I'm aware that women often lurk before taking the plunge and becoming part of our community. Mind telling us how long you lurked before getting the nerve to begin posting? I'd love to know what pushed you over the edge and gave you the courage to share at BWS...

I'm also curious to know how everyone found us - if you recall. Thanks.

i was recomended and directrfd by a frend. I'd knowren of it for about 6 mounths before i joined. Iv spent time lrkin and not posting since id joined, maybee i felt i had nuthing to say in that time period or it was just for personal reasons id not posted but lurked and read and was happie seeing people i knew interact and get on.

if thirs conflict its one of the things that sticks in my mind, that people may be reading and put off by arguing. Similarie some people will be atracted for that point, maybee for hard descusions sake.

Also its for the unknowen reader who may be from xyz minority group that reads about them being insulted directlie or sutiltie that makes me think auch that must hurt.

your states can they tell how many are reading even annonimisly but not posting?

I didn't lurk at all. At the time I joined, I had a business that marketed to baby boomer women and I found you through a search on Google.

I joined thinking it would be a good marketing move, but I've stayed because I fell in love with your site and so many of the people here. I've long since sold my business, but plan to stick around BWS for a long time to come.

K

I usually just dive right in! the only time I've regretted doing that on a forum was at Backspace - I was new there, and it just happened to be I joined during a time when I was grieving over my old girl dying- she was such a good dog, and a best friend - there were a couple of other things I was stressed about too - so all of that together made me down and tired and just negative. I think that came out in my posts at first and I had to step away for a while until I felt better again - now I just post professional things about writing and encouragement to other writers.

So, didn't lurk at all, just began posting!

i just remberefd this place was always mentioned to me as the menopose place and when i found out it wase't all about menopose i joined in lol.

I can't remember how I found you. I believe the Hand of God
directed me here: Because this forum has been such a blessing
to my life. I feel a spiritual connection on bws. It's the
only site I post on, other than sending notes back and forth
to groovy on facebook. I don't lurk. Never have. I love the
understanding and love I receive via bws posts.

well hellow leftie writer i not sure i saw you in welcome so i just want to say hi now.

Well, how do I keep THIS story short. LOL. I'll try, really I will. It all started after my Mom died; I had a complete physical/mental breakdown, which spiralled into severe chronic fatigue which forced me to quit my job. I was home, alone most of the time, very depressed, very lonely, unable to do ANYTHING because of the extreme fatigue which kept me bedridden for months. I couldn't even climb up the stairs without help.

So, once I became more mobile, I realized how empty my life was. And how brain-dead I was. I began by playing games on the computer. Then, in lonely desperation, I left a note on a psychology forum, pleading for help. A woman answered, eventually invited me to HER forum, which opened my eyes to the possibility of making connections without even having to leave home, which I still couldn't do at the time. That forum was VERY slow, meaning that someone could post something and nobody would answer for a week or two. Very frustrating.

So one day, again in utter lonely desperation, I typed into Google "I'm lonely"...the very first result was Boomer Women Speak. So I clicked, saw, fell in love, posted an introduction and received amazing wonderful responses immediately, and well, the rest is history...life-saving, heart-changing, soul-reviving history.

This place, these women, literally saved my life. So I would have to say it was no accident, but divine intervention that led me here.

I did and I do lurk.
Sometimes I leave for a month or two and lurk.
When I first came here I lurked for a time, just reading posts and noticing how close everyone was. I wasn't sure I'd be taken in very well seeing how everyone knew everone.

When I did post, I was treated very well and made welcome. I think if I were not so heartily welcomed I would have left.

I found the site by looking for a site for Boomers. I wanted to discuss some things with my peer group and this looked like just the place to do it.

I was also entering menopause and was ill so it took me out of all that and gave me a place to relate.

Dancer