Graeme

Trawling for compliments? Yes, it's a good picture. It won't hurt everyone else to wait six months, though, before they see it.

I'm less concerned about it identifying your location (though that is very important) than the fact that you indicated your mom had asked you not to. I don't know what your relationship is with her, but you have to remember that once a photo is out on the internet, it's almost impossible to take it back. You can send me a copy of the picture if you wish, but I'd be surprised if it identified where you are. I tend to be more worried that the photo will identify you -- especially if you're not out where you live. No, you don't have to wait until you're 18. I just think it's advisable. I get worried when underage members post photos of themselves here I think I'm just getting in training for when my own boys become teenagers. The eldest boy told me today that he's almost a teenager... (he's eight, almost nine).

Sorry, but I have to advise against that If your mum said you're not to put up photos of yourself until you're 18, then you should do so. Otherwise it's a breech of trust, as well as being potentially dangerous. I know there doesn't really seem to be a difference between 17 and 18, but it's a legal line that we all have to accept. It's not that long to wait

When I was doing my research, I found one online store that allowed me to choose XP instead of Vista. The problem was that they charged EXTRA to do so, AND if the machine ever needed to be restored from CD, it would restore as Vista. It sounded like some sort of O/S change laid over the top of Vista, rather than a clean XP install. I'm usually pretty tolerant when it comes to computers. I can live with 'issues' rather than looking to get them fixed. For example, I knew before I bought this laptop I was going to have to get used to it, because it didn't have standard keys for "Home" and "End" -- two keys I use a lot when writing. Instead, I have to use the FN button to get to these. It's a quirk I'll get used to, I'm sure

G'day, Mattie! You have no idea how many authors can relate to that. It happens all the time When you think you're ready, post it in the eFiction section, as BeaStKid suggested. If you are a bit more cautious, try building up to five posts so can you get into the Sneak Peeks forum. You can then post some of the story there and ask for constructive feedback. Good luck! Graeme

I'm not even going to attempt to list them: I'd miss too many. Overall, most of Anne McCaffrey's work, L.E.Modisett Jr, Isaac Asimov, James Hogan... the list of authors goes on. The Cadfael Series by Ellis Peters is also highly recommended.

I bought it today. After checking out the option of buying it duty free, I realised it probably wasn't going to be worth it, as it would blow most of the entire family's duty free allowance. One of the local stores was having a four day laptop sale, so I got a Compaq Presario B1900 for AUD$1500. Ultralight, which was one of my key criteria, though the battery life isn't as long as I would like. I've asked about a longer life battery and the store is checking it out for me -- they've never been asked before I couldn't tell me how much it would cost. They'll get back to me on Monday. It has Vista on it, and that's already caused me a few headaches, but I'm working my way through it. I've gotten it connected to my home wireless network (as witnessed by this post -- the first from the new laptop), but it took me a while. I had to fire up the old laptop and read the article above to find out how to turn the wireless on -- it was off by default. Then I had to get the security settings right -- but now it's working like a dream. Then Vista downloaded 44 patches to install -- and when I told it to restart, it took over 30 minutes to shutdown!!! I ended up killing the power, because I didn't know what was going on. It's going to be an interesting learning experience. I'm going to hit Vista sooner or later for work, anyway, so now's a good time to play around with it. I've got OpenOffice and Firefox installed. Next is the anti-virus software I want and some IM clients. Slowly but steadily, I'll get there Thanks again, everyone, for all your advice.

Sir Edmund Hillary dies. Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced today. He died this morning at the age of 88. Sir Edmund became the first person to stand on Mt Everest, the world's highest peak, on June 2, 1953 - the day of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. May he rest in peace

Some very good responses I'm not bothering to quote all of them because I'm sure I'd leave some out. I hadn't considered the other benefits of membership, such as the update list, subscribing to selected forums, PMs, etc, as I don't use them a lot, so there ARE good reasons to join and not post. Equally, the fears about posting that several people have mentioned are very real. I went through the same thing on my first forum, too. You don't want to say something foolish (like the first time you meet people in real life) and be put down. (Putting my moderator hat on for a moment, if you ever do feel like you've been put down, you can use the "! Report" button the lower left of the post to let the moderator team know. This allows you to report posts to the moderator team. I've used it not only to report offensive posts, but also dangerous ones, like when an underage member has revealed personal information about themselves that I don't think is safe to be in public. Don't be afraid to use it ) When is a post a waste of space? That's a hard call to make. Sometimes a post that doesn't add anthing CAN be a good thing -- especially when it's in a feedback thread for a new author (or any author). They like to hear that another person appreciates what they've done, even if they're not adding anything new. Similarly when someone has put up a contrary view -- a simple expression of agreement helps show that that person is not alone with their opinion. Thanks for the great comments everyone!

