@Clitheroekid re posters, community etc

[AleisterCrowley]

This is a response to Clitheroekid on the Coleyfish thread - didn't want to sidetrack the original thread

CK I often have the feeling that regular posters here are people I know personally. It does feel like a small community, and I can predict how individuals will react to a comment. They each have a distinct personality, and I have a mental image of them to the extent that I almost feel I'd recognise them if they were stood next to me in a pub.

But news like this is a reminder that generally we have absolutely no idea who our fellow posters are and that if one of us were to pop our clogs the chances are that nobody on LF would know. I think (maybe I'm wrong, and glad to be corrected) that personal relationships between posters are fairly rare

I've met probably 30+ TMF/LemonFool posters in 'real life' - some more than once ! I don't think anyone I've met has been totally different to the mental image, although conversational styles don't always match posting styles.
I do exchange emails with a few posters, but don't have any Fools as Facebook friends etc - I tend to keep things 'compartmentalised'

[melonfool]

Well, I have 58 of the original TMF women in a FB group, plus a couple of others on FB who aren't in the group, and there are others who are real life friends with more. I see many of them regularly.

They would most definitely know if something happened to me (assuming anyone did!).

I've had off-board communications with a number of other people but not anything regular really.

And I have met a lot more Fools at socials and investor events.

Mel

[AleisterCrowley]

It's a shame we lost a few when we were evicted from TMF
Including, but not limited to, thegreatgeraldo and CasperCCC.

[Rhyd6]

Plus HYD and Nana Kath.

R6

[nimnarb]

Yes anyone know what happened to HYD? Another character. Needed the love from others as felt he was possibly a bit insecure but came across as genuine, albeit argumentative. Knowledgeable on films and underneath it all, a nice chap who loved his family. Felt sure would see him here at some stage... I hope he is well and content.

[nimnarb]

Following on from CK's post regarding are posters who you get to know online, the same when meeting? For years, was in a financial paid chat board on our other original hang out and this person became very well known and respected. I also had years of telephone calls from him, sometimes at 1 in the morning....

Those were the days of the so called 800 pound gorillas as in JDSU, JNPR, ENRON, AOL, etc...to the moon baby. (hope history is not repeating itself whilst I type)

Anyway, he arranged for us a get together in Sarasota FL in a hotel and about 15 of us turned up, spoke about the Companies we were following, then went on a cruise, had food and a general good time was had by all. Many of the fools that I met were really nothing like I had envisaged apart from our host. He lived for stocks, he swore like a trouper and got through his daily pain by trading on several screens set up in his bedroom and whatever he was taking as medication as his sight was poor and slowly dying of cancer. He hated the powers that were in place at the time, the greed of the American health system(he had no insurance, or was rather uninsurable) the IRS, IFA's, Banks, you name it, but underneath it all had a heart of gold.

I was invited back to his home and went into his garden(back yard to americanize it) and the smell just hit me. He had bushes of the stuff. I commented on this regarding the fact that surely his neighbours would smell it. True to form, he told me that if anyone would complain he would tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine and just before I left he introduced me to a friend of his who lived nearby and appeared high as a kite. I only later learnt that his neighbours absolutely adored him as had a nice little business going but actually without the weed he said he would have died a long time ago.

RIP. David Gordon. AKA THE RAT MAN

[bungeejumper]

Yes anyone know what happened to HYD? Another character. Needed the love from others as felt he was possibly a bit insecure but came across as genuine, albeit argumentative. Knowledgeable on films and underneath it all, a nice chap who loved his family. Felt sure would see him here at some stage... I hope he is well and content.

IIRC, HYD worked for a fund management outfit that wouldn't let him play with us. They'd heard of Motley Fool, which was allowed, but not Lemon Fool, which might have been full of spies for all anyone knew.

Yes, HYD could go off on a bit of a wobbly tangent sometimes, but as you say, he knew a lot and he had an enthusiastic approach to everything. I expect he still does! If you're out there, HYD, we love ya.

BJ

[BreakoutBoy1]

As the LF community loses people to the Grim Reaper, how do we bring new people and active posters in? I like a lot of the regular posters, even the ones who I disagree wholeheartedly with. But new blood is always needed and welcome; what can we do to encourage it?

