OT: Computer problems or quiet group?

It's REALLY quiet here these days.

Cheryl

Probably because over here in the northeast, it's nice to get out just now ! If I'm not out, I am more busy this time of year doing things like renovating the bathroom and while at the hardware store I noted that everyone else seems to be hard at the reno game.

Seriously though, with the exception of one group I follow, I find groups ebb and flow quite naturally. I think I had more messages than two in that time period though.

"Maureen >

I've been more or less absent for months now. I skim on occasion, but mostly now that I'm reading thru google, it's just too much of a hassle.

I'm stitching like mad, my webshots album

shows my progress onseveral things. Mostly I've been stitching on TW's Enchanter, Long DogSampler's Paradigm Lost and St Sylvestre, SL's Broadway, andMirabilia's Rose of Sharon.The family is doing well, I'm having another go around with my vision(getting old, that!) and clustering migraines. I'm hoping that gettingnew glasses will in fact help the migraines, but I fear they are justanother part of approaching menapause! More than y'all wanted to know I'm sure! lol

Caryn

Sorry to hear you're still ailing!

Cheryl

Might have some light at end of the tunnel! Saw the neuro yesterday, gave her my theory about how the cluster migraines seemed to coincide all too closely with my hormonal changes during the month. She said it was good that I was paying that much attention, listening to my body as it were. She put me on Seasonale birthcontrol pills (which I can't help but laugh about as my tubes were tied over 9 yrs ago!). I should be able to have completely steady hormone levels for 3 mos at a time, hopefully that means I will not have to deal with anymore of these 3 week long migraines!

I see the eye doc again next week, hopefully this time she'll get a clear reading of what perscription I require. If it's the same as last time, my eyes are failing fast, but I guess that's part of the fun of being in my 40's!

I have actually been designing, for first time in ages, been stitching, and generally not getting into too much trouble.

I miss some people here very much, Cheryl and Pat probably top that list. On the other hand, not reading it too closely has allowed me to ignore some people, which is better for everybody I'm sure! lol

Caryn

I think it is the normal summer lull. I spent the evening pulling dandilions, not reading newsgroups. However, I also think that since aol pulled its newsgroup reader, there have been fewer newbies coming through, and that is bound to have an impact on readership. Dora

That's an interesting idea. I know through my bridge club mailing there are many people locked into the idea that they can't handle the internet without aol, I don't know how to pass on to them that they are not that stupid. But I try lol

coming

It's not a matter of feeling stupid without AOL making it "easy" it is more that with Google you get a ton more crap to sort thru, and it is truly tedious. I had one of the "free newsreaders" only for them to start to charge, and really, it wasn't worth paying them when I could read via Google.

I should go looking again, because I do miss the ability to filter/killfile.

Caryn

There are several free newsreaders that are excellent and some that charge a very nominal yearly price. What about Free Agent ? Though I think only the paid up one allows for email and killfiling.

Since AOL stopped doing newsgroups, it's no longer a one-step process of Run Auto AOL to get both mail and RCTN downloaded. I have to manually go online and manually retrieve RCTN. That has an impact on how often I check RCTN (i.e., it's no longer every 2 hours when I check for new work assignments), which then has an impact on how much I post, since other people have answered questions before I even see them.

I wasn't going to bother with a reply here, but then I thought.. eh, why not?

I think a lot of us are quiet because we seem to be excluded in some way. We are too "stupid" to use "real" internet access, since we've stuck with aol for so long, regardless of our reasons. We do cross stitch, which of course is just child's play and not "real" stitching. We think religion is a private issue and not something to be attacked over. Some of us don't have kids, are glad we don't have kids, and could care less about homeschooling, but don't dare say that. (and we resent the heck out of the vast chunk of taxes we pay for schools, but we mustn't say that, either)Some of us are evil smokers, so we have to wade through the vitriol that is aimed our way, even though there are nice smokers as well as thoughtless ones. For those of us in America, occasionally we're made to feel guilty for simply having the "bad luck" to have been born here.

When I first discovered RCTN, oh.. my.. many years ago, I worked the graveyard shift, and one of the joys of my day was to get home, do the "I have to get out of these clothes NOW dance" and the other home from work chores, then sit down, log on and read everything that had been said overnight. I found it to be a fascinating place, it opened up the world to me, in regards to the stitching I enjoy, and it really did open up the world to me! But lately, that world seems to be closing it's mind on me. I still read, in hopes that someone will post some little tidbit of something I can relate to, but it's becoming a very rare occurrence. Tegan

stitching.

I don't feel like I should feel guilty, I feel like I get attacked by smug citizens of other countries just for being born an American. My ancestors came here for a reason, they wanted their descendants to have opportunities not available to them back in the old country, they wanted the religious freedom America offered and they couldn't get that elsewhere. I don't agree with the current White House regime, but that does not mean I think it's ok for people from other countries to constantly bash Americans because of the acts of that group.

I'm with you there, the stitching threads seem few and far between, and die quickly, while threads like the homeschooling one get out of control. It started well, people who actually had information about homeschooling were talking, which is a good thing. But then it got joined by people without children, people with grown children who were not homeschooled, and others not involved with homeschooling....all offering opinions when they had nothing relevant to offer.

That is what has become the norm here, and when I go for weeks at a time barely reading rctn, I find I don't really miss it much. It's been ages since I found reading daily to be beneficial. And that is just really really sad!

Caryn

Well said, Tegan!

I agree with all of the above, plus have a couple of my own.

Lately I'm finding numerous cross-postings across RCTN and the multiple newsgroups and yahoo groups I belong to. It gets tedious to weed through them all, especially when they're usually about OT stuff (like how wrong the latest doctor is).

