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[QUOTE=brendangfc]I notice the forum is getting close to it's 1,000 member - anything special planned for the lucky person?[/QUOTE]

Or, maybe a prize for the 30th one to actually post something?????? :D

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]Or, maybe a prize for the 30th one to actually post something?????? :D[/QUOTE]

Although to be fair over 600 people have posted at least once. Obviously compared to you GeorgeS we are all beginners!

[QUOTE=will]yes i know where ya coming from George......have noticed (no idea of the stats!) a tendency for the older serving members of the forum slowing up with posts and conversational stuff which is a shame.....inevitably as new members join a great many of the topics are repeated..... and to be candid i think if youve been through the loop already there's a limit to how long it can keep you stimulated....what about a lounge area for paedetricians?....a smoking room?....so to speak....this may prevent what were "founder" members from drifting away altogether and also act as an incentive to people to be more voluble about their stories......possibly this might become a bit of a clique which i guess is the danger..... ...but on the other can see these people fading away anyway......its a c**p idea isnt it? but i'll post it anyway![/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing the other day. It's shame that people drift away but then new will come to learn, have a laugh and remind us why we love Italy. Hopefully the forum will remain as useful as ever, got us out of the Sh** anyway!

The difficulty is that many people simply want an answer to one or two problems, they have researched, but cannot find the answer, so post on forum, get an answer and then get on with their lives.

Many people have a vague idea, do minimal research then post, without even looking through the forums, get an answer, then post asking for the very minute detail, again without researching at all, then, change their minds and get on with their lives.

Then there's me. I like to chat, but don't use chatrooms, I enjoy a joke, but, sometimes I get irritated by people who will not do any research of their own.
I like to think that very occasionally I might actually help the odd person :eek:

Oh dear, it seems that some of the elder statesmen of the Forum are getting a little bit miffed! You'll have to excuse me but it seems like you are getting a little bitter that new people are coming on and using 'your' forum. Gosh, some idiots are coming on and asking questions that have already been asked. So what does it matter that there are several different threads all asking how to get your codice fiscale. Maybe George you can appoint yourself PM and reply with the stock answer "I refer the honourable poster to the answer I gave earlier". Perhaps Will's idea for a smoking room for the selected few would suit you George or perhaps you should just accept that asking questions is a legitimate form of research - even if someone else has asked those questions before! When patricians separate themselves off from the plebeians we all know what happens next...how are your fiddle playing skills George? (joke)

[QUOTE=brendangfc] Gosh, some idiots are coming on and asking questions that have already been asked. [/QUOTE]

Perhaps, in time, someone will trawl through all the old 'threads', sort out the ones that regularly 'repeat' so the Forum could have a 'Frequently Asked Questions' section

Ones that immediately spring to mind to me are;-

ICI, Codice Fiscale, Taxing a Car, etc etc

I'm sure there are many more

Brenda - Yes, there may very well be something for the 1000th member - neither confirm nor deny that ;)

Will - Senators and patricians are allowed to smoke in all the forum rooms

Alan - wise words as usual. It will all happen in due time!

[QUOTE=alan haynes]Perhaps, in time, someone will trawl through all the old 'threads', sort out the ones that regularly 'repeat' so the Forum could have a 'Frequently Asked Questions' section

Ones that immediately spring to mind to me are;-

ICI, Codice Fiscale, Taxing a Car, etc etc

I'm sure there are many more[/QUOTE]

I think this could be a solution.
It's what I tried to do with the threads FAQ on real estate purchases, but a single thread doesn't work, becouse after few days it sinks in the huge sea of the forum

[QUOTE=brendangfc]Oh dear, it seems that some of the elder statesmen of the Forum are getting a little bit miffed! You'll have to excuse me but it seems like you are getting a little bitter that new people are coming on and using 'your' forum. Gosh, some idiots are coming on and asking questions that have already been asked. So what does it matter that there are several different threads all asking how to get your codice fiscale. Maybe George you can appoint yourself PM and reply with the stock answer "I refer the honourable poster to the answer I gave earlier". Perhaps Will's idea for a smoking room for the selected few would suit you George or perhaps you should just accept that asking questions is a legitimate form of research - even if someone else has asked those questions before! When patricians separate themselves off from the plebeians we all know what happens next...how are your fiddle playing skills George? (joke)[/QUOTE]

I wasn't aware that I had used the term idiot and I don't consider the forum to be mine, I was simply stating my view, without criticism of other posters, nor am I particularly miffed, errrm, you hum it, I'll try to play along... ;) :)

I get the impression that there is too much fuss over nothing. I certainly haven't detected any bitterness so far. And I certainly don't see cause for concern, although I would question the true motives of some members who appear to post replies to every single thread that appears on forum.

