However...…..

[Elisabeth41]

Firstly I must start by saying what a wonderful forum this is, with a fantastic dedicated band of people who have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share and help guide us. I cannot thank you all enough for showing me the way up when I was at my rock bottom. Most if not all of us when we come to the forum and ask for advice are feeling vulnerable to some degree at the very least. Very occasionally I read replies that leave me feeling uncomfortable. I do realise that all replies are done in good faith and many will offer different points of view. It is up to the poster then to chose the best way forward for them. Here is my 'however', sometimes I think that a few of these replies come over as sounding a little aggressive even though they were probably not meant to. Sometimes I have seen replies that make me feel I have been rapped over the knuckles with a ruler by an 'old school headmistress' and sometimes there are replies that ramble on without answering the posters question at all. All of this could be confusing and upsetting particularly to a distraught newcomer. This leads me to check with myself at least before I click on the reply button. Is my reply appropriate to the actual question being asked and have I written it in a way that indeed shows empathy to the poster.