The New Year

We have reached the beginning of a New Year. It is a good time to reflect on what took place in the past year. We should look at the good things and be grateful, and try to continue with what makes the world a better place. But we should also look at the negative things that took place and see if there is anything we can do to prevent their reoccurrence. Some of these things happened to us through no fault of our own, be it the death of a loved one or an act of nature etc. But some things happened as a result of our own actions. When we say or do things, we need to be mindful of how this will impact others.

I know that here in Senior Chatters, I get messages daily about how, for some reason, the chat room has become boring or non-welcoming. Sure, whenever anyone comes in or leaves we say “hello” and “goodbye”, whether we like that particular member or not, but maybe it is time for all of us to take stock and make a concerted effort to make people actually feel like they are welcomed there. Sometimes we are involved in a conversation with a few others and that is great. We are here to have fun and meet up with our friends. But it is easy to inadvertently exclude others because they do not jump right into a conversation. Maybe they are new and not sure of the protocol, or maybe they are exploring the site, attempting to discover all the features. Maybe they just missed it when someone spoke to them, and they didn’t answer. Perhaps they are intimidated by an onslaught of questions.

Being new to a chat site can certainly cause a person to put up walls of caution. After all they don’t know us any more than we know them. I know that for me personally, I check the profiles of newcomers to try to find out more about them. As a monitor, if I sense a “red flag” I will alert admins and let them take appropriate action. But for the most part, I will attempt to engage that person in a conversation where I can make a more informed opinion.

I would really like to see us all work together this year to make Senior Chatters the fun place to be again. A place where we can meet up with our friends, and make new ones. I would like to see the bickering stop and people actually enjoy their time here.

Most of all, before you post something, please consider just how far reaching your words can be. Something said with the best of intentions can cause irreparable damage to someone else.

Just the rambling thoughts of a dottering old woman.

Happy New Year to my fellow chatters. Let’s make it a good one!

And thank you Rob for making it all possible for us.

MJ

PS#

This is not meant as a personal affront to anyone. Just my thoughts on what I can do to make this year a good year, and hopefully you can do the same.