The Following CC Members Are Obviously BAD INFLUENCES. (You Have Been WARNED!!!)

[seoulsearch]

Hey Everyone,

This is serious business.

The following CC members are OBVIOUSLY BAD INFLUENCES and EXTREME CAUTION should be taken when interacting with ANY of them at ALL times:

1. @Mem mentioned a set of adorable, microwavable plush animals in another thread. Because of her, I am now thinking about saving up and buying one for myself for Christmas -- and I'm torn between The Fox, The Sheep, and, most troubling of all, The Chicken. I DON'T EVEN LIKE CHICKENS!!! Obviously, Mem is a bad influence!

2. @Snackersmom is always writing compassionate, insightful responses to people here. She puts her whole heart into her writing, and her gentle answers often stop me in my tracks when I think of something more harsh I want to say. Snackers is one of the brave few who actually keeps me in line, just by her grace-filled examples. Obviously, Snackers is a bad influence!

3. Over the years, we've had a lot of posters who write opinions that are very pro-one gender, while putting down the other. @Subhumanoidal makes some of the most reasonable, balanced answers to these posts that I have ever read. He does this well in response to a lot of others we've seen with black-and-white thinking as well, and his posts often have me contemplating how to better balance my own answers, too. Obviously, Sub is a bad influence!

4. I have often observed @Cameron143 answering posts with more patience and grace in a single reply to some posts than I have probably shown in all my time on this forum. He has me thinking a lot about how to work harder at understanding the other person's point of view, and how to answer with encouragement rather than criticism. i've also heard he has impeccable strategy when it comes to Pillow Fights! Obviously, Cameron is a bad influence!

5. @Susanna has gone through a lot of trying times in her life, but she is unabashedly and geninely herself as she strives to serve both God and her fellow humankind. She often has me thinking about how to be more authentic and less afraid of what people might think. Obviously, Susanna is a bad influence!

6. @TabinRivCA and @Tall_Timbers are always here welcoming and greeting newcomers, making sure they know they can have a place here. I often wonder if I should follow their example and do less thread writing and more greeting. (I'm praying God will help me balance that out.) But it's been their own examples that have gotten me thinking about this. Obviously, they are both a bad influence!

7. Those of use who have met @RodB651 can't stop crowing about his Ninja Burger Skills. My stomach loves his cooking, but every pair of pants I own hopes I'll never see him again! More than that, Rod encourages us in our small group chat no matter what questions or controversial things we might say. He'll always tell us, "You're looking for answers, and that's ok!" What's that??!! Encouraging independent thinking WITHOUT immediate criticism or harsh put-downs??!!! Most obviously, Rod is a VERY bad influence!!!

This of course, is just the tip of the iceberg.

* Who do YOU think are BAD INFLUENCES here on CC -- and WHY?

As you've probably noticed, the purpose/twist of this thread is to show a bit of "sarcastic support." The answers should be edifying and encouraging, not evil! This might get interesting if we get a few people who only read the title and not this first post.


And if you can't think of anyone else to claim is a BAD INFLUENCE here, feel free to take pot shots at me! Shoot, I'd almost feel offended by now if people didn't see ME as a bad influence.

Before I sign off, of course I have to mention @Lynx and @cinder as "The Original" bad influences here. Not only do they make me think, but they often say exactly what I wanted to say -- all in one paragraph, as opposed to my 20 pages.

They also help me "round out" my ideas for many of these threads. I often say, "Hey guys, I need a word that means ___________ and starts with the letter __." Yesterday Cinder told me, "There is such a thing as an online thesaurus, you know," , but personally...

I'd much rather those two ping-pong all their ideas back and forth!



* And, how could I not mention the Original Bad Influence himself, @Oncefallen. While sightings of our fearless leader might be scarce and precious, sometimes when he graces the Singles forum with a post -- it's often with some kind of joke aimed at Lynx -- and it's far better and beyond anything I could have ever come up with.

Hmm. I'm thinking, this is the ONE EXCEPTION on this list -- obviously, @Oncefallen is a very, VERY GOOD INFLUENCE -- when it comes to keeping The Cat in line.


How about you? Who do you think is a bad influence on the forum -- and why?

 

[Lynx]

seoul is a major bad influence. She inspires people to make long threads, but they don't have any practice with actually putting the thought she has put into them, so we have a lot of long empty threads.

 

[Lynx]

Don't get me started on her color-based gaslighting campaign.

 

[TabinRivCA]

Well, I like the Intro Thread bc it's a neutral zone, that is until a couple of trolls showed up. How dare they challenge our niceties there so had to call them out and our dear Mods took it from there😂🙌 Yeah, my dark side comes out for a minute esp if some somebody is insulting a member friend. So, you're right , 'Beware trolls!' lol

 

[melita916]

I’m a bad influencer because I want to be.

