Goodbye

[bookraptor11]

> I have gotten a few reactions of people wanting me to stay.  I may
> simply go into a form of "deep lurk" mode... it all depends on how
> people react to me saying goodbye, to be honest.
> 
> There are two main reasons I'm planning on leaving...
> 
> The first is because the topics don't seem to be as interesting 
anymore.
> Many of the discussions lately seem to be picking apart little 
details
> or dwelling for a *long* time on a dying topic.  That's not *too* 
bad,
> since there are still the occasional decent conversations.
> 
> The other reason, and most important to me... is that I'm tired of 
the
> fact that 80% of the time I reply to a topic, it dies off 
immediately.
> (I tagged my posts as the "MLTA" for a while... It stood for "the 
Main
> List Topic Assassin...")  The other 20% of the time I reply to
> something, it either gets taken completely wrong and twisted to mean
> something I didn't say... or ignored completely.
> 
> As for posts I originate... well... they don't seem to get anything 
but
> a negative reaction most of the time, when they're reacted to at 
all.  
> 
> 
> Simply put, I don't feel as much that this is a place I am at home
> anymore because of how people react (or don't bother to react) to 
me.
> (I may come back eventually and lurk for a while... maybe not.)
> 
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

Iggy, you're not alone in feeling that way.  I could have written 
most of your post verbatim, especially the second reason. It's 
just the nature of the list.  Even when I joined in Aug of '01 there 
were so many posts it was easy to get ignored. Before you think I'm 
being very well adjusted about it, let me reassure you there have 
been times I've taken it personally and felt hurt, especially when I 
think I've raised a good point or an original thought, only to be 
ignored or have someone pick out one sentence that's not essential to 
my main idea and criticize.

I mostly lurk, but still post, though infrequently. Lately, there 
have been so many new people that old ideas keep being reposted, 
which don't interest me as much when I've read a lot of opinions 
about them over the past two years. People new to HP are hearing them 
for the first time and I can't blame them.  I still keep checking in; 
occasionally something good comes up.

I hope you keep on the lists, even if you lurk. Thanks for making me 
feel better. Like I said, I try to tell myself it's not personal but 
usually keep having to reassure myself every time I post. It helps 
hearing it from someone else because if there are two of us, bet 
there's many more who feel this way and it makes it harder for me to 
think it's me.

Donna
Bookraptor11