General Chat

oh the--LIsbons ,,,,,,,Muffy love that name..

LOLOLOLOL.......Yes....I remember that! So funny!

I wonder what happened to our dear friend Lee......they used to turn up every now and then and boy did he/she wind people up......made me laugh as it was soooo predictable.

OMG the dogs I remember that thread it went on and on and on .........a proper morning coffee one that one was ;-)

I also remember having words with someone on here and they collapsed and the doctor was called and we knew all of this because they were actually posting and telling us on the very same thread whilst being collasped on the floor ..........LMAO :-D :-D :-D

Yes....what have we missed?......sheesh! One can't even go get a cup of tea without missing something! :-(

what have I missed?

:-D ;-) :-D

Looks like a good day to nudge this thread I think !

..... and many of us are far too open with "internet friends"

Ditto to all you've said Susan, I could add other scams to what you've said, but it would give publicity to those who set them up, maybe that's what they like, and I'd hate to please them. It's a shame the way sites have been fleeced by no marks, I used to say all sorts on here about different things, as did others, it made the boards an interesting place. If you meet someone on the bus, you know at least if they are male or female, 18 or 95, on the internet we don't have a clue. Sad really :-(

I remember the few on here who weren't honest....and the damage they did, which is one reason I hardly ever greet a newbie, or join in with commiserations over anyone's illness or any other problems they are having.

I remember someone feigning illness.....I remember someone winding us up about committing suicide....I remember someone telling us they were dying and had us all going.....I remember someone telling us their financial problems and a whip round was had....another time a very ill person sent someone some money only to find out they weren't in financial difficulties at all......I remember someone telling us their dog had been taken by the RSPCA. ....the same person told us she was dying.....or at least her so called friends did...There are some who thrive on getting the community to feel sorry for them........or winding us up......then there was the time.......I could go on and on......but if anyone who is reading this is genuinely poorly, or has any other problem and needs support.....I am afraid I have become too sceptical these days to join in unless I have known you for quite some time.......and even then I will only know you by what you write.....

.None of us who haven't met can profess to actually *know* each other......and even when some do meet......well! I won't go into that but there have been a few who wish they hadn't .

The huge difference of course is that in the real world, we tell people things ............... for example, we meet people in the coffee shop, eventually start talking, tell them things .......... but everything (or almost everything) will stay local.

In the internet world .......... and especially on a site like GR .......... everything we post is likely to appear on the internet, sometimes within minutes, and ti can spread around the world before one can blink.

As an example ............. I goggled Kitty's board name, and there she is, posts made on GR last July and August

Same with Joy .......... and for me


it's amazing!



Luckily, I don't think any of us said anything that was not of general interest!

Awwww......thanks Lynda :-D <3

They will Joy, they will :-D

Magpie, the shame of it is, when, for instance this site first started, a lot of people said a lot about themselves, well it's a genealogy site, and by saying our names, where we were born etc, who knows we may have found a relative, which a lot of us did, unfortunately there were those, who obviously didn't get out a lot, took details, to use "at a later date" I wondered what it was they were lacking to bother to do that? now I know, it was friends and a life, poor things :-D

I look on here, and when I log off I don't remember most of what I've read, let alone where someone comes from, obviously the dodgy mob, take notes and refer to them often, apparently that's what you do when you've got nothing else, personally I prefer the real world, as most of us do on here :-D

You're not only a good cook now Kitty, you speak a lot of sense :-D

In the real world, as on here, most people are honest, kind, genuine and open with those we come into contact with.

There is a tiny minority who have no other agenda but to take advantage of us, they live in a twilight Walter Mitty world where they present a false front, but sooner or later, their real selves show through and they cause real alarm, upset or fear to their victims.

What gets my goat is that the tiny minority, in the real world or on here, often get away with a slapped wrist, or no punishment at all and are free to blatantly go about their smutty way in full view of their victims.

But hey ho

:-D :-D :-D

I agree with everything that has been written here, and like you SilvainCanada I am amazed at how many people put out theirs and their families names, where they live, what sort of car they drive, hospital appointments,(name of hospital AND ailment)!! holiday arrangements, husbands careers, you name it an it's there for the world (literally as anybody can get onto the site) to see - crazy or what?!

I do hope so Lynda :-D

Hopefully, those who rip off others eventually get caught Joy, that's the good bit :-D

Maybe you're right Sylvia, sometimes the "victim" isn't wary enough, maybe just too nice, unfortunately in this world we should always have our wits about us :-D

One thing that I think is different with GR these days is that FR and its spin-off site Connections have either changed dramatically or disappeared (Connections).


I used to post far more often on FR and then on GR Chat from 2004 to about 2007 ........ and there were lots of these uncomfortable people on there, especially on Connections

Part (if not all) of the reason was that Connections was set up to be a chat site with both threads and chat rooms. It was free. People were initially dissuaded from using their real names ............. aliases were expected.

That changed a little when FR tried to force the people who used the chat boards on there onto Connections .............. most of us refused to use aliases, and they did change their policy.

But the wums, the trolls, the seekers of the lonely were already on there, and others joined.

There were even ones who took out 2 or 3 memberships ........ why not, it was free!

There would be the "nice" one, the "seeker" and the "troll"

Very hard to identify when they would have different membership numbers!



But one did quickly learn to be careful about how much information to let out.


The loss of those 2 sites has meant that the chat thread on GR seems to have become more attractive to some ..................... especially as so many of us are seniors, often lonely, and looking for friendship.


I'm still amazed at the number of people on GR who use real names for their spouse, children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren

AND who use photos for children as their avatars.


Extremely unsafe, IMHO


One has to be really really careful .............................

and don't forget, the "victim" may sometimes be to blame for not being careful enough, either in the amount of information they release, or in not being as wary as they might be with a new-found "friend".



sylvia

its such a shame people rip others off
do they have no shame


it makes me sad to see people conned :-( :-(

I'm daft as a brush most of the time John, but common sense I have, and am quite good at sussing out a bad 'un, I think I must have lots of the suss Gene :-D