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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 14:11:46
For what its worth, this is my response to the Babble bashers on the other site (I used the love word - I hate when that happens)...
"I am an ex-user of both sites so I feel compelled to respond. I wish I could stay in the intellectual realm like my friend alex, odb or spirit do so artfully, but I can only respond on an emotional level. So, like Bob's "study," here is my anecdotal report. Babble is good. Bob is good. I don't know these things as fact, only from experience. Oh, sure, as I joined PB I went through a stage of adolescent rebellion against his rigid rules which struck me as patronizing for my fellow adult posters. The same for PC when my criticism of John's unprofessional April Fool's prank was unnecessarily erased. Both sites have constraints that are annoying at times. However, each administrator, using their own methods, have the greater good of the community at heart, IMO.
I don't know Bob personally, though I have dined with him twice. He is as frustratingly enigmatic and calculating in person as he can be on his forum. But I can honestly say that I like this man. And I believe that he cares more about the PB community than his critics know or would be willing to admit. He has certainly made mistakes, and the site, as he impersonally states, is not for everyone.
But before discovering Psycho-Babble I repressed my Chronic Mental Illness status for years, a guise made possible by effective medications. Both these sites have allowed me to safely embrace an inportant aspect of my self that I otherwise have had to hide. I love this experience. And I love Alex and Pat and gg. And yes, Deneb, though I hate to admit it, I love Bob too.
Toph"
Bob, do I still owe you now for that round of drinks?
Posted by ClearSkies on September 24, 2007, at 15:41:32
In reply to Aw, ya make me want to defend you, ya big galoop, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 14:11:46
Toph, it warms my heart to see you use the words "babble" and "defend" in the same sentence :-)
I have learned to stay away from that Other Place (PC) as its overall temperament is not suited for the likes of me. (That would be that I'm a wimp and easily offended.) So I hang out here, post every day still, and have made many lovely friends, of whom I count you as one, if I may.I've gone through being a deputy and being undone as a deputy; found myself blocked, been unable to untie the shoelace of civility rules and tripped myself quite painfully; and have learned so much about communication styles. I've used babble as a diary for my own mental health journey, and a tool for learning about the medications we take and the labels that we're burdened with. (BTW, you might be interested to know that my diagnosis has been officially changed from mild Bipolar II to Major Depressive Disorder, which explains why none of the mood stabilizers worked very well!)
I'm still on this journey, and I expect that babble will continue for as long as Dr Bob will have us, or if it needs to morph into some other forum at some point, then I hope to be along for that ride too.
But I just wanted to say how nice it is to see your name here.
ClearSkies
Posted by Sigismund on September 24, 2007, at 17:39:36
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you, ya big galo » Toph, posted by ClearSkies on September 24, 2007, at 15:41:32
>He is as frustratingly enigmatic and calculating in person as he can be on his forum. But I can honestly say that I like this man. And I believe that he cares more about the PB community than his critics know or would be willing to admit.
I thought he had a gift for stillness and silence, and feel just like you.
Posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 18:59:50
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you, ya big galo » Toph, posted by ClearSkies on September 24, 2007, at 15:41:32
> Toph, it warms my heart to see you use the words "babble" and "defend" in the same sentence :-)
Hi CS, I apologize if people thought that I attacked Babble, Bob maybe, his rules certainly, but not Babble. I love this place. I only wish I could spend as much time here as I used to. My work really suffered. But I will never regret hanging out with the likes of you PC. Whatever problems you had as an enforcer, I commend you for trying to support a place that you love - a place like many of us where we have invested a great deal of ourselves. When others attack PB they attack my family. I've learned from my dogs what to do about that. Anywho, if your nice husband won't mind, I'll confess that you really know how to light up a room with your smile girlfriend. You even made Bob feel comfortable scarfing down his chicken. I wouldn't have even gone to Babblefest 1 if you hadn't been so trusting as to give me your cellphone number. Until that point I wasn't even really sure if anyone here was real.
It feels really nice to have someone remember you.
