Your personal A2K experience. Tell us about it.

Forums: a2k, Community, Enquiring Minds, Experience, a2k Personal
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I had reason to visit my profile page today.

I see that I joined A2K on the 1st of November, 2002.
During that time I see that I have answered 3 questions. (Is that all? Neutral

)
& that I have made 44,671 posts.

Hmmm ... 9 years.
That's a long time on the internet!

I have seen so many changes to this site in that time.
I was a refugee from Abuzz (like pretty much everyone else at the time) & it took me quite some time to get over the demise of Abuzz. It was heart breaking.

We started out here determined not to repeat the mistakes, the problems which bedevilled Abuzz, so we were very, very polite to start. Probably too polite, but then there weren't too many members here. Smile

Craven (of Abuzz/Ravens Realm fame) was the owner of the site. A pretty vicarious & wobbly financial deal for him, initially. Sometimes he barely got by. Almost didn't. But he had a vision & he persisted. Craven, of course is now known as Robert. And was ably assisted by fellow Abuzz refugees, who were the original moderators of A2K.

Anyway, I was thinking of how much things have changed in the almost 9 years I've been involved.
I never dreamed at the time I'd be here all these years later! Did you?

During the time I've been here so much has happened:
I have seen the site change a number of times (with screams every time! Wink

)
I have seen political debates, I have seen religious debates, some of which have left us gasping! Some members threatened to leave. Some eventually did. Seriously.
I have seen loved members die & the community mourn.
I have seen new members appear, just when they were needed to add a breath of fresh air to the site.
I have seen new members appear & cause outrage!
There have been times when I've needed to take a break from A2K activities (for my own sanity! Wink

) & there have been other times when A2K has taken over my life, it has been so riveting .)

Anyway, the point of all my meandering & rambling is to ask you to share YOUR A2K experience with the rest of us..

What has been your experience here? It doesn't matter when you joined.

What have been your A2K high points, including threads you participated in. Are there any threads that you particularly valued? Post the link, remind us of it!

What have you gained (or what have you regretted Wink

) from your participation here?

Whatever you have to say is completely up to you. OK?

Anything you want to say is fine.

If you share, I'll share.

And so will others, I'm certain!

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Type: Discussion • Score: 44 • Views: 17,753 • Replies: 216

For good food, good friends and good fellowship
we give thee thanks hamsters

1 Reply

@dadpad,

For good friends, in faraway places, I am very grateful.
How would I have ever met them otherwise?

0 Replies

Mixed.

2 Replies

@dlowan,

Quote:

Mixed

Yes?

A bit of explanatory detail would be good, Deb.

1 Reply

@msolga,

Very mixed?

3 Replies

@dlowan,

That's up to you to say, Deb.

Though I do have some reservations, myself, I confess.

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@dlowan,

Quote:

Very mixed?

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope,.....
in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

1 Reply

a wabbit of few words!...

and a roo of some!

0 Replies

G'day Olga
Like you, I was an Abuzz refugee, and although I've been here a couple of days more than you, I've apparently answered no questions but chipped in about 8,400 times.

Like Deb, my experience is mixed. I've met some great people, some in person, and others only on line, so far. I've had a lot of fun, kept right away from all politics, and take the piss fairly regularly.

I've been motivated to lose weight (not so successful), cook more (managed that!), take more photographs (but mine are still not a patch on Izzie's). I've tried to spread the word about the miraculous qualities of Vegemite (and cricket!)

On the negative side, I've been appalled at some of the arrogance, obsessive behaviour, provincial thinking and narrow-mindedness of some posters. Sometimes they're just wrong - but still go on. I'm a reference and research librarian - do NOT quote Wikipedia to me as an authority. These people cause me to go away for a while, but wanting to know how some of the great people are doing brings me back.

I'm fairly private, though - so you won't know too much about me.

I miss the Digression threads - dlowan's great imagination, which first hooked me on to Abuzz, and progressed with wit, charm, and some real cleverness. And Moondoggy's fanarkling.....

2 Replies

@dadpad,

dadpad wrote:

Quote:
Very mixed?

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope,.....
in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Cool!

0 Replies

@margo,

Thank you, margo, for a very thoughtful response.
Interesting!

0 Replies

@msolga,

I've only been here a year. I don't post as often as I'd like to, mainly because I just don't have enough time. And after various message board experiences over the years I've become quite private and reluctant to give much away about myself.

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@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

Mixed.

mixedomatosis Shocked

one hopes not, the entire upside down contingent of A2K have made for some of my most enjoyable moments here

1 Reply

@msolga,

October 2oo2. I too am a refugee from Abuzz. I don't comment too often. The most memorable thread I started was one called "Visiting a Dying Friend" The thread lasted almost two years, from the time my best friend was diagnosed with lung cancer until after the funeral. Although a number of people participated, most watched silently as the conversation became a dialogue between me and Izzie. It was my sounding board and comfort during a dreadful time. Later I was honored to meet Izzie in person when she came to America and visited my home with her son and Rockhead.

The other cherished memory from Abuzz and then A2K was a personal friendship that developed with Noddy. We emailed every day for a long time. She called me in the hospital when I had my knee replaced. I made her a necklace. She sent me a wedding present. And, as always, she gave me her wonderful wisdom and humor, and the gift of her all too precious time. I miss her so, and her "hold your dominion."

0 Replies

@margo,

Wow, Margo....that is a wonderfully kind thing to say. I miss the farnarklers, too.

0 Replies

@msolga,

After all these years, I never really "Got" what "Hold your dominion" even meant. Noddy was such a sweeties that I never hd the urge to quetion, and so many others seemed to accept it as a directive. I enjoy A2K but not as much as I originally did. It seems that the threads have gotten less fact based and more subjective and emotion based.

We have great people, lame people, trolls who think they are profound, misplaced modifiers, really shitty spellers and typists, a ROYGBIV of politicas, and lots of wimmins v mens threads.

OK, ok, so maybe Its still entrapping.

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I joined in 2004, mostly because I needed something to read while I was playing on line duplicate bridge.
There were some great posters then and I was hooked by dlowan's incredible imagination.

I think Cav's passing was the end of an era for me and today's a2k is more divisive and shrill; a lot more guys marking their territories.

Still, this is a wonderful place to meet people and new ideas and threads like Roberta's personal history make it all worthwhile.
As an afterthought, the Australians have made a huge impact on this site which is rather remarkable to me.

1 Reply

I came over from Abuzz, invited by Joanne Dorel. Warm greetings ensued, until I visited the thread about the impending Iraq invasion. Perception jumped my case before ever I shared an opinion. I jumped back at him, but then withdrew from the thread, because it was getting seriously derailed, with me as the interloper. I went on to make my mark on the site for good or ill and never regretted it.

I have stayed here and will never leave, because, there is a core of members who make a wonderful community. Identities are sometimes added and sometimes withdrawn, but the essentials remain. I have grown in many ways since becoming a member. I could never repay Robert and all the great ones of this site for making it possible. To all I have offended and to the few who have offended me, I say, "Tough cookies." To my friends, I offer the sound of one fist bumping.

1 Reply

@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

Very mixed?

http://lsneveryday.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/mixed_nuts.jpg

0 Replies

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