Friends, Romans and Countryman. Also forum members

[Kimmyh]

This thread is a great read. I love the forum and agree with just about all the suggestions, bravo Helene from me too. Couldn't have said it better. I'm another who doesn't post as regularly as I used to, but it's the first place I log onto once the children are in bed and a cuppa is made. I love the diverse range of recipes and all the tips and hints. The chit chat is the best bit and responsible for many giggles (much to DH's disgust!). I've tried blogs and Facebook, etc but find many to be unreliable, one dimensional and repetitive. Would love to be able to save recipes and don't mind a few modern tweaks here and there. Any improvements are good, but am wary of change just for change sake. Keep on mixing xox

[cookie1]

Thanks Chookie for a great photo. I don't think they were even aware that it was being taken. 

[CreamPuff63]

Love the photo, and i can imagine cookie sitting with you just as engrossed. You 3 are the bones of the forum and the reason it's so highly regarded. INAID I realize it can be intimidating breaking into a group where there is a lot of familiarity but this is what needs to be done to make yourself known/heard. With regards to trialing recipes, it's all down to personal choice of ingredients. I never make GF, failsafe, paleo, ,raw, etc unless the ingredients sound appealing or its a mistake and i don't know. I know what it's like to post a recipe and wait for reviews. The most successful recipe I've posted was in response to a DH who had just bought a TM and  wanted to make his wife her fave muffins. I looked up one online, converted it without even making it beforehand, and he loved it. We never heard from him again but the recipe has been made heaps since (Choc Chip Blueberry Muffins) including myself. With regards to "the cool kids"  I don't believe this forum has any, only chatterbox e's. Am enjoying reading  this thread. Speak up chatterbox e's, lurkers, newbies and friends the forum wants to hear from  you.

[achookwoman]

Thanks Chookie for a great photo. I don't think they were even aware that it was being taken. 

Cookie,  I think you were there in spirit.

[trudy]

I remember when that photo was taken.  Such a great day meeting not only CC but everyone else and what a wonderful lunch Chookie gave us all.

[droverjess]

I wanted to say that we were all new once, and have probably get out of the forum what we've put in, with the help and guidance of the wonderful moderators. Three cheers for JD, cookie and CC and of course The MM.

Yes it takes a bit of courage to start in on topics, and to post recipes which do take time, but I am so glad I persevered in 2012 when I first got my  .
I'd been a guest previously while I weighed up whether to get a  and the. It took me three years to save the money. I m so glad I got the  and so glad I persevered on here.

The forum has been fun, informative and a source of many great meals and good friends from all over the world. I hope it can continue.
Lately I've had help from Gert with my pics as my rural broadband is so slow.
Ask and the help comes, friendship follows.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
X

[cookie1]

Thanks Chookie for a great photo. I don't think they were even aware that it was being taken. 

Cookie,  I think you were there in spirit.

I certainly thought of everyone that weekend as we bumped and bounced along the Birdsville Track.

[Bedlam]

We need a like button. Agree with everything in your last post DJ.  I felt uncomfortable often in the beginning( it's easy to be too sensitive when reading words) but the more you involve yourself the easier it is.  Maybe there will be quiet times but I would hate to lose this friendly place.

[Wonder]

I'm another that hasn't been posting anywhere near the amount I used to be that's because general life has got in the way and while i'm doing Michelle Bridges 12Wbt I'm not using my TMX quite as much. I have been popping in and reading and apart from a few tweaks like ability to save a recipe I would like to see the forum remain pretty much as it is. The job the moderators do is amazing and the help that others provide is also fantastic.

[Bedlam]

Are you enjoying the 12wbt, wonder? How is it going?

[troupie]

INAID, I agree with what you said about joining in at first as I felt the same and then I met two lovely ladies for coffee one morning and from then on it seamed much easier; I will start going through my converted recipes now and trying to post some; up until now most of the conversion bits have been in my head but will now put pen to paper.

[*suzanne*]

I too love this forum and I can say from experience on a different one that this one is the absolute best and I've never found it hard to navigate.

When I first joined I was very nervous but the welcoming I received from my very first introduce yourself post soon made me feel welcome.

I haven't posted any recipes probably because there are so many great ones already on here and also I've not long converting some.

[Cuilidh]

Sadly, one of the more common comments is that people feel intimidated or perhaps unwelcome when they are looking at or browsing the forum or when they join.

I have to be honest and say I do not recall feeling that, but the forum had fewer than 4000 members when I joined so perhaps it was not so overwhelming way back then.  However, having said that, I had never participated on a forum before and didn't know what to expect - this remains the one and only forum I am on.  I always found it helpful and responsive and was relaxed using it ... especially as I was a complete forum and TMX novice. 

How can we get back to that sort of atmosphere?  Well, I'm not sure that it has changed all that much, actually.  Everyone who introduces themselves gets a warm welcome and are encouraged to be active and participate on the forum and all subsequent posts are nothing less than positive and often very inspiring.  Perhaps we could be seen as 'cliquey' or 'cultish' by some, but I am positive that that is true of every single forum or social situation, regardless of the subject; there will always be a mixture of new and old relationships in any social setting and everyone was new at one stage.  To me that is a healthy sign of members interacting with their fellow forum friends and, regardless of everything else, like meeting people for the first time in any situation, that is just what making new acquainances (later to become friends) is like.  You have to put something in to get something out and I find I personally get so much more 'out' of this forum than I put in to it.

[jo_nz]

I think that welcoming, friendly atmosphere is still here...well, actually it's a wee while since I joined, but I certainly felt welcomed! and I think we still reply to new members introductions and try to get to know people.
Maybe it's just the name - we are a thermomix forum, so we have a strong thermomix bent. Also we are a bunch of pretty satisfied users, so of course we want to share the love. So someone coming in who's got an alternative machine or still thinking might find that a bit overwhelming  but at the end of it were are here to share our cooking adventures, share recipes and share a bit of our stories with each other.

I find this the most responsive forum I have been part of - questions are answered quickly and with a huge wealth of knowledge. Even chit chat comments usually get responses, although it is a place to share little snippets of life, so sometimes it moves on to the next thing pretty fast.

[gertbysea]

Absolutely Jo and Marina. It is not just a recipe community but a real community.

Maybe I could make more of an effort to say hi to new comers too .

As has been  said though you only get out of it what you put I into it. This  is the only forum I participate in  and. I was a forum virgin too. It has been great and really changed my life so I thank each and every one of you.

Gert