Pretty much same as Glenda -- I'd moderated a small veg*n board (and no, I'm not veg*n) for many years and it was dying (it deserved to at that point just from lack of anyone who cared), but for me to find somewhere *I* could ask questions was awesome. When I commit to a group, I commit long long term. I'll try repeatedly to find a way to be useful and make it work - which is why I'm still *here*.
I'm different in that I'm not a group person. It is honestly very difficult for me to post on the daily 'gab' stuff because I don't. I don't use FB as "social media", I don't congregate at the water cooler, I will talk a mile a minute but I'm not a 'group' kinda person. I don't care what the casserole someone made for dinner looks like, and I never EVER post to my own 'time line' (what the heck IS a time line anyway ... don't answer b/c I really don't care).
I'll go to great lengths to answer a question or help someone. I will spend 2 hours on an email to someone (a friend, or a stranger who has a need or who needs just to 'connect'. I keep in touch with a huge number of people via email and phone. But it's one on one -- I just don't 'do' group chat (whether it's friends in "real life" getting together for a SuperBowl party, church dinner, girls out weekend -- nope, it's not going to be me. I'm just not good in groups. (I suspect it's a basic skill I never acquired as a kid b/c I'm an only child - this is MY flaw, not a complaint)
But I **HATE** dissension. When any board or forum I'm on starts to get snarky I hunker down in the place where I'm needed and I'll help. But I'll avoid "groups" where I feel like someone is going to talk about me behind my back or jump all over me just to prove someone wrong or to argue. I tried to jump in a couple of times on the FB 'page' where the old "i-doggers" hang out and both of those times I literally walked in to see MYSELF being discussed and bashed. It's over. Never again.
SOME folks need that. Some folks absolutely live for a forum where they can argue and fuss and state their opinion ... loudly ... and leave their knife behind in someones ribs. They see it as excitement . To me it's deadly (whether it's office politics in the real world, family drama or the internet - I'm going to avoid that.
But I-Dog and Dog.com (whichever generation) was big enough to do that.
There were a couple of members who seem to finally have dropped away who had developed a personal vendetta against me and I rarely posted unless threre was some issue *I* could address.
The honest thing is the last two years have been incredibly difficult for me health-wise -- just one thing after another that were almost completely debilitating. (and thank heaven that seems to have resolved). I just haven't had the extra energy to put in here but honestly I **would and will** as this begins to turn around. I'd love to set up my own "kennel" but to be completely honest I just haven't had enough hours in a day. I do put a ton of time into the FB "IMHA" page because it's where the activity and need is. But I'm not alone -- there are others with experience who hang in there and we need to develop that again on here.
Sorry this is long but the last thing I will say is this. The difficulty with FB and Twitter is the "one-line message". We live in a society that has forgotten how to read more than one paragraph. We even want our news digested into just headlines. But for deep issues FB lacks substance. People actually have a really tough time reading below "read more" and the vast majority of folks on there truly are only seeking "Oh, I am SO sorry you're going thru this". or to giggle at the latest "meme".
That's not bad -- it's what people want. BUT there are folks on there looking -- for ***SOME*** issues --- for the deeper information. In training -- not just a war over "which method" (the old anger about that sort of stuff was what initially began to bleed Dog.com to death --- people won't post if they feel like they started a war, and people won't contribute if they think someone is going to slit their throat. But people NEED help in training -- even just to begin with who the heck in "the real world" can they go to for lessons and help, what books are good and what the heck does "positive/positive" vs. "positive/negative" mean anyway?? People also need to know they aren't alone -- Glenda, Ginger and I have - just yesterday - reaffirmed "counter-surfing" exists and is a problem no matter how old your membership is in the Old Broads Club LOL
Particularly in health issues -- what things this or that vet may try, what ELSE could this be, what ELSE could the vet do, what alternative things might help and not hinder, what things MAY hinder? I could prose on and on about that -- it's what I'm best at (health issues). But a place also where awareness can be raised -- it was on a messageboard where *I* first heard the term "vaccinosis" ... disease caused by vaccinations??? Really??
THAT IS WHERE A FORUM ROCKS.
It is my fervent hope that over the next few months I can pay more attention to Dog.com (and hopefully bring some other folks over as well). But it shouldn't be a one person thing.
*I* also need enough personal time to explore the things that make this fun -- like pictures, and signatures.
But I feel I need to apologize because for the simple fact that my time has been so limited i haven't been able to put the effort in here I want to. But I tend not to give up. And tomorrow's another day.