I came here after reading about it in an OSC book introduction. I had just moved to a new city with my family. I had also just left my job to stay home with our very young children (a newborn and a toddler). I didn't know anybody close by and I was desperate to talk to people.
I lurked first, and slowly started posting. I was very cautious, because of all the stories about "internet people".
Turns out there were a lot of women my age, other young mothers or not, who came here to talk about thiings other than just the basic mommy stuff. It proved just what I needed at the time. I made real friends here, and met them in RL. I even hosted a few get-togethers.
I go through long periods of not posting at all, but the friendships I've made here are important to me. I come here mostly to play, these days.
You'll fit right in.
Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Icarus, you are so cool. I haven't been around that long and I still know you're the go-to guy on a lot of the topics you mentioned, so there.
Welcome, Goram, and the nice thing about this is that you don't have to be consistent! You can show up when you like, post when you feel like it and lurk when you don't, and that's just fine.
As for me, I came here because, like Icarus, I had been a reader of OSC's essays on Hatrack for some time. I was sort of vaguely aware that there were some forums on the site, but I'd never bothered to check into them enough to realize what was here. However, one day I saw that there was going to be a National Geographic (I think) special on Guns, Germs, and Steel, a book Mr. Card had recommended in his column a couple of times. I wondered if there was a place that I could say, "Hey, everybody watch this," and I found the Books, Films, Food and Culture forum. I read a thread here and there just to get the feel for the place before I posted my comment, ended up not watching the show after all that, and then just got caught up in the place--and here I still am! Actually, I'd been a member of another forum years ago that went under, and although this was a very different kind of a place, I found the same type of online community here that I'd been missing.
I've never met another Hatracker, which means I'm not "real" yet. But I expect I will before too long.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Hah! You're not upset! It's a compliment, Teh Rivka!
quote:I lurked first, and slowly started posting. I was very cautious, because of all the stories about "internet people".
Yeah, those "internet people". Whaddya gonna do with them? Can't trust any of 'em! Nope, not a single one!
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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*curious* What does "machine" mean to you? Clearly it's different than what it implies to me.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I thought it was referring to the way you post a million posts in a day. Is it supposed to have some connotation with it that I'm not aware of?
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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When my classmates tell me I'm a machine, they mean I'm churning out good essays really fast/working like a mule.
Posts: 1762 | Registered: Apr 2006
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To me, calling someone a machine implies that they are uncaring and emotionless. Neither of which I aspire to. It also implies that I don't put thought into my posts, which is only true some of the time. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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It turns out that not only do Olivet and I live in the same general area near Atlanta, but we are totally neighbors! Life is funny sometimes.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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rivka, I don't get that meaning from the word, but I can (sort of remotely) understand why someone would. I also don't think that's a descriptive of you in any form, and I don't think that's a normal assumption one would make on reading your posts here. If this comment helps at all. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Hi everyone, Wow have you been busy! I have three questions. What is all this talk about Trolls?
When Icarus posted "Nobody thinks of me first when they have a question about adoption, math, Disney, teaching, education, Catholicism, latino culture, Spanish, grammar, abuse recovery, . . . anything." I thought wouldn't it be cool if there was a list here that you could look over to see who could be recommended about topics? Hey wait a minute...Is there?
I'm gonna look over the other Topics as was recommended to me. Is there one about doing charity work? In the meantime some of the things I like to talk about are non-mainstream movies (not Adult film either), working with your dreams, exploring creativity, learning how to overcome what you learned as a child, recovery, great places to tour on my Nighthawk 750 to name a few.
Posts: 15 | Registered: Jan 2007
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I still lurk most of the time, but I like posting because there's a wide range of topics being discussed. If I want to read about or discuss politics and current events, there's usually a thread for that. If I want to complain about my day or ask for advice, everyone here is very understanding and always have some excellent advice. The list goes on and on.
My only recommendation about posting is: never be afraid to post, even if it's in a heated debate and you get completely shot down...the humiliation fades and you'll be a little wiser for it.
Posts: 681 | Registered: Feb 2004
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This is really my second name on here. The old one kinda died out for a while after I hadn't used it (not that anyone would remember it anyway).
But Hatrack is a great place to get to know who people are instead of what they look like or what they act like. This place allows them to be who they truly are. From Icarus's and TomDavidson's well thought out, fair posts; to Ketchupqueen's love for just about anybody here, to KingofMen's intentionally inflammatory remarks; everybody has a place. Even the lurkers who don't post much have a place and are welcomed in. That's what I've realized in about the 5 years I've been watching and reading and watching.
People are valued here. No matter who they might be, they are counted as real and important. College students are given a voice and listened to by people two and three times their age. They feel important, because they are.
No Matter is really that trivial, and if your thread dies away to the second or third or fourth page, don't feel bad. Very few threads keep coming back to the top.
Whether this is just a rambling, or whether it made sense, I'm not sure. But either way, welcome. Glad to have you at Hatrack.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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I've thought about becoming a lurker...but I've yet to develop the skill of keeping my big mouth shut. It's either a curse or a blessing, but I've always got something to say, even when I don't know what I'm talking about .
