How was your start on TTW? How have you evolved as a poster?

[Mainad]

I started out very hesitantly and a bit nervous in case I made a fool of myself in front of much more knowledgeable tennis experts. After a while I soon realised that many of these 'experts' were much bigger fools than me so I gained onfidence from that.
I love talking about tennis (none of my friends or family share my enthusiasm) so find this place, even with all the nonsense that goes on here, a welcome refuge for this particular interest and there are still just enough genuine experts on here to make my daily visits worthwhile.

PS. Never understand why some posters delete their accounts. If you don't want to post, just don't post!

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I started out very hesitantly and a bit nervous in case I made a fool of myself in front of much more knowledgeable tennis experts. After a while I soon realised that many of these 'experts' were much bigger fools than me so I gained onfidence from that.
I love talking about tennis (none of my friends or family share my enthusiasm) so find this place, even with all the nonsense that goes on here, a welcome refuge for this particular interest and there are still just enough genuine experts on here to make my daily visits worthwhile.

PS. Never understand why some posters delete their accounts. If you don't want to post, just don't post!

They do want to post. Not having the account available takes away that temptation.

 

[sureshs]

I think, more than in tennis, I have grown spiritually as a person after joining this group.

 

[PrinceMoron]

 

[stringertom]

I started out very hesitantly and a bit nervous in case I made a fool of myself in front of much more knowledgeable tennis experts. After a while I soon realised that many of these 'experts' were much bigger fools than me so I gained onfidence from that.
I love talking about tennis (none of my friends or family share my enthusiasm) so find this place, even with all the nonsense that goes on here, a welcome refuge for this particular interest and there are still just enough genuine experts on here to make my daily visits worthwhile.

PS. Never understand why some posters delete their accounts. If you don't want to post, just don't post!

The second sentence describes my realization after reading the first post I encountered from the voluminous contributor @sureshs .

 

[alexio]

PS. Never understand why some posters delete their accounts. If you don't want to post, just don't post!

yea agree here, if don't want to post i don't get why it's so hard to do (not logging in), the smarter decision'd be just to forget that you have an account, or try to learn to be a bit mentally stronger and not to be slave of temptation (plus it could help you in other aspects of life, not will hurt you) besides, after that maybe sometime you will want to come back more likely rather than not, even though it's gonna be for a very short period, and in that case you will have an account and don't need to waste your time and create again another account

 

[PrinceMoron]

the voluminous contributor @sureshs .

A capacious corpus

 

[Mainad]

They do want to post. Not having the account available takes away that temptation.

If they want to post, then post. If not, then don't.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

If they want to post, then post. If not, then don't.

If only life was as simple as that.

 

[Mainad]

If only life was as simple as that.

I think it can be if you put your mind to it.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

They do want to post. Not having the account available takes away that temptation.

What's the point for the folks who just come back again and again tho?

Quitting stuff can be done btw. Just need to refocus your energies.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

What's the point for the folks who just come back again and again tho?

Quitting stuff can be done btw. Just need to refocus your energies.

I know it can be done. Managed to kick a couple of addictions this year.

Was mainly thinking about myself and another forum I left behind before I came here.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

I know it can be done. Managed to kick a couple of addictions this year.

Was mainly thinking about myself and another forum I left behind before I came here.

See? There's always an alternative.

And should it not reveal itself...?

One must simply ride the dragon's wings.

 

[Sudacafan]

Now, I am just right where I always wanted to be.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

Now, I am just right where I always wanted to be.

Were there challenges on the road to self-actualization?

 

[Sudacafan]

Were there challenges on the road to self-actualization?

Not at all.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

Not at all.

Then you were there all along, no?

 

[Sudacafan]

Then you were there all along, no?

I guess. I have been perfecting my trolling abilities, though.

 

[Azure]

I was lost when I joined and then discovered @sureshs and a bunch of odd ones in the odds and ends section. I love this part of the forum.

 

[Azure]

I think, more than in tennis, I have grown spiritually as a person after joining this group.

Your waist is not your spirit.

 

[stringertom]

I think, more than in tennis, I have grown spatially as a person after joining this group.

Fixed the obvious error in your statement.

 

[GabeT]

Over the years I participated in different types of forums, on politics (mainly US), on tech, now on tennis. Always surprised how similar they are i their combination of trolling and serious discussions. I think my trolling/serious quotient has gone down but not sure. All in all I feel I learn a lot here.

 

[Russeljones]

I used to belittle other posters in an abrasive manner. I am far more forgiving nowadays.

 

[Gary Duane]

So I came to TTW thinking I was a tennis guru. That changed quickly when I learned about ELO, weak eras, and next gens.

The first few posts of mine were very thought out and analytical. I soon learned that was a mistake.

I now have evolved into posting "ABNG, TIGER, weak era, and ngbs" along with fast and furious gifs and peaky blinders.

Man does TTW change you.

What were your first experience with TTW, and how have you evolved? Post one of your first few posts if you can find it.

