Every now and again…

Hello HappyNan1 and welcome. If you've been lurking for a while then I guess you know which threads may get a little heated and which ones are more lighthearted. You'll soon get the hang of posting and we look forward to seeing your name cropping up. (You'll also know that it takes up a lot of time!)

I was a GN member in the early days. I left for a long time because I got absolutely fed up of the what seemed to me to be a deterioration into the awful politics of the playground on so many of the threads. There were members then who seemed to be downright predatory! Since I have come back, I note there are still elements of that (I suppose it would be pretty anodyne if we were all polite to each other all the time wouldn't it?) but, on the whole, things seem to have quietened down! I will continue to look, and put in my boring four 'pennorth occasionally.

Hello, henetha, I wondered where you were and am glad you are still with us.

Hi Bellasnona, Stansgran and jinglebellfrocks, thank you so much for your replies, you've made my day, and all round. Now I've got an iPhone and DD put gn on it for me I can join in too

I agree with absent.

Yes, it just means the "original poster" HappyNan. The person who started the thread.

Happynan some people have met up and therefore know each other But I suspect the vast (silent) majority get to like a particular style of poster. It gets a bit worrying when you search for names because you know they are going through anxious times and don't see their names for a while. I start wondering if I should stop drinking tea as I pick up the iPad with the teapot in the other hand.too much invested in my leisure time .

HappyNan1 - after reading posts for a while I discovered it means original post. Or poster. S/he who starts the discussion

I agree with you Henetha. There. I didn't ignore you!

I joined gnwhen it first started but have only recently posted some small comments and was referred to as an OP. What is an OP? I'm a bit apprehensive about posting anything as you all seem to be such good friends - yes, maybe if I did post more I could join "the gang" as it were, what do all you regular posters think? I do read lots and you all make me laugh lots with your funny stories and feel great sympathy for those who are having difficult times. I do hope some of you reply.

I rarely post anything these days as I either get ignored or I seem to annoy someone which then ruins my whole day, so it's just not worth the hassle. I still enjoy reading posts though.

What stansgran said!

Some threads are like the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. They go on for ever with no movement at all from anyone, and no login or insight whatsoever or even an argument from a different angle, in some posts. When I read them I decide to butt out and leave the subject alone. Then think I will I try just one more push to attempt to open a tiny crack to let in some daylight to a locked mind.

It doesn't work.

Me too Teetime - I like to keep to the lighter stuff. I got into a rage over something I read in an online newspaper the other day and angrily bashed out a post on here to see what other people thought but it was a bit 'heavy' so I deleted the post, put the kettle on and calmed down.

Iwas going to comment -- but I can't be bothered

I tend to post and then wander off . Usually have a look on line when I have a cup of tea. There are posters whose posts I skip when they have lots of blue . I prefer a succinct précis of what the Guaniad or the DM say in the posters own words otherwise it's too impersonal and diatribey. I noticed a thread was started only for left wing grans or not for left wing grans and didn't read it . I might have looked at one which said for grans who are to the right of Attila the Hun and left of john Smith.

absent I think you need to start your own forum, where every potential member takes some kind of psychology test to ensure they meet your requirements. But I think the ensuing conversations will be pretty limited, and boring.

The groups of posters you describe probably apply to the whole of the human race.

I do this all the time. Ashtree has it to a T. I am increasingly becoming a follower of threads not a subscriber to them. Half the time I feel invisible. Then I think, "what is the point of being on here at all?" But I'm addicted to
Gransnet so all is lost!

People talk about different things while they're having coffee with friends. Some people talk about people and other people talk about ideas. What a good thing we aren't all the same!

Oh - me too. I just stick, mainly, to non contentious threads like word association and commiserating/congratulating GN'ers on their bereavements/birthdays/births etc.. It's far safer! I have had it up to 'here' with some posters, particularly on political threads, who have no time for those with opposing opinions.

Teetime that is exactly me, couldn't have put it better! I frequently prepare a longish comment, or start a new thread, preview the post and then change my mind because I'm unsure of the reaction I'll get. So I too just keep to the lighter stuff mostly.
I'm more than happy to get involved in 'heavy' conversations in person, but this is altogether different. Once you've posted your thoughts, they're there for all to see forever (unless you ask for them to be removed of course). And unlike a real conversation, anyone joining the thread later can read and comment on what you said in perpetuity . If people joined you and a group of friends in a coffee bar, they wouldn't be able to hear everything that had gone before. It is a bit like baring one's soul .

That was from one of the "on another planet ones".

Oh go on abbers! Just post it. You know we all love you anyway.

Me too I like to post as if we are having a chat over coffee but the serious heavy stuff I find difficult to articulate effectively through this medium and I don't want to invite a comment that will give me a sleepless night so I keep to the lighter stuff which I do enjoy and I have met and become friends with some lovely people on here.

I post stuff, but still read more than I post (actually, that is quite a stupid remark, obviously everyone reads more than they post, silly phoenix )

I think I need a second cup of coffee!