Concern about missing members

[Haertig]

But my point is members keep asking "WHERE is MISSING MEMBER ????"

I can't speak for everyone here on these forums, but my assumption is that many of us are no longer spring chickens. So when someone just up and disappears, the question is "Did they get very sick, or die?" As morbid as that sounds, it is a thought that crosses people's minds when they get older.

 

[Weedygarden]

I can't speak for everyone here on these forums, but my assumption is that many of us are no longer spring chickens. So when someone just up and disappears, the question is "Did they get very sick, or die?" As morbid as that sounds, it is a thought that crosses people's minds when they get older.

I wish there was a way for admins or someone to keep track of people's real names and to be able to follow up with them when they go missing.

When I went through the Christmas song thread today, I saw that timmie had posted: "christmas in dixie by alabama, my favorite." She was having health problems and we have not seen her in a few years now. She must either be gone, or incapacitated.
What about The Innkeeper, formerly known as Bugout Bob? He has come back a few times, but no one knows how to stay in touch with him or what his real health issues were.

 

[Haertig]

Sometimes, when I am focused on a food storage thread or something similar, I wonder just how weird I am to be so focused on that and how many others are not here for that, or are just not interested like I am.

I came here on invitation from Phideaux. Many invites. Over a period of years. We became good friends on a firearms forum. Ditto for Supervisor42. I met both of these fine people on the same trip, where I nervously flew halfway across the country to meet these "names on the internet".

Despite it being a firearms forum (by name), there was a "The Counter" sub-forum that was just like our "Off Topic", "Front Porch Chat", etc. sub-forums here. Most of my participation in later years was on that sub-forum, even though I was pretty knowledgeable about firearms and could contribute to the technical aspects as well (within the area of my experience). So when Jim invited me here, I told him, "What could I possibly contribute to a homesteading forum? I live in what most people would call the suburbs!" And honestly, I don't really have anything to contribute here, other than posts that I hope will make people smile. I like humor. But if you were to ask me how to fix a tractor, heck, I don't go within 100 yards of one of those. They have this thing in the back called a "PTO" I think it is, and those eat people like me. But, eventually I came here on one of Phideaux's invites. I'm glad I did. Even though, technically, I contribute nothing.

 

[Spikedriver]

I wish there was a way for admins or someone to keep track of people's real names and to be able to follow up with them when they go missing.

When I went through the Christmas song thread today, I saw that timmie had posted: "christmas in dixie by alabama, my favorite." She was having health problems and we have not seen her in a few years now. She must either be gone, or incapacitated.
What about The Innkeeper, formerly known as Bugout Bob? He has come back a few times, but no one knows how to stay in touch with him or what his real health issues were.

There are a lot of people here who are concerned with OPSEC and won't permit other members to have personal info. There is one current contributor here who has my Facebook and one who probably has my address, if he saved it. I am not sure if the staff has access to everyone's email that we signed up with. I have considered leaving social media contact info with a staff member, just in case, because I usually put life changing events up on FB and if something happened to me it could easily be found.

There is also an FB group for members of this forum. It gets little traffic but it exists. I'm there but I know many members won't use FB.

I guess it all depends on the level of security one is comfortable with. I myself am not hard core about it because I figure TPTB already know more about me than anything they can find here. But to each their own...

 

[Haertig]

I can contact Phideaux and Supervisor42 outside of the forum mechanism, and they can contact me. Jim did let me know ahead of time that he would be stepping back from this forum for a while, since I had scolded him before for disappearing AWOL.

 

[Hardcalibres]

.............. Whoever is the highest poster is the most valuable member and they didn't want to lose her posting of 100's of posts a day, even though most had little to actually contribute.

I see this here and on other forums too.

The top priority for forum administrators/owners is that the forum not die due to it becoming silent - and this is understandable. A forum that still exists always has the potential to keep going and evolve into whatever the members at the time think it should be.

Consequently, those members who post dozens of posts and create a big proportion of the threads can change the average subject matter of the forum and are unlikely to be sanctioned while they do it.

But what sort of person can spend literally several hours a day posting on this and indeed other forums?

They can't have a job.

They can't be running a homestead.

They can't be doing a lot of prepping.

Indeed they can't be "a doer" in any normal sense of the word.

The are in essence just a talker.

Some are spending most of the day watching youtube videos and then posting links to those on forums. They probably don't understand that the tracking cookies on youtube are just presenting them with more and more of the same stuff they are clicking on. What pops up on youtube for them is an AI version of confirmation bias. Youtube is defining for them what normal and truth is. When people that create content for youtube (either for money or an ego boost) see the number of views those sorts of videos are getting, they create more of that content. People who are susceptible to indoctrination can have their entire belief system changed by days, weeks, months and a few years of viewing quite unreal content.