Hi, Eric! CJ's editor is also Eric, so you're in good company

Alas, no. All that's happened is there is a split in the voting -- there's a total of 18 votes to do SOMETHING to him. They're just in a 7/11 split.

I can appreciate that. I went through the same thing when I joined. Certain people seemed to have an easy relationship based on long term interaction, and they would leave out a lot of background stuff that I needed, but no one else did. However, and it could just be my mentality, I can't understand why someone would join, and not post, since they get no added benefit over not joining in the first place. That's why I started posting the day I joined. Before then, I just read the forums without joining. However, that could be because I'd become comfortable enough to do that. For someone else, the first step may just be to register, and then they need a breather before taking the next step. Comments anyone?

Getting this thread back on topic.... It's interesting that apart from teasing (and while some teasing goes on here, I'd have to agree that it's very much a minority), and the idea of posting just to increase your post count, there's a fairly even spread of reasons why people post Are we ready to tackle the more difficult question of why so many members DON'T post?

That's my fault -- sorry. I was musing on who I'd like to finish my work, if I died without completing something, and Dom's name appeared. I should've known better than to bring his name up, since so many people are waiting for him to resurface. I apologise.

G'day, Xeronx! Welcome to GA As someone old enough to be your father, I can say you don't have much to complain about as far as your looks are concerned You're a handsome young man and I hope you eventually find that significant other. It may take some times, but I wouldn't be worried if I was you. It'll happen Good luck and thanks for sharing. Be careful, though. Don't take any foolish risks.

I agree. He did such a great job in that first movie, that I can't imagine anyone else playing the role.

Maybe you were raised on goat's milk -- you know what these noble types are like when it comes to raising children. Wet nurses are widely used -- yours was just a bit... different

I can't offer any advice -- sorry. All I can do is offer my best wishes, and a suggestion not to set your sights too high. People are very variable -- he may be willing to date now, or he may not be ready to date for months. Until you get to know him as a friend you won't know which he is. If you ask too early, you run the risk of annoying him and turning him off. If you ask too late, someone else may have got in first. The only way to know his personal position is to get to know him first. Good luck!

Just as an aside, C James reached 3000 posts in his first year... and is on track to reach 6000 posts in his second

tlwritingtiger has, according to the report, currently 84 posts in the last 24 hours. We don't know the official record count -- CJ won't release it because he knows it'll be used in evidence against him the next time he tries to claim to be a lurker, but I think I can accept 84 as the new record. At least it's a number we all can see.

I like Meatloaf and Jon Bon Jovi As a general rule, I like songs, rather than artists or genre. There are artists that I like almost all their work (eg. Dire Straits, Billy Joel), but it is always the songs that I like, and it's always for non-rational reasons. Music is supposed to connect on an emotional level, not a rational one (at least in my opinion), and so I can't say why I like some songs more than others. Oh, and James? You've managed to confuse me, since, technically, I'm gay and a breeder For me, music has to appeal equally to both to a gay person and a breeder.

Randy

Umm... I wonder how many admins I can get to label C James the Bastard Queen of the Evilest Cliffhangers? Let's see... so far I've counted three admins and a moderator.... Can I be bother looking for any more?

I used to be a basketball referee, so I understand what you are saying. I used to tell the players that I freely admit that I make mistakes, but, for professional reasons, I won't tell them which ones they were. The problem is that the standard of umpiring in International level cricket is usually very, very high. I don't know how many times I've heard the commentators remark on what they thought was an umpiring mistake, only to have the slow motion replays and various technological gadgets (like the snickometer) confirm that the umpire was, in fact, correct. That's what made this game stand out so much. Not only was the number of mistakes a lot higher than normal, but some of them were blatantly wrong -- like someone being out caught behind when the replay shows the ball missed the bat by the proverbial mile. It wasn't even close! I can accept a number of very marginal decisions being made incorrectly, but that wasn't the case here.