Re: OT-Chat: taking a sabbatical
Rusty,
Take care while on sabbatical. We'll miss ya.
When you get back, please keep in mind that a few (or maybe more) bad emails
through the list are not necessarily representing everyone on the list, and
that there are some genuinely nice people here. I like to think of myself
as one of the nice ones.
It is because of those nice people that I personally enjoy the list and stay
on. I can handle a bad email or posting from time to time. As a matter of
fact, I have handled quite a few, but I realize they are actually just
computer type on a monitor (words on paper) and it is my choice whether or
not to allow them to ruin my day.
The list is always changing Rusty, so don't stay away too long. You will be
missing out on a whole lotta good stuff if you do. Besides, a lot of us
older irisarians need and enjoy the input of a younger generation, and in
the past you have provided a lotta food for thought.
So, take a break, recharge, and please come back. Your opinions DO count.
Besides, shopping for new clothes can only fill the void for so long, you
know....lol.
Patrick
----- Original Message -----
From: Rusty Thornsburg <RTburg@hotmail.com>
To: <iris-talk@egroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 9:06 PM
Subject: [iris-talk] OT-Chat: taking a sabbatical
>
> Having been a list member for 3 years now, I've seen most of the changes
> that John mentioned, as they happened. I remember those first few months
I
> was online, I soaked up every bit of information I could-- I read *every
> single* message that came through-- I was amazed that there was so much
to
> this. It was wonderful and exciting.
>
> The past three years on this list (in its various incarnations) have
been,
> for the most part, a wonderful experience. I've met so many people, and
> made so many new friends. I've also done some growing up-- which can be
> painful when you choose to actively participate in an adult forum when
> you're operating at a completely different maturity level/ life experience
> level/--completely different place in life than virtually everyone else on
> the list. And it led to a few problems along the way.
>
> There are things I've said, in the frustration of trying to get 300
people
> to understand where I was coming from, that I do regret. I've always
tried
> to be a productive member of our little society here, and , for the most
> part, I think the lady, who in my first weeks online told me "don't you
dare
> leave our list", would be proud. I hope she would.
>
> In fact, it is a sense of duty that has kept me from unsubscribing for
> months. But I finally realized that it's no longer "our" list. All of
the
> people I loved corresponding with; the people I learned so much from, have
> disappeared: among the many-- Rimat, Donald Mosser, Marte in the Mtns,
Celia
> Storey, Ruth Simmons.
>
> Maybe it's my disappointment at the self-aggrandizing behavior of some
of
> our members. Or my disappointment at the apparant apathy of our other
> members. Maybe it's because I realize that, as a "newbie," I wouldn't
have
> survived 3 days on the list in its current state, and would have given up
> irising forever had I been greeted with the kind of behavior I've
witnessed
> this past year. Maybe it's the fact that I know that one of my dearest
> friends was treated hatefully by one of our (respected) members right
before
> her death. For whatever reasons, posting--and even *reading*--email on
> iris-talk leaves a bitter taste.
> So, to keep myself from burning out, I am unsubscribing. Not
permanently.
> But for a long time. And it is my sincerest hope that when I do return,
> our community resembles something more friendly, something more like the
> iris-l of old. I count John and Joanne among my dearest friends. I
cannot
> even begin to fathom the work he puts into making this all work, into
making
> this a forum for *all* iris lovers. And how many times have we seen that
> ruined for a new list member because of self-appointed netiquette
enforcers?
> Please, y'all, let John do his job.
>
> That's all. Any comments, please send to RTburg@hotmail.com, or if you
want
> to post an on-list reply, CC me. I am unsubscribing upon receipt of this
> email.
>
> Again, thanks to all who made (and still make) this list a wonderful
place.
>
> Rusty Thornsburg
> Member, Fort Worth Iris Society, Iris Society of Dallas, AIS, RIS, TBIS
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
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