The fact that membership is growing must count for something and in essence, I feel that forum satisfies a broad spectrum of needs.

Alas, you will always get an element of repetition, especially when new members arrive to post questions that may have been answered previously. As Notaio says, much of what has been said before becomes lost in the "system", unless of course some of the more pertitent and comprehensive answers are placed in specialist category of their own and identified accordingly.

With regards to some of the more generic questions, it would appear that there is an undisputable need to introduce FAQ's, although these can only effectively provide generic answers...something for the Magnum Concilium to consider.

This thread has really made me laugh! The good thing about this forum is that it is very much alive! Maybe the "older" members do sit back and smile at the innocence and repetitiveness of some of the questions, but at the end of the day you are offering a very good service here. No question goes unanswered and the advice is very valuable. In the forum's previous incarnation I got quick answers to several questions and was very grateful for them! Long may it continue!

If it weren't for Will and George - I don't think I would have even come back to the forum - maybe a slight exergeration (sp), but they have been soooooo nice to me and allowed me to show my excitement and share my love for Italy and I just love reading the things they have to say along with a lot of others. I must say I'm one of those ones who does not research other post and just ask - but heck I wouldn't be able to chat with all of you.

Just my thoughts :rolleyes:

Hey by the way is there a spell check when you post - I know I'm not spelling words correctly too lazy to get a dictionary, oh wait we don't even have a dictionary in this office anymore - spell check is a wonderful thing - hee hee

I'm very happy to be a new member, and I've been quite impressed with the informative and friendly postings I've been reading. My husband and I have been lurking for some time and now that we've got our current home on the market and our plans set in motion, we decided to join. We would like to contribute to this group as we can. Exchange, give and take are important. We hope to answer questions when we can and have great talks about art, music, food and things of a creative nature. I guess we're something like member # 99_(something). Thank you for your kind welcomes!

[QUOTE=Sweetpeg]If it weren't for Will and George - I don't think I would have even come back to the forum - maybe a slight exergeration (sp), but they have been soooooo nice to me and allowed me to show my excitement and share my love for Italy and I just love reading the things they have to say along with a lot of others. I must say I'm one of those ones who does not research other post and just ask - but heck I wouldn't be able to chat with all of you.

Just my thoughts :rolleyes:

Hey by the way is there a spell check when you post - I know I'm not spelling words correctly too lazy to get a dictionary, oh wait we don't even have a dictionary in this office anymore - spell check is a wonderful thing - hee hee[/QUOTE]

Forget the spelling and punctuation, just talk to us Peggy, anyhow, the spelling would be American English anyway and welcome to the couple from Marina Del Ray, woww that sound nice... look forward to seeing you in Le Marche eventually... :)

Thank you for the friendly welcome George! We also want to say hi to you too, Peggy! It's wonderful to see a fellow Southern Californian with as much enthusiasm about Italy as we have :) We're looking forward to meeting you at some point and sharing ideas and learning more about you and your adventures.

BTW, We've posted a photo link at the "Introduction Forum" of our current home we're selling. We love gardening and have some nice photos of our gardens. There are things that we have planted that enjoy the same climate in Italy as in California.

I wanted to jump in the "Gardening Forum", but I figure that I would
first see if anyone was interested. Let me know!

Dee (and John Scott)

Dee & John I saw that you were from Marina del Rey, what a beautiful town. I'm in Oceanside down south a bit. I'm so happy for you both that you are able to move to Italy - I will be there - I say that, but I know I will it is just not time yet -

You know I was a little slow yesterday so I "googled" Le Marche region - looked up different towns - holy cow there was not one town there that I didn't think was so beautiful. You know I thought next time I visit Italy I wanted to go around Cinque Terre, but what I saw just in pictures yesterday, reading about Le Marche region - I want to go and check it out. Anyway, sounding very popular with most everyone who post on the forums.

Okay, I've got to start my day it is 7:30 a.m. Friday, you are all settling down to have a glass of wine or something, oh well I have my coffee - Starbucks! ;) The is the best I can do with the coffee until I move to Italy!

George I'll chat anytime - I too do not care for chat rooms, but I love this site and the forum. To heck with the spelling :D

Have a wonderful day everyone and a great weekend, if I am not able to get back on to check things out.

