This board was originally designed as a special interest board. I realize that because of things that happened on the Alabama board many of you moved to this board because it was not active. In light of the problems, this board was placed as hidden/private to allow members that felt secluded a place to come for support. However as I had explained this would never be completely private. Anyone can access this board at any time. What I had told all of you in the beginning is any posts that are bashing would be removed in accordance with the TOS. The rules apply to any portion of this site. It's come to my attention that other posts were made that are inappropriate and simply overlooked. I'm very sorry that any posts stayed on this board that were inappropriate and are now being handled. We only wanted to provide a place you can come to and have the support you also deserve. If there are posts that you feel are inappropriate that I may have overlooked you can email me a link and it be reviewed. Amy [email protected]

So sorry to hear this! I will have her in my good wishes and prayers for sure. I dont know her well but she always has been a bright light whenever she would post here. Take it easy and pop in when you can. You are missed! Sandy

Morning all! Well, now that I've had some sleep and am feeling a bit more human I wanted to comment briefly: I personally have never been persecuted anywhere on any OH board, nor have I done so. I didn't even know it exhisted until chatting with a friend from Baltimore who is having WLS done. I had thought about it on and off for some time, but never went any farther. She told me about the OH site and sent me the URL. When I first came to OH it was right after the Bash apparently. I thought "bash" was an appropriate word, because I was hearing and seeing a lot of it. To the point, if I remember, I asked that for my sake and for the sakes of others like me, to please remember that newbies need some support...and if I didn't find it here, I didn't know where else I could go. I was not there, it was before my time so to speak. So I can't comment on what happened, I can't say anyone was right or wrong, and I WILL NOT pick sides. I have made a number of friends here at OH. Most are on the IG board, because I have felt a true sense of support here. I purposefully try to stay out of this particular conflict...because its not any of my business...and there are a lot of strong feelings involved. When high emotions become involved, people tend to be less rational and honestly...I didn't care anything about being hammered with who did what. Too, sometimes people are going to believe what they believe and not me or anyone else is going to change their minds...so why even get into it? I have wanted to try and build a support system for myself and for others like me in the Huntsville area. When I post to the BB, very few reply to my posts. Now, is it necessary that I have mounds of replies to my posts? No...lol...of course not, its almost like there are a few that always reply to certain people, but the general population seems to float along with a bit here and there. I'm the kind of person, that if I see someone post from my area and they're new and looking...I will send them a private email to introduce myself, say hello, and to tell them that some of us do try and get together for dinner etc, from time to time and to please join us if they are able. Sometimes I even post to them on the board...quite frequently I never hear anything back from them. Who knows, maybe its just a lack of common courtesy. Its disheartening to see the rift that is here in this area. People are not always going to agree...but I think we can learn to disagree peacefully...or at least try to. Its always difficult for anyone who is new and trying to get into a social group...no matter what you do, you are still an outsider and it takes time for people to get to know you and for you to know them. I think for me...it depends on how hard I have to work to get to know someone. If I really have to WORK just to get to know someone, then that tells me that they're really not that interested if I'm the only one who seems to be making an effort. If someone posts about something and I feel particularly strong about it, I will post...sometimes I guess its not what they are expecting to hear...but it is always done from a heart of caring. I try to help people look at things from a different angle and to give them other perspectives. Do I have all the answers? Nah...but I try to give thoughtful responses. Anyway...Brenda, I don't know if we've ever met or not. I went to the picnic in Anniston that Saturday, but I was late getting there and I don't remember if we were introduced or not. I do hope to meet a number of you that I have not met yet. My apologies...it didn't turn out to be a brief post after all! Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Becky