Balancing Time: was SCD questions - tea and yogurt

[Guest guest]

At 01:18 PM 8/1/2010, you wrote:

And as a 'NEWBIE " .. I am

being made to feel as if my questions will be an interuption in the flow

of conversation of the SEASONED SCDer's... Not a very

welcoming feeling.. The constant reminders that a question or

conversation was discussed in the past makes me feel as the

interuption....A single parent working 45 hours a week.. It takes all the

time I have to read each post much less find time to back up and read all

of the pass conversations.. Even when I did do a search through past

conversations I still did not find my answer and had no choice but to

ask..

First of all, the only " bad " question is the one you don't

ask.

There's no intent to make you feel as if you shouldn't be asking a

question. You're stressed with the amount of work you're doing, between

SCD and your paying job.

Since you raised the question, I'd like your input on this.

How do we keep from having newcomers afraid to ask what may be a critical

question while not driving long-term people and moderators stark raving

crazy with repetitions? Particularly if the newcomers are, as you

state, too busy to look things up?

I know that when I joined the original SCD list, the first question asked

of newcomers was " Do you have your copy of BTVC? " and if the

person hadn't bought a copy, they would be told to get it at once, since

you couldn't do the diet without it.

It wasn't uncommon to be told " Check on page X of BTVC for the

answer to that. " Elaine had no web site and Pecanbread wouldn't be

started for several more years, let alone have a website. (It's a little

harder to do that now with several editions of BTVC out.) There was one

recipe site. There were no blogs. And there were two, count 'em,

two, SCD cookbooks.

One of the goals of this list is to teach people how to help themselves.

When you're sick and stressed, it can be hard to find the gumption to do

your own research. Yet everyone on this list is in the same boat. The

people who answer questions are also sufferers with these wretched gut

issues. Their time, too, is limited.

How do we balance the time and needs of new members, longer-term members,

and moderators?

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle