"Thanks" Button Paradise... A Sanctuary

[Valley]

Posted by Krist (here)
Ha ,
Never have been good at doing what I'm told to do,dangit.

Welcome, Krist... I know what you mean. Thanks for participating.

Now I'm not sure how to interpret why everyone hits the button... to try and rebel from my asking for a sanctuary... or to say it means so much to them that they couldn't resist hitting it... or that they are just doing what they normally would do. Also it's not always clear now why anyone doesn't use the button... to practice self-control... out of respect for my request... or because they think a post doesn't deserve a 'thanks'. The 'thread development dynamics' have changed completely, it seems.

I'm enjoying stepping out into 'unknown territory'... what do you all think?

(Still have more replies to post later today.)

[Valley]

Posted by Joey (here)
Funny, this came to my mind the other day. Noticed how i was checkig if i received any thanks.
It can easily become an ego thing.

Thanks for 'coming out of the woodwork', and choosing to make one of your rare posting appearances here, Joey. : )

*Also, very synchronistic... "Joey" is a username I used on another forum/site I used to go on a lot. The 'Universe' is really lining up in special ways here on this thread, it seems. Your being the very first response to this thread is simply amazing to me.

Happy Trails...

[Valley]

Posted by Bluegreen (here)
Thank you, Valley, for addressing this seemingly innocuous subject, it's been surprisingly educational. I think this is an opportunity for me to thank Cidersomerset for keeping up (among others) the Jimmy Savile thread; this is important information but I can only take so much at one time (see Dennis' post #16). And Tesla_WTC_Solution, whose thoughtful, funny, and extremely entertaining posts I always seem to find when it's "too late to thank".

Cool, Bluegreen... thanks for being objective and appreciating the thread and my vision... and for taking the time to spread the thanks out in several directions. Your post is a fine example of how to 'take the ball and run with it'. Very productive use of the 'sanctuary'.

[Bluegreen]

Why did the kids put jam on the cat?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=K5ATQsqjrLQ

[Mike]

It can be such a a slippery thing ...

To "thank" or not to "thank"...that is the question.

Problem is, "thanks" means different things to different people. To some its a wholesale endorsement of a post; to some its a partial endorsement; some withhold it to make a statement; some use it because poster x has "thanked" them consistently and now they feel they must return the favor; some people "thank" everyone in an attempt to take all the politics out of it but unknowingly take all the meaning out of the gesture; most pretend they don't care about the "thanks" button but refresh their computer every 2 mins to see who's the latest to "thank" them...etc

When I first signed up here at Avalon, the "thanks" button was a source of fascination to me. You could learn a lot about people by their "thanks" habits. In the beginning I really wanted my "thanks" to mean something, and I withheld it like a stubborn mule...thinking that handing it out liberally would lessen its value. This began to backfire when I noticed the same people "thanking " me day in and day out and I began to feel this nagging guilt because i wasn't "thanking" them in return. So I began doing just that, which only created a sense of phony comraderie and increased the "thanks" neurosis I was trying to lessen.

Then, I thought I'd just "thank" everybody. I went thru that stage. But that of course reduced any meaning that the gesture might have had in the first place, so I found it to be an unsatisfactory solution. Plus, its a letdown when you notice that a poster you respect has not only "thanked" you but also just about everyone else in a thread. It reduces the gesture to meaninglessness.

What killed me, especially in the beginning of my Avalon career, was when I was sure I'd dropped a one liner for the ages, and very few people would "thank" it....and yet, right below me would be one of lord siddeous' painfully unfunny carrot jokes emphasized with 5 trillion "thanks" ...and I couldnt help but wonder: what the f#ck is going on here??? I was sure I was hanging with the wrong crowd. But that was a lesson in forum politics - I was just a new member; people saw no value in "thanking" me, so they didn't. Instead they "thanked" the more popular member. It was quite revealing to me. It made me realize early on that "politics" are unavoidable, even in a feel-good environment like Avalon.

I've found myself in all sorts of "thanks" pickles over the years (wait a second, this guy has "thanked" me for ages...and yet he's arguing with so n so, who I've become friendly with...). I was joking about this with one member way back when, and he made the hilarious statement that he was going to fake his own death and return as someone who doesn't thank anybody! I thought it was a great line.

Nowadays I notice who "thanks" me, and I appreciate the gesture, but it doesn't mean a whole lot to me, and I don't feel any great need to return the favor (although sometimes I still do). What I find particulary interesting nowadays is when I make what I know will be an unpopular post and my fan club suddenly vanishes see, the "thanks" button connotes all sorts of different things. I've seen respectable members stop "thanking" me because we've had a disagreement. Just stop cold! LOL. And I've seen other respectable members actually retract a "thanks" from me after it became clear I wasn't going to "thank" them in the same thread! I'm not kidding!

Anyway, its all very interesting..

[Matt P]

Dying...to...hit...the...thanks button...Mike. Aaaaaaarrrrgh..........

[Mike]

Posted by mpennery (here)
Dying...to...hit...the...thanks button...Mike. Aaaaaaarrrrgh..........

Uh...thanks?


P.s. this thread is really messing with my thanks to post ratio

[Valley]

Posted by Mike (here)

Posted by mpennery (here)
Dying...to...hit...the...thanks button...Mike. Aaaaaaarrrrgh..........

Uh...thanks?


P.s. this thread is really messing with my thanks to post ratio

Lol... You guys are crackin me up . You think your 'ratio' is taking a hit... what about mine? I'm still trying to get established here, and now I'm stuck. I'll be lucky if I get any more thanks in the 'main field' after questioning the button itself. : ) I think I'll just hang out here in the 'sanctuary' for a while longer so I won't have to think about how much I'll have to over-thank everyone, just to get back on their good side......Nah, just kiddin'.

Your previos post, Mike, was quite revealing... thanks for giving us a candid 'rundown' from an experienced 'thanker' perspective. It kinda reminds me of high school 'clicks' and peer pressure and the upperclassmen picking on the Freshmen newcomers. You know, that's probably the roots of a lot of that mentality. I think the public school systems have probably impeded kids development more than helped in many ways. But we are ahead of the curve here on Avalon, right? We are deep thinkers... we just need to break free from that old shallow-minded mentality that's been ingrained into our characters from an early age, by a brainwashed society.

We should be extra welcoming to new members and help them 'learn the ropes', instead of trying to belittle 'em. With knowledge and guidance from posts like your lengthy one above, the 'yearlings' will be 'running with the pack' in no time.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Valley (here)
Lol... You guys are crackin me up . You think your 'ratio' is taking a hit... what about mine? I'm still trying to get established here, and now I'm stuck. I'll be lucky if I get any more thanks in the 'main field' after questioning the button itself. : )

Done. To help with your ratio, Valley, I’ve hit the thanks on all your posts in this thread. {joke}

Mike: And I've seen other respectable members actually retract a "thanks" from me

I thanked Mike’s post so I could go back and retract it.



RunningDeer <3

UPDATE: modified because subtle humor was tooooooo subtle. Also deleted those thanks in favor of Valley's initial request.

[gigha]

Thanks.......

[Valley]

RunninDeer... It's cool, I really don't care about the ratio thing, especially for this thread... Was just making a joke off Mike's post. All the thanks politics are just silly to me. I'd rather just keep the slate clean here in the 'Sanctuary', but I appreciate your concern... I can just earn 'em regularly in the open forums. It was just starting to get peacefully button-free... : )

Thanks for dropping in... I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to thank each other down the line.
Blessings...
------------------------_

Gigha... Welcome...

[Carmody]

My thanking is random and tied to nothing more than my will to take the time, or remember, in the given moment.

Heck, half the time, when I'm speaking with people, if not more than half the time, I never use names.

Name not important, person is. 'Tis a natural thing, not a consciousness directed thing.

Perhaps I don't like labeling people.

That labeling people is a form of denigration, a form of control.

That old saw..that if you know a demon's name.... then you have access to the control of that demon. That they CAN be summoned. No name --- no access, no summon, no potential for control.

And, for the sake of following the logic...if...in this place, that be true for the thing called a 'demon'....what does that mean for labelled human/avatar symbiotic systems that are called 'people'?

Perhaps that is why the use of formal names...always feels so inherently wrong and uncomfortable, to me.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Valley (here)
RunninDeer... It's cool, I really don't care about the ratio thing, especially for this thread... Was just making a joke off Mike's post. All the thanks politics are just silly to me. I'd rather just keep the slate clean here in the 'Sanctuary', but I appreciate your concern... I can just earn 'em regularly in the open forums. It was just starting to get peacefully button-free... : )

Thanks for dropping in... I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to thank each other down the line.
Blessings...

Oh drats, Valley. Either you missed the subtle humor or maybe because it sounded funny to me when I wrote it 3:00 this morning.

If you've missed it, others will. Rather than offend, I've modified my post and as Mike says 'retract the thanks' in favor of your initial request.

I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to thank each other down the line.
Blessings...

Absolutely. Blessings to you, too.



RunningDeer

[Valley]

While I see many benefits... I also see the thanks button in a similar way as putting a label on someone, and as has been stated in some posts here, it can be used for several different reasons... and definitely overly fixated upon or identified with. It seems to have become a manipulation game and/or a competition to many... some of the main reasons for my starting this sanctuary here... so everyone can have a place to go on the forums where it is relatively free from that system and all the dramas that go with it.

Thanks for sharing your viewpoint, Carm.

------------------
RD... It's cool...thanks

[Valley]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2rALVgdoMHk

[Mike]

So we're all thanking now??

Sheesh! Now I have to go back and thank everybody!

[Valley]

I'm asking for a sanctuary of no button pushing, but everyone doesn't seem to like the idea of a Sanctuary. Perhaps everyone still 'pushing' can explain their reasoning?... I'd like to hear... as I'm just speculating. Not everyone is 'pushing', but do whatever you feel is right for you.

[Mike]

Sorry Valley, no disrespect - i got carried away with frivolity there....no more button pushing for me. I'm cool with it.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Valley (here)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2rALVgdoMHk

‘Return To Innocence,’ by Enigma is on my top 10. Two more that are similar in effect:

The Power (I’ve got the power.)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nm6DO_7px1I

The Warrior's Prayer - Stuart Wilde

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=HlLpl8L3h8E

[mojo]

It would be cool if the names on thanks could be anonymous instead of who is saying the thanks (like an audience applause) such as using tick marks or an asterisk for the thanks.