Why do you use Gransnet?

I like to have something else to do whilst I am watching TV. I only look at the forums, some are a subject I have an interest in, some just to have a laugh at the petty squabbles.

Yes to all the above!

I feel involved in people's lives now and would miss them if I didn't check in. Obviously, I feel a greater connection with some people than others.

I have made friends, both real and virtual, which is not what I expected when I joined gn.

I have come to rely on my virtual friendships over the last couple of months (leg injury so sofa bound for 4 weeks, just getting mobile)

There is always a Gran around to chat to. Dip in cautiously to the political forums, Brexit threads appear a lot calmer recently. Always amazed at the things I have found out since joining.

I rarely look at anything except the forums and I started doing that when I moved to a new area and was looking for ways to get to know other people and make friends.

Now, I usually settle down for an hour with my morning coffee to read through the active threads (although not all of them). I enjoy the give & take of information, the humour and helpfulness, the feeling of connection with people across the country and across the world, most of whom I'll never meet but who I've shared an emotion or an experience with.

I sometimes look in during the evening, too - I don't own a TV set and sometimes can't settle to a book or the radio.

I can't think of anything which would make me do things differently or would 'improve my experience '. I'm a contented user: please don't do anything to change that!

It’s my only connection with people, i am on as soon as I wake, have people to say good morning to, shudder to think how I would had survived a very dark time last year. I learn, am given encouragement, give encouragement when I can, play a few games, it has become the family I no longer have.

I enjoy it and need it.

annie

I am happy to help especially if it is related to my ex professional life and I can help re the questions.

I have made real and virtual friends- this was something I had not expected. 4 of us meet up for coffee monthly and have been doing it for over 3 years now. We spend two hours laughing and chatting.

I spend too much time on GN to the detriment of other things in my life!

All of the above. I joined out of curiosity, like having an opportunity to discuss all kinds of subjects, like being able to offer information and advise others in areas where I have expertise, enjoy being flip and silly at times. I also have the opportunity to interact with people whose lives and life experiences are very different from mine and that can never be anything but a good thing.

I have made good real friends through GN, although I never intended that. Like most people I have never posted a profile or photo of myself and when I fill in questionnaires, I never enter the prize draw to protect my anonymity.

I only access GN when I am on my computer, never on my phone and I do not have a tablet. I do it at any time of the day, and, occasionally, night. It is the perfect procrastinator. I am only on GN now because I ought to be doing something else

I access GN on my iPad. Never on my phone and not generally on my computer.
I can’t remember why I first went onto the forum but I find most of it interesting and informative.
I never join in the games and rarely do anything other than read and post on threads.
I feel it would be extremely helpful to have a warning at the top of every thread to remind me to engage my brain before posting!

I like Gransnet because it gives me interaction, information and a bit of a laugh now and then. I always start my day with the Good Morning thread, and have a couple of visits to the kitchen, but I dip in and out of the other threads as the fancy takes me. It doesn’t take the place of books, but it does quite often take the place of TV. I have met some lovely grans, and hope to meet some more. I could not imagine my day without Gransnet in it somewhere.

Much has been said and I totally agree,as mainly disabled and housebound I probably look in more often than others, starting with Good Morning and a few games to get me going. I pop in and out most days until my early retiring at 6/7 pm....using my PC.
I have made a number of friends in the relatively short period of time I have been here,messages flow, having no children I find a disadvantge sadly,because of course it is aimed at Grans.
I hope to actually meet a few GN`s one day,meanwhile I enjoy my interaction in the Kitchen,on the games and in the chat threads, whilst have made my own contribution to the Blog section.
Personally I am more than satisfied and just say..........more of the same if you please!!!......and Thank you .

I come on GN when I’m sitting with a cup of tea.

Why? I don’t really know as sometimes it irritates me to hell with the trivia. Another thing that irritates me is when I really agree with a poster, and would like to register that agreement, or acknowledge a point being made, but the moment has passed as the post is 3 pages further back or a day old. A ‘like’ button would help in these circumstances. Also a ‘like’ button would stop some posters feeling ignored.

Sometimes a poster hits the nail on the head and makes me LOL, but this was mainly in the ‘old days’. I do like to try to follow the thought processes of posters, and it makes me realise there’s a whole different world of people out there that I’m never likely to meet in RL.