@Azure @Bender @King No1e @Nole Slam @NoleFam @GabeT @MichaelNadal @Third Serve @Federer and Del Potro

@Federer and Del Potro old uso thread got me thinking about this.

I evolved like the fast and furious franchisee.

I have no idea how to find my first post, but my first experiences here were not pleasant.

What have I learned?
#1 - never post in a toxic thread because when your posts disappear, you wasted time typing.

#2 - watch posters for a bit before replying to them, see if they have any working brain cells.

 

[Gary Duane]

I used to belittle other posters in an abrasive manner. I am far more forgiving nowadays.

It pays to talk to people in private about idiocy to vent!

 

[Bartelby]

I learnt from Polonius, and from TT threads disappearing as you write, that brevity is the soul of wit.

 

[ForehandCross]

Lurked and had an account on MTF for like 2 years, but it started to die. Trust me , a forum dying doesn't look good. Good to see it has gotten back up now.

Didn't know this place even existed till end of 2019.

Can't say I was surprised with the mudslinging here, MTF trained me well.

 

[NonP]

As someone who's been here longer than most of you (if with a hiatus here and there) I can say with 99% certainty much of this nostalgia about TTW's good old days is detached from reality. GPPD has always been where the idiots and ignoramuses hang out, which is why I generally avoided that madhouse before the pandemic. Ditto Pros' Racquets and the poseurs and wannabes. And who among us TTW vets can forget Rants & Raves aka the wingnuts' paradise, which looking back (especially considering the proliferation of anti-vax and reactionary crackpots in the here and now) should never have been a thing to begin with.

Where this forum has seen an unmistakable decline is in FPPT which used to host some truly knowledgeable and passionate fans and even a couple real historians. In fact I probably would've never joined this forum if FPPT threads didn't keep popping up in my Google searches back when I was still very much a rookie eager to learn more about the game. Alas most of these serious posters have either moved on or contribute only once in a (very) blue moon. The slow death was probably inevitable given the prevailing social media climate which places conformity above all else, but it's still a shame.

So I'm left to dispense my wisdom in O&E, though I still (unwisely, yes) venture into GPPD every now and then.

 

[Bartelby]

Odds & Ends is a very light-hearted forum for the most part, as it's full of endlessly-repeated jokes and funny games to play about words and facts, etc.. But mostly tedious!

That weakness was brought to life by the endless "celebration" of dgold's cantankerous eruptions, which ended soon enough due to their content. He was a slight reversion to ranting.

As someone who's been here longer than most of you (if with a hiatus here and there) I can say with 99% certainty much of this nostalgia about TTW's good old days is detached from reality. GPPD has always been where the idiots and ignoramuses hang out, which is why I generally avoided that madhouse before the pandemic. Ditto Pros' Racquets and the poseurs and wannabes. And who among us TTW vets can forget Rants & Raves aka the wingnuts' paradise, which looking back (especially considering the proliferation of anti-vax and reactionary crackpots in the here and now) should never have been a thing to begin with.

Where this forum has seen an unmistakable decline is in FPPT which used to host some truly knowledgeable and passionate fans and even a couple real historians. In fact I probably would've never joined this forum if FPPT threads didn't keep popping up in my Google searches back when I was still very much a rookie eager to learn more about the game. Alas most of these serious posters have either moved on or contribute only once in a (very) blue moon. The slow death was probably inevitable given the prevailing social media climate which places conformity above all else, but it's still a shame.

So I'm left to dispense my wisdom in O&E, though I still (unwisely, yes) venture into GPPD every now and then.

 

[FedrMatt]

I usually only come on here during grand slams (if I can be bothered lol)

I prefer talking to people in person. So I don’t think I’ve evolved haha, I’ve just compartmentalised.

I tend to play about 4-5 times a week and looking at entering some tournaments so I’m more focussed on that. I’ll occasionally search these forums for discussions surrounding various topics, but a lot of my activity involves lurking.

 

[catskillthunder]

I started out in 2004 and think my first posts were looking for advice on my then tennis elbow problems. I believe it ended up being stringing with full poly as after I switched to a blend the pain was alleviated.

From there, I think I would peak in some of the other forums and just read things from time to time and that was usually during the 4 major events of the year. I may have chimed in a few times here and there, but was not consistent at all as you can tell by my total post count for 17 years.

Recently over the last few months I have been regularly active and engaging in posts from Pro Player Discussions, Match Results and even here at Odds & Ends.

Have I evolved as a poster? Hmmm good question. I guess you can say I have because now I engage more frequent. I try to avoid the banter and arguments over some stupid farm animal called a goat. I more often then not respect everyone's opinions and rarely get into a back and forth with someone.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I thought Pancho would beat Snake.

And I still think Pancho would beat Snake.

 

[socallefty]

In 1999, I came back to tennis after a 8-year break, bought a Ti S2, got tennis elbow in a few weeks and then embarked on learning about racquets and strings. I found this board in early 2000 and very active on the equipment forum for about a year while I was demoing about 25 racquets and many strings. Then, I bought a Babolat Pure Control+, started playing with VS gut and forgot about this forum for about a decade. From 2012, I would occasionally get on the Equipment and Amateur League sections and read posts about topics that interested me.