 

[seoulsearch]

I’m a bad influencer because I want to be.

This is a fantastic idea!

If you don't want to point someone else out as a bad influence , feel free to tell us why YOU are a bad influence yourself.

 

[Mem]

@seoulsearch is a bad influence because she's always pulling me into the Singles treads, which is tantamount to making me go out with her cruising for dates. And now, I see she has stepped up her tactics to draw me into the proverbial den of iniquity by pinging me!
And, of course, there is @Lynx who, likewise, compels me to click on his posts in the singles forum with his Spock-like commentaries, all the way to the elvish ears... I might actually be confusing him with McCoy and @seoulsearch with Captain Kirk, because she's always trying to take us where no man has gone before, not to mention her lengthy Captain's logs

 

[seoulsearch]

@seoulsearch is a bad influence because she's always pulling me into the Singles treads, which is tantamount to making me go out with her cruising for dates. And now, I see she has stepped up her tactics to draw me into the proverbial den of iniquity by pinging me!

Lol!

@Mem, I loved your reply!

But I can assure you, no worries about me dragging you along "cruising for dates." I have a very good married friend I've known for about 20 years (and she's been married that whole time -- and longer.) I considered it the highest compliment that when I stopped over to take her out, her husband would say, "You're going out with Seoul? Ok, honey, have a good time!"

Not a single question about where we were going, what we were doing, or when we should be expected home. Why? Because her husband knew I'm such a boring nerd that at the most, we'd go to the local sports bar (because the onion rings there were divine,) and it would be in the middle of the day while it was empty -- and I'd probably have her home by 4 o'clock -- in the afternoon!

So yes, I understand your concern that I might lure you into my hard-partying, single lifestyle, but I can assure you -- my "proverbial den of inquity" would mainly consist of daytime platters of sinfully fried food.

 

[seoulsearch]

@seoulsearchAnd, of course, there is @Lynx who, likewise, compels me to click on his posts in the singles forum with his Spock-like commentaries, all the way to the elvish ears...

While I can neither confirm nor deny whether @Lynx has Spock ears in real life, if this picture is anything to go by, I'd say the chances are higly probable.

(His real-life logic is about on par with Spock as well, so I'm guessing the are probably close cousins.)

 

[tourist]

Hey Everyone,

This is serious business.

The following CC members are OBVIOUSLY BAD INFLUENCES and EXTREME CAUTION should be taken when interacting with ANY of them at ALL times:

1. @Mem mentioned a set of adorable, microwavable plush animals in another thread. Because of her, I am now thinking about saving up and buying one for myself for Christmas -- and I'm torn between The Fox, The Sheep, and, most troubling of all, The Chicken. I DON'T EVEN LIKE CHICKENS!!! Obviously, Mem is a bad influence!

2. @Snackersmom is always writing compassionate, insightful responses to people here. She puts her whole heart into her writing, and her gentle answers often stop me in my tracks when I think of something more harsh I want to say. Snackers is one of the brave few who actually keeps me in line, just by her grace-filled examples. Obviously, Snackers is a bad influence!

3. Over the years, we've had a lot of posters who write opinions that are very pro-one gender, while putting down the other. @Subhumanoidal makes some of the most reasonable, balanced answers to these posts that I have ever read. He does this well in response to a lot of others we've seen with black-and-white thinking as well, and his posts often have me contemplating how to better balance my own answers, too. Obviously, Sub is a bad influence!

4. I have often observed @Cameron143 answering posts with more patience and grace in a single reply to some posts than I have probably shown in all my time on this forum. He has me thinking a lot about how to work harder at understanding the other person's point of view, and how to answer with encouragement rather than criticism. i've also heard he has impeccable strategy when it comes to Pillow Fights! Obviously, Cameron is a bad influence!

5. @Susanna has gone through a lot of trying times in her life, but she is unabashedly and geninely herself as she strives to serve both God and her fellow humankind. She often has me thinking about how to be more authentic and less afraid of what people might think. Obviously, Susanna is a bad influence!

6. @TabinRivCA and @Tall_Timbers are always here welcoming and greeting newcomers, making sure they know they can have a place here. I often wonder if I should follow their example and do less thread writing and more greeting. (I'm praying God will help me balance that out.) But it's been their own examples that have gotten me thinking about this. Obviously, they are both a bad influence!