Since those very frequent posters can define the broad subject matter of a forum - the question is: Are they the people who should be doing that?



I assess that in the last few years, a lot of people have been dragged down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theory and unreality - they have lost all context of truth and fact.

For some, they were unable to contextualize the very changed conditions of a global pandemic and the things that were different. Having someone "explain" all that to them in a youtube video or on a forum was consoling and comfortable.

But for those of us with more robust critical thinking skills - the trends in these forums have just been sad and a waste of what was a good resource. Those of us who had already researched pandemics, somewhat expected to see mentally unprepared people get weird - but I suspect none of us knew how weird they would get.

......and I assess that is why many people have been driven away.

Most go relatively silently - because they don't want to offend anyone and they know that no individual can make a significant stand against a tidal wave of misinformation.

For those that went looking for unconventional truths, they were indeed able to find an almost inexhaustible supply of new weird and unreal content to feed their acquired habit/dependency.

While these forums remain focussed upon those belief systems, those people (at least) will be the ones that stay.

 

[Amish Heart]

You're right....I was one that researched pandemics and was still surprised about how weird people got. And our govt. And how weird they still are.

 

[hashbrown]

He pretty much left this kind of thing when he was removed from his position as Admin at PS and put that jerk in charge.

I talk to him a few times a year. We have been friends for 20 years.

 

[user 55]

I see this here and on other forums too.

The top priority for forum administrators/owners is that the forum not die due to it becoming silent - and this is understandable. A forum that still exists always has the potential to keep going and evolve into whatever the members at the time think it should be.

Consequently, those members who post dozens of posts and create a big proportion of the threads can change the average subject matter of the forum and are unlikely to be sanctioned while they do it.

But what sort of person can spend literally several hours a day posting on this and indeed other forums?

They can't have a job.

They can't be running a homestead.

They can't be doing a lot of prepping.

Indeed they can't be "a doer" in any normal sense of the word.

The are in essence just a talker.

Some are spending most of the day watching youtube videos and then posting links to those on forums. They probably don't understand that the tracking cookies on youtube are just presenting them with more and more of the same stuff they are clicking on. What pops up on youtube for them is an AI version of confirmation bias. Youtube is defining for them what normal and truth is. When people that create content for youtube (either for money or an ego boost) see the number of views those sorts of videos are getting, they create more of that content. People who are susceptible to indoctrination can have their entire belief system changed by days, weeks, months and a few years of viewing quite unreal content.

Since those very frequent posters can define the broad subject matter of a forum - the question is: Are they the people who should be doing that?



I assess that in the last few years, a lot of people have been dragged down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theory and unreality - they have lost all context of truth and fact.

For some, they were unable to contextualize the very changed conditions of a global pandemic and the things that were different. Having someone "explain" all that to them in a youtube video or on a forum was consoling and comfortable.

But for those of us with more robust critical thinking skills - the trends in these forums have just been sad and a waste of what was a good resource. Those of us who had already researched pandemics, somewhat expected to see mentally unprepared people get weird - but I suspect none of us knew how weird they would get.

......and I assess that is why many people have been driven away.

Most go relatively silently - because they don't want to offend anyone and they know that no individual can make a significant stand against a tidal wave of misinformation.

For those that went looking for unconventional truths, they were indeed able to find an almost inexhaustible supply of new weird and unreal content to feed their acquired habit/dependency.

While these forums remain focussed upon those belief systems, those people (at least) will be the ones that stay.

For me, to keep it simple, I will provide a minute synopsis.

I ended up here via an invite as well. That said, when I came /arrived at the previous site, I was looking for information more than anything. What we here seem to call "preparedness" is nothing more than the lifestyle we lived and still do. We always had things on hand growing up. Canned foods in the basement. Milk from the cows in the barn and eggs from the chickens roaming around. The occasional goose cooked for thanksgiving. The list goes on and on.

I have owned and managed forums for years. For me, the important part was and is the "free" aspect. We never charged for access, never charged for upgraded accounts, never ran nor profited from ads. You tube has been alright and is used in the forum structure but not to make money nor fund anything. Google and their products are nothing but leaches. Facecrap is what has hurt many forums. Not going to waste my time trying to dissuade anyone from its use but the ramifications are obvious.

I am guilty of calling out what I see as BS on more than one occasion. I am sure that has lead to me being placed on the so called "ignore" list. I could care less. If you don't like my opinion or statements then its all good. Nobody will always agree with them. I do not understand the concept of blocking anyone. If I don't like the post or information presented I ignore it or simply don't respond. Sometime I slip in that regard when I should stay out of a conversation.