In 2020, the pandemic affected my job and I discovered this forum again while I was out of work with not much sports to watch on TV. I got used to spending a lot of time posting on here in between the dreary drudgery of looking for a job and even after I found one, I have now become used to spending a couple of hours on here every day. I don’t know how long it will continue once I start traveling a lot again. I try to be helpful on the equipment/adult league forums and provocative on the GPPD forums, but the repetitive idiocy (weak era, mugs, mental midget, hypothetical matchups etc.) on the GPPD forum is starting to lessen my enthusiasm for discussing pro tennis as it is obvious that most of the posters don’t play tennis or understand what it takes to win matches.

 

[ByeByePoly]

tennis elbow (1000 words) -> ATP forehand (1000000 words) -> squirrels (100 words).

I find "evolvers" irritating ... therefore Odds and Ends are my peeps. No one discusses forehands there ... uh here.

 

[stringertom]

tennis elbow (1000 words) -> ATP forehand (1000000 words) -> squirrels (100 words).

I find "evolvers" irritating ... therefore Odds and Ends are my peeps. No one discusses forehands there ... uh here.

We do speak in O&E about @sureshs , who owns both a forehand of doom and the worst nightmare of every AYCE buffet owner, the Forkhand of Doom.

 

[ByeByePoly]

We do speak in O&E about @sureshs , who owns both a forehand of doom and the worst nightmare of every AYCE buffet owner, the Forkhand of Doom.

Both odd and a leathal rear end ... made for odds and ends.

 

[3loudboys]

tennis elbow (1000 words) -> ATP forehand (1000000 words) -> squirrels (100 words).

I find "evolvers" irritating ... therefore Odds and Ends are my peeps. No one discusses forehands there ... uh here.

Tell us about that forehand in less than 1000000 words....

 

[stringertom]

Tell us about that forehand in less than 1000000 words....

One word will do… @sureshs

 

[MeatTornado]

I started out very hesitantly and a bit nervous in case I made a fool of myself in front of much more knowledgeable tennis experts. After a while I soon realised that many of these 'experts' were much bigger fools than me so I gained onfidence from that.

I love talking about tennis (none of my friends or family share my enthusiasm) so find this place, even with all the nonsense that goes on here, a welcome refuge for this particular interest and there are still just enough genuine experts on here to make my daily visits worthwhile.

PS. Never understand why some posters delete their accounts. If you don't want to post, just don't post!

That describes my situation for sure. When I first started lurking here 15 years ago I was new to the sport and intimidated by how much people knew, being able to recall specific points from specific matches 25 years prior and whatnot. And this was before YouTube had practically every match ever, so it really was just people with good memories. But when I finally joined ~10 years later I'd seen what a nuthouse this placed had become and how full of crap most of those knowledgeable posters actually were. I realized that just because they watched the sport doesn't mean they actually knew what they were talking about.

Also I'm definitely in the same boat of not having anyone IRL that cares about tennis either. So I'm pretty tied to this place for as long as I want to talk tennis.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Tell us about that forehand in less than 1000000 words....

Can't ... ran up against my lifetime cap.

 

[3loudboys]

Can't ... ran up against my lifetime cap.

How about in 2 gifs?

 

[Sudacafan]

I think it can be if you put your mind to it.

Vice would not exist if so. Only virtue.

 

[Sudacafan]

What's the point for the folks who just come back again and again tho?

Quitting stuff can be done btw. Just need to refocus your energies.

It’s like people who smoke, quit smoking, and restart the cycle.

 

[Sudacafan]

I used to belittle other posters in an abrasive manner. I am far more forgiving nowadays.

Yep, it happened to me when I realized I was taking them seriously.

 

[Sudacafan]

I have no idea how to find my first post, but my first experiences here were not pleasant.

What have I learned?

#2 - watch posters for a bit before replying to them, see if they have any working brain cells.

You have the defect of being too patient.

 

[Sudacafan]

I learnt from Polonius, and from TT threads disappearing as you write, that brevity is the soul of wit.

Respectfully, I don’t know if I should agree to this.

 

[Sudacafan]

Odds & Ends is a very light-hearted forum for the most part, as it's full of endlessly-repeated jokes and funny games to play about words and facts, etc.. But mostly tedious!

That weakness was brought to life by the endless "celebration" of dgold's cantankerous eruptions, which ended soon enough due to their content. He was a slight reversion to ranting.

Srsh is the top player.

 

[Gary Duane]

You have the defect of being too patient.

Anything that keeps me calm and happy is a strength, not a defect. It's not my job to care about forum stupidity!

 

[Sudacafan]

I am liking this thread more than I thought to. It’s always a pleasure to read posters here.

 

[3loudboys]

Anything that keeps me calm and happy is a strength, not a defect. It's not my job to care about forum stupidity!

Very wise - no shoulders are broad enough to take that job on.