Aly, I for one, appreciate your willingness to bring up this topic. I guess I take more offense at how many of us, as adults, respond to certain posts than I do at the content of the posts. I get most "turned off" when there is what I view as attacks on individuals for a multitude of reasons, especially when it is something that is completely innocent or out of the poster's control (example: the length of someone's nickname, poor decisions by the parents of one of our members, etc). Good grief, it is probably better to leave it alone if you can't offer a supportive word. At least use the PM feature if you have a gripe, and be able to offer a solution when you do it!

I try to set good examples for my own child, and that is sort of my "rule" on all the groups I belong to, including Pet Talk. I don't want to say anything here that I wouldn't be comfortable saying in front of my 12 year old daughter. She reads here, although she doesn't participate, and we talk about things that go on at Pet Talk that upset me, and the things that make me smile. She knows my value system and as far as I know, she lives it. We drink in moderation, don't try to hide that, but letting her and our other children know that moderation is the key is very important! That is just one example, of course, and usually the Thursday posts are fun and relaxing for all of us.

The key thing is that probably all of us came to Pet Talk initially to share about our pets! The friendships came along as a result of our love for our animals, thus our interest in other parts of each other's lives, good and bad. And with friends, we all develop an interest in sharing and learning more about each other, including our political, religious and personal views, our health, our families, our grief, our joy, etc. That's healthy conversation that lets each of us know more about each other.

If everyone could stop and think before they post and try to analyze whether what they are getting ready to say really adds any benefit to the discussion, things like this might never even arise. I'm far from perfect (darn it). No one is perfect. But we can all remember the purpose of this site to begin with, which was to share the love of our pets, and post accordingly with respect for all members, young and old.

OK.....I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

Logan