Crymomma,

The main purpose of this forum is to share and discuss issues pertaining to the Gnutella network and p-p filesharing.

Your posts are in the right place, (the Lounge), where we go off-topic. It is one of my favorite places to visit; I thoroughly enjoy the humor, political commentary, and personal views from members the world over.

I have noticed that you often post news items without adding your own comments. Thus, I don't understand why you choose a particular story to share. The housefire mentioned above is a real tragedy, but the story is not unique. I would have appreciated your telling me why the story stood out to you or why anyone else here would be especially interested. After all, there was a lot of other news that day, some of which had a direct impact on me and/or other forum members.

The advantage we have here, as UK Bob mentioned, is that we can get beyond the headlines. Sometimes one of us knows more about the story than what is presented in the article. Someone in Europe might know something that my government or my news media does not reveal. We can also learn from one another's histories; my country's new idea may have already been tried elsewhere, and so we can be forwarned of possible untoward outcomes.

Don't just share the news, share your thoughts!