Posted by Racer on September 24, 2007, at 19:19:34
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you » ClearSkies, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 18:59:50
Posted by 10derheart on September 24, 2007, at 22:06:40
In reply to Aw, ya make me want to defend you, ya big galoop, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 14:11:46
Posted by Phillipa on September 24, 2007, at 22:31:28
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you » ClearSkies, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 18:59:50
I spend too much time here as a lot have pointed out to me but I feel the same and the other place isn't the same. Phillipa
Posted by Deneb on September 24, 2007, at 23:53:24
In reply to Aw, ya make me want to defend you, ya big galoop, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 14:11:46
And I love Alex and Pat and gg. And yes, Deneb, though I hate to admit it, I love Bob too.
>
> Toph"
>
> Bob, do I still owe you now for that round of drinks?Woohoo! I'm not alone! :-)
((((Babblers))))
Posted by ClearSkies on September 25, 2007, at 8:09:50
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you » ClearSkies, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 18:59:50
>
> Hi CS, I apologize if people thought that I attacked Babble, Bob maybe, his rules certainly, but not Babble. I love this place. I only wish I could spend as much time here as I used to. My work really suffered.No, I guess I was thinking in terms of old arguments that I remember. I don't see any attacks by you on Babble, Toph. I can certainly understand how you have to curtail time spent here, especially if a discussion becomes impassioned, as it can really suck a whole bunch of time out of a day.
>
> But I will never regret hanging out with the likes of you PC. Whatever problems you had as an enforcer, I commend you for trying to support a place that you love - a place like many of us where we have invested a great deal of ourselves. When others attack PB they attack my family. I've learned from my dogs what to do about that.Again - I know the feeling. Attacks still arouse a lot of passion in me. In a lot of ways that pernicious "notify the administrators" button has taken the upsets underground; perhaps that is where they really belong :-)
>
> Anywho, if your nice husband won't mind, I'll confess that you really know how to light up a room with your smile girlfriend. You even made Bob feel comfortable scarfing down his chicken. I wouldn't have even gone to Babblefest 1 if you hadn't been so trusting as to give me your cellphone number. Until that point I wasn't even really sure if anyone here was real.
>
> It feels really nice to have someone remember you.
>Thanks, Toph. It felt safe for me to do so at the time, and I look forward to being able to say hello again in the future some time. And my husband is pretty impressed that I have so many great friends!
Take care,
ClearSkies
Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on September 25, 2007, at 11:30:03
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you » Toph, posted by ClearSkies on September 25, 2007, at 8:09:50
That was a very nice post Toph- really honest. What else could I expect from you? ;)
Hope all is well in Toph-Land.
fellow bob fan,
ll
Posted by TexasChic on September 25, 2007, at 20:04:27
In reply to Re: Aw, ya make me want to defend you, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on September 25, 2007, at 11:30:03
Posted by Toph on September 26, 2007, at 8:07:53
In reply to Am I the only one clueless about all this? (nm), posted by TexasChic on September 25, 2007, at 20:04:27
For whatever reason I can't seem to copy and paste the link, but this thread refers to:
PsychCentral >> General Discussion >> Internet Travelers Lounge >> Another study published about Babble
Posted by Dr. Bob on September 29, 2007, at 10:17:15
In reply to Aw, ya make me want to defend you, ya big galoop, posted by Toph on September 24, 2007, at 14:11:46
> the Babble bashers on the other site
Please be sensitive to the feelings of others (such as users of John's site).
But please don't take this personally, this doesn't mean I don't like you or think you're a bad person.
If you or others have questions about this or about posting policies in general, or are interested in alternative ways of expressing yourself, please first see the FAQ:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#civil
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#enforceFollow-ups regarding these issues should be redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration. They, as well as replies to the above post, should of course themselves be civil.
> > before discovering Psycho-Babble I repressed my Chronic Mental Illness status for years ... Both these sites have allowed me to safely embrace an inportant aspect of my self that I otherwise have had to hide.
Maybe being embraced by others helped. :-)
> Bob, do I still owe you now for that round of drinks?
I think now I owe you a drink!
Bob
This is the end of the thread.
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