Back to Basics

I have had some time to reflect on what I am doing. I log on to the Main Site most days and then go to the Forum to see what topics are being aired. Mostly it is ‘interesting’ –but I do not have much of an inclination to add my two penniesworth of wisdom mostly because it has already been said in some way or another. The same contributing names keep cropping up day after day but I have noticed that the quantity of contributions has dropped off quite considerably. Going back twelve months or more and a different mix of names are cropping up regularly and then they too fade away. Such is life –generally.

Various clubs that I have been a member of have had the same problem insofar as a few enthusiastic members keep things rolling along and one by one they fade away as they progress through their life. The trick for the club is to find a source of membership renewal to keep the item going. To be honest I would not know, at this time, how one would go about this. So it would seem that it IS all about Survival.

I looked up the word Survival in an online dictionary and as the site is fairly comprehensively configured it gave me the option of the meanings of the word in American English and British English. I chose British English as I live in England –the home of the language as I know and understand it. As a Noun it can be taken to mean “a person or a group of people factually continuing to exist” or “something from a previous time that continues to exist”. As an Adjective it can be taken to mean “continuing to exist or wanting to continue to exist”. Interestingly the dictionary then goes on to two other related items.

• Survival Kit –a noun –“a small box containing things that you need in order to stay alive if you are in a difficult or dangerous situation in which you are unable to get help”.
• Survival of the fittest –again a noun –“the principal that animals and plants suited to the conditions they live in are more likely to stay alive and produce other animals and plants than those that are not suited”.

So, what has this got to do with SUK?

After all the necessary reorganisation/cleansing of things that has gone on recently ‘we’ appear to be at a crossroads and our leader SD has asked for some contributions –he may allow this to be posted and encourage you to respond in a suitable manner. As of the time of putting this together some time has elapsed since the last contribution. My observations are as follows. The Forum is trotting along quite reasonably. The Main Site has not had its usual flow of articles. Both of these must be obvious I would think. Most folks like to read and acquire a little knowledge and/or guidance. Liking to contribute is not so prevalent unless it is a one off witticism –and there are many of those. Also the current pressures of ‘modern day life’ do not allow for the reasonable amount of time required for organising one’s thoughts and then committing them to ‘paper’ for consideration by the rest of us. This item, such as it is, has taken me several hours to put down in an orderly fashion due to the normal chop and change of priorities during my family day.

My thoughts return to the dictionary and “continuing to exist or wanting to continue to exist”. Part of keeping this site going and remaining vibrant and interesting is an exchange of ideas and information and the desire of the ‘membership’ to want to see this continue. This can only be done by getting actively involved even if only in a small way. More members required? Yes certainly but how to get them? We are told that ‘the economy’ is getting back to normal (whatever that means) so people will be less fearful and become more optimistic about life in general, so that might just make it more difficult to ‘recruit’. Do you actually want your neighbours and friends to know about your ‘activities’ and ‘interests’? Perhaps online promotion is the only way? Promoting survival as a lifestyle choice rather than as a necessity may be the way.

Your comments and general responses would be appreciated at this point.

Skean Dhude Comment :

I’d like to thank Iaman Englishman for this article. It may be a simple but it puts a stake in the ground which we can look at and comment on.

As you are aware I’ve always said this is your site and it is your contributions that make it. The sites are tools and not really used in the best way but such is life. Articles are posted to the forum where they get a quick discussion and are lost for future members. Myself, I post mainly on the main site but I only have so much experience and thus there are only so many articles I can write with some degree of authority. Even those are frequently disputed by people with different experiences and we all learn. The situation is that I’m just out of articles. Except for the work I’m doing at home I can’t think of anything else to write about. So the future of the site is in your hands. I’m happy to save it as an archive for anyone coming along in the future but would prefer if it was a topical and updated tool. I’ll contribute where I can but it really is over to you.

Let me know your views but more importantly let me have some articles of your knowledge and experiences.