Why do I need a life when I have Toytown?

I've been a casual observer of this forum for nearly a year now. Only recently found my tongue, but anyway. So what I've noticed is that there always was a hardcore of users. Over time that hardcore changes. People come, people go. What I've also noticed recently however, is that the new hardcore seem to be even more hardcore than ever. Every single time I load the homepage, and I mean *every* time, between the hours of about 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday, the same people are there. It's really quite alarming. I'm sure some of you need help. Maybe there is a day care center in Munich somewhere? Like a rehabilitation center that doesn't have any internet and no phones or mobiles either. Might be worth checking out. Whatever. Don't want to be a kill joy here. But take it from me. There is more to Munich than some little webforum and Murphy's and Bondi pubs! Christ. There's waaaay more. Try opening your eyes. Otherwise you'll have spent a year here and then disappear off to another country (possibly home) and not have really experienced life in Munich.

Anyway. The first stage in the road to recovery is admission that you have a problem. And then to talk about it. So go ahead people. Admit you have a problem. You know who you are.

Thing is though, the window just stays open on my desktop, so technically I am always here, but in reality, probably only for seven and a half hours a day...

what else are you supposed to do at work? i am in denial.

Yeah, I tend to leave the window open and refresh every once in a while.

I don't always read what people have written. Sometimes I'm refreshing because I'm expecting a PM or want to wait for a reply on a particular subject. This definitely inflates my apparent usage.

What else are you supposed to do, Flogger? Errr, work maybe? Or find a fulfilling job. No wonder the economy is in recession. All these people procrastinating all day long.

I wonder, has anyone had toytowngermany.com blocked by their company proxy servers yet? Of course you can't read this message if it has. Not till you get home this evening, anyway.

yeah, i sit in front of the computer all day, so it's easy to just pop in for a quick peek. add it all up, i bet 45 minutes a day, but then i don't smoke and only get up from my desk to go to the toilet. i bet smokers spend more time in the kitchen. i spend my smoke break at TT.

Yep, same thing for me...I am on the computer all day long, with one little window with TT on it. And I agree with elfenstar, the people that smoke are in the smoking area longer than I am on TT...no doubt about it!

if you dont like it simmo ..suggest you do one you miserable tw@t. i cannot be held responsible for any recession. i have already suggested shroeder embark on massive rearmament prog to buck things up.

No need for a personal attack Flogger. So are you happy in your job then? You feel fullfilled and content that you're doing your bit for the economy? If not, I suppose this forum is a good thing then. It brings a little ray of happiness to those who are stuck in dead end jobs.

What about the people walking by outside?

Damn, Jordigo: coat, bye

(Somebody's got to keep the flag flying for poor old noddy RIP)

think you're in danger of getting a bit full-on here simpson. this forum is useful and a bit of fun..take it or leave it.

your condescending comments about the dead-end nature of my job are spot-on..guilty as charged..i really should do more to contribute to the success of my company but i just cant get my shit together...to the detriment of the german economy...poor ole deutschland.

lighten up a bit i would.

Ok but what should I do after those 4 days have passed?

You're not suggesting I mingle with the Germans are you???
Besides, during the week you only see Germans out on Champions
League match days when Bayern München is playing. Who else am
I gonna drink with? (Besides the Dutch of course)

Question for those of you who don't really spend the entire day on TT, but just "leave the TT window open in the background":

How do you stop the forum from logging you out after 10 (or is it 15?) minutes of inactivity? I mean, if the window is "just open in the background" you won't be going back every 5 minutes to refresh it, thereby preventing the auto-logout, will you?

Tell ya what Simmo - you "experience" Munich mate, and I'll just have a laugh my way - doubt we'll meet because no doubt you'll be wandering around the Deutsche Museum (wherever the fuck that is) and I'll be in Günthers watching Spurs on the telly...each to his own, but really, on an expat forum where all the expats hang out together, comments like that are ill advised, especially when slagging off the membership in general...anyway, don't waste time replying - the German economy needs you!!!

@Trotville
If work is really boring...YES!

What do you mean, log you out? I never log out, I hate having to re-enter passwords and crap. The board has never logged me out.

Good job Simpson, for the thread and the hilarious poll! (I say that even as I am an autistic viewer!)

I am surprised Simpson even has time to post. Slack fuck.

I always get logged out if I leave it for 10 or 15 minutes without doing anything. I'm not using that "remember me" option though.

I have TT open for at least 8 hours a day if not longer. Thanks to remote desktops, I also have about 3 million other things open too. Today I am mostly working in Britain, but am switching between multiple places. I have always got some sort of screen near me - I am the only person in the world who uses WAP on his phone! Daily!

I am sure that if I REALLY had a "dead end" job, then there would probably be no chance of loggin into TT anyway; those big mac flippers never seem to have alot of time for surfing.

