pamsandiego

I am stymied by the choice of words in the poll, but I love the fundamental question. Do I wish I had never been involved with TWI? I would have to say no. Certainly, on some level, I wish I could relive that particular black hole in my life - spend it more wisely. Yet it is as much a part of me as all the sound and lasting choices I've made. Sure, I would have been better off had I used those years to finish college earlier, be smarter about love, pursue meaningful work sooner... a virtual what-ifathon. But I cannot realistically regret the nature of a path that taught me so much. I cherish the parts of myself that led me into fellowshipping with the Way. The conviction, the rebellion, the drama and passion... I might never have embraced them so fully if I hadn't wasted them so thoroughly for the better part of a decade. That compromise of my individuality is something I will never forget. And, more importantly, it is something that is no longer possible - not to THAT degree - thanks to a lesson learned the hard way. TWI is a part of me. It's a ragged, sometimes bitter, but mostly-digested revision of self that I value immensely. I couldn't take it back. I would lose what I became. [This message was edited by pamsandiego on February 09, 2004 at 2:16.]

hopper - took me 15 years to have a dream where I got to tell off lcm - worth the wait - very satisfying

The piece was a paid advertisement which aired just once, and according to the exec. for the company that produced it, it won't be aired again - or reproduced for TWI to use, as is typically the practice with these spots. Whatever "results" they got from it would appear to be a one-shot deal that got ... shot down. Not much bang for the abundant sharing buck there.

I say let them have it too, corrydj. Of course they are allowed to do it. It's absolutely their right, and they may even get some "results" as Rocky said. They certainly need to try. Letting folks know there is another side to TWI's story is about all we can do. And that's plenty. We've already made a dent. This gesture on their part says as much to me about us, and our presence online, as it does about them. Their corporate "wash" has been hanging on the line for awhile now.

I can't help but think that this ad was TWI's attempt at ministering to their own public image, either for recruiting new people or for improving their general status beyond Weirwille Rd. Given the rowdy yet vibrant and critical voice of the ex-Way community on the internet, dealing with their reputation makes sense. May not have been one of their more brilliant moments, but isn't it a fascinating little choice? Headed out with a fistful of horn o' plenty dollars and bought themselves some face time. And my oh my, is it ever a decidedly corporate strategy. I find that so very interesting. Nice try boys. And thanks! We kinda needed a little something to focus on. Make no mistake however - we're here, we're in gear, and we're NOT going away.

Yeah... what Raf and QQ said. I happen to share many of your questions CC. Posting specifics about location are the only concern.

Hmmm... are Paw and George brothers? :D-->

Hey Paw! Is this survey rigged? I voted NO, but it showed up as Yes -- 1 day. Hmmm... I suppose unlimited editing has a couple of disadvantages. It allows people to "purify" their posts (in a heated exchange, for example - kind of a sneaky way to tweak the debate) and it even makes it impossible to totally eliminate the content of posts (annoying at best - thread derailing at worst). While I'm not at all in favor of such behavior, I'm not sure it warrants control. When after-the-fact editing significantly changes the nature of an important exchange, people usually get called on it - which is a good thing in my opinion. Sadly, it's more common to see pointless nagging about the issue over occurrences which aren't really that significant (hey... now THERE'S a rationale for limited editing that I might just be able to get behind - keeping the control-freaks at bay). I guess I'm just more concerned about the needs of the newbies, the naive, and the nitpickers. When I first posted on WayDale, I put my real name in the text of my post (gasp). Couple days later, after my first weird internet/real-life exchange, I decided I needed to be one of those people who DOESN'T choose to use their real name (fixed a few punctuation errors while I was at it too). And I've seen similar retractions of all sorts of stuff since (inspired by everything from sobering up to finding out about the WayGB or hearing from one's divorce lawyer). I've learned not to give a $hit if people don't happen to follow tacit rules, and really, I'd much rather have a cow over one of my own commas than a mysteriously "left blank" post. In fact, I do it all the time.

Great thread Radar. I was non-Corps staff at headquarters in 1986. The meeting took place on a Corps Night, so of course, I wasn't there. This bookstore worker bee had no freakin' clue. I have only the vaguest memory of a general somber tone the next day. It think someone must have told me something heavy had gone down the night before, but it was all very clandestine (and if what Ellen said is true, I can certainly understand why). I was clearly out of the loop, and like a good little worker bee, I probably spent the day blessing all the paperwork that crossed my desk. Fortunately, by the time Corps Week rolled around later that year, I had the sense to sneak into a damn meeting and hear Chris Geer read POP again. It was the beginning of the end for me. I regard the paper with an appropriate amount of salt these days. Yet it served a purpose in my opinion... by inducing an upheaval.