What is your initial reaction when you see you have a private message when you log back into ATS?

For me I am thinking my thread has been moved ,closed for not being the first to post a topic, or I am using potty mouth sailor talk or hay we liked a thread you posted applause DO NOT REPLY TO THIS U 2 U ..

a reply to: nonspecific

"What rule did I break this time"

a reply to: nonspecific

Don't know...I never log-off.

Very rarely have I received a PM. Maybe like 4x. Two were about my avatar and other couple for applause.

No news is good news, I suppose.

Ha ha , it goes in cycles with me . Last week 2 applause within minutes , then a month or so ago it was 2 warnings in an hour or so . I guess its beer X subject matter over not thinking things through .

Do you guys actually get notifications? I have to actually go to the mail to see if there's any. I love getting mail though.

My curiosity bugs in before I have time to think or panic.

I do send the odd message, often if someone has put a personal worry up or I have something private to contribute which I hope will help. I also send one if I think someone is a lone voice and saying the right thing (in my view) and everyone is on their case, because its obvious certain 'lobbyists for their own causes exist here. I have never sent anything nasty as I snarl openly.

'Hmm, somebody sent me mail.'

Most of the time I am just curious when I see I have mail.

There has been a couple of times though, that a discussion got heated and I replied in an ugly way to someone who was being ugly with me, and as soon as I hit post I knew I was going to get reprimanded. I had weighed the consequences against my sense of needing to stand up for myself... so in the morning, seeing that envelope lit up, I have already accepted it and don't feel any hesitation. Just a solemn recognition of the mod who sent it, doing their job, as expected.

a reply to: nonspecific

My reaction to that little white envelope is different depending on my circumstances at the time. For example, recently my time has been consumed by events in my flesh life, which have extremely serious consequences for my livelihood, and my physical and mental safety. These have, by necessity, caused my on site time to be reduced, and my contributions to slacken in terms of frequency and regularity. So if I receive a message here on the site at the moment, I can assume that it will not be an applause, or an off topic warning, and by process of elimination, one must then assume that the message will be of a personal nature.

However, before my life became unreasonably complicated by events beyond my control, to the degree which is currently the case, and when I was in the habit of writing more on the site, the chances were good that the little white envelope would mean that I had been commended for a good post, or that a member was seeking my assistance or companionship.

a reply to: nonspecific

I kinda think...Oh # it, what have they got the hump about now?

If it's a slap on the wrist, i get pissed off at having devoted time and energy into a now deleted post.

Although i'm pleasantly surprised if it's the rare applause message.

a reply to: nonspecific

I love new mail. I've only been reprimanded once or twice on minor offenses. I don't have enough of a negative track record to worry about some warning from mods.

Though there has been an instance or two where I received applause for mediocre posts, or not completely accurate posts. Hard to explain here I guess. I don't feel like trying.

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978
Worrying about what's behind a virtual envelope? It's either a virtual applause or a virtual telling off, or worse still, a message from another member either pointing out the flaws in your rationale or like totes agreeing with everything you have to say.

Yeah I don't give a toss either, whenever I get a post removed it is no surprise, but they are just automated anyway. I think I've only ever had a couple of 'human' composed messages warning me about specific issues, but again they were no surprise either.

Applause is always unexpected though, and I've had more of that than being chastised so all good. I've had the occasional whining member try to carry on an argument privately but they are amusing more than anything.

When I expect a message or a 'telling off' for something and it doesn't happen, that is more intriguing than anything else.

I was involved in a recent thread which mysteriously disappeared (as I predicted in my final post there) but no message, no warning, just a thread gone AWOL.
I won't say any more about that, but the silence in itself I have taken as a warning to back away from the subject lol.
Not my website so I won't whine about that, but ATS mods/admins I say to you it has been noted, and by deleting 'that' thread you have sent a stronger message than you ever could have by feeding me some story or explanation regarding the subject.

I quite like being 'grainofsand' for now, so I'll play by your rules and continue that conversation in platforms outside of ATS.

I probably smile when I see the white envelope. Communications are always interesting, and sometimes educational or engaging. Even complaints make me think, which is never a bad thing at any age.

My first reaction now-a-days is "OK...who did I piss off". Often it turns out to be a mod that didn't like WHAT I said and dinged me. Not that I broke a rule...just that they didn't like it and since you can't appeal, they get away with it. I'd say that is 50% of the messages. Another 20% are people supporting something I posted. Another 20% are intelligent questions. I guess you could best call the final 10% miscellaneous. Things like "why did you make me look stupid" or "why did you call me out" and stuff.

Yeah...while I used to be here for fun and learning, more often than not...these days...I am pointing out hypocrisy, anti-semitism, religious hatred and facts about homosexuallity (etc.) such as "a person can't actually change their sex". The funny part is that while I know the majority of these "discussions" don't change a thing, I get baited into responding by the headlines or the obvious agenda of the OP.

What I would LOVE to do is discuss...without a goal or agenda...deeper beliefs, questions and concerns about life, belief and solutions. But today's ATS has no room for that. As soon as a thread starts...in comes the gang to shut you up, call you an idiot or change the topic. Quite sad really. This used to be a place for thinkers and discussion.

But I digress.

Curiosity.

I look forward to chatting one on one with others. Some of the topics around here are rather sensitive and u2u give an opportunity for a more intimate discussion.

I'm here to practice learning and expressing myself. It can be easier to do that with less distractions. A lot of the ideas I entertain may appear pie in the sky to those who haven't shared this side of life. A part of me hopes someone has questions or comments on more personal levels. (ie. examples, tips or anecdotes)

So far, so good. I've been feeling inspired and grateful by the members and staff I've talked to.