I very much doubt my productivity is down at work because of TT. When I'm bored, I read the forum. If I did not have that, I'd read something else. Most people leave their email programs running all day, and lets face it, alot of people use the PMs here as their personal email.

Simpson,

Very brave. I guess if you've waited this long to "find your voice", this is certainly a way to do it! I pop into TT whenever I return to my desk during the day. I don't keep up with all the posts, just some of them that are interesting. I guess that's normal usage. Hurrah, I'm balanced!!!

@Freddy Trot, if you use the remember me option, it doesn't log you out. You can be logged on all day long without visiting.

Hi
I also have TTM on a separate window, look in at particular topics (being the helpful girl that I am) and tend to be logged in all day but nipping in and out between calls, database queries, meetings and general work. I use "remember me" against the session log-out.
My job and my life are not boring in the slightest, thank you, it is just relaxing for me to see something in my Mother Tongue as I tend to work in my other 2 languages (French and German). I've also been working here in Germany (Cologne, Erlangen, Frankfurt, Munich) nearly 5 years, live with my fine Bavarian Herr Indoors and only ever go to Murphy's to meet this lot. And I'm not the only one like this in this forum (you might spot us by our postings).
Katrina
PS Don, Alex uses his WAP a lot too and the day he got his Bluetooth WAP to Palm working, well, the bunting came out!

Why anyone is justifying his or herself to the snide, sniping Simpson is beyond me frankly.

find simpson.
first asassination in Toytown.
there are a few dark alleys in Toytown you want to avoid.

I always like to be involved in a good assasination, but I reckon its fair play for someone to express their opinion. Organising a hit is probably a bit OTT!

zackerly.

You spend all day hearing, speaking and reading German and a respite from all that is necessary. Even if it's nonsense, it's good to be able to interact with others in your own language.

I could understand the whine if there were only 5-10 members hanging on to each other all day long. But there are hundreds checking in and out, the scope of knowledge and insight is quite useful, the personalities varied and colorful. Quite obvious they're all out and about and experiencing Munich.

Oh and Simpson, just how much time have you spent starting a topic and waiting for replies anyway?

where you find it?
reminds me of a snuff movie i once watched.
they cut this blokes tongue off with a pair of scissors.

Don't worry so much, Simpson - TT is not the center of the Munich ex-pat universe; Bob's claims to the intellegensia of Munich aside

It's just a forum. The reality is nur a microscopic fraction of the local ex-pat population is represented here. But the people here have fun, and fun is all it's (this bboard) about. I'm sure most, if not all, posters on this board have rich lives away from the computer and with the surrounding tide of Germans.

Ok, I hope that true.

Ok, I guess it's a possibility anyway.

As for the "remember me" option - isn't that just a stored cookie? Isn't the active user's list a showing of all those making requests on the webserver in the previous x seconds? I suppose I could conduct a short test... How long to to share a glass of wine with my lovely German neighbor? Long enough for a litmus, I suppose...

Glad to hear you've found your voice Simpson, so why not put it to good use and enlighten us all on the more interesting aspects of Munich. Who knows, you may even get a few TT folk out of the bars to join you on an excursion?
If you have inside knowledge on Munich, share it, after all, that's what the forum is all about! You may even find a wee bit of useful information here yourself?

I tend to be on late at night, it's easier as it takes me so long to go through it all and less chance of someone posting (which I must read), therefore, keeping me in the 2 hour+ bracket.
I personally have learned al ot from fellow TT folk, as well as increasing my typing speed and computer usage. I honestly thought I had Altzheimer's but now realise my poor memory (although still a bit iffy) was a distinct lack of contact with intellegent English speaking people (family and friends aside). I now have the confidence to come out of retirement and re-start my brain by continuing my education, something I would not otherwise have considered (No one needs an intellegent corpse!).

Why don't you contribute to the intellegent topics and have fun reading or adding to the dibble? If that doesn't stir you, how about trying one of Don's (and now others) tasty dishes?

Now you've made me miss "Larry King", and there are loads of TT folk on which will take me another hour to read.

Bye
Granny

Well I have been to two TT events. Augustiner Stammtisch and Wednesday Curry. Nice to meet a few Brits and TT helped me in that respect. But I have a llife looking after a baby and so don't get to bars much. Weekends I am always out of Munich.

I really appreciate this forum because I get to think and communicate in English. I am married into a Deutsch family and speak with them mostly in Deutsch so it is nice to experience my mother tongue.

ha, just found that topic, and thought, yeah i am one of these addictives and just can't help it.
Is there something like a "anonymous TT addictives group"??? I mean, besides the one every Tuesday in Murphy's?

talking of having no life, how about this for desperate:

Big John's friendship

and yes, I do get the irony