Poll:Are you posting more or less here?

[pacergal]

Much less. We've had multiple deaths in the family in the past year so that has drawn my attention away from the inter webs.

_B

My condolences for the losses in your family.

 

[pacergal]

I think I am reading and posting about the same.
I read far more than I post.

 

[Katsmeow]

I think a little less. I don't really think it is because of Covid. It is just that we are farther into retirement, we done most of our big financial and lifestyle moves so just less to ask about. I am sure I would post more if I had more issues I needed to discuss. I probably read more than I post though.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Definitely more.

 

[DrRoy]

same

 

[kcowan]

Reading more. Posting less.

Issues like Covid are covered on my financial forums.

Also spending more time on PV forums as we approach our arrival.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I post if there is something to post about, not just for the sake of it. There seem to be more posts here of late regarding subjects I consider not so interesting. So I do not post on them. That is the way it should be I think.

 

[ER Eddie]

Seems like a lot of the people who stick around and post frequently are those who have a lot of interests in financial matters -- following the stock market, fiddling with their portfolios, etc. Maybe they were financial pros in their career, or maybe it just developed into a hobby for them.

I'm not that way, though. I'm very much a "set it and forget it" type person, when it comes to investment. Money management and accumulation (or maximizing profit) isn't an area of interest for me. One of the joys of financial independence, for me, is not to have to concern myself with money. I have more than enough to get by, it's in good-enough accounts, and that's all I need to know. So I don't find the constant financial focus very interesting.

 

[Maenad]

Much less, but I'm not sure if/when that will change. I retired in March, so between the "don't feel like talking about planning anymore" and "what's my retirement going to look like?" I haven't been active on my previous online haunts. Which I think is too bad for this site in particular, since there's so much discussion around post-retirement activities. Other online fora, like MMM or Reddit, seem to be much much more about planning/anticipation.

 

[RunningBum]

I'm not sure. Probably less. I've found more than once that I've started typing up an answer in an opinion-type thread, and just stopped because I didn't want to get into it, and I don't know that anyone really cares about my opinion, especially if it doesn't reinforce theirs.

I'm also trying to not get dragged into endless discussion on when to take SS, whether to pay off the mortgage, etc. I often can't help but post once, but I don't see much sense in going back and forth once again. My primary reason for being here is to learn things, and unless tax laws change, I don't think I have anything left to learn in those kind of threads. But I do read them, just in case there's a new twist I hadn't considered.

If there's something I can offer that I think may be helpful to someone, I still post it, but I'm less likely to go look up or figure out things that they can and should do themselves.

If the thread title is something so vague and meaningless I just skip over it now. "An interesting article" was today's example of this.

I also find my "ignore list" continuing to grow. I know some people say there are things to learn from everyone, and while that's true, I find that some people just distract me or turn me off of why I'm here in the first place. I can still view individual posts of theirs, but it reminds me that I probably don't want to get into debates with this people.

Overall this place is still informative to me, and often interesting and entertaining, so I plan to stick around.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

My perception is I am posting less often. I will write things and decide that I should not post because too much information for public disclosure or insensitive and just delete them before posting. In the past I reworked them a few times and posted.

It is satisfying to pseudo post at times though. Almost posting lets me do the mental gymnastics of a real post without boring others or worrying about what hidden ramifications something could mean to someone with a very different outlook on life.

I've often thought that if I thought something that is on the "low road" that really did not hit the ideals of the "high road" I could compromise to the middle road and still sort of take the high ground morally... lol thinking about the Scottish song by Peter Hollens "you take the high road and I'll take the low road and I'll get to Scottland afore ya".

 

[ER Eddie]

I've found more than once that I've started typing up an answer in an opinion-type thread, and just stopped because I didn't want to get into it

I do that fairly often. If I say what I'm thinking, I can guess where the discussion will go, and I don't want to deal with the hassle of responding to that, so I let it go. Not worth the effort.

If there's something I can offer that I think may be helpful to someone, I still post it

That's something I do enjoy about posting online. There are people who are struggling or just wondering about things. Occasionally, I can help them out with support or advice. That doesn't happen so often here, because the main questions/concerns are financial, and I'm not a financial whiz-kid, but I do it on other forums. It feels good to occasionally help out.

I also find my "ignore list" continuing to grow. I know some people say there are things to learn from everyone, and while that's true, I find that some people just distract me or turn me off of why I'm here in the first place. I can still view individual posts of theirs, but it reminds me that I probably don't want to get into debates with this people.

I don't have much of an Ignore list here. One person from a year or two ago, maybe. It's probably because I stay out of the "controversial" topics. I am a member of some rougher forums (this one is unusually nice and polite, even boringly so at times), and I do have half a dozen people on Ignore there.

