Hmmm, I guess for the FHL this is sort-of an administrative note (but
have run it past fellow moderators and some replied already so I am
sending it). There is no reason to plug up the lists commenting about
what I will say. Focus on the ferrets instead, please.

Why I will be more quiet: I simply need to concentrate more on other
people and other needs. So, I will not be anywhere nears as active on
lists and won't be tackling much private mail, either.

Please, don't send questions privately to me ***if the answers are
likely to be in the archives of the FHL (health and some behavior),
or the archives of the FML (pretty much everything), or in any other
resources to be found through the FHL's links or files section, or
from using my links page***:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

Even if you are careful that way, I am not sure if I will have the
time to reply.

There will be needs related to Dad's death for some time, we've had
friends pass away this year, Steve parents are not doing well and my
step-mom has some problems as well, this year we can no longer postpone
some major home repairs, we've had a lot less time for getting together
with friends here ever since Mike Janke first became ill because I've
been on-line finding health info for people each and every day and
night except when family matters meant that I had to be away and during
the few days for health reasons, and honestly I tire more easily now
after having had some surgeries this year, and my eyes tire way more
easily now with my vision especially when i am unable to tackle some
resources that can't be enlarged (yes, some computer resources are
not friendly for impaired vision situations, even not hugely impaired
vision as with bad cataracts or some other things when they worsen
enough).

So, rather than have 80% of my time online helping others like I've
been doing for so very many years, I want to reduce my online time
mostly to time for my own work (which does involve looking things up
online), pleasure surfing and reading, and learning surfing and reading
that I do solely by choice. My hopes are to increase the time that I
have for those activities while reducing my over-all time online.

I've been somehow squeezing in 30 to 40 hours each week spread over 7
days a week to help others for so many years, but there are limits to
how much and how long a person can do that because each of us has our
real lives away from the internet. At least all that work kept me from
having enough free time to get in trouble (LOL! When would I have the
time, and with such good alternatives right here in my "real" off-line
world waiting why would I ever have the inclination to waste time that
way?), and it sure did press me into learning a heck of a lot and
getting very good at looking things up which is skill that has also
helped in my life off-line. (There has to be a far better way to say
that online people and ferrets are real and cared about, but the life
one has away from the computer is so much more real with so much more
impact but i can't figure out how to say that well that so i just used
"real".)

Every once in a while I'll still say something, and I am still at the
FML (Ferret Mailing List) and FHL (Ferret Health List) as well as F-G
(Ferret Genetics) and one of the small private by-invitation-only
lists, but it's time for me to reduce my time online so I'll be on
far less. Honestly, the needs now are such that if i don't take from
my time online I'd have to take those hours from my "real" life --
the one with the best husband I could ever possibly have (Yeah, I got
world-class lucky when we met 29 year ago and married 28 years ago.),
dear friends here, loving family, some family who are maybe a bit less
loving but can also have needs including vast patience for them, our
own ferrets, our own work, our own home, and our own health.

So, thanks for the ride! It has been quite an experience. I'll still
be around a bit though I won't read every day.

I am not sure if I'll be retaining moderator status at the FHL in case
I get more time next year so will let my fellow moderators decide that
because it would be easy enough for them to either change that for now
,or to instead leave me still with those settings because then I'd be
available in an emergency. That is something I'll leave up to them, I
guess. At first I'd thought of requesting a settings change, but then
I remembered that we've had some times when every moderator had
simultaneous things that prevented getting on line (such as family
emergencies in a few places and major storms elsewhere while one or two
had to be away where they could not be online) and I'd hate to leave
such dear friends in a lurch if I could help in a serious emergency,
so i may retain FHL moderator status but be mostly inactive.

Between the needs on the lists, and 100 to 150 mails a day I have just
been spending more time online than I can continue doing, and sometimes
even losing mail due to too much traffic (maybe 30 or sometimes more
of those spam each day for about 3 weeks to a month now, and a much
smaller number practically are spam because they are related to rumors
and those silly ways a very few people waste everyone's time by trying
to undermine others and make false accusations to get themselves
attention or hurt others -- luckily something most people see for what
it is these days because the saddest thing is not always that there are
the few people who like to rumor-monger and hurt, but that some others
are willing to easily believe the worst even of those who have helped
them time and again by too readily believing that lies are juicy
tidbits).

So hugs till we speak again! Thanks for understanding my need for more
time for the rest of my life!

Remember that the lines in my signature contain resources which can
help you find a very wide range of ferret information and if I actually
get time maybe I'll even update my very extensive links list (which is
well worth a visit even though a few links are defunct) this year so
notice that URL in my sig lines, too!

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 6016]