⌨ Please stop opening these birthday threads

[Roulette Zeitung]

Empathy is a great gift and some thing do more harm than good.
I am observing these birthday threads since a long time and stopped posting into them.
The reason is very simple.
Only a few clicks.
Sometimes only a fistful of posts.
Fading slowly into irrelevance after two days.
And the birthday boy or girl?
Take a moment to reflect how they feel.
Without hits.
Without congratulations.
Some of them for sure feel like a drowned rat.
And I don't talk about the congratulations, only written to come on the monthly list.
Also the serious one are not enough for inward peace.
A birthday thread is no place for superficiality.
But it's also a place that can do more harm than good.
Over 90% of all members in a forum don't care about each other.
It's only a masquerade.
If you are souled with empathy, stop opening birthday threads.
The better choice, a real present to members in my opinion.

Leopold

[Mattbar]

Does this have anything to do with the fact you have your birthday on here listed as Christmas Day and there is no on on here on Christmas day to wish you happy birthday?

[Roulette Zeitung]

Does this have anything to do with the fact you have your birthday on here listed as Christmas Day and there is no on on here on Christmas day to wish you happy birthday?

No, but your answer is exactly what I believe is common forum culture.
Do you really believe, that the internet is a part of my life I really need?
Oh really not, because a lot of people from forums in real life are smaller than they play their online role.
But the internet is good for debunking people who deserve it. That's a point.
Regarding this "forum culture" topic during a nice conversation today I scrolled down the thread pages of the chatter box to watch the last birthday threads. After I saw, that nothing has changed the last months, after some kisses and waiting for the postman with the dog food, I wrote simply, what some people have told me behind the scene about birthday threads and what is my own thinking.
In Germany my birthday is not Christmas day.
It's one day after Christmas.
It's a normal official holiday here like our "Day of repentance and prayer" but I am surrounded by my family and friends. Real life. No one is using internet in our house this day or would waste any second to read in forums.
Only if you are old enough and with enough life experiences you will learn, that internet forums are nothing but an illusion. If you know that, then you can laugh about it and use forums to change something.
Better than 3-words-blah blah blah posts.
Not always successful.
But from time to time.
The gambling industry quickly can change the character of the all participants.
It's the old story.
There is a reason, why so many external persons don't see any difference between drugs, prostitution and gambling industry.
You can ignore it.
Or change something to the good.
At least to try.
Money is nice but love and health are more important and indescribable things.
Empathy is not given to each.
The main thing in forums is very easy.
A big part of people don't understand, that some are talking good about others or think about others feelings without having any benefit.
It runs like a line also through GPWA.
And every time I am asking myself: "Are they thinking in real life the same way?"
The answer must be "Yes", because otherwise this world would not be flooded by so much anger, hate, suffering and sorrow.
On a more spiritual level, yes, I believe that everything happens for a reason.

Leopold

[wonderpunter]

Does this have anything to do with the fact you have your birthday on here listed as Christmas Day and there is no on on here on Christmas day to wish you happy birthday?

Im here Xmas day.. Sad but true... even news years day.. though I will have a bottle of bubbly on the go as i Work

[thebookiesoffers]

Im here Xmas day.. Sad but true... even news years day.. though I will have a bottle of bubbly on the go as i Work

certainly won't be on here xmas day lol

[TheGooner]

I'll probably stop in on Christmas Day / Boxing Day as I'll be online with football fixtures anyway

[Syndicate]

Can i just say happy birthday in advance, if i'm not here on christmas day (joking). I actually agree with you, my skin starts to itch when the brown nosing starts!

[sweetbet]

I can identify with Marty, the zebra from the Madagascar movie when he said; "I'll be here all week! In fact, I'll be here my whole life, 365 days a year including Christmas, Hanukah, Halloween, Kwanzaa!"

[universal4]

Just ignore the threads if they bother you.

For many people, the friends and business acquaintances that they converse with on the GPWA forums regularly are considered true friends and wishing them well once a year is a form of showing they consider them a friend and respect them personally as well as business.

I actually consider many here as friends and have actually taken time to go and visit some of them over the years, having nothing to do with business or a conference.

Wishing them a happy birthday here at the forum has to do since it is not an easy task to just jump in a car or on an airplane to do so very often, but there is a fairly long list which I would be happy to do so if it were more feasible.

Rick
Universal4

[thebookiesoffers]

Just ignore the threads if they bother you.

pretty much my i look at things, never read the birthday threads so they dont bother me 1 bit

[pdjoe]

My birthday is in 3 hours Rick, Can you open a thread for me

[Renee]

My birthday is in 3 hours Rick, Can you open a thread for me

Did you get my card?

[universal4]

Damn Joe, I tried to explain I couldn't just jump in the car and go.....I couldn't arrange to get anyone to look after the cats....and besides, I heard it was getting cold up there.....lol

See don't you feel really special now Joe, Renee sent you a card....she must consider you a friend.....lol

Rick
Universal4

[pdjoe]

Thanks Renee! I'm no math major but I always know I can always count on you

Lol Rick excuses excuses

[Triple7]

Well, partly I agree with Roulette Zeitung, but there's also an option to not open these threads if you don't like them.

[baldidiot]

I'm not going to lie RZ, your posts make my head hurt sometimes....

I don't see the harm in people wishing each other a happy birthday. Yes they're a little pointless, but like the others have said just ignore them. There are plenty of threads I ignore on the forum that I have no interest in.

[Roulette Zeitung]

If some here would have shown these efforts in the last 23 birthday threads in the chatter box, this thread would not be so unmasking and amusing to me.

For the amusing everyone get a thanks from me.
Boy, oh boy!

Leopold (storyteller and puppeteer but no dancer or acrobat)

[MrBinaryAff]

RZ, it is like on Facebook. I may have 500+ friends, but I don't write to every single one of them wishing Happy bDay, if I don't know what to wish. I mean if I don't feel like wishing something special to a person then it is pointless to just write "Happy bDay mate, have a nice one!", just to put a tick and get a like from your friend.

If people here know each other in person and what to wish them Happy Birthday, then why not?

[FruityJelena]

It's cute to get your own bday thread here I was very pleasantly surprised this year when I saw one for me (although there wasn't too many congrats ). It's nice and makes you feel special, but better idea might be a private bday message from the team maybe, so bday threads won't make mess and get attention for a day or two only..

[TheGooner]

I don't agree with RZ's sentiment that the threads are annoying I think that the birthday threads are fine, but I can assure you that my REAL birthday goes no where near the GPWA or other organisations that don't need it (Facebook? Doh!) - and I suspect many others are the same.

Exposing your birthday online is ALSO giving away a piece of information for identity theft.
One major online wallet thinks it's a final secure piece of info fit to authorize payments ...


I'd bet that the most popular birthday is 1st January ... and it might be as high as 10% of members?