Hi Gary. Well, I guess there is nothing like repeating yourself to get through???? Don't know what happened there, I just clicked post & voila! Two posts appeared.... Must be my Magic personality........ Your security friend in Las Vegas. (lets try again)

Hi: Geez, the conversations we get going in here, hey? Great feedback. Janise - you make a good point. There are times when a topic is a bit steep, but we can learn from it. A lot of Peter's forum is like that. Very informative and often a lot to digest. And people do post "wow, thanks Peter." But, here's the funny thing. After a while here, we get to know people's patterns. For example, I know that Winston is very short on words when he's digesting - but can be more lengthy when he gets into a discussion. Gary is only short on words when he's being silly. And there are people that *never* contribute except to say 'thanks for the invite' even when the topic is not technical. I don't think there's anything wrong with a short post to acknowledge something you like but can't contribute much to. I just think that running around posting "thanks for the invite" because it's all one has *time* to post really doesn't contribute in the overall picture. Winston - Peter and I sure agreed with the response to clearing out forums. He had a similar experiece. Wow. Yes, we relate. Cheri - Maybe Gary should have to watch? lol : ) Linda

I am not comfortable advising others about what they should do. But, I can say that I have been clearing invitations to many Forums lately. My main reason is simply that I have lots of work to do and need to be focused. That does not mean that I don't value the friends I have made, or that I have stopped making more. It only relates to the direct topic of Forums, joining and posting. I have a few favorites of course. Those, I post to regularly. And I view many more posts than I make myself. So far, I do not "pitch" in my posts at all. As many others here have stated, I don't like posts that do that very much either. I do like to encourage others. I am no expert at marketing yet. So, I have tolerance for those others who may not know any better about posting their "click my opportunity" messages. If a Forum invitation comes my way with that kind of topic, I just clear it and leave the friendship in tact expecting that most of us will learn and grow and change. Larry

--------------- For example, I know that Winston is very short on words when he's digesting - but can be more lengthy when he gets into a discussion. --------------- Problem with me is, I spend so much time digesting! So much to learn, so little time to learn it in. Being analytical in nature does have it's drawbacks at time. LOL -------------- Gary is only short on words when he's being silly. -------------- Gee! And here I thought it was because the kids were kicking him off the puter! :-)

Hi Linda, Thanks for the invite..... :) You have brought up a really good topic here. It's actually far more annoying to me to see all those really thoughtless, paste-in one-liners than to get no responses at all. If I'm not getting as many visits to my forums as I think they merit, I edit the forum or thread and try a different subject line. These forums are an absolutely wonderful place to test subject lines! We are a community of friends and business people who enjoy making friends and sharing with one another, but that's not the end of it. We NEED to remember that we're business people and that we need to pay attention to the response we're getting. Even though we're sharing with friends here, we NEED to be critical of what we're doing, not careless! This is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience in a non-threatening environment. I like to think that people who paste in responses that are really meaningless are trying to be nice and hopefully are not trying to boost their posting ratings. However, no matter how well-meaning they are, their multiple pasted in posts are not doing anyone any favors. It's better not to reply at all if you can't think of anything intelligent to say. God bless, Dave