Streams of Consciousness & Thoughts~~~

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Oncefallen

Idiot in Chief
Staff member
Jan 15, 2011
6,070
3,461
113
I have discovered a secondary use for glasses!
If you gotta wear the doggone things anyway, might as well get all the use you can out of them. Not like it's going to ruin my image at this stage anyway.

Well, you can only blame that on yourself!
No one held a gun to your head and made you go prancing through BDF in a pink tutu!
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,725
9,656
113
Well, you can only blame that on yourself!
No one held a gun to your head and made you go prancing through BDF in a pink tutu!
Ew. Like anything could get me to go through BDF.

I'll take the tutu though, if you still have it lying about. It would go well with my w*rk uniform.

Why is a pink tutu always used in these scenarios though? It's never a chicken costume or a plaid suit from the 50s or skivvies. It's always a tutu.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,725
9,656
113
T'is the season. It always gets pretty silly around election time.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,725
9,656
113
Hopefully you'll bring enough snacks for Winston. 🦉
I'll bring enough snacks for the guys. And he's not one of the guys.

Actually I plan to bring a big tub of homemade pimento cheese and some bread. If the guys don't like it I'll have a lot of leftover cheese to take home.

Aside from that I plan to graze on what is provided on site. If Winston wants snacks he can buy them there like I will.
 

GaryA

Truth, Honesty, Love, Courage
Aug 10, 2019
9,883
4,345
113
mywebsite.us
Three weeks until vacay and meetup!
I am guessing that there is a thread somewhere that announces the meetup, tells the when-and-where information for the itinerary that is planned, and invites all CC members who are able to attend...?
 

GaryA

Truth, Honesty, Love, Courage
Aug 10, 2019
9,883
4,345
113
mywebsite.us
(If not, why would you make such a public statement that can only serve as an "in your face" jab that says "some of us are going to have a private party that the rest of you are not invited to - but - I am going to have a good 'ole time"...?)
 

GaryA

Truth, Honesty, Love, Courage
Aug 10, 2019
9,883
4,345
113
mywebsite.us
Any-and-all "official"/"public" CC meetups/parties/etc. should be well planned with all CC members invited.

Private events for a small group should be kept private within the group who are invited. (Use group private message.)

And - this is [just] one reason why there needs to be a forum/space on CC that only logged-in CC members can access/read/etc.

(So that CC Members can make announcements that the whole world does not see - so that only logged-in members could see them.)
 

GaryA

Truth, Honesty, Love, Courage
Aug 10, 2019
9,883
4,345
113
mywebsite.us
Private events for a small group should be kept private within the group who are invited. (Use group private message.)
I am thinking that - to encourage more/other CC members to have meetups/etc. - it is acceptable to create a thread after-the-fact to show how much the attendees enjoyed a certain particular meetup/etc. (even including pictures if agreed upon by the attendees); however, to advertise one that is upcoming without inviting all CC members to attend - I am not so sure that is the best way to go about it...
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
16,707
5,617
113
I am guessing that there is a thread somewhere that announces the meetup, tells the when-and-where information for the itinerary that is planned, and invites all CC members who are able to attend...?
It's a very small group get-together with friends from this site who have already met at least once, sometimes several times. Everyone has met at least one member of the group in real life and can vouch for them. We wrote a thread about our last meetup a few years ago as well -- just to share our adventure, like any other vacation or life event.

Would you invite anyone and everyone to your family reunion? I'm guessing not, and this meetup really is like a family reunion.

Years ago (when I was part of another group,) we talked about having a meetup and opening it up to everyone in Singles.

But it became too much of a liability issue. Some of the people in the group were already having problems with members who were a little too enthusiastic about meeting certain other members (aka, stalking,) so we decided collectively to have certain limitations -- mostly for reasons of safety and security. In the end, I think it wound up being about 6 people, and again, some had already met in person, so there was a better level of trust and security.

Unfortunately, there can be serious problems with meetups.

What if Member A is crushing on Member B, and Member B isn't interested, but Member A won't take no for answer? And then what if Member A finds out where Member B lives?

