Agreed plantingyourpennies.
What I find baffling is how the political threads struck such a nerve that some people left. We've talked about all kinds of personal subjects ... and by 'talked' I mean argued until our fingers were too tired to type. I can remember three separate go-rounds over religion that got really personal. And while feelings were sometimes hurt, no one left. I still don't understand why this topic is different, especially since none of us fit any mold but the ERE one, so I'd never assume that anyone here neatly fit into the red or blue mold either.
I found the sexual misconduct thread enlightening on several levels. I always thought that men who kept their head down to try to stay out of the fray were at fault too to some extent, which is why I made the plea for good guys taking the offenders out to the woodshed. I didn't realize that people like Scott employed the Pence rule and took other steps to avoid a potentially serious problem. I sensed some real fear in some of the guys. I haven't changed my mind, but I haven't lost respect for any of the men who challenged what I said just because they disagreed with me ... I can see their logic and why they've come to the conclusions they have. I wish people could treat others in the political threads the same way.
So cheers to everyone who's stayed. I know I'm better for it. And hopefully those that left will feel free to jump back in at some point. We're a small tribe so it hurts to lose members.
------------
Now to my best of ...
One of my favorite posts was a recent one of Scott's from the dating thread for being so ... ERE.
Scott 2 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2017 9:54 am
A big part of making a relationship successful is maximizing your variables in the context of the other person's algorithm.
I love everyone's journals. I don't always post but I always read them. They are my favorite part of the forum. Just don't post things like 'we're having a baby, trying to have a baby' etc and then not follow up and leave us in suspense. You know who you are.
I also love the gardening thread and seppia's cooking thread. And sclass's sewing thread. And ffj's rope thread. Basically any where I can learn something 'real' if that makes sense. I love when people take the time to post how they do something step by step. (apologies to anyone who's thread I've forgotten to mention)
Finally, a shout out to the new members and those who used to lurk but now post more often. I feel like we have a better mix of ages and situations, and that always makes the conversation more interesting.
Cheers and Happy Holidays!