Well its about time.

> the very top of today's (and yesterday's) word

that, too.

Tsu, eta: Thank you, I finally found it under "Active Topics; But I don't quite understand: If the top entry changes from day to day, how can it be a weekly theme

each word this week had something to do with time. each word for a particular week will relate to that weeks' theme.

Dale, do you subscribe to the A.W.A.D. daily E-mail/weekly newsletter? That's where the weekly themes come from.

Anna: Aha! How do I subscribe, and is it free

pick the free version, dale:

AWAD

I'm curious, dale (and perhpas you've already told us), but how did you find this board if you don't already subscribe?

perhpas = Tibetan porters who engage in deviant sexual practices

oh, hogwash, Father!

(perphas is perhaps my most frequent typo...)

Oh well then, I guess I must be subscribed after all. But I still don't know where to find this week's theme. If what it is this week is the top entry in "Active topics," "what it is," then, starts a new thread, and so how can the theme be called "weekly"?

I admit to not being as computer savvy as the average Wordsmith

Edited to discover that I had indeed not subscribed; so I summarily did so. According to the sub page, the free bulletin is now supposed to be mailed to me weekly. Huzzah, wonderful! and thanks all

However, they didn't ask my home address. How can they mail it to me if they don't have it

dale, you'll find that the category headings, such as "Weekly Themes" are not held too fast by most around here. when we can, we do, but.

Eta, thank you, as you seem to be answering my original question. You seem to be confirming that the weekly theme changes whenever somebody posts in Active Topics; in which case, as I suspected, the "weekly theme" isn't weekly at all but hourly or daily, depending on the traffic. In which case, Admin, if you're listening, this algorithm is grossly misnamed and next time you do any housekeeping you may want to attend to it

But in all other respects (or most) I dearly love AWAD (aka WS)and wish you all future success

dh, you take things herein much too literally. this place, founded as it was to run basically admin-free, more resembles anarchy, or either tends to entropy, or may be described by chaos theroy, one.

what is it? a mac user might call it apple-collapse now.

Dale sez: "...Admin, if you're listening, this algorithm is grossly misnamed and next time you do any housekeeping ..."

Others have responded gently to your several suggestions of this sort. Their gentle efforts appear not to have been heard. Let me lay this out a bit more directly for you.

1. THERE IS NO ADMIN. THERE IS NOBODY NAMED ADMIN. ADMIN DOESN'T LIVE HERE. JACKIE IS NOT THE ADMIN. IF ANYBODY WERE THE ADMIN, IT WOULD BE ANU BUT HE IS NOT. THERE IS NO ADMIN.

2. THE ADMIN IS NOT LISTENING. THIS IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO ADMIN. JACKIE MAY BE (AND PROBABLY IS) LISTENING BUT SHE IS NOT THE ADMIN. ANU, WHO WOULD BE ADMIN IF HE WANTED TO BE AND IF HE WERE LISTENING, IS NOT LISTENING. NOBODY IS LISTENING BUT THE REST OF US AND WE ARE NOT, INDIVIDUALLY NOR COLLECTIVELY, THE ADMIN.

3. THE ADMIN IS NOT GOING TO DO ANY HOUSEKEEPING. IF THE ADMIN WANTED TO DO HOUSEKEEPING, HE OR SHE WOULD HAVE BOUGHT A HOUSE RATHER THAN BB SOFTWARE WHICH REQUIRES (ALMOST) NO ATTENTION. FROM TIME TO TIME, JACKIE MAY MAKE ANU AWARE OF A SEVERE PROBLEM WITH THE BOARD AND ANU OR ONE OF HIS MINIONS MAY ADDRESS IT, BUT NOT REGULARLY, NOT LIKE HOUSEKEEPING, AND NOT CONCERNING MATTERS WHICH ARE OTHER THAN LIFE THREATENING.

4. THERE IS NO POINT IN CONTINUALLY ADDRESSING MESSAGES TO SOMEONE WHO ISN'T THERE.

5. THE BOARD IS A WONDERFUL GIFT TO THOSE WHO USE IT. OUR USE OF IT DOES NOT MAKE US A COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE BOARD. IT HAS FAULTS AND WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE WITH THEM BECAUSE IT IS UNLIKELY THAT THEY WILL BE REMEDIED. AND THEY CERTAINLY WON'T BE REMEDIED BY ADDRESSING MESSAGES, ON THE BOARD, TO THE ADMIN, WHEN THERE IS NO ADMIN TO READ/RECEIVE THEM.