I find the best use of Ignore is when I'm dealing with someone who is not listening and just wants to do the point-counterpoint arguing thing -- you know, the tennis match, back and forth, back and forth. I say my peace, then I put them on Ignore so I don't see their response. I let them have the last word and just walk away. I don't see their last word, though, so I don't get feel as if I have to hit the tennis ball back. I'll take them off Ignore later. I just use it as a temporary way to keep me out of pointless tennis matches.

 

[Lsbcal]

I only have one person on my Ignore list. Yes, there are people here that are mildly annoying at times or very repetitive but OK not everyone is perfect (like me).

 

[Badger]

I don't have a clue. I am usually on here a couple of times a day but maybe more selective when it comes to posting.



Cheers1

 

[KrisQuit]

I haven't been much of a contributor, honestly, but I'd suspect I would be posting more now as I come upon less than a year to RE. That said, with COVID, wacky markets, the election (that just keeps giving), the general stress of my job, and, well, life -- I find myself not engaging much in conversations anywhere where it is not required.

I hope that, as my final months begin to tick down, I can contribute my perspective a bit more and share the journey. For now, I read/lurk, and just try to get through this wacky time.

 

[PointBreeze]

I think my level of patience has decreased somewhat. I skim threads more. Probably my postings have gone down.

+1

I have found that, in general, my attention span has decreased. I don’t read for as long at one sitting, etc. Several friends have mentioned having the same issue since March.

 

[tmm99]

Much less lately. Too busy watching news and reading online newspapers. I'm starting to have more time though...

 

[marko]

I'm not sure. Probably less. I've found more than once that I've started typing up an answer in an opinion-type thread, and just stopped because I didn't want to get into it, and I don't know that anyone really cares about my opinion, especially if it doesn't reinforce theirs.

I'm also trying to not get dragged into endless discussion on when to take SS, whether to pay off the mortgage, etc. I often can't help but post once, but I don't see much sense in going back and forth once again.

Overall this place is still informative to me, and often interesting and entertaining, so I plan to stick around.

+1 All of the above!

I 'went away' for 8 months and just returned last week. Just quit cold turkey which is the only way I can do things.
I got busy with a lot of personal items (sold old house, built another, family issues) and just didn't have the time to discuss/argue (mostly) unimportant opinions with people I don't know and will never meet.
I still love it here and still learn a lot but expect I'll spend less time than before.

 

[Chuckanut]

I don't have a clue. I am usually on here a couple of times a day but maybe more selective when it comes to posting.



Cheers1

+1

I think this goes for me also. I am here more because physical contact is not so good these days. But, I also type a comment and then reject it because it adds nothing to the discussion. Sometimes I delete comments I have made after giving things a bit more thought.

 

[Nemo2]

But, I also type a comment and then reject it because it adds nothing to the discussion. Sometimes I delete comments I have made after giving things a bit more thought.

Balance/Counterbalance.

None of my comments add anything to a discussion, and I give them no thought before posting.

 

[Lsbcal]

... Sometimes I delete comments I have made after giving things a bit more thought.

Sometimes I want to delete a comment but it is too late. I don't know what the time out is before it becomes permanent. Wouldn't it be nice if we could set the timer on permanency? I would vote for it to be a few days.

 

[MichaelB]

Sometimes I want to delete a comment but it is too late. I don't know what the time out is before it becomes permanent. Wouldn't it be nice if we could set the timer on permanency? I would vote for it to be a few days.

You have 6 hours to edit a post.

The problem with longer edit windows is people read and react, and when a post is modified or deleted after someone has responded it can confuse and disrupt the discussion.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I have never found anyone so annoying here that I ignore them.

It’s reassuring that most of us self-edit. I start about 3 times as many comments as I post, deleting them mostly because they seem boring or add nothing. Sometimes I think I know a useful bit of information, start typing, and realize I don’t know much after all.

 

[Car-Guy]

I have never found anyone so annoying here that I ignore them.

With only one exception, that applies in my case too. So far!

I start about 3 times as many comments as I post, deleting them mostly because they seem boring or add nothing. Sometimes I think I know a useful bit of information, start typing, and realize I don’t know much after all.

I often delete my responses too (maybe ~20%) before posting for many of the same reasons, among others.

 

[Nature Lover]

I'm posting much less since March. Between covid news, politics (that we don't discuss), isolating, and significantly increased caregiving to my mom (who lives in an assisted living complex that's been off and on locked down for covid), I just haven't felt like sharing much online. But I have been reading/lurking plenty.