Can you remember your first time posting on a forum?
Do you think you can grow in confidence posting on a forum?
What are your thoughts?
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I first started on a diy forum full of testosterone, no shrinking violets allowed.
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Yes I think it takes confidence to post on a forum. You are essentially a stranger heading into a group of friends in the middle of their conversation. I think this is why many people join up but donāt join in - its too overwhelming. So it does take bravery. But once you are posting and joining in, its fine and you grow in confidence the more you get to know people.
Feb 3rd 2021, and it was in the introduction bit of the old OFF. I remember thinking just go for it and stop being such a wuss! Best move I ever made. 
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I donāt think it takes anymore confidence than starting a conversation in a queue with a stranger.
I well remember my first forum ,it was a dog forum and I got banned for speaking my mind to some members I thought needed to lean how to treat dogs correctly ie with kindness, infinite patience and consideration .
I think Azz had been a member there too and didnāt think much of it so went away and started his own site Dogweb and I joined there.
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I think posting on forums has helped with my confidence, but itās a long road, and I have far to travel. 
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I donāt think it takes confidence. I post intermittently if I see something being said to which I think I can add a reasonable response. I think itās like in ārealā life where some folks are chatterboxes and others less so - I am less so ā¦
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Meg, I must say I find talking to strangers much easier, than my first post on a forumā¦scared me witless it didā¦not now, because Iāve grown in confidence, especially on this OFF site, as it was not heavily over moderatedā¦
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@Harbal you poor thing Harbal 
I wonder how a tender flower like yourself has managed to get through life, it must have been a real ordealā¦
Maragretā¦I am a āless soā in daily life (by choice) but there is something about this place that switches on my āyakkity yakā button! 
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I must admit I too am more vocal on this forumā¦we have great freedom on this site, obviously adhering to the TOS.
Yes, Meg, it has been a struggle, but I think I am beginning to find my voice. 
Some posters tend to be more rigid TOSers than others, I have found.
[quote=āHarbal, post:13, topic:80755ā]
Some posters tend to be more rigid TOSers than others, I have found.
[/quote] 
It certainly does.
Even now I feel my heart in my mouth whenever Iām about to post. 
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Iām enjoying self moderating to be honestā¦I donāt think Azz is going to take any crapā¦heās very kind, but I certainly donāt see him as any push over, heās quietly smart, imo.
.".oops veering off topicā¦
Guess it depends on the forum. Was a member of a diy forum for a few years (as a contibutor towards solutions as well as an āaskerā). Soon got to work out whoās who. Never really an issue in terms of fear of posting.
When signing up to other fora, tend to have a nosey around to see if itās likely to be the kind of place for me, and whether I can be bothered to go through the usual rigmarole of āgetting to know youā.
For me, confidence has nothing to do with it.
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I agree with that, Meg.
Stumbled across my first forum on āLine Oneā way back in the days when everything was dial up and, at certain times of day, you had to wait forever for a connection. Cannot honestly remember how I found it as I had never heard of fora at the time but there were some interesting discussions going so I joined in. It was taken over by Tiscali and then one of the Moderators started his own site - invited me to join - and I have been there ever since. Then this one (old version) was recommended so here I am. Both vastly different places but fun.
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I wonder what his attitude towards folks who suck up to him is. 
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My first post on a forum was in 1998 on the old TOG website. (Anyone remember that one?) That was in the days when I was on dial up with a 56k modem.
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