General thoughts about the process of finding RW and this website

[Taz]

Antidate tends to polarize people more than most sites. I've been there for a LONGGG time. It tends to show the you the side of RW you don't want to see very often too. Sort of like the saying "
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!"

Our version would, God save you if you piss of a RW!

[Ade]

Care to qualify your statement?

Seriously, do I need to?

I think RWD and most members do quite well cutting to the core of matters at hand.  It's fairly easy to skim flotsam.

"Most members"? You're being a little too generous I think.

[dneid]

Hey, Taz,
I enjoyed your posts in this thread you started.  Made me stop and think and look back through a few other threads.  I do tend to agree with you about the general decline since I started here about a year ago.  However, I still find some great stuff here.  I have learned to ignore a few folks who post here as I find most of the input to be sour and unproductive.

My original intent for being here was to learn from others who have traveled this path successfully.  Isn't that the way you can succeed?  I have found most folks here to be very helpful and I discovered a great deal of great information here (your's are included in that list!).  And the conversations we have had in the past on the phone where so enjoyable.  I am still interested in trying to connect with you on a trip in the future if no other reason than it would certainly be an adventure of a lifetime 

So, what do I want to say here in this post?  Please keep posting.  I find your insights to be so valuable and do enjoy reading your posts.  There are about 5-7 guys here that I regularly checked for new posts from and you are one of them.  BTW, myrddin, I am waiting for a TR from you!!!

Once I am back to work and my finances are recovered, I want to schedule a trip back to Ukraine.  After going once, I am ruined.  Just love the country and the people and the women are amazing.

Well, this is my 2 cents worth......

[Sculpto]

Sculpto you are one of the examples that shows it does pay off to bust a guys balls when he is getting on the wrong track.
When comparing your current posts to the story on Antidate, I should give you the 'most improved' award, even if you are not out of the woods yet.

For the old guys, when there is less new inflow all that remains is discussing the same old topics with the same old guys. And be honest, most of us are not yet senile enough to enjoy that.

Shadow.. I think that is a compliment lol.. yeah I was off my rocker last year but perhaps I needed to get my butt kicked in Ukraine, on the ground, by a very well organized scam operation to see the light.  Also, my friend in Odessa confessing her role in the scam at HRB.RLM did a lot to open my eyes.  The commentary on anti-date last year honestly did nothing to help.  I was already too far gone in the fantasy that Yulia of Kherson with the help of Valentin B from her agency and a translator named Svitlana (goldenswirl) created and I bought with pleasure.  I see it as part of my responsibility to this community to help other guys avoid the same mistakes I made.

My current situation, even though I stopped myself from going too fast with the help of this community, is so completely different in every respect I wish I could convince every guy to do things in a smarter way.

I am still a member at anti-date but I do not post there and only read it occasionally.  It feels like a hostile environment and I feel those women are generally too biased to be really helpful.  I remember them telling me how it was so much about money and I was dreaming that it would be possible to find a non-materialistic girl, yet, I did find her and she is so far everything I could have ever hoped for.  If I had listened to a lot of the advice given on anti-date I would have quit my search.  Maybe that is why it is called anti-date.. they do not want people to be succesful.

[myrddin]

I've spoken with Taz about some these issues offline, but I think I have a broader perspective now.  Perhaps some of the trends I thought I saw were seasonal (hard to believe that I only joined about 10 months ago).  The main reason I've been gone for awhile is that I've been so busy.

When I started, I was so fascinated that I read every single post, even though I didn't see myself actually going anytime soon.  I was impressed that the petty differences and nonsense that invaded virtually every other board I've ever pursued (and eventually gave up on), seemed significantly reduced.  I was also impressed that I shared so many interests with so many of the members, many of whom were intelligent, erudite, and helpful (in additon to opinionated and outspoken ).

After that first trip, my TR took a ton of time.  It was difficult to keep up with every post.  I would some things in detail and skim all I could.  It seemed to me that over the summer overall activity here increased, along with the noise to signal ratio.  And then I was heavily into preparations for the next trip (for which personal reasons and time demands prevent a TR). I visited RWD less frequently.  Now I look up after many weeks and realize ... it's been many weeks! 

I simply can not read every post, I can't even keep up with all the threads I find most interesting.  My posting-to-reading frequency went way down, as I doubt I have much to add to many discussions. I do feel that I can claim journeyman status (largely because I can predict some of the Old Guard's advice), but I've got a looooong way to go in this pursuit.

But every so often I might feel compelled to say something. For example: I'd suggest anyone considering this pursuit spend some serious time on this website before making the decision.  Without RWD, I would have fallen into numerous traps, if I had even gotten on that plane.

It feels a little like I've lost touch with some old friends whom I owe a debt of gratitude.  I hope to stop by more often.  I'll have to watch the clock, though: there's an addictive quality to RWD that can cost me A LOT of time. 

As for the addictive quality of RW themselves, I have no intention of trying to curb that!