> I don't mean to come off as heartless, or as "a heel." In truth, I'm a real > good guy I reckon. People who know me like me a lot - I'm blessed with a lot > of friendships I've maintained from different points and places in my life - > and I don't know many people who are more compassionate and empathetic and > willing to go out of their way for others than I am "in real life." I guess > it's just that that's not what I come to the JMDL for, or what I feel the > list should be about.
Hi Jim! I completely understand where you're coming from. What I don't understand is why these two different groups of people on the list can't simply coexist with each other. The thing is, I think very few people came here for the specific purpose of finding close, lasting friendships. I know I didn't and never expected to, at least initially. That's just how things have developed. And it's not just Anne who has experienced outpourings of love and support. That's just the kind of people these are. Anne has been a huge inspiration to me and to many others. But this is not a support group and it is not a therapy group. I've seen several instances where listmembers have been incredibly supportive of each other but it is out of true, genuine friendship and it is not an illusion. In some cases, the online relationship with people seemed almost secondary to the real friendship. Maybe there could be a separate "Joni Fest" list or > something where the "community" thing is the thing ... where the most active > participants of the 800 JMDL subscribers, who've forged a bond with one > another, and who choose to subscribe and participate, can keep each other > abreast of happenings in their daily lives and receive support and > friendship "on list" from one another, for all to see. I'm sorry but it just doesn't make any sense to me that people who have been on the JMDL for years, some from the very beginning, have contributed to it for a long time and have been integral to the growth, endurance, and development of this community, should make a major change to the nature of this community, should have to censor their messages to not show any personality or sense of close friendship, when, in a large part, that is the very thing that makes this list so special, and such a unique community. The bottom line is, you get what you put into something. If you want to use this list more sparsely on a more limited basis then simply do that. What bothers you so much about people who have developed close friendships? Victor --- Victor Johnson --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.cdbaby.com/victorjohnson Look for the new album "Parsonage Lane" in March 2003 Produced by Chris Rosser at Hollow Reed Studios