Hi i have just spent nearly 5 weeks in the mountains north of Turin with my 14yr old daughter. I stayed with my cousin and her family. I am trawling through all the messages on the forum and catching up with missed questions and stories. I was not inspired to reply to anything until i stumbled accross this thread. I am not a confident user of computers and feel nervous about posting anything. I just wanted to say that perhaps there are a lot of others :D like myself, who have not just used the forum and left but who are waiting in the wings trying to work out who is who and what is worth telling. I think i might have been guilty in the past of repeating old threads so please accept my apology. I love reading all the threads but i am not wealthy enough to move to Italy or to buy a second property. I suppose this narrows the topics of conversation.

Maybe in my life time of all my throwing in my two cents I could buy a place in Italy for a few families, myself included.

Deb, heck I don't have the money right now, who knows if I will ever have the money to buy a place in Italy. But you know what is cool about the forums? The people, the knowledge, the insights, the excitement, the opinions. I love reading them, you know they helped me over the weekend for a recipe for Gnocchi - I didn't need to buy a place in Italy to get the recipe, I just knew that the people would be helpful and they were.

If I were you I would continue to read and maybe put your two cents in sometimes, it is nice to read things or participate with people who have a lot of the same interest. The love of Italy - I always say that, but I love Italy :D
Deb - George told me to keep chatting - I think he might be sorry for saying that to me, but they are the best people - you don't need to live in Italy or be moving to Italy to write in the forums.

Peggy ;)

Right now John and I are waiting for someone to buy our current home so we can move forward with our plan to buy a family home in Italy. We've been wanting this for a long time. So, even if you finally figure out how to do it, sometimes you still have to wait. In the mean time there's been a threat to Los Angeles yesterday (9-11 anniversary), and today we had some idiot cut our main power lines that effected a huge area of Los Angeles.

These kind of things make you feel like you have to drop your price, or give your home away for less than what is comparable in your neighborhood. Not fun.

We know this is just one of the steps forward, and that everyone who has a dream needs to just keep the goal in mind and keep moving towards it.

If you want to move to Italy, you will. I think it's wonderful, and it keeps me inspired to read your posts Deb and Peggy. Keep posting your enthusiasm!

J & D

The whole idea of the forum is to chat and exchange information, I think far too many people are reading too much into MY PERSONAL statement that I get irritated by people not trying the search facility first, BUT thats just ME. I still enjoy nattering anyway and am more than willing to help people both on and off forum, the whole titles thing was I think meant to be a joke, but I now believe that newcomers may feel that the titles mean something other than "Never off the blooming forum and /or full of hot air". Dive in and have achat..... :)

In case you hadn't noticed i love to chat ......and I have had some of my best giggles on here !!!

About the search facility....I NEVER find anything ...I know it is probably me :rolleyes: ...but I have tried...honest.... :o .
last week I put in ICI as I knew there was an answer somewhere to my query .....nothing ...and today I searched for Helen HKG , who I know had posted something....again nothing .... :confused:

[QUOTE=alex and lyn]In case you hadn't noticed i love to chat ......and I have had some of my best giggles on here !!!

About the search facility....I NEVER find anything ...I know it is probably me :rolleyes: ...but I have tried...honest.... :o .
last week I put in ICI as I knew there was an answer somewhere to my query .....nothing ...and today I searched for Helen HKG , who I know had posted something....again nothing .... :confused:[/QUOTE]

I'm quite novice here but I suppose the search looks words in the text itself
(and maybe headline) but not the username area on a posting - like HKG but
that was found in the Memberlist (without 'Helen').

Maybe ICI didn't appear because it's not a word? But for ex 'compromesso'
brought all the postings including that word. Hope this helps.

Paul

Hi hello and thanks to everyone who replied to my post. I love reading all the tales on line, i did have a fantastic time in Italy and am still in love with the idea of moving to Italy but too much of a coward to make the move. I had a golden opportunity when my marriage broke up and my daughter was 5 but i chose to stay because of her education.(Well that's the excuse i made at the time). I think i am one of those boring people who will always find an excuse not to make the move. Meanwhile I spend my time reading lots of books about families who have been braver than me and this keeps me going between holidays. I do have a question and i apologise if i am going over old ground. My daughter bought me the ½ûÂþÌìÌà film Il Postino with English subtitles and i love it, can anyone reccomend any other ½ûÂþÌìÌà films that i can buy in this country with English subtitles (as my ½ûÂþÌìÌà is not good enough yet). I bought two films with my cousin in Italy but they are English with ½ûÂþÌìÌà subtitles which does not help me to learn ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ. Perhaps someone knows a good website?

:confused: :confused: Just realised i should have posted my question about ½ûÂþÌìÌà films under culture and entertainment. I'm not thick I will get the hang of this in time I hope. I'll just carry on reading the posts put it down to a bad day at the office. :confused:

I've been checking the number of members and just looked [B]1003[/B] . Missed who was the lucky 1000th member........