.

Oh yes, it is dumb out there. Bring an umbrella and wear clean underwear, because the barometer is rising and we have a front of exceptionally "educational" public posts statistically guaranteed to lead to an early winter for many of our pharmacies and, likely, an El Nino year for the USOP mentioned or indicated a few times above.

Along with the PM's that treat the recipient like an FAQ ( a barrage of questions with nary a P nor Q to soften them), less rude but more amusing are the posts that include only one vague question. "How much does it cost?" "Where are they located?" with no indication of what "it" is or who "they" are.

With the exception of shills, I respond in some way, shape or form to almost every PM I get. Even if I am just reminding a poster of the search function, or (in the case above) apologizing for having no clue as to what they are talking about. Although there are a few I PM with regularly, and the PMs devolve into something like two teenageers trying to get the other to hang up first:
PM: Thanksm you're the best.
PM: No really, you're the best. Your support has been great.
PM: Thanks again and PM anytime.
PM. No, thank you
PM: TTFN. . .I've got to get read y to head out.
PM: Me. too. Good luck with the doc.
PM:You too. Keep me updated.
PM: Will do. Bye.
PM: Bye. . .. .
PM: Are you still there?
PM: Yup, you?
PM: You're going to be late to the doc.
PM: I'm getting ready to go. I'm about to shut down the computer. Are you still hre?
PM: Yeah.

That's a little bit of an exeggeration, but when a pal and I are on at the same time we easily PM back and forth 4 or 5 times in one browser session. Of course, the conversations are not that mundane.

I also seem to get a lot of PMs from posting school--I don't blame these folks, because they don't yet have the privilege of posting publically. And its not as if no full member has ever posted an "el nino" question, like "what state is internetmeds.com located in?" or "what's the number for "Meds R US" pharmacy?" Many of the posting school posts I get are from folks who are obviously taking time to learn to the board, those who mention that they have read my posts and want information that is, admittedly, harder to find, such as med prices. I don't begrudge any of them that. And I love seeing posts from the members I know well. Not because they contain top secret information, but because they almost inevitably contain warm support and suggestions, a giggle, or a hug. There are a few folks on this board with whom the relationship has been taken to e-mail, because the conversations veer from DB-typical nature into long exchanges that are easier to follow ina bigger message box.

For some reason, my PM box morphed into the box of the USOP veteran for awhile. The posts were addressed to me, but always upened with "I know you know a lot about USOPs." That;s just plain silly, as I have only had 2 consults and 2 real relationships with OPs. I've researched many of them and talked with their staff, but that's something anybody can do. If you can type, you can do that legwork yourself. I did it to find the best OP for ME. . . and that's not going to help anybody but me.

You sure are right, labdoc. Its [i[sleeting