Volume 1, Number 5, November 13, 2001
                
                
                
                
               From The Editor:
               It's been a busy week! The first AIH Scavenger Hunt went off quite well except for a tiny typo in
               one of the items. Congratulations and 200 A-Bucks go out to Drastic_Dreamer! Kudos go to
               everyone who participated. Next month's Hunt will be posted at a different time to accomodate our
               members overseas and down under. AIH's first Tech Chat was held on Monday hosted by Linden
               Rathan and StRobocop and it went off quite well! Unfortunately, the AIH server chose that particular time to
               go down thus preventing some members from being able to participate. Not to worry - the next Tech Chat
               is already in the works so stayed tuned. 
              
              
                               
               Dilbert's Corner:
               I have seen several questions about how many active users we have. It's a
               very hard statistic to come up because we don't track that information, but
               it would appear that on any given day there are between 300 and 600
               registered members logging on.
               This time last week we had 3333 members. Today, we have 3443. We have gained
               over 100 members in a week where we weren't mentioned anywhere and didn't
               have any one point where we got a lot of people. The new people came from
               everywhere. With that in mind, I would like to suggest that members watch the
               membership number and when it goes up, go to Who's Online and see who is new
               here. Send them an email welcoming them to the site. There is nothing better
               than getting a warm greeting when you go to a new site. I try to do it a lot,
               but I miss a lot of people. I know that a lot of you already do this, but I
               would like to encourage others to be an impromptu welcoming committee. It's a
               great way of making new friendships and adding loyal users to the site.
 
              AIH Membership Committee: LANA9 Kanthume MSaligned, psykomom, Snowdemon, GreyEyes, 
              truckcop, Damsel, Evilai, AngelSong, pilvikki, JC, Apollo, DaisyDewbs, IMBizze and Ethmer. 
             The purpose of the Committee is to provide input about site issues that affect the entire site.
             They will meet and make recommendations to the administration. They were selected because
              they are representative of a cross-section of the entire membership.
                               
                
               Amy's Corner - On The Tech Front
               Hey everyone. I'm sure you've all noticed the downtime we were suffering from this past week.
              And the slow speed of the site. I've been in contact with our hosting provider and we've come to the
              conclusion that it's a problem with UUNet, our internet backbone. They suggested keeping an eye on
              the site for the next day and contacting them if the slowness keeps up, then we'll deal with it from there. 

             As for the scheduled site downage, this has been postponed, while I restructure some of the documents to
             make the code even more efficient. Hopefully this will help a little with the load times as well.

            Till next week, this is tech corner, signing off.
 
 
               Great Quotes?
               Which AIHer uttered this 'great quote'?
               "I would never want to be a doctor. I think you probably would get sued for puking during
               surgery, eh?" 

                
               Useful Freebie
               This week's Useful Freebie is for those who use a Palm Pilot. ICQ for the Palm OS allows you to
               chat with your Net buddies from your Palm device. This Palm OS version of the popular chat client
               lets you send and receive instant messages when you are away from your PC. You can use existing
               ICQ numbers, and you can also build buddy lists.

                
               Opinion:
                                                                Politics on Ask-It-Here
                                                                Ed "Silverback" Delgado