Also, gone are the days when there can be any sort of spirited discussion (not flame war) here that ends with the parties agreeing to disagree. It seems that threads are reduced to personal attacks almost immediately, and there has to be a resolution of one side or the other being right, with the other usually being "misunderstood".

What happened to the days where the only rules were that the thread went through the needle and that we enjoyed what we did? Maybe we were all better off when we had white, antique white and black aida to choose from!

Paula H

Tegan wrote:

stitching.

"Tegan" wrote in news:1116601101.425235.111180 @z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

I think that is happening with Usenet all over, as web sites draw people into participating on their message boards and people can only spread themselves so far. Usenet and mailing lists seem to be foundering, and to me it's very sad.

P.S. I have a niece with the same name as you. How many do you find out there?

I might be guilty of the stupid aol, mainly because it is the thorn in my side with mailings from the bridge club and I have aol ers telling me I am sending stuff incorrectly to them - not the case since the other couple of hundred receive it correctly.

I don't do cross stitch myself in it's own entity but have no feelings about whether other people do or don't. I am surprised you mentioned that because I would say most of the stitching talk on here IS about cross stitch.

I have no interest in homeschooling either, but in fairness, clearly some do and the thread is clearly marked so I just avoid it. I don't mind that they want to discuss it.

Now if you are Canadian you need a thick skin around here! Nearly every year when I say Happy Thanksgiving the second week in October it generates American responses about it being a bit early for that! We are your neighbours but you seem to know next to nothing about us or our occasions or politics. I will never forget Meridel who told us that when the American 'plane bombed and killed our guys in Afghanistan "those Canadians must have been doing something wrong and deserved their fate" - that the pilot disobeyed orders and bombed anyway, only came out later.

So I feel your reaction is pretty general in any group. I find I still learn things, though it is not often people are discussing the type of needlework I love, so I just hang around waiting for something to come up, and it will. There is a large portion of miscellaneous information to be learned as well, things like how to deflea one's pet, clean a stain from the carpet, get wine out of linen, you name it, if you ask about something like that, answers pop up all over.

Why not think about starting some threads of your own about things that do interest you ? That's just a suggestion, I am not trying to cross with you on this.

Sheena

To state the obvious, RCTN is what RCTNers want it to be. Here we are in May 2005, and we maybe ought to think of what *we* want rctn to be in the future. We must not forget that over the years, just about every subject that has anything to do with needlework, has been discussed, sometimes ad nauseum. There is no use people *suggesting* what they would like us to be in the future; we, collectively, must take RCTN where we want it to go, by doing something and going there. There are always going to be "fly-by-night" postings, and subjects not all of us want to join in the discussions. But I have put a plea in over the years, after I had on occasions behaved very badly, that we should treat all rctners as we would guests in our own homes. Maybe if we adopt this sort of philosophy, and try and start interesting topics, rctn can become what *all* rctners want it to be. HTH.

"Tegan" ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com) writes:

-- Jim Cripwell. From Canada. Land of the Key Bird. This creature of doom flies over the frozen tundra in winter, shrieking its dreaded call; "Key, Key, Key, Key rist but it's cold!!"

I can well understand that! My computer Geek/God gives me grief all the time about sticking with aol. But then when I tell him my stupid, sentimental slob reasons, he just shakes his head and smiles.. (I hate losing the SO's screen name. Silly as that.)

feelings

mentioned

It's seemed to me (and the perception being mine, I could be wrong!)that lately most of the talk has centered on surface embroidery, knitting and many other things far beyond my current skills. I think maybe I'm feeling a bit insecure in my talents..

In fairness, it has been. I think it's been annoying to me because I've been getting rctn from google in an emailed digest version, and well over half the digests have been on that topic. All the quoting tends to make it a very long digest with very little that interests me.

I don't understand why the reaction. Any decent calendar these days has international holidays listed as well as American ones. I may not know what the traditions are all about, but I can tell when a holiday is. Now, I do find Meridel's remarks tasteless, and I'll admit I don't know much about your politics. Good heavens, I don't even know that much about my own! But don't paint me with the same brush used on her. We don't ALL feel that way. I'd wager a larger percentage were just as horrified at her statement as you were. I haven't as yet had the privilege to travel to Canada, but I'm sure it will be a lovely trip when I do.

something

That's why I'm still here. Waiting. Hoping. I love reading the by-play between you, Pat and Gillian, among others. I enjoyed, for the most part, the thread about Charlie's wedding. I'm not opposed to OT threads, I think I'm just reacting to having been reading that digest version.

I just did a few minutes ago. I'll try and do better about posting stuff and not just reading.. Tegan

I'm a bit confused by this response. You think you need a thick skin because a couple people don't realize that you are Canadian or that Canada has a different Thanksgiving day and because one truly ignorant person said something you found offensive DAYS before the facts came out?

Meanwhile, it has seemed to this American that you are one of the first to step up and blame ALL Americans for the actions of those few?

I've been to Ontario several times, I met both nice and nasty Canadians while there. I imagine you'd be horribly offended if I allowed my feelings about the couple nasty ones to color my views of all Canadians. Sweeping generalizations hurt everybody you paint with that brush.

That is what I meant by Americans being slammed on rctn, the constant use of the nasty-stupid-Americans brush to paint all of us because a few have offended you.

It really feels like you blame us for your own actions, that it is somehow our fault for being Americans that makes you say some hurtful things about us.

It's how I feel, perhaps what I just said was never your intention, but that is the way I have seen things for some time now.

Caryn

LOL! My grandson is in Iraq now, and it was a common warning that it wasn`t so much the Iraquis you had to watch out for shooting at you/bombing you, as the Americans!

Pat P