Need for "Over 70's" thread?

margaretclare

kermitfrog wrote: »

I'm 66 and dread the thought that in four years time I shall suddenly become too stupid to understand things I comprehend perfectly now.

I'd appreciate someone over 70 reassuring me that my brain won't shut down and the things I've been learning all my life won't suddenly evaporate.

An over 70's thread is something I wouldn't touch with a bargepole, any more than I would use my age as an excuse for not knowing something.

Well, I'm going to be 75 in a few weeks time, happily-married for the second time. DH is 75. I don't think either of us have yet become 'too stupid to understand things I comprehend perfectly now'.

I gained GCSE Maths after my 70th birthday. OK it was only at 'D' grade, but it was a way of laying all those ghosts whose voices I could hear from school-days 'oh she can't do sums, she'll never....' The people who said those things would never have thought I could achieve even 'D' grade. I did the national numeracy course and then progressed on to GCSE the following year.

When I saw an ophthalmology surgeon with a view to getting cataract surgery done, he asked me how my normal daily life was affected. I explained the difficulty of seeing the board during maths lessons. He expressed disbelief and 'do you really need to do maths lessons?' I said 'Yes, I jolly well DO need to do them!' He laughed and gave in.

What I find worst about being this age is the expectations of how I am expected to do/wear/think/behave. There was recently a thread on the Silver Savers board about where to buy clothes for an older woman. As though we were somehow a different