I sent this note out to the Joe to Go list today:
Subject: Message boards rationale – Real Joe
Greetings fellow Joes,
I’d like some feedback on the Joe to Gos you’ve been receiving the past few weeks. It’s also time for me to relaunch the Real Joe Message Boards. So I thought I’d combine the two, but before I send you directions, let me yak a bit about the rationale.
It’s been my plan from the start to have a Real Joe online gathering place that serves a unique purpose or need in my life and in yours. I’m not exactly sure what that could be but I’ll take a stab at it and then we can figure it out together, if you’re willing.
I’ve learned long ago that there’s a real benefit to reflecting in solitude. But since I began writing essays last fall and Joe to Gos this winter, there also seems much to be gained from letting selected others in on some of those reflections. I’ve heard from many of you guys via email and phone and F2F. And it makes a difference.
The benefit might be because it’s easy for me to deceive myself, so having a BS detector is handy. Or maybe it’s that I get a different perspective that I’d never get on my own. Or maybe it’s just good to know I’m not the only one out there struggling with goofball thinking.
So it seems like the Real Joe message boards, an online community of Real Joes, could serve the purpose of extending these benefits to anyone who chooses to participate.
Would we try to be a men’s group? No, since it’s not therapy with a small group of committed participants. But we would often be talking about the hard stuff in our lives, as well as the good stuff.
Would we try to be a discussion salon? No, since I don’t think the Net needs another place for the intellectual discussion of men’s issues.
I don’t know what phrase would best characterize what I have in mind. Maybe you’ve got some ideas.
So that’s it. Let me know what you think. And then watch for the directions on how to join the message boards.
Griff