Poll: Reasons for Not Contributing

Hi, Barleywine. I have a few reasons for not responding to your posts. First, your posts are quite thorough, and I feel I have nothing to add except a general thumbs-up.

Second, I think that our reading styles are complete opposites. I enjoy learning about your perspective, which I feel is based on history, tradition, and an analytical viewpoint. My readings, however, are based more on feelings/intuition/meditation, and I somehow think you would not be interested in any of that.

As to your posts, Barleywine, while I usually enjoy reading them (depending on topic matter), frankly, since you stated a while back that you wanted some dialogue on some cards you'd drawn, but then went on to state you had put a great deal of people on ignore, well, I didn't want to then post for nothing, in case I was on your hit list. I didn't see the point. It isn't very inviting to go look at a post, only to be informed by the poster that many people have been put on ignore in regard to the topic at hand, since the poster found their views irritating and/or irrational.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, I didn't know about this, but now that I do...I think I'd be even less likely to respond to your threads. Perhaps I am irritating and irrational. How can I know for sure, unless someone else pronounces their judgement upon me?

I'm really sad to hear that people have had their reading styles trashed by others on this site. I'm also super peeved to hear of contributors to Your Readings getting zero feedback. Please, please contact us (Sulis, Alta, Prudence) if that happens. We do jump on it when we're contacted, as well as when we see it in threads. We try our best to keep it a fair exchange. And we are very sorry when we overlook something that has happened that results in an uneven exchange.

But, no one should be trashing another member's reading methods. That just seems like a major violation of our general forum rule, respect our members. It's also very harsh and not conducive to an open learning environment. Good grief.

Oh, and I only post to threads when I feel like it. Sometimes I'm very interested in the topic, but I haven't made up my mind about what I'd like to add to the discussion. A lot like how I approached this thread today when I first came upon it.

My posting frequency decreases as well the last months... it's mainly because I'm very busy at work and when I take a break, I try to spend it away from any keyboard or screen.

Then again there come days when I think I should post more again... then I try to actively find threads where I can contribute at least something to the discussion. So it's a bit of an up and down.

Like some others, I'm just too busy. I mostly check the Talking Tarot and Tarot Decks (which is fatal - I should knock that one on the head) sections every other day, so when I see something interesting, a lot of posters will have already said what I was going to say, or I'll feel that it's slipped down the page too much and it's too late to reply.

If I had more forum time, I'd read more threads and get more involved. If it's to do with Thoth, then I'm nowhere near knowledgeable enough to make a comment

In all honesty, I don't find many of the topics all that interesting. But this is more to do with me having been on this forum for over 10 years now and having seen the same topics come up again and again. I do read them, but it takes me ages to construct a response so I tend not to bother.

I never look at the 'Using Tarot' forum - it drives me up the wall. All those questions 'Can the xxx mean so and so?'. I know it's helpful for some, but I just feel like saying every time 'what does it mean to YOU'.

While I'm ranting, can I mention something that has really killed the forum for me? The 'Pro's and Cons' thread in 'Tarot Decks'. I wish people would just start a new thread whenever they want to talk about a particular deck. I really can't be bothered to trawl through that thread in the hope that something might interest me enough to comment on.

There. I'll lie down now.

AnemoneRosie said:

.... I notice that the OP hasn't come back to their thread, despite direct questions being asked.
Which is what causes me to feel ignored, and why I rarely post in threads anymore, directly answering the question.

I don't mean for that to be a personal attack, either. It is what it is. I know that life gets in the way.

Click to expand...

I'm sure he will be back. For the record, I also have a long ignore list - but if it is a thread I started (or in which I have made a noticeable contribution) I CAN easily read the posts of those I have on that list - it's just a single button to open that one post.

Ace said:

I agree though, that a poster should ALWAYS supply feedback about their own thread. Is just courteous. And BTW: when you post on a thread, you AUTOMATICALLY are watching it. Go to your User CP and see ALL watched threads and their latest activity.

barb

Click to expand...

I don't know that that necessarily applies for a general discussion thread, though it certainly does for reading threads. I find I get very irritated when there is a thread where the OP pops in and responds to every single post - generally their POV is right there at the start, and a long line of "thanks for that, interesting" (which may be all you can say when it isn't further interps of a card) makes the thread a PIA to read.

teomat said:

I never look at the 'Using Tarot' forum - it drives me up the wall. All those questions 'Can the xxx mean so and so?'. I know it's helpful for some, but I just feel like saying every time 'what does it mean to YOU'.

Click to expand...

YES !

teomat said:

The 'Pro's and Cons' thread in 'Tarot Decks'. I wish people would just start a new thread whenever they want to talk about a particular deck. I really can't be bothered to trawl through that thread in the hope that something might interest me enough to comment on.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean - but it was set up - as I recall - as a sort of antidote to the thread where we all used to diss decks; some people felt it was disrespectful. Shame - it was enormous fun and was mostly just jokes; we never (usually) meant a word of it.

About half of these could be me in some threads. I'm new here so there's that but when it comes to the tarot I'm neither (or both) new to it or an old pro. Reading tarot cards was something I did all throughout my teenage years and am returning to it in my mid 30's. The way I'm reading now and types of decks I am leaning towards are different as well… So on one hand I'm pretty unlikely to ask many of the sorts of questions someone who is entirely new to the tarot would be asking but also I'm pretty unlikely to spit out some great profundities. Also, I only really dedicate some before work morning time to this type of thing so I'm not likely to post in abundance. Finally, I'm not a subscriber so this limits where I can post.

Another reason - (is this linked to "I don't have anything to add?") - could be "I've said this before". I have seen repeated threads come up, repeated themes and I have commented elsewhere so I don't bother repeating myself, although I'm sure I have repeated myself in a number of threads.

gregory said:

I know what you mean - but it was set up - as I recall - as a sort of antidote to the thread where we all used to diss decks; some people felt it was disrespectful. Shame - it was enormous fun and was mostly just jokes; we never (usually) meant a word of it.

Click to expand...

Was it the de-enabling thread? Yes I remember that one, but honestly, this is supposed to be a forum for discussing the good and bad things about all decks. If someone chooses to publicly release a deck, then they need to be prepared for all the positive and negative comments made about it. I know it should be constructive criticism of course, but it makes for dull reading when everyone has to walk on eggshells.

Unfortunately the mess that is the Pros and Cons thread makes any discussion at all (good or bad) pretty impossible for me now.

Anyway I'm going off topic...

I don't contribute much because I don't have much time. If I have something to add to a thread (that hasn't been said already), I'll try and make time but I suspect I reply to around 25% of threads that I consider replying to (and start around 10% of threads I consider starting)!