7. Those of use who have met @RodB651 can't stop crowing about his Ninja Burger Skills. My stomach loves his cooking, but every pair of pants I own hopes I'll never see him again! More than that, Rod encourages us in our small group chat no matter what questions or controversial things we might say. He'll always tell us, "You're looking for answers, and that's ok!" What's that??!! Encouraging independent thinking WITHOUT immediate criticism or harsh put-downs??!!! Most obviously, Rod is a VERY bad influence!!!

This of course, is just the tip of the iceberg.

* Who do YOU think are BAD INFLUENCES here on CC -- and WHY?

As you've probably noticed, the purpose/twist of this thread is to show a bit of "sarcastic support." The answers should be edifying and encouraging, not evil! This might get interesting if we get a few people who only read the title and not this first post.


And if you can't think of anyone else to claim is a BAD INFLUENCE here, feel free to take pot shots at me! Shoot, I'd almost feel offended by now if people didn't see ME as a bad influence.

Before I sign off, of course I have to mention @Lynx and @cinder as "The Original" bad influences here. Not only do they make me think, but they often say exactly what I wanted to say -- all in one paragraph, as opposed to my 20 pages.

They also help me "round out" my ideas for many of these threads. I often say, "Hey guys, I need a word that means ___________ and starts with the letter __." Yesterday Cinder told me, "There is such a thing as an online thesaurus, you know," , but personally...

I'd much rather those two ping-pong all their ideas back and forth!



* And, how could I not mention the Original Bad Influence himself, @Oncefallen. While sightings of our fearless leader might be scarce and precious, sometimes when he graces the Singles forum with a post -- it's often with some kind of joke aimed at Lynx -- and it's far better and beyond anything I could have ever come up with.

Hmm. I'm thinking, this is the ONE EXCEPTION on this list -- obviously, @Oncefallen is a very, VERY GOOD INFLUENCE -- when it comes to keeping The Cat in line.


How about you? Who do you think is a bad influence on the forum -- and why?

I'll take the good with the bad. All of the members you mentioned are in the good column.

 

[Mem]

Lol!

@Mem, I loved your reply!

But I can assure you, no worries about me dragging you along "cruising for dates." I have a very good married friend I've known for about 20 years (and she's been married that whole time -- and longer.) I considered it the highest compliment that when I stopped over to take her out, her husband would say, "You're going out with Seoul? Ok, honey, have a good time!"

Not a single question about where we were going, what we were doing, or when we should be expected home. Why? Because her husband knew I'm such a boring nerd that at the most, we'd go to the local sports bar (because the onion rings there were divine,) and it would be in the middle of the day while it was empty -- and I'd probably have her home by 4 o'clock -- in the afternoon!

So yes, I understand your concern that I might lure you into my hard-partying, single lifestyle, but I can assure you -- my "proverbial den of inquity" would mainly consist of daytime platters of sinfully fried food.

I was wrong to project any previous experience with single friends, and the mister trusts me to hold my own in a night around a table of men playing Texas Hold'em, although he might wonder. He's used to me going out without him, but it's almost exclusively with Ma, and I can see how going out with you would be considered a somewhat similar experience.

 

[tourist]

I’m a bad influencer because I want to be.

Perhaps only bad if you order pineapple on your pizza.

 

[tourist]

Well, I like the Intro Thread bc it's a neutral zone, that is until a couple of trolls showed up. How dare they challenge our niceties there so had to call them out and our dear Mods took it from there😂🙌 Yeah, my dark side comes out for a minute esp if some somebody is insulting a member friend. So, you're right , 'Beware trolls!' lol

Trolls are high entertainment though, until the time that they are eventually banned. There use to be a banning thread in the Singles. That was a high entertainment venue for sure.

 

[Mem]

While I can neither confirm nor deny whether @Lynx has Spock ears in real life, if this picture is anything to go by, I'd say the chances are higly probable.

(His real-life logic is about on par with Spock as well, so I'm guessing the are probably close cousins.)

Spock was my hero, like Superman, Batman, or Spiderman, until the point I saw them kissing a girl, and at that point I would realize they are not as strong as they'd made themselves out to be. But I've yet to see @Lynx falter in this otherwise every other hero's kryptonite.

 

[seoulsearch]

I might actually be confusing him with McCoy and @seoulsearch with Captain Kirk, because she's always trying to take us where no man has gone before, not to mention her lengthy Captain's logs

I love that you honed in on this. ❤️

I am always asking God what the boundaries are with just writing -- and how they can be broken. I constantly ask Him for new thread ideas and love experimenting with structure, wording, and illustrations.

Long ago (in a lifetime far, far away,) I was in a ministry in which I wrote paper letters to prison inmates. This was long before some places allowed email, so it was all through the snail mail system, and different prisons had different regulations/restrictions on what could be sent.