However, I prefer FB and spend more time on that as my FB friends are people I know from RL, past or present and I can keep up with them via that media.

I joined GN for the competitions which I found via a competition website. But my curiosity (nosy!) led me to reading the forums. I lurked for a long time then bit the bullet!
I have has some great advice and support along the way and (I hope) have made some friends both here and in the real world.
The only change I would like to see is a like button which I know has been mentioned before.
Thanks Gransnet for being there when (and when I didnt) need you!

I tend to just browse the 'last day' forums on my laptop only and usually when I'm having a quiet day. I probably use it more in winter when there's no gardening to be done. Very occasionally I will respond to something that really grabs my attention. Initially I'd hoped that I'd make a few virtual friends but that hasn't happened and I don't live near enough to any of the meet-up groups so don't see that changing.

I use it to ask for advice and to feel there are people out there to connect with. I am incredibly careful now (having had a very bad experience) to change details and sadly not to share anything really challenging that could be picked up by newspapers or placed on Facebook.

I joined quite a while ago but didn't post until a couple of years ago. Now I find that GN has become the first thing I check in a morning, after the news. I've met some really lovely and interesting people (and look forward to meeting more in the future) and I've made some good penfriend too. I like it!

I use Gransnet to brighten my day, obtain helpful hints and information, and have also made a few friends through it.

I look in several times a day (probably too often), generally just look on the Active page, but not at the games. I have picked up a few tips on various subjects, and had a good few laughs too at some of the threads. If they start getting really contentious I tend to stop reading, but I enjoy it and have even started a few threads myself!

Keep on doing what you are doing GN, it certainly adds interest to my day!

I have mentioned a few times that I liken GN to a nice magazine.
It has some good articles, on almost everything and anything.

I have had some good travel suggestions

Helpful health and medical advice.

Plus some very useful
cookery suggestions (the classic one has got to be using a slow cooker to bake bread!).

Fashion and gardening often make interesting reading

I very much enjoy the games threads

And I often have my nose pressed against Soops kitchen Windows.

However its our lovely Grandsnetters that keep GN interesting and amusing.
And of course HQ that keeps the GN wheels turning.

I know that some gransnetter have received much needed support through some very tough times.
It is wonderful that in some small way virtual friends can reach out to people in real life

I joined pretty much at the beginning of Gransnet and have been on here, most days, ever since. I always use my desk top computer, never my phone or i-pad.

The first thing I do each morning, is make a cup of tea and go on the Good Morning thread and then I browse anything else that is running at the time. Not a lot of threads usually open as I am an early bird.

I dip in and out throughout the day. It feels a bit like having a lot of pen friends to contact as much or as little as I wish. I have had personal messages to and from several GNs. It's odd how affectionate I feel towards certain Grans even though I have never met any in real life - not knowingly anyway!

I enjoy Soops Kitchen and also the competitions and the book club. I have won lots of books over the years and also two holidays. I think it is a valuable social service to link us together. A bit like the outback radio in Australia does.

I do avoid contentious threads and avoid confrontational posters as I would do in real life. I would prefer all the games threads to be under one heading - the take up too much space quite often and do not interest me.

Please maintain Granset - it is important to me and to many others as demonstrated by the number of regular posters. for GNHQ!

I think Gransnet can be improved. As has been said posts get confusing. People do respond to 'other' points raised in a thread and even if you respond immediately, the response can get lost further down the thread.

If there was the ability to respond directly to any poster on a thread it would help.

Also for me, there are far too many forums. I think a few could be condensed into others. For example do we need a separate pets one or could it be included in chat/ask a gran? Do we need a menopause one as well as Health? Could 'blog' come under 'any other subjects'? I don't know - just throwing ideas around but many of them I never even get around to looking at.

I like to dip in and out during the day. It's good to read other opinions on matters of interest and news. I like the fact that there is quite an age range of posters despite it being GN.
I'm not interested in the games threads.
I have kept updated on UK political news thanks to GN.
I agree with Cherrytree some Gransnetters have been through difficult times and found a source of support on GN.

Will do a detailed answer tomorrow. But in the meantime I do think being able to reply to a comment (rather than asterisk the name) or "like" a comment would be very useful as on facebook. ( I prefer Gransnet though).