Happy Monday Friday Dawn Dave! Daisy, I dunno; I often misconstrue what I mean. But I'd never have been able to get specific help with a specific problem / issue if I hadn't remembered from a member's profile what his / her interest was. 'Best -- Richard

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Saturday thanks for the clarification entirely reciprocal how about Thursday?

It's possibly me being technophobe extrodinaire again, Daisy...

What I mean is that if someone's hidden their profile, there's no option under their name to send them a WW mail. Is there another way to send mail, without that button there? (Other than bugging them in the forum over technical details... )

Hi Daisy,

I meant me, sending WW Mail to you.

But I suppose that's the whole point in keeping it private.

Dawn,

Gosh Richard.. you here, too?
Better put me nightie on, then..

x
tc

Ralph, you can still send them mail by clicking on 'New Mail' in your mail box then typing their name in at the top of the box.

I have to admit that I get a tinge peeved when I don't find a profile to read. I don't care really what gender you are, what you call yourself, where you live or even how young or old you are - what I would like though is to feel that I have a teeny insight on the person that I'm communicating with via comments on uploaded pieces, forums, and someone who shares the understanding of what it is to be a writer, to want to write and live to write. Someone who understand the passion, commitment and devotion that drives a writer that a non-writer can't possibly understand.

This 'private' information that is so closely guarded what is it? a name? a region where you live? your sex? your age? - If I was determined and cunning enough I could find out all of this and MUCH more private information regardless of whether you put it on your profile or not. Anyone and everyone can! That's the risk you take the moment you log on to this cursed and inspired internet - let alone this website!

For me, uploading my work, was more personal and private than any information I can write on a profile. My writing is who I am and that's why I choose to put it only for the eyes of WriteWord Members. And yet, 'pond life' can become a part member and read my work - my most intimate thoughts, my sweat (perspiration - yes I am a woman - tc and Dawn!!), tears and occasional blood from paper cuts.

This also answers the example given by Len that a person can write whatever they want about themselves...that's very true, and I've come across many - but I don't think any one of us is so naive as to believe everything a stranger writes on a profile. In the end, if a person has done this, they are always discovered to be the very 'pond life' that surf among us. Everything should be taken with a pillar of salt - but I'd rather that than have bland communication with no seasoning whatsoever!

At the end of the long day, it is an individual choice - for whatever reason - but one reason that can't be used is that you don't want 'pondlife' and all and sundry knowing anything about you - they probably already do (that's cyberspace for ya).

Nahed (female)

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Oh, and as for firewalls - they're bloody useless. I've been hacked so many times I've got the scars to prove it! There's always ONE that makes it through. And as my mum always warned me, it only takes one to get through to get you up the creek without a paddle...okay - maybe she wasn't talking about the internet...

Ralph ( ette)

I think you will find that if you go to MY Write Words click on new mail and type your intended recipients name correctly in the address box the mail will be sent and recieved

take care

david

Thanks Nell and David, for clueing me in on that one!

Just as an aside, for anyone who's really concerned about pond scum, I'd recommend ad-aware from lavasoft. If you tap it in to google it should bring up plenty of sites you can download it from. Don't go for anywhere that asks you to pay for it. There are free versions for personal use.
It basically does things a firewall can't, in that it goes through your hard drive and roots out anything that settles in there that pond scum can use to filch information from your system (i.e data miners, trojans etc.)

Hope that's not too much of an advertisement... I don't know anyone personally involved in the company or anything, but it was recommended by someone who was having similar problems to me, and it's worked wonders over here...

Okay, plug and disclaimer over with. I'm going to go back to desecrating Shakespeare...

Huggs to all

Ralph

Hi tiny -- well I know I ramble on so long it takes people all night to get to the end of it but. . . I got inveigled (probably not the word but I mean, what is this? A writers' community? Oh.) because Ralph kindly thanked me for the cheque I'd mailed her, sorry, him, and then I saw she was commenting on something from Dee and then as usual it was downhill from there. So I popped back. (My real name's Frank Sinatra).

Oh. Firewalls. Having plastered this thread with ten miles of redundant copy I'm not going to pretend to any computing expertise, but I've found three tools invaluable: (1) ZoneAlarm (free / firewall); (2) Spybot Search & Destroy (no no, not the title of me book: I actually find it works even better than AdAware for hunting out nasties that may've got through); and, last but not least, 3S, which I think stands for System Security Suite -- also free: you hit it at the end of an Internet session, or a working session, and it clears all your caches. . . so there's nothing on file, as it were, for a bug-thing to find when you log on again. I always use it after an online banking session. Also I have a very restful wallpaper of Mae West. Must put that on the computer as well one day.
Bye -- Richardx

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Actually the most worrying thing I've experienced as a result of membership of WW is the realisation that Ralph is digging up Shakespeare. Why???

Word's worth

Go to Google, choose UK only and put in your name. Click search and your WriteWord profile comes up.

If you hide your profile, it doesn't come up. Okay, so you need to know the person's name, but I can see how that might make some people feel uncomfortable.

Digging up Shakespeare… ah, Richard… shades of Ye Olde Quest there, doncha think?

Blimey, wot have I started here? (look! You’ve ghat me saying ‘wot’)

Guys! Guys! What did I say? I said I didn’t want to ruffle feathers, didn’t I? And what are you doing? I come home from work and find you’ve started a riot. Bodies everywhere, blood in the gutters… lighten up, willya…

I have to say I’m surprised at the level of aggression this has triggered. There again, I never have known when to keep my head down… or my mouth shut!

All I meant was that I feel more able to relate to someone if I know a little about them… for instance, Richard makes a good point about Jumbo’s knowledge of aviation. He wouldn’t have thought to ask him if it wasn’t for his profile. I have helped Jumbo with some details because I’m near Leeds and Richard was once sent off on the aforementioned Ye Olde Quest because of where he lives.

Not only did these details, gleaned from our profiles, help us as individuals to improve our writing, they helped us to bond as a group… but that’s another issue…

Dee
x


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ps - Add-Aware is excellent – apart from the nasty little fart it does when it’s finished…

x

By the way, although reading my entry it sounds a little aggressive, it wasn't meant to be. Just a little example why some may not feel comfortable with profiles.

Speaking of Google, it was not until I joined WW that I realized what a amazingly / worringly powerful tool it is.

Out of the blue at work I received a mail from someone I had worked with on a particular project out In Germany a couple of years back. For no reason other that I knew his name was a genuine German one, I used his name in one of the pieces I uploaded on WW.
Turns out the reason that he had mailed me was because if you 'googled' his name, this piece on WW came up first in the list. I do not think he minded - but in was a bit of a head f%$£.

Largely for this reason I now only put my work on for WW members, and I would understand if anyone wanted to hide their profile.

Sam

It must be my penchant for gender-bending pseudonyms, Richard. After all, we all know Shakespeare was Elizabeth Tudor, don't we?

Oh no, I'm going to start another war now, aren't I?

Ralph (ette)

odd you should say that I was born in Stonehouse in Gloucestershire and there until a few years ago was a pub called The Royal Arms complete with the Royal Crest on display, one of the very few pubs entitled to display the Coat of Arms.

The story goes that Elizabeth I, was on her way to Badminton to escape the plague( why she should go from London to Badminton via Stonehouse defeats me) however she arrived at The pub but had already contracted the plague and died. Her courtiers were needless to say in fear of their lives and a local boy resembled the dear departed Elizabeth and was substituted. Thus the reason she never married.so perhpas the boy had more talent than a close resemblanc eto Elizabeth I

is it true? the locals used to swear it was when I was a child ( no I ma not that old) and it was a story passed down but can we prove it I doubt it.

take care

david

ps thanks for the hug