How many of you feel you really get to know your fellow posters in the INGO community? Some of us have been around here for quite a few years, and we read each other's posts and give our opinions, but how well do we really get to know each other?
There are challenges specific to a pen pal type relationship. Just how transparent are we with each other? How understood or misunderstood? It's hard enough face to face, but behind a keyboard the challenges of good communication become tougher.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I'm reminded by the photo I recently saw posted, forgotten where. It showed a cell block, with the caption under it, "I live in a gated community". Many times our comments, that seem clear enough to us are pictured vastly different at the other end of the Internet. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After retiring and moving back home to a ranch I'd hunted as a young man I faced this challenge myself. The ranch owners but a new electric gate in at the cattle guard entering the ranch. It is complete with a clicker I can activate from my pickup truck. But gives us some security in this day of trespass and theft. I jokingly told some of the family the wife & I had retired to a gated community. Which was true in theory but pictures told a different story to most of my kinfolk. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is a 400 acre working cattle ranch, but I only own 2 acres and a house. I am bordered on two sides by the 400 acre ranch and on the other two sides by about 20,000 acres of state wildlife management land. I do half to go through a electrics gate to reach my prosperity. But in most folks mind it's a stretch to call it a gated community, even if there are 4 houses inside the fence. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My point, what kind of brush do we use to portray our self in the picture of INGO. I've made a few wonderful friends on INGO. Some even visit or correspond often. Others don't seem to be good candidates for a close friend. Maybe in a face to face they might be and I just missed the opportunity but all I had to go on was the picture painted of them here on INGO. So we make our assumptions based on that. [/FONT]
Is that right or wrong? I don't know but it's all we have to work with.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Recently a poster who has painted a picture of himself as being, critical, arrogant, and very condescending, accused me of making assumptions about him when he said I didn't even know him. I feel I do know him by the picture he painted of himself for me. But I the interest of avoiding a mistake, I asked him a few questions so we will see what he adds to the picture. [/FONT]
Point is we should all consider how we are representing ourselves to each other. It's all we really have to go on.
There are challenges specific to a pen pal type relationship. Just how transparent are we with each other? How understood or misunderstood? It's hard enough face to face, but behind a keyboard the challenges of good communication become tougher.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I'm reminded by the photo I recently saw posted, forgotten where. It showed a cell block, with the caption under it, "I live in a gated community". Many times our comments, that seem clear enough to us are pictured vastly different at the other end of the Internet. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After retiring and moving back home to a ranch I'd hunted as a young man I faced this challenge myself. The ranch owners but a new electric gate in at the cattle guard entering the ranch. It is complete with a clicker I can activate from my pickup truck. But gives us some security in this day of trespass and theft. I jokingly told some of the family the wife & I had retired to a gated community. Which was true in theory but pictures told a different story to most of my kinfolk. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is a 400 acre working cattle ranch, but I only own 2 acres and a house. I am bordered on two sides by the 400 acre ranch and on the other two sides by about 20,000 acres of state wildlife management land. I do half to go through a electrics gate to reach my prosperity. But in most folks mind it's a stretch to call it a gated community, even if there are 4 houses inside the fence. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My point, what kind of brush do we use to portray our self in the picture of INGO. I've made a few wonderful friends on INGO. Some even visit or correspond often. Others don't seem to be good candidates for a close friend. Maybe in a face to face they might be and I just missed the opportunity but all I had to go on was the picture painted of them here on INGO. So we make our assumptions based on that. [/FONT]
Is that right or wrong? I don't know but it's all we have to work with.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Recently a poster who has painted a picture of himself as being, critical, arrogant, and very condescending, accused me of making assumptions about him when he said I didn't even know him. I feel I do know him by the picture he painted of himself for me. But I the interest of avoiding a mistake, I asked him a few questions so we will see what he adds to the picture. [/FONT]
Point is we should all consider how we are representing ourselves to each other. It's all we really have to go on.