I've come here a few times to vent. I do so as I have no other outlet and I "feel" comfortable here. Why? Basically most are adults here and behave as one.

In the end, I have been quiet lately. I've nothing useful to contribute so I am learning what I can here. I learn things regularly so if I see posts or topics I don't agree with I am trying to stay out of them. I'm not going anywhere unless told to do so and hopefully at least one post I make here or there is useful or helps someone. This post could be given a few pages for clarification but I don't think that's needed. Good people here overall. Hopefully the "missing" members are alright and in good health. Some of us that are "missing" actually aren't.

 

[Pearl]

Except the ignore button needs work. It has to put you and the other person unable to see each other. I had that problem with someone who has been removed after many jabs at people. It took way too long for her to be removed. I was contacted by mods and admins that she would be removed, but please come back. My mistake was not to wait until she was gone before I came back. Whoever is the highest poster is the most valuable member and they didn't want to lose her posting of 100's of posts a day, even though most had little to actually contribute.

YES!!

 

[Pearl]

So we are having FUN, how dare we! It's homesteading, country living, not "live like we are going to die any second"!! AND, I work my butt off, 7 days a week right now, I OWN my homestead, AND am still HERE, on H&CL daily, hmmmmm!

 

[user 55]

So we are having FUN, how dare we! It's homesteading, country living, not "live like we are going to die any second"!! AND, I work my butt off, 7 days a week right now, I OWN my homestead, AND am still HERE, on H&CL daily, hmmmmm!

I am on 6 days a week working for someone else 12 hours a day for the most part. Then have to come home and take care of things. Thats IF I don't take on side jobs. Yeah, I still get online from time to time here and there.

 

[Haertig]

But what sort of person can spend literally several hours a day posting on this and indeed other forums?

They can't have a job.

They can't be running a homestead.

They can't be doing a lot of prepping.

Indeed they can't be "a doer" in any normal sense of the word.

The are in essence just a talker.

That was one of the more condescending posts I've read in a long time. But despite that, it was still interesting to read. I see wisdom in some of the words, loathing in others. Things like that are what help keep a forum interesting to me. I learn a lot here. Most of it is not about homesteading since that is not what I do personally, but I still learn a lot.

 

[havasu]

Geez, lots to absorb just reading the last few pages. First of all, I have offered to collect emergency contact information from anyone, where I can keep it under lock and key and except for Tank Girl, nobody took me up on my offer.
As far as posts, whether you have one post or a thousand, it doesn't matter to us. Many here like to read posts but rarely contribute, many others like to contribute but not read.
Nobody behind the scenes (us mods) do not like or want to micromanage, nor will we ban someone for using God's name in vane. We like this place to be a comfortable retreat, whether you just want to read, or just want to post.
I do know viewers like new posts, with different topics, but without new subject material, it can get stale.
Each and every member here is unique, with different tastes and ideas, so I would encourage everyone to post up new topics to absorb. This would be a win-win for all of us members.
As said before, we here are an open book, but some don't like to air their grievances publicly, so if you would rather talk privately, feel free to shoot me a private message.

 

[zannej]

I don't think it is "weird" for people to be into prepping or be excited about something that really interests them. I'm the kind of person who will obsess over things & then my brain will move to another topic and obsess on that. But I get obsessing. And prepping, for instance, is IMO a healthy thing to be interested in. It doesn't harm anyone, it's good practice in case of emergencies, etc. I love that people have varied interests. It is sad when people lose interest or feel they have too much conflict & choose to leave. Sometimes people get too heated. I will disagree with people at times, but I don't feel it should ever devolve to insults or name-calling & when I realize it might be getting to that point, I'll agree to disagree and move on. I'm not here to aggravate anyone.
What was that movie quote? "Can't we all just get along?"
I know in a perfect world that would happen, but we're all humans and people can't always control how they feel.

I do worry about members who stop posting. I've known a few that died on other forums. I can understand that people get busy or sometimes lose interest in stuff.

Anyway, I'm babbling and hope everyone is having a good day.

 

[joel]

I do less now than five years ago, but that the way it is set up. Now that I am older, I have a good garden plot & orchard. So it is less work & more harvest, one day will do good to walk around the plot forgetting planting & harvest, but for now I can do some work.
So I can spend time on line watching you tube while peeling or cutting up/ shelling.
Tonight I am cutting up candy fruit for cakes.

 

[Dani]

Whatever happened to @terri, can't member the rest of her handle name. She worked and raised goats.

 

[Dani]

Whatever happened to @terri, can't member the rest of her handle name. She worked and raised goats.