               As many of you know politics is something I am very much into. My politics at times has been
               called controversial, extreme, and over the deep end many times. And I do little to refute any of
               these claims so I would guess that does not help much with regards to these labels.
               My politics and how I very things comes from a conservative background. It also stems from a
               former liberal background of which I was at one time. I am not sure how many people of
               conservative political ideology would admit to this but I will. I think this gives me, and others like
               me, a unique look at issues that we all face locally, nationally, and around the world. I mean we
               have been on both sides of the fence so in that sense we should have an idea how the otherside
               would think. 
               Here on Ask-It-Here.Com we have many people of various political backgrounds. These
               backgrounds come from all kinds of belief systems, educational levels, social, economic, different
               parts of the world, cultural influences, and how each of our own value systems work. This is what
               shapes us as to how be believe one way or the other in a political ideology. 
               That being said, we all know that because political ideology is based on a belief system it is very
               easy for people to take things personally. I know I do each and every time I go up against someone
               who clashes with me. After all, they are clashing against what I believe and I am clashing against
               what they believe. 
               And we all know that on Ask-It-Here, politics is a hot topic as many of us talk about American,
               British, and Austrilan politics, world events, and issues that affect us all in one way or another.
               And the talks here do get heated with debate, some opinions based on logic and some on feeling
               are stated, and sometimes toes get stepped on. 
               Through out all of this of this I have made one very clear observation: Most of us handle these
               debates and talks like mature adults. Oh, sure there are times we some of us might throw a slur out
               there or two. And we might get mad with the person we are talking to. And perhaps we may lose a
               little respect for that person for believing the way that they do. But the one thing I have noticed is
               that we still deal with this as adults (even you teens out there) with respect for one anothers
               opinion, their point of view, and in the conversations we have. 
               How can I say this when I have openly made statements like "I do not particularlly care of liberals"
               or "Moderates are worse then liberals"? Simple, I have had many conversation with liberals,
               moderates, and conservatives I do not agree with. Furthermore, the ratings that we give one
               another speak volumes. It would be very easy to say "No I do not agree with you so you get one
               star". But we do not. 
               In fact, what I have noticed is that three stars is the norm for these types of questions usally
               followed up with some debate via A-Mail. I have found this to be very constructive and refreshing.
               Things could be a lot worse in terms of the climate here at AIH.
               For those of you who remember WHQuestion and KnowPost, you know well what I am talking
               about. We will talk about politics and out ideological beliefs and a slam fest may begin going back
               and forth. At times some of it was warrented. Other times it was not. And for the most part it
               produced very little.
               Probably the best example I can think of is Tailgunner from KnowPost. I have nothing but respect
               for him and his beliefs as they were very much akin to my own. The only problem was that he
               would go on a personal assault tangent and often that would over shadow his very important
               message. This would create more strife then is needed to get a point across and thus kill his
               arguement.
               This is not to say that we cannot and should not take personal shots at people who do not agree
               with us. By the very nature of political beliefs any agruement we have with another on an
               ideological basis is a personal shot at them. However, we can do this with tact, honor to ourselves
               and their opinions, and with the understanding that each of us in entitled to our own opinion even
               if it is wrong. And we are also entitled to attempt to get other people to think the way that we do.
               But this must be done in a manner that is as I noted a few sentences ago.
               The internet has been used in many ways since its inception. Political speach is just one of the
               many ways and Ask-It-Here is just one of the newest forums in which it is done. The manner in
               which we choose to carry out our talks and debates on politics is entirely up to us. And in my
               opinion, we are going a good job at it even when we are at odds with one another.
               
               The Target: 
               This weeks targets are Millard Fillmore and Apollo! Millard lives in Sherwood Forest, has asked 61
               questions and answered 194. Apollo calls Grey's North Country his home, has asked 92 questions
               and answered 737. 
 
                                                                         Apollo
                 
               Hi, I’m Travis, screen name "Apollo," a fifteen-year-old male from northeastern Tennessee. I’m
               about six feet tall, two hundred and fourteen pounds, with brownish blond hair and blue-green
               eyes. I live with my entire immediate family, consisting of father, marmoset - – I mean sister , and
               myself. We have three dogs, two cats and a fish.
               I spend more time with Tara’s mother, eleven-year-old pigmy, my fiancée, than anyone else. She’s
               seventeen years old, and, as a member here (DaisyDewbs), was the first person targeted for a bio in
               this Newsletter’s history. I’m a pool shark… Not too shabby with a deck of cards either. With
               interests like astronomy, algebra, computers, and particularly talking to Tara (who lives too far
               away right now to visit regularly) online, I’m close to home often. That means plenty of time for
               Ask-it-here– lucky you. :-D
               I’m friendly, but a little shy; mostly introverted, even online. I value my honesty and judgment
               most in relationships with others. My most commonly complimented feature is my maturity. Go
               figure. If you were to meet me face to face, I don’t think your initial mental impression would be
               much different than it is on AIH. Quiet, opinionated, sometimes witty, and overall kind. My worst
               characteristic is jealousy, which doesn’t typically show itself unless I know someone pretty well;
               I’m working on it.
               When I want some peace and quiet, I go one of two places. First is where I am right now, and
               where I am almost every time you see me online– my new room. It’s a renovated basement with a
               bedroom, den, bathroom and kitchenette. I moved here because I get a lot more living space, plenty
               of peace and quiet, privacy, a convenient place to run the line for the cable modem to my laptop,
               and my own door leading outside.
               I especially like the door, because on any given night, I’ll be found sneaking out for a date or
               party… a dance with Dubhe, a chat with Aldebaran, and a laugh with Lyra. You may have guessed:
               my second place for peace and quiet is lying under the stars. Can’t be beat.