I loved looking for ways around those restrictions as much as I could. I understood that the rules were there for a reason, and I never sought to do anything that caused harm. Rather, I was looking for ways to fulfil my mission of trying to send a touch of humanity into places that sought to erase as much of it as possible.

So...

* When it was forbidden to send whole books or booklets, I bought devotionals and took them apart, sending just a few pages at a time (same with things like picture books, which of course the inmates loved.)

* When stickers weren't allowed on letters, I used rubber stamps with ink and stencils filled in with markers instead. One inmate wrote, "When the mail person comes down the line, if I see a flash of color -- I know it's going to be a letter from you," because it was often the only color they saw in a surrounding that was always white, black, and gray.

* When blank postcards weren't allowed (which I understand, as some were used for nefarious purposes,) I simply used them as pieces of stationery, writing letters on the backs of postcards like regular pieces of paper (even if I had to use 12,) also sending just a few at a time.

I know that to most of the world, writing is just words on a screen (or paper,) but the Bible speaks of the Living Word.

Now of course, my words are just chicken scratch on a blank slate, but I believe in doing everything I can to push the limitations of color, senses, and feeling of writing that will hopefully touch and uplift people's spirits.

Oh, and causing a bit of a ruckus along the way is just a bit of an added benefit.

 

[seoulsearch]

I'll take the good with the bad. All of the members you mentioned are in the good column.

@tourist is obviously a bad influence because the whole time he's been here, he's always tried to see the good in everyone, even the trolls!!

He also transitioned from being single to married while on the forum and yet STILL comes here to encourage and uplift us, rather than putting us down or saying we somehow have to be married.

A VERY bad influence indeed!!!

 

[seoulsearch]

I’m a bad influencer because I want to be.

@Melita is also obviously a very bad influence because like @tourist, she was our friend as a single, then was blessed with a wonderful husband -- but she still jokes and hangs out with us.

And all without ever sounding condescending towards us or pressuring any of us to look for spouses. (If some feel called to do so, great! If not, also great! We are all striving to do what God is leading us to do!)

@melita916 and @tourist actually understand AND ENCOURAGE THIS.

Allowing singles to be happy with their lives just as they are???!!!

These are some of the MOST DANGEROUS influences of all.

 

[seoulsearch]

I was wrong to project any previous experience with single friends, and the mister trusts me to hold my own in a night around a table of men playing Texas Hold'em, although he might wonder. He's used to me going out without him, but it's almost exclusively with Ma, and I can see how going out with you would be considered a somewhat similar experience.

Oh I completely understand -- sometimes the single life gets a bad rap for totally valid reasons.

I've mentioned being in Financial Chats on Discord and it's filled with guys (some of them even have wives) talking about aspiring to "The Passport Bro" lifestyle -- going to poor, exotic countries where the US dollar (or other "higher" currency) attracts unbridled attention from beautiful young women.

And I'm sure there are single women who, unfortunately, are just as deceived.

But as for me, I can assure you -- if we ever went out, your beloved Ma is probably ten times more exciting than I am -- and I have the tennis balls to prove it (though right now they're in my clothes dryer, not on a walker -- YET.)

Though I have determined that if my day does come, I'm going to be using the loudest, most colorful and outrageously obnoxious tennis balls ever!!

 

[Mem]

Oh, and causing a bit of a ruckus along the way is just a bit of an added benefit.

I'm working from this direction toward the other. My English teacher honored me among the seventh-grade population with a creative writing award, so I was delighted to see he was again my English instructor, Mr. Jones, when I reached my junior year. And if I could award him with any honors, I would offer him the Most Brazen Public School Instructor for including a study in the Bible in that year's curriculum. But that encouragement he provided to me is a big reason that I share your opinion of, and appreciation for, the influence of good writing. That you aspire to encourage your readers is as plain as the writing on(...there's an old adage about writing on paper that means 'clear to see' that I can't exactly recall at the moment but would fit just perfectly here).

 

[Mem]

Oh I completely understand -- sometimes the single life gets a bad rap for totally valid reasons.

I've mentioned being in Financial Chats on Discord and it's filled with guys (some of them even have wives) talking about aspiring to "The Passport Bro" lifestyle -- going to poor, exotic countries where the US dollar (or other "higher" currency) attracts unbridled attention from beautiful young women.

And I'm sure there are single women who, unfortunately, are just as deceived.

But as for me, I can assure you -- if we ever went out, your beloved Ma is probably ten times more exciting than I am -- and I have the tennis balls to prove it (though right now they're in my clothes dryer, not on a walker -- YET.)

Though I have determined that if my day does come, I'm going to be using the loudest, most colorful and outrageously obnoxious tennis balls ever!!

No, but, seriously, Ma would love! those!