She hasn't been on since May of 2022. I hope and pray she is ok. I have also been missing other members.

phideaux​

 

[Backwater Herbalist]

Everyone, sorry to reply an old thread-but I knew Grizzleyette on another forum, where she was a Moderator. I was just perusing some old posts here and saw her name pop up. We developed a friendship of sorts off the forum and emailed each other occasionally.
She was a tremendous help and friend on the other forum during the Covid epidemic. So many learned from her and no doubt, she helped many with her medical/herbal advice when they became ill.
I noticed she was missing when she didn't post for almost two weeks, which was very unlike her. I emailed several times, and others as well, to which no reply was received. She seemed to go missing on several forums about the same time.
I've missed her very much-not only was she a fellow Herbalist, but a friend. I've worried about her to no end.
But, I've come to the conclusion that whatever happened to Grizzlyette, it left her no way to communicate with anyone on any other forum-whether because of health reasons, personal safety, or death.
Grizzlyette had a strong spiritual belief. That gives me comfort, and I pray for her, wherever she is.

 

[Spikedriver]

She hasn't been on since May of 2022. I hope and pray she is ok. I have also been missing other members.

phideaux​

@phideaux is good. I hear from him occasionally.

 

[Pearl]

Everyone, sorry to reply an old thread-but I knew Grizzleyette on another forum, where she was a Moderator. I was just perusing some old posts here and saw her name pop up. We developed a friendship of sorts off the forum and emailed each other occasionally.
She was a tremendous help and friend on the other forum during the Covid epidemic. So many learned from her and no doubt, she helped many with her medical/herbal advice when they became ill.
I noticed she was missing when she didn't post for almost two weeks, which was very unlike her. I emailed several times, and others as well, to which no reply was received. She seemed to go missing on several forums about the same time.
I've missed her very much-not only was she a fellow Herbalist, but a friend. I've worried about her to no end.
But, I've come to the conclusion that whatever happened to Grizzlyette, it left her no way to communicate with anyone on any other forum-whether because of health reasons, personal safety, or death.
Grizzlyette had a strong spiritual belief. That gives me comfort, and I pray for her, wherever she is.

She is missed by so many, glad you responded to this thread!!

 

[Supervisor42]

Where is @Wingnut ?
He has been MIA for over 10 days.
He was a very prolific poster.

 

[Dani]

@phideaux is good. I hear from him occasionally.

That is one that I miss too. His wife did exceptional needle work and I loved to see the pictures he would add. Also miss his insight to homesteading issues.

 

[elkhound]

Everyone, sorry to reply an old thread-but I knew Grizzleyette on another forum, where she was a Moderator. I was just perusing some old posts here and saw her name pop up. We developed a friendship of sorts off the forum and emailed each other occasionally.
She was a tremendous help and friend on the other forum during the Covid epidemic. So many learned from her and no doubt, she helped many with her medical/herbal advice when they became ill.
I noticed she was missing when she didn't post for almost two weeks, which was very unlike her. I emailed several times, and others as well, to which no reply was received. She seemed to go missing on several forums about the same time.
I've missed her very much-not only was she a fellow Herbalist, but a friend. I've worried about her to no end.
But, I've come to the conclusion that whatever happened to Grizzlyette, it left her no way to communicate with anyone on any other forum-whether because of health reasons, personal safety, or death.
Grizzlyette had a strong spiritual belief. That gives me comfort, and I pray for her, wherever she is.

her being MIA is a very sad thing.a small group of us traveled through a bunch of internet forums together for several years. we have worried about her and her well being.grizzgal was a good one...she is missed here.


said it before but i refuse to think of her being gone and opt for shes on a river bank busting out a coal with a hand drill,making a cooking fire to fix supper!

 

[Pearl]

Missing zannej!! Where are you zanne??

 

[zannej]

Missing zannej!! Where are you zanne??

I'm here. Been recovering from food poisoning and taking care of Mom who got hit harder with it. I didn't even realize it had been that long since I posted. I was exhausted. Still tired but getting better.

 

[Pearl]

I'm here. Been recovering from food poisoning and taking care of Mom who got hit harder with it. I didn't even realize it had been that long since I posted. I was exhausted. Still tired but getting better.

Hope you are both feeling better! Take care of yourself while taking care of your mom!!

 

[zannej]

Hope you are both feeling better! Take care of yourself while taking care of your mom!!

Thanks. I think I'm coming down with my brother's cold or whatever he got. he tested negative for Covid and flu, but I'm starting to get a sore throat. Gonna make sure to drink tons of water.

 

[LadyLocust]

Has anyone heard from @MoBookworm1957 lately ?

 

[zannej]

No. I hope she's doing OK.