Posted by Dee on October 27, 1999, at 23:12:20
In reply to Suggestions, posted by Weary on October 26, 1999, at 23:40:53
Weary brought up some very good points. I am not saying that I agree 100% and as far as lengthy posts with little contribution, I am guilty as charged.
Yet these long postings, writing and receiving them, has definitely saved some very bad days when I have had nowhere else to turn for help. On the other hand, when I first came around, looking for information specifically on the new medicines I had started taking: Serzone, trazodone, remeron etc. this site was the most valuable source of true life experiences and information from others that had gone that road before me. Also, of importance was the fact that posting under heading Serzone actually were about experiences about Serzone - concise, compact, to the point, and easy to find.
Like Weary, I wish we will not need to witness that sort of information become buried under marginally related issues.
How we feel, and how medicines affect our feelings and lives, how we cope with side effects (Like in my case simply to know about the very common feelings of rage while upping Serzone, something my p-doc had never heard of...), or simply how we drag ourselves up in the morning, or survive from day to day are certainly no marginal issues. Or are they? Where should we draw the line?
Let us not forget that people die of these diseases. If we can use the Internet as a life support system, I think we should.
I have just one suggestion: Let us all put aside our defenses, and participate in this conversation rather than start throwing monologues on each other. Every community will necessarily come to a point where traffic gets so dense that everybody must agree about which side of the road they will be driving. That is what we are facing.
The issue is not clean cut information about medicines vs. peer support. It is about finding ways that we all can preserve what we value most in this site. (Maybe two parallel babbles wouldn't be such a bad idea.)
Another thing for Weary's favor: one of the reasons I stayed with Psycho babble was that there was not that feeling of established and closed circle of the type "remember what we were talking about last Christmas." A newcomer will necessarily feel outside when that kinds of bounds exist. So, here's my other suggestion: Let us keep in mine that the web is ‘a broadcast medium' - we should post information and responses to postings, I don't think we ought to engage in person to person dialogues, or address anyone specifically by name, etc.
I am certainly not going to cast the first stone on anyone. Just want to say thank you for Weary for pointing out and making me think about that I have at occasions used this site for my typing practices, with little or nothing to say. I am looking forward to some constructive suggestions by all ya creative, intelligent people around.
Dee
PS. my email is tapani@juno.com
poster:Dee
thread:13988
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/14060.html