re: Would Appreciate

Hi folks. As a chapter Leader for Obesity Help, it would be greatly appreciated if postings relate to WLS, Lap Band, protein, vitamins, Dr's, hospitals, water, exercise, fluids and health issues in general. I go to to numerous support group meetings and the feelings of most people are that this board is here to post health related issues. Please take personal issues elsewhere or off line. This is not the place to discuss personal issues. Thanks for caring. Thanks for sharing. But please lets keep this board for the purpose it was meant for. Elissa

I don't know. With my own family so far away, I guess I have felt this group as my family and have many times come here with issues not WLS related. It saddens me that people are not open to loving the person and their lives as a whole and only want a part to be supportive of a small part of their lives. You know I love you Elissa, but I can't agree with this. And if that is the direction this board is taking, I will bow out. For those of you that need an ear, for any reason, you know how to get ahold of me. Love you all, Gigee

HELLO ELISSA,YOU KNOW I AGREE WITH GIGEE,I ALWAYS FELT THAT THIS WAS HERE TO SUPPORT YOU IN ANYTHING NOT ONLY WLS BUT WE DO HAVE OTHER THINGS GOING ON IN OUR LIVES THAT WE NEED TO VENT ESPECIALLY THE CHANGES WE GO THROUGH AFTER WLS.I CARE ABOUT EVERYONE ON HERE AND I HOPE THAT THIS DOSEN'T DISCOURAGE OTHERS FROM POSTING.I LOOKED ON THE OTHER WLS BOARDS AND YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE ALL THE THINGS ARE POSTED NOT RELATED TO WLS.SO PLEASE LET'S KEEP ON POSTING. ........BONNIE

this should be an open board for us too talk about whatever is on our minds because the other people that we may have to talk to will not understand where we are coming from if they have not had wls and it doesn't matter if it is pre-op gitters or post op questions we should be able to post anything on here to get support that is what we are all here for so i disagree with you on they should go elsewhere they are welcome by me at anytime to vent or discuss what maybe on their mind we all need support sometime including you and we will be here with open arms for whomever it maybe and whatever the case maybe that they need us for i am here for anyone you can e-mail me anytime to talk don't be discouraged at all post away vickie

Elissa I mean no disrespect, but, I don't agree with your earlier post about what should or shouldn't be posted on the OH boards. WLS is a major part of my life now, but not the only part of it. I took comfort in posting to what I consider my "other family". the people who post here. We have all taken comfort in sharing our problems, concerns, and accomplishments, in our lives. Please don't narrow it down to only WLS related posts. If this is truely the way the board turns out, I'm sure you'll loose a lot of posts, and that would be a shame. Bonnie S.

Sorry for offending anyone. That was not my intent. I was speaking for all the folks that have come to me and voiced their concerns and that are no longer active on the boards for the reasons I stated earlier. Seems we have lost a lot already. Everyone has a right to an opinion. I was voicing for those that have come to me personally. Don't make me out to be a ***** Because I am not that at all. I have been an Angel and mentor to many people and I think they know how I am. No need for anyone to bow out on the boards. Continue posting what you please. It is a free country after all. Elissa

Sometimes its too hard to please all the masses! Then again do we have to? As Mick Jagger would say, "You can't always get what you want....you get what you need." What is good for one person is not always good for others especially in a large arena such as this board. I have gotten to know many of the people that post to the Delaware and Pennsylvania boards and some of their lurkers to those sites. The people who are complaining about boards postings being of personal nature are probably still lurking right? I will bet lots of money on it. We change so much as a person the further we go out from this surgery. We get confident that we can do things alone and our needs for this board change. I can tell you in the beginning as a pre op I was a sponge...I took everything I could in so I could find out more of what I needed to do. Now I don't need to know what kind of pureed foods, or what should I take to the hospital stuff.....and I have other needs. I now pick and choose what I want to read....mostly things about my stage of WLS. I also did that back then too! I do give back to pre ops with some of their questions because I feel someone else has helped me through my lines of questioning and if what worked for me can work for them so be it. But because we are all at different stages its really tough to please everyone. I think the further out we go the harder it is to use this site because a lot of the long term post opers disappear....why because they find other things to do rather than getting into word matches with pre ops that sometimes think they know it all or who don't agree with your line of thinking. No offense to anyone in particular but you learn to pick your battles on the board and some times the battles aren't worth it and you just start to lurk. I do miss alot of people that use to post....Ya know who you are!!! I feel if a person does not like a posting because its of a "personal" nature we have the opportunity in our subject line to say OT (off topic) then the subject of our post which would help people to identify if they want to read it or not....they can always skip it and look for a subject which would appeal to what they are looking for. I do it all the time.....If I sat here and read every post well I wouldn't have time for the gym or other activities. And NO I don't think you are a *****you are a very caring individual trying to keep a long term community going and I applaud you for that! I do understand where you are coming from...if people want to know more about WLS phases here then they are more than welcome to put it in a post and look for responses from others here in this extended family or read profiles (Profiles are so much better for info than the posts). Sorry for getting on my soap box and writing a term paper! I just don't believe we can please everyone.....But we can all work with one another and that is a proven fact here. Elissa please don't feel I am flaming I am not! I am a very opinionated ***** which my hubby will tell you only got worse after the surgery....I guess that is a side affect we don't discuss in our posts....Maybe I should start the topic!!!! LOL You have a nice day....Me I hope to get over this cold so I don't do anymore term papers! LOL HUGS and FLEECE BLANKETS Debbie

Elissa, I would never think anything bad of you. You are my role model and I always look up to and listen to whatever you say. I knew you were speaking for others. I think people should be able to speak their mind, but if you are having a PERSONAL issue with someone on the boards...take it off the boards and use email to communicate with each other, it is not our business. That being said everyone else should be able to vent, complain and brag to their heart's content. ((HUGS)) Ellen

I think Debbie had the right idea. If anyone who wanted/needed to post something unrelated to WLS, they should put OT (off topic) in the beginning of the subject. This is not a new thing. It is message board etiquette. PS You are all wonderful and this board has been a blessing to me. Take care, Stacey

Sorry, been busy all weekend so I missed all this. Messageboards are all about opinions and opinions are like ******** everybody's got one and sometimes in your opinion they stink. That's when you skip over the topic and move on. Or if you have a strong opinion about the topic then you post. As long as you keep it clean, and no name calling (which are 2 skills we ALL should've learned in kindergarden), go ahead and post your opinion. We've had some really boisterous threads over on fatblog & spotlighthealth on the OT boards and we've also had some knock-down, drag-out fights on there too. It's just human nature. No-one gets along ALL the time. That's what makes the world so interesting. It's usually the people that you don't like or don't agree with that you find the most stimulating intellectually. They're a challenge. Think about it, If everyone agreed with you all the time, how boring would THAT be! Remember, it's just WORDS. Yes they can embarrass, hurt your feelings, make you feel good, bad, loved, hated, etc. But they are only words, they can only have an affect on you if you allow them to. Take it or leave it, it's YOUR CHOICE.