As much as I'm all for friendship and fellowship, I have also unfortunately known cases of real-life incidences in which people on this site had to get the police involved due to someone else actively trying to force themselves into their life.

We've also talked about trying to have general meetups in which we announce here on the forum, "Hey, some of us are going to be meeting on August 13 around 12:30 at Louie's Crab Shack -- come stop by if you can," but again, we've been concerned about privacy issues.

Obviously, the place we're meeting at is going to be close to where at least one or more people in the group live, and most people I've become good friends don't want anyone knowing those kinds of things about them.

I tend to make friendships very, very slowly. These are all people I've known here for a minimum of 5 and up to 10 or more years through their posts, PM's, chats outside this site (so I got to see what they were like in real time and around others) -- eventually, I wound up meeting them in person while visiting family, and now a few of us who have met in person meet up in person all together.

If you have ideas how to have a safe and secure meetup for more people from the site, I'm more than open to suggestions.

We've actually been talking about this for years, but haven't been able to come up with anything everyone is comfortable with.
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
16,707
5,617
113
I am thinking that - to encourage more/other CC members to have meetups/etc. - it is acceptable to create a thread after-the-fact to show how much the attendees enjoyed a certain particular meetup/etc. (even including pictures if agreed upon by the attendees); however, to advertise one that is upcoming without inviting all CC members to attend - I am not so sure that is the best way to go about it...
Yes, the two other meetups (again, in very small groups among people who had already gotten to know each other well in private) did this exact thing, posting threads after the fact that posting pictures only everyone was comfortable.

The last group meetup photo featured only our hands, but everyone's hands were labeled. :)
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,725
9,656
113
(If not, why would you make such a public statement that can only serve as an "in your face" jab that says "some of us are going to have a private party that the rest of you are not invited to - but - I am going to have a good 'ole time"...?)
Please excuse my ebullience. I promise it won't happen again.
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
16,707
5,617
113
(If not, why would you make such a public statement that can only serve as an "in your face" jab that says "some of us are going to have a private party that the rest of you are not invited to - but - I am going to have a good 'ole time"...?)
Lynx is talking about his vacation and meeting up with meetup friends the way any other normal person here talks about things that are going on in their life.

It's just that the friends happen to be from this site. It's not meant as a jab, it's Lynx eagerly anticipating an event.

It's the exact same way tons of other people on the site have posted about their love lives (saying they have a date or romance they're excited about, or flirting with another member, or writing threads about when they've met in person,) or the married person who talks about snuggling up to their spouse at night in Singles, or the amount of money they just made from a business deal, etc. etc.

Sure, it could be a way to try to make others feel bad, or it might be someone just very enthusiastic about what's going on in their lives.

I do agree that such statements can both be meant and/or read in different ways, but the forum is a place to share life events so...
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
16,707
5,617
113
I am thinking that - to encourage more/other CC members to have meetups/etc. - it is acceptable to create a thread after-the-fact to show how much the attendees enjoyed a certain particular meetup/etc. (even including pictures if agreed upon by the attendees); however, to advertise one that is upcoming without inviting all CC members to attend - I am not so sure that is the best way to go about it...
If you can provide a list of guidelines that guarantees how to have a site-wide meetup in which no one will be in any danger of possibly being stalked, assaulted, attracting unwanted attention from others who either can't or won't read social cues, or having their personal information leaked without their permission, believe me, I am all ears.

We've been talking about how to do that for years.

Many years ago, the CC site was actually talking about a site-wide meetup as a 3-day praise and worship event with a live band, etc., but as can be imagined, it got to be too complicated and the idea was scrapped.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
42,663
17,116
113
69
Tennessee
I do agree that such statements can both be meant and/or read in different ways, but the forum is a place to share life events so...
...it is, indeed. Seems to me this site is about sharing who you are, what you are about, and what is important to you. Yes, the fellowship aspects are very important also. Mainly, I come to this site to simply spend some time with my friends in Singles. Yeah, at times I venture to the BDF to stir up a little trouble. Nothing wrong with trying to have a little fun, right? :)