Do we have to be Eskie's only...?

[DonnaG]

I have never commented on this, but with the recent discussion about the boards, I think I will do so now….

First, let me say, I LOVE this board.  When we got Gracie 3 years ago, I knew nothing about Eskies, in fact, nothing about dogs in general.  I hadn’t had a dog since I was a kid, and my folks took care of all the dog stuff then; all I had to do was love him!  Even though when I first logged on, there were only a few active members, I still found out a lot about Eskies.  Over the years I have learned more and more.  I have enjoyed the laughs and pictures of everyone’s Eskies.    I also enjoy the pictures of the people.  It helps to put a face to the names.

One thing that I think the board is lacking is discussion about other aspects of our lives.  All we talk about is our dogs, and frankly, my life is MORE than my dog!  Our love for Eskie’s has brought us here, but sometimes I feel very disconnected to the board.  I know that many of our members do not have children, and therefore their dogs are probably more a part of their everyday thoughts and lives than my Gracie is to me.  I LOVE my dog, she is great, but she is not the biggest part of my life.  I don’t feel like I’ve gotten close to people here because I only know about one part of them.  It would be nice to have discussions about other things than just our Eskies.

The down side to that is that our discussions could be ALL over the place.  That might not be too good for the board either.  I don’t understand exactly what it takes to run a board like this one, so adding discussions about our favorite T.V. shows, jobs, life struggles and such may be impossible to manage.  But that is something I think would bring me here more often and make me feel more a part of things.  

Just thought I’d write this down.  As I said before, I love this board.  I will continue to check in and post when I feel I can add something to a discussion.   A HUGE Thank You to Michael and you too Mary for running and moderating this board.

[Saint Mom]

Donna,

I can hear you on that one. I belong to another board and we discuss just about anything and everything (from our pets, flowers, our lives, home projects, fears, etc). It’s purpose though is very different than here. Also, we are within hours from each other. Which means we get to know the people personally with time as we can get involved in various activities and GT regularly that someone organises here and there. The board I am talking about has a private section to let people talk more privately about who they are, their feelings, needs, etc. In other words, to vent! To be admitted in this Private Room, newest members must have met through various activities the "oldies" (may have been a GT in a dog park)  and we vote the approval of the newbies on board into our own little secret garden. Until we feel we are “safe”, the newbie can post and read everything except the Private Room. So this aspect alone is indeed different.

Back to here now. Michael created a lounge area and a funny bone area to discuss other stuff. I remember we did have discussions about us. Like 50 things about us, stories about Amber breaking her toes, women talking about their pregnancies, NJ sharing stuff about her son getting married and all, guys talking about sporting (and now weddings). Others, included myself, talked about jobs, surgeries. I am not sure I wanna spread more on my life on the net on such an open basis when everyone can read what I write (in other words, any member who registers has immediate access to all. I don’t open my home to everyone on the street so I am careful about what I choose to say on the net.

There is also a chat board you can access. I do get on the chat with quite a few people here and I find to enjoy more of them. You can have fun too exchanging there!

I have a life too beside my dogs although it does not show here . True I have no kids and most of my activities are centered on the dogs. But it is a choice I make to live for my 2 dogs and 3 cats. But I do other stuff too. I do have non-doggy activities, hobbies and fun.

I don’t really know what to tell you but maybe use the lounge area and start something up! We’ll follow. There is always someone who will add to it.

As Michael explained earlier, this board was created to help us and exchange experiences with our eskies in our lives. I am sure someone looking for information did just like most of us did and came over because of the quality of information that is here. It sounded like a serious board for the stuff I was looking for. Still is.

Would have I joined if it did not get the seriousness I was looking for? Probably not! But now that I had a chance to discuss and to top it off meet a few of you, it is even more enjoyable.

Maybe someone can come up with some better suggestions?

[DonnaG]

Good input Helene!  Thanks!  I guess I forget that I could start a thread, maybe I'm insecure, but you're right, the lounge area is there for those non-eskie discussions.

[Michael]

Helene's right....we have the "other" areas for off-topic/other stuff. I've tried to designate different areas for things, but mainly just have a general "lounge" area for other stuff. Afterall, this IS a dog/eskie oriented board, and not one about our personal lives, work, etc. If I were to add "sections of interest" to certain members, I'd never get done adding sections.....car repair, cooking and recipes, work and co-worker relations, sewing, art, music......where would I stop? Thus, we have a "focus", and that's where things primarily are. It does NOT mean we cannot discuss other things.....just that it may be less focused in those areas. Which is fine there. I have no problem with reasonable(family friendly) discussion of any type in those areas, but the main focus is still eskies/dogs here.

Yes, we do all have other things in our lives, and those that choose to vent/share on various subjects in the lounge.....that's fine. The chat is another freeform area....and you can talk about whatever you like with whoever is in there when you login.

The bottom line....yes, the main focus here is eskies/dogs.....but we can certainly share/discuss other things in the proper areas. Our dogs will still be our common bond most likely. But go ahead and enjoy those areas, but I don't plan on expanding the lounge/offtopic areas much more. If any of us has a strong interest in another subject, there are probably other online sources for discussing those, so no need to replicate much of that here. At least that I currently see. I'm always open to more input and opinions on things, though, so any suggestions, ideas are always welcome.