Maybe I'll make it a New Year's Resolution.
Besides, I wouldn't want to lose touch with some of the people here. It really is a community. This place is something special. We argue passionately without hatred on one thread, share our life's stories on another, and then trade recipes at the end of the day, it's beyond compare.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I think that most of what I would say about why I post here has been said. In a lot of ways, the people I've met here are like my extended family. When I go to get-togethers, I get the feeling that these people understand me deep down, because they're like me in ways most of my other friends aren't. Also, it's great knowing people all over the place. My brother went to college near Rivka, and because of the friendship we've developed, he has someone to turn to in an emergency.
We used to make friendships based on physical proximity. With the internet, we can make them based on the nearness of minds, not bodies.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:to Ketchupqueen's love for just about anybody here
It's funny 'cause people always say this and I feel like I am far, far, far from a loving person.
If you're far from a loving person then most of us probably qualify somewhere around the level of Satan . Just so you know, you're an inspiration, at least to me.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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All this talk about Ketchup reminded me of a question: Who the heck says tomato? (lower 'a' sound; can't find the System map on Vista to make the symbol)
Posts: 636 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Icarus- you have just about the coolest Hatrack-joining story ever.
I don't remember what spurred me to join, other than the lure of Hatrack as an intelligent community full of funny, interesting and cool people.
quote:Who the heck says tomato?
Tomaaahto? Sometimes I do, depending on my company at the time.
EDIT: It's amazing. Rivka and I joined about the same time, but her post count is more than triple of mine, heh.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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If quid is an oldbie then I must be one of the ancient ones. My first post was in 1996, I think. I guess I got captured because people with whom to discuss interesting topics are scarce on the ground. I think what Shig said sums it up nicely. "We used to make friendships based on physical proximity. With the internet, we can make them based on the nearness of minds, not bodies." And I would add nearness of hearts and spirits as well.
I think this place tends to attract people who're a bit like Ender (a character from the OSC book Ender's Game, which you are now required to read ). Ender is very young (in the first book) but he's thoughtful, sensitive, and he cares. He's willing to sacrifice of himself for things that matter. He goes through a lot of difficult and even terrible experiences. You'll see when you read the book. I think a lot of the people who came here in the early days were people who felt a kinship to Ender, who identified with him. They tended to be really amazing, awesome people.
I've made the closest and best friends of my life through here, over the years. They're more than friends now, they're my family. My life has been profoundly enriched by knowing them and being connected to them.
So I guess that's why I keep coming back.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Shigosei: We used to make friendships based on physical proximity. With the internet, we can make them based on the nearness of minds, not bodies.
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I joined while high on vicodin. Most internet forums are scary places and while this place didn't seem scary, maybe it was just in a nice mood. After spending several days lying around, either in too much pain to go to work or too drugged to drive, I was getting bored. Since I was pretty drugged, posting wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And then whne I was feeling better and less drugged, my memories were positive so no biggie to continue posting.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I joined because of the same reason Icky did...I read about it in one of the Alvin Maker books and thought it seemed cool. I liked ...the idea of that forum seemed cool, but I didn't have the time for it. I did find the other forums right away, although I lurked for a wile.
I read really fast. Over 100 pages an hour most of the time. So I read a TON of threads in 2-3 days, and I really liked how this place operated. It seemed more of a community than most places on the web, and was filled with a lot of really cool people.
I didn't have a computer, but my parents did, so whenever I was at their house....for holidays, for the weekend (they lives 2 hours from me), I would post all night. I am a night owl, and their town was pretty dead, so it gave me something to do.
Ironically, the first day I signed up and posted I created a bit of a problem. Turns out a guy who was a borderline troll had been creating alts, and a large number of people thought I was just one of his alts. I had people insulting me, calling me names in chat, and even a few nasty emails.
I left, and almost didn't return.
But a couple of people were really cool, and after talking to me in a chat room once or twice really went to bat for me. Ela and Jenny Gardner in particular, although they weren't the only ones.
I found that Hatrack was worth the effort, and I kept posting, just ignoring the ignorant people who were so rude to me., and I found that Hatrack and I were a really good fit.
I have have real life Hatrack picnics where people from this site could meet in person, I have gone to a convention and met OSC and Christine in person....two things I would have never done without Hatrack.
When I moved to FL two years ago, I got to meet Icky and Cor, two of the coolest people I have ever met, and we became really good friends. I met jenniwren and her wonderful family on vacation, and zgator was really cool as well.
My wife registered here, and posts occasionally, but IRL Hatrack comes up almost every single day in conversation. We even posted wedding pic on our honeymoon!
So welcome to Hatrack! I hope you get the same enjoyment from this place that I did, and that I still do most of the time. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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You should post because you want to talk to a large number of exceptionally intelligent people, even though most of them are wrong most of the time.
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Actually, I'd been a member of another forum years ago that went under, and although this was a very different kind of a place, I found the same type of online community here that I'd been missing.![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
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Noemon![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
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. Just so you know, you're an inspiration, at least to me.
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