Why am I here...?

Day 510, 04:25 • Published in Australia Australia • by Ranger Bob

Good morning, e-Australia

Since there has been a number of n00bs writing about why they joined, and how they have found the eAustralia experience, I thought I would start out with describing the last month or so for me, what i've found of the experience so far, the friends I have made, and what I hope for our country's shining future.

It was a random day in March that I stumbled on the e-republic site, mainly through clicking incorrectly on a web advert on another site...initially I was pretty skeptical, mainly becuase whenever you read something is free, you tend to wonder what the catch is, and by putting my email address in I would probably end up with 25+ requests to join a matchmaker service, or about some you beaut $0.20 cent plasma tv screen or worse - meet some ranting lunatic about how I can earn $5,000 by selling paint to blind people. Either way, my expectations were low.

Within a couple of hours of joining, I did my two clicks, joined up on the forum (as per the message said when I joined) and pretty much wondered what the heck I was meant to do....THEN, I found IRC and met a great bloke BenP who then introduced me to a few others (Scoty, Br0adside, Corny, Tay and too many others that would take up the rest of this post if I put them all down) and I realised there was much more to this game than just two clicks. It was mainly my dumb luck in discovering IRC that encouraged me to stay - and through this actually read all the forums (which seemed to be more and more addictive the more I read) and start to really care about our eCountry and building for the future.

Since then, I have felt part of a very welcome eCommunity, and have really yet to find people who are completely intolerable and obnoxious (even AW - "I may not agree with what you say mate, but I defend to the death your right to say it" - Voltaire). To this end, I think growing as a community is more than just the strength that some suggest, more than just the economy as others do. I think it is about building our sense of community and place in the world, and recognising we may not end up being a superpower like the major players (Indo, US, Rom, etc etc) - but we can work together to diplomatically get back what is ours (eAustralia) and develop into a civilised society with a real place on e-Rep.

I am very active and continue to remain so, because I believe it is like Karma - we can all feed off each other's enthusiasm and committment, and share the highs (such as the Q5 hospital achievement - well done Scot for coordinating this) and lows (such as the recent private wellness drama, which was unfortunate but seems to have resolved amicably for both parties and others involved).

Anyway mainly this first article is to thank my bad mouse clicking, but mainly to thank you all for making one n00b welcome and a part of the eAus community. And, that is everyone's achievement!!

(BTW, shameless plug: #E-PUB on IRC - the UN may have failed, but that's because they DIDN'T SERVE BEER!!!)