Hello friends, I was just thinking (ouch!) about the many online communities in which I participate - and considering how responsive the membership is. I have been a member for over two years and also have a network at another online community with close to 300,000 members that is not nearly as responsive as the members of Adlandpro, where I have been a member for less than a year. Isn't that interesting? How do you find this community compares with the others where you participate... or do you? Please keep in mind I don't want this to become a name-calling conversation. There is no reason to belittle another community by name, etc. Let's keep it fun and sharing!

Linda, This is the only one I belong to, mainly because of the time involved. I think I made the right choice and from what you have written, I did. Thanks.

Hi Linda, I can't speak for many other online communities, I only belong to one other (of which I will not name) Truly, there are some decent people there, but I find a difference in the tone of their conversations and advice, and I've never felt quite so at home as I do here. Now it may be that because I've developed some incredible friendships my outlook is biased, but I think there's more to it than that. There's a true feeling of community here, and a spiritual connectedness between many of the most active members, and when I say that I know several of the names of those passed through your consciousness. We share the ups and downs of this vocation, provide moral support to each other, share our experience and knowledge, and we pray for each other. I believe it to be these reasons that make Adland what it is. A true community of friends who care for one another. Thanks for the thoughtful topic. Must be that movie..got us all sentimental ;-) Love to all,

What I like about it here is that it is so unpretentious. I am in another community which seems to draw a line between network marketers and "legitamate" marketers. They are snobs. I think everyone should have the right to at least try to work independently and to break that slave income cycle. We don't all have to be smug, well-to-do, experienced marketers to go after a dream. Sherry GOLD CALLING http://all4webs.com/01

Hi, Linda, I belong to 14 on line communities which serve, mainly, as support and contact media. I belong to three which are to do with marketing and there is no contest as to which is the most responsive. One of them is very new and the owner is occupied with other things so the growth is rather slow - I believe that forum will eventually rival Adland. Of the support forums, five are in respect of post heroic surgery and post physical trauma. I have belonged to one of them for 40 years and was involved in getting it from snail mail onto the web. It was my basic honesty in this forum (you tend to call it negativity) which led to me being asked to join the other forums as a 'response only' contributor. The response rate in the support forums is good but there are often lengthy delays between posts - sometimes due to ill health and sometimes because of the shock I can give people in answering their questions honestly. My collection of cards and pressed flowers from these forums is used to generate income so that I can buy little gifts for the moderators who have a very difficult time editing requests, from some of the patients, without changing the meanings. Two forums I belong to have been invaded by mindless morons who think it is clever to be abusive and dismissive of the posters (whoever they are) and most of the moderators time is spent deleting posts. We have tried making these pass word protected but the pass words always get out. All in all, I would say that it is very difficult to make a true comparison of these forums because they serve such disparate needs, but the most entertaining, for me, is Adland. regards