The General Chat Thread (2025)

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We have tried to respond to some members' discomfort regarding moving posts to new threads and we are now trying to leave clear links so people can see where they have been moved from as well as a link in the thread from where they have been moved. We also won't move things unless the subject really deviates from the title of the thread for a run of posts and/ or the deviation is interesting in its own right.
I've been getting a bit lost too.
I totally see what mods are trying to do and see the reasoning behind it.

However ...

The method and results are often problematic.

The question is only partly one of where does banter have a place and where can it and does it wildly veer into banter hell? I like a bit of banter myself but 😅

First off tho, I'd like to point out that this is what has effectively killed a forum that was once lively and interesting. It became almost all banter all the time, personal bits, ailments, weather, recent eating out etc. That's fine but all in its place. There are many reasons people join forums.

But ...

I'm also seeing a big layout issue - as in how the forum is laid out , viewed at a glance and accessed. In graphics/techspeak it's also a UI/UX thing.
 
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I'm also seeing a big layout issue - as in how the forum is laid out , viewed at a glance and accessed. In graphics/techspeak it's also a UI/UX thing.

I've worked in IT support since 1997. In my experience most user issues are simply a case of not taking the time to read or learn the interface.

If you have any specific issues, here is not the location to raise them. Instead read through the various support sections of the forum

Site Support

Tips & Tricks for Using the Forum

The Media Gallery

and see if you find answers there. If you don't, then please raise a question under Site Support asking how something is done.

99.9% of the time there will be a reason why you can't do something a certain way, such as changing the font, font colour or size, which interferes with accessibility features for other members.

For example, links can be underlined by default in your display by changing there default style. That changes it for you and only you, because most members are happy with green text not underlined being links. But some want underlined and some wanted bold. One member even wanted external links in red and internal links on green. All of that is available, if you read up on how.

So please, just ask in the correct location, Site Support and someone, anyone including other members can help out.
 
So TastyReuben . Where's the Christmas decorations that please? These need to go into it.

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The tree went up today. I had to wait for the thunderstorm to arrive for it to be dark enough to get a better picture.
Thank you.

And in true recycling Australian style, the sheep will eat the tree when i take it down. (Not joking here, they genuinely loved eating something with another flavour!)
 
We live in the bush so we have wild animals roaming around all over the place like skunks, racoons, opossums, deer, coyotes, bear, bobcats etc etc etc. Anyway, almost every night we get two friendly possums come up for dinner with our cats. Periodically our neighborhood racoon pays us a visit as well.

Tonight I went out for some fresh air walked to the front yard side of the porch, sat in my chair and checked to see ifour cats were all okay and so forth. Most times I go out at least three of our cats will climb off of their bed and come over to me (sucking up for food) and that is what happened tonight except one of the four legged critters wasn't one of our cats but a skunk.

It was virtually sitting between my feet with our cats, quite happily obviously, trying to waddle over to a plate that still had someof the cats dinner on it. It didn't give a hoot that I was there but I can tell you I froze. To be honest, I don't know if it was sleeping with the cats or just happened to under my chair when the cats walked over - but he/she sure was friendly, thank god ! :)
 
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thankfully this fellow is used to us...

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I had to walk straight past him to get into the garage to put the shopping away.

this is from a year ago and how we know he's a he.... he was following her. she passed through his territory.
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(Eastern Shingleback for those wondering.)
 
We live in the bush so we have wild animals roaming around all over the place like skunks, racoons, opossums, deer, coyotes, bear, bobcats etc etc etc. Anyway, almost every night we get two friendly possums come up for dinner with our cats. Periodically our neighborhood racoon pays us a visit as well.

Tonight I went out for some fresh air walked to the front yard side of the porch, sat in my chair and checked to see ifour cats were all okay and so forth. Most times I go out at least three of our cats will climb off of their bed and come over to me (sucking up for food) and that is what happened tonight except one of the four legged critters wasn't one of our cats but a skunk.

It was virtually sitting between my feet with our cats, quite happily obviously, trying to waddle over to a plate that still had someof the cats dinner on it. It didn't give a hoot that I was there but I can tell you I froze. To be honest, I don't know if it was sleeping with the cats or just happened to under my chair when the cats walked over - but he/she sure was friendly, thank god ! :)
Reminds me of an anecdote a former coworker told me - she went to go bring her cat in from the backyard without her glasses on, and ended up saying “hi sweetie!” to and very nearly picking up a very surprised raccoon!
 
Skunks aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be. They’re not all that trigger-happy, thankfully, they’re mostly nocturnal, and they’re perfectly happy to leave a person alone as long as they don’t feel threatened.
Yep - just took me by surprise when I realised itwasn't one of our cats. I'm geussing he/she was our regular skunk visitor. For some reason we seem to be a magnet for the wildlife around here, and that includes some of our neighbors :D
 
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Okay - having a bad hair day and can't find the what are you eating thread so I'm posting here in the General Chat Thread - my OH has gone on a cooking kick, well, a making her own fudge kick and has just made her first batch which is in the fridge hardening and should be ready in about 3 hours :)
It’s in the cooking thread.
 
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