Mo:

I am sorry if I am one of those newbies you are refering to. The only reason I list a message or several to individuals in my postings is so that they know I have read what they said and that I want to either thank them or respond to a specific. I consider it respectful and also the kind thing to acknowledge what they might have said to me directly or how they've responded to a thread I personally started. I have no way of knowing how long anyone else has been a Mudcatter, so have not based any of those on whether someone was new or not. I in no way meant it to be cliquey.

As in any community, there will be people who just naturally gravitate to certain others for whatever reason. Naturally they enjoy visiting with that person, but here at the Mudcat, I've felt almost everybody enjoys hearing what each other has to say. I have sent a couple of personal messages to members whose posts I appreciated, ones who are not always on here and I've never heard a word back. Did it hurt my feelings or make me feel unwanted, sort of and no. I tried to plant a seed. As the "ground" wasn't fertile, I moved on to others.

As to people being clever on here. That is one of the things I enjoy the most. I don't think any one person is trying to be a show-off and generally it all seems to be taken in stride, tongue-in-cheek. But, I am a newbie, so maybe you think I've been doing those very things, even with this writing.

If so, again, I apologise. All the best in the health situation.

katlaughing