                
                                                                     Millard Fillmore
                                       The world according to Millard Fillmore, USMC retired

                
               I was born on December 25th, 1948 in Jackson, Mississippi. I've had a varied and hard life that has
               left me living in a basement apartment in Alabama with a scenic view of the back of Alafia Package
               Liquors. I have a slight drinking problem but I'm in counseling. I have a slight drug problem but I'm
               in counseling. I have a slight delusional problem but I'm on haldol for it. I have a slight problem
               with obsessing about girls I meet on the Internet, please mail me your picture and home address
               and we can discuss it. I first showed up on Point Ask and fell in love with that horrible
               Snowdemon, the 6 foot blonde ski bunny. She left me in the street with nothing but a recipe for fish
               sticks, spurning all the ear wax sculptures I made for her. I then came to AIH and fell in love with
               AussieMike. I love him, best sex I ever had despite the fact that we are both straight men. But he
               rejected me, so I'm making a voodoo doll out of used nylon stockings and bellybutton lint. He's
               going to be sorry when I skewer it with knitting needles. GreyEyes is an old friend of mine. She was
               a cocktail waitress in Jackson, Mississippi and her derriere distracted me so much I lost $400 in a
               hand of poker. Which means she has a $400 ass. For those of you who think I'm incapable of
               forming decent relationships, I'd like you to know that my beloved tortoise Persephone and I get
               on just fine. I had tried keeping gerbils but found they made handy snacks when I'd spent all the
               food money on Jack Daniels, and they just couldn't breed fast enough to keep up with the
               numerous occassions when that happened. My therapist suggested I might find a tortoise a little
               less digestible. I've customised Persephone so that I'll never lose her; if you check my profile you
               can see pictures of her go-faster stripes and the bull bars I made her from the wire off a champagne
               cork. I'm saving up for fog lights and a spoiler. Persephone recently gave birth to four lovely
               tortillas (koala/tortoise crossbreeds) fathered by Cuddles, AussieMike's koala. Cuddles has also
               rejected his true love so Persphone and I are now raising the tortillas alone. They are called Inky,
               Blinky, Pinky and Irving, and are getting a very well-rounded upbringing.
               I'm misunderstood and mostly harmless. Let me clear up a few things:
               1. The British Consulate didn't take away my passport. They just suggested I'd like to visit other
               countries like Botswana or France.
               2. I never slept with a potato shaped like Snowdemon on the pillow beside me. It liked to sit on the
               nightstand and watch me sleep.
               C. I'm not gay.
               8 -b. I like to eat fishsticks.
               4. I was mention twice in Simpsons episodes.
               
               
               AIH Tips & Tricks:
               Many of you have been wondering why some of your question titles remain red after you've rated
               all your answers. If you've blocked another member, that member can still answer your questions
               but you won't see them. The question titles will remain red until those answers are rated.
               Remember to keep your mail box clear and your image files to a minimum!
                
                
               Thanks for tuning into The Arrow! See you next week. Sincerely, The Editorial Staff of AIH's The
               Arrow.
                
                                          The Arrow Archive
                
                
               Ask-It-Here.com respects your time and privacy (
http://www.ask-it-here.com/yourPrivacy.asp).
               You have received this newsletter because you have requested it from Ask-It-Here.com. If you
               would prefer to be removed from our mailing list please contact the Editor at
              
thearrow@ask-it-here.com.
                
               How To Contact Us. If you have questions or comments or wish to submit an original article,
               opinion, rant, rave, poetry, etc. please contact GreyEyes through the AIH site at
              
http://www.ask-it-here.com or email thearrow@ask-it-here.com 
                 

                               Copyright © 2001 TheArrow.
                                                 
                  queenceline uttered this week's Great Quote!

      Welcome back home god! :)