always draws me back again, however many times I am determined to leave for good.

[Humph Warden Bennett]

I do belong to another forum, but that is more of a penfriend site and the robust debates that we have here are not encouraged. On that site, debates tend to end with members "blocking" each other, here we start and end debates as friends.

[Rhiannon]

You lovely people you. 

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

I agree with Rhi. I have learned a lot on R&E and posts I have read have sometimes influenced or refined my stance on certain issues by giving me access to other people's knowledge, experiences and views.

I recently joined a local FB debate forum, which I think I post on about as often as I post on here. The difference is that debates are rarely ongoing, so there is a short window of opportunity to engage in a debate on a particular issue, hence I have only taken part in a handful. The debate is often robust and contentious, as it often is on here, and adds a different dimension when you can see people's photos and some aspects of their personal lives, and you know they live in your local area, so you could run into them on the road or engage their services if they are tradespeople.

I like R&E, one because I have grown to like the people, and also because you can go away and come back many weeks later and still have the opportunity to engage in the same debate, or a variation on it. And it is quite easy to read back through old threads and come away with a changed perspective or view from the one you previously had in the debate. 

[ekim]

Well said,Rhiannon.  Sometimes it does seem like Groundhog Day but even in that film the main character was transformed by the experiences.

[SusanDoris]

I echo the above sentiments. It is like meeting a group of friends every day. We are lucky that we have this space so that there was continuity from BBC, via NGL returns, to here.

I have belonged to the same four message boards since I started on the internet. They are all quite different. I don't know how I would have filled quite a lot of my time if they had not existed.

I've learnt a lot of science, or rather neater and more precise expressions and descriptions of it, plus philosophy, but I avoid using the language of philosophy because I have never studied it.

[Enki]

I have posted on here since the old BBC forum days, although rather intermittently.  I have learned a great deal from others on here, and am always struck by the warmth that underlies many of the posts, even when people have very different views. I have learnt a lot on here about all sorts of things, but perhaps I have learnt most about myself, and how to treat people. I have also been lucky to meet at least 3 posters(all of whom are no longer posting) and I have valued their friendship considerably. So, thank you, R&E and all those who have made this forum possible and welcoming.

[Robbie]

I like it, well I wouldn't post if i didn't. I've learned quite a bit, look things up that generally I wouldn't even think of. Overall very good indeed & I particularly like the cross section of posters. Before I joined I looked at a couple & none were like this, either too religious or virtually empty.

Nicely said Rhi, there's nothing fake about you, we need more Rhiannons in the world 
<looks for hug smiley>

Agree. Btw torridon you can do this ((R)).

[torridon]

Ah, cool one.  Thanks Robbie 

[Steve H]

There is something about this forum which always draws me back again, however many times I am determined to leave for good.

Talking of which, might I suggest that next time you just stop posting, instead of making a big thing of your departure? It's so much less embarrassing when you come back!

[Roses]

Talking of which, might I suggest that next time you just stop posting, instead of making a big thing of your departure? It's so much less embarrassing when you come back!

Less embarrassing for whom, you?

[Steve H]

Less embarrassing for whom, you?

No, you! I don't give a gnat's gnadger!

[Robbie]

What's a gnat's gnadger?

[Roses]

No, you! I don't give a gnat's gnadger!

Don't tell porkies, you obviously do, otherwise you wouldn't bother to comment, now would you?

[Robbie]

What's a gnat's gnadger?

In an effort to find out for myself I googled and found this:-  Gonz gewl, gnad'ger Herr
From the Marriage of Figaro. We learn new things all the time on R&E.

[Steve H]

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nadgers

[Robbie]

You don't say.
I thought that was 'nads' short for gonads.

[Harrowby Hall]

Talking of which, might I suggest that next time you just stop posting, instead of making a big thing of your departure? It's so much less embarrassing when you come back!

Why are you so pompous and bad tempered? I am interested in what ever views you may have - just like everyone else's (including Sparky's) - but not if they are delivered in such an antipathetic manner.

I have known (in a cyberspace kind of way) Floo/LR since the BBC days and I consider that her presence here enriches this board. I don't agree with her on lots of occasions but I don't let that turn me into her enemy. She so often provides a viewpoint that is fresh and uncomplicated. She may not be right some of the time but she is herself, she is unique, she is a fellow human being who has experienced much and is - at heart - a worthwhile individual.

If you really have problems in accepting Little Roses then I suggest you find someone to talk to about it.

[Rhiannon]

Excuse me, people, this is a group hug thread. Or at the very least, a group ok-I-grudgingly-admire-some-people-here thread.

[Roses]

I think we are much safer on R&E than we would be on Facebook, I have just seen this report.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-45686890

Up to 50 million FB accounts have been subjected to a cyber attack. I am so glad I ditched mine a while back.

Thanks HH for your kind remarks.

[Robbie]

Definitely LR. It has frequently been said to me that I could set up FB to be private & all that but there are constant reports in the media of people whose facebook accounts have been hacked & of stalking. Don't think anyone would bother to stalk me frankly but still it doesn't appeal. Gabriella was saying the discussions on there don't amount to much (or something like).

It's good on here really.

(HH steveh picks on LR because he can't do it with the big boys)