[BrummieDave]

I'm new and relatively active. I joined TMF just prior to its demise, and LF as soon as it was up and running. That was all triggered by the classic situation of realising I needed to learn about investing for a well funded retirement and, as I've learned more and more from a very low start, I've started to offer opinions rather than just ask questions. I like LF because it allows me to learn all of this and, at the same time, post about things I'm also interested in and much more experienced in, including travel, music and beer, a great combo. I've never met a LF (or at least not knowingly) and have very limited one to one contact via 'Private Messages'.

So isn't the way to 'recruit' new posters simply to keep going and, as people realise they need to plan for the future and that message boards can make a huge contribution to this, they'll find us via Google?

[bungeejumper]

So isn't the way to 'recruit' new posters simply to keep going and, as people realise they need to plan for the future and that message boards can make a huge contribution to this, they'll find us via Google?

Another way, of course, would be for us all to act like five year olds. Pee poo belly bum drawers. No, hang on, we've already tried that.

BJ

[fromdusktilldawn]

I moved across quietly from tmf and remember the days when there were monthly meetups in London and local meetups in Newbury, Reading and places in the South. We even had a weekend in Dublin which was a great adventure and involved visiting the Guinness factory and a whiskey distillery. Those were the days ! Liz

[AleisterCrowley]

I went to a couple of Reading ones (at the Back of Beyond 'spoons)
We've had a few good London ones since the move- not monthly, more quarterly(ish)
Which reminds me...

[DiamondEcho]

Before I joined TMF.co.uk, perhaps before it even existed in the mid-later 90s I'd been on TMF.com
I had a few incredible/youthful/fun group meet ups with that international crowd in New York back at that time.
Back in the UK in the later 90s I started following TMF.co.uk TMF was then certainly a rare and extremely valuable resource. We had meet ups in central London, another time near Henley, and so on, many 'stalwarts' there and rewarding it certainly was. You really valued it, and wanted to do what you could to try and help it thrive; call that 'self-motivation' to grow/thrive, for ultimately selfish interests if you like...
These days there are simply SO many more channels for this kind of discussion, the scarcity value of this one is diluted. In fact the cutting-edge quality of this one is now likely also considered very old-school amongst younger people [?]

So I think whereas the rapport and 'birds of a feather' collegiate nature and tone was there, now it is perhaps inherent that the collegiate are now more passive, and the more combative are more prominent and set the tone.

[cavebat]

I moved across quietly from tmf and remember the days when there were monthly meetups in London and local meetups in Newbury, Reading and places in the South. We even had a weekend in Dublin which was a great adventure and involved visiting the Guinness factory and a whiskey distillery. Those were the days ! Liz

It's hard to believe that weekend in Dublin was nearly 17 years ago!

cavebat

[brightncheerful]

Contrary to Herbie's perception, I look nothing like Terry Thomas!

http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BKH30B/tom-thumb-1958-peter-sellers-terry-thomas-tmtu-002p-BKH30B.jpg

[AleisterCrowley]

Ah, whatever happened to Herbie? I used to enjoy her 'Tales from the Life Modelling World'

[sg31]

Ah, whatever happened to Herbie? I used to enjoy her 'Tales from the Life Modelling World'

Me too, she wrote very well.

[Rhyd6]

I used to like hearing tales about her horse and dog plus of course her take on being an artists model. I've also been racking my brains to remember the name of the poster who used to vanish off to pastures warm to see her son once winter arrived.

R6

[melonfool]

I used to like hearing tales about her horse and dog plus of course her take on being an artists model. I've also been racking my brains to remember the name of the poster who used to vanish off to pastures warm to see her son once winter arrived.

R6

Penym?

She is in our FB group and is currently in 'pastures warm' where she is enjoying dogs and wine (the latter when allowed by the GP).

Mel

[madhatter]

SlickReturns was a very active and knowledgable poster on the TMF Wildlife board. Not confined to vertebrates either. She identified my bumblebees and hoverflies including those that were not even shown in my Oxford Book of Insects.