how much work we would get done if this site didn't exist? :idea:
Um, no. Have you forgotten this? Originally posted 9/25/04 ...what does that tell ya?
What site do you blame for your online addiction and when did you get hooked? Can any of you relate?
Mine was ***boat. Lurking of course, at first. And then finally the nerve for that first post. It was harder then, less people. Fewer females and less acceptance. Slowly at first..... then as I got sucked in and started to know and appreciate some of the members candor and humor, admittedly I started to wonder what was going on with the boards when I wasn't around. I started to check in on threads every free chance I had. I would be driving in my car thinking about Tom Brown's fiber intake and laugh. Or wondering who or what law RD was challenging and couldn't wait to get home and read the debate. Betting to myself on who the Tribal Drums would strike next and secretly picking who I wanted it to be . Topless of course. Then it progessed to taking pictures for the sole purpose of being the "first to post" them for everyones viewing pleasure after a ***boat gathering. I even became so sick and twisted as to "pose people" for a shot that would make a funny post. I found myself checking my "post count" daily to see if I was still in the top 5. It gets worse. My computer died one night during one of those hot debates of Froggy and RD's and I couldn't sleep. I called my neighbor and asked if I could log on to check an urgent issue at work. So in my pajamas, at my neighbors, Im reading the latest on ***boat in the wee hours of the morning, while trying to minimize my screen so no one can see it. If only I had known then. Then, after my canine accident that left me on disability for almost 3 months and boosted my post count by thousands I can honestly say I was addicted to ***boat and even a few others by then. I was a gone'r and didnt even realize it yet. My ***boat friends had become my family, my life. My world revolved around it. Work suffered, I didnt cook, my house looked like a slum and my animals were lucky to get fed twice a week.
Then RRL came along. Yet another website to surf and occupy my time. One more won't hurt, right? I can't NOT join. I might miss something that isn't happening on all the others I now frequent, several times daily. And besides, there are different people there, new blood. Yea, thats it.
A year later I sent myself to ***boat rehab. Im a pretty strong person so I wasn't worried. Should be a breeze. Problem was, I had met so many of these people from ***boat and a few other sites that I had been socializing with on a pretty regular basis so it was like trying to quit drinking, while your in a bar. Of course they were concerned about me so they felt the need to call me and let me know all the latest stuff that was going on, so I wouldn't be tempted of course. :smackhead Did I mention yet that I have great friends? Anyway, I sort of fell off the ***boat wagon, but not for long. Now a member of 47 boating sites and 3 Rehab attempts later I finally did it.
My job of 20 years was very understanding. As they fired me they wished me well in my continued rehab and said they would give me a positive reference. They no longer have the internet for their employees and they are far more productive, thanks to me.
I am a success story. I can quit anytime I want. Just to prove it, I will post pics later.