6. THERE IS NO ADMIN.

Father: Thank you for your patience, but sure there is. Just go back thru my threads and substitute "Anu thru Jackie" wherever you see "Admin"

But Jackie: Don't feel obligated. They're all suggestions not criticisms, and we love you; and please give my highest regards to Anu also, whoever he or she is

If I should quit offering the suggestions please tell me so, I'm really not a bad fella after all

On 8 January 06, etaoin wrote: "Anu spends almost no time here at all, and certainly not on a regular basis. he set up the forums, using commercial forumware, and then has basically left it to run on the energy of the posters, a group of about forty or fifty that post here regularly (some of us many times a day!). though Jackie is a Moderator, she wears that mantle very reluctantly, and uses her power very sparingly. (and I think wisely) there have been times of conflict, some great, some small, as in any community, but they have been weathered, and some have left, and some stayed, and new people come and go."

On 29 December 05, Jackie wrote: "Anyway--it's possible I might be able to change the time limit, BUT one of the computer experts is going to have to tell me what to look for, probably by phone, and then I would have to get permission from Anu. This is HIS place. If he says no or doesn't reply, then I'm not doing a thing."

On 22 December 05, maverick wrote: "Anu's prime interest is clearly in the overall website, which is where most of his energy is focussed. Having an active board makes for a website that's *much more highly rated by the google algor(e)ithym, since it is highly active and change is a Good Thing... and every time we post a link it creates extra connectivity which is also a Good Thing... and it provides a hook to hang google ads on which is a Good Thing since it creates revenue... whereas anything more than cursory adminstration costs serious money which is a Bad Thing..."

On 18 October 05, Jackie wrote: "It has finally occurred to me that Anu is probably traveling some, promoting the release of his new book; but I do hope he'll come here and fix these before too much longer."

On 14 October 05, etaoin wrote: "it seems as if Anu hasn't been around and had the time to deal with the bugs yet. "

..........

There is occasionally a man behind the curtain, but not often. The man who is occasionally there does not read our posts. It is not reasonable to task Jackie -- who has an actual life off the board -- with the expectation that, every time we address some words to "Admin," she will pass them along to Anu.

I am not suggesting that anybody is a "bad fella." I am suggesting that, if a user of this board wishes to communicate a suggestion to Anu, go ahead, but use the Feedback form found under the Contact Us tab or send e-mail to the Grand and Glorious Oz at "wordsATwordsmith.org" by replacing the "AT" with "@".

don't forget those colorful cannibals...

I'm really not responsible when TEd goes off like that ... really.

> not responsible

Neither's TEd!

I ain't sayin' nothin'

Shoot, I get *two copies in my home mailbox every derned week. You can have one of 'em, if you want.

to clarify (like butter...):

Anu sends out (via email) a daily AWAD, which is one word, usually pertaining to some theme. the theme changes each week. he also sends out (also via email), once a week, a "newsletter", with comments from readers about the weekly words. subscribers to the "free" AWAD get both of these. the "premium" AWAD apparently does not contain the small advertisements.

for further clarification, the "Weekly Themes" category here at the AWAD Board, is designed for discussion about these weekly themes. however, as has been previously stated, board posters don't always follow the guidelines.

and to furthurly (un)clarify, the (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) Topic [so-called "below-the-fold"] contains nine more themes. these were actually the first nine "weekly themes" following the instantiation of these forums. but after doing this for nine weeks, Anu decided that a new theme every week was cumbersome, or counter-productive or ?? and came up with the theme "Weekly Themes - Topic of the Week" for the weekly AWAD topic (but leaving the original nine for the community to use or abuse as we saw fit).

see? it all makes perfect sense (if you've been here since week 5 or thereabouts).

rank roux, tsruwm...

Thanks fellas for your tact and patience, and forgive an old guy who can't handle the complexity of it all owing to only about a decade and a half of experience with the PC

Tsu: Quite so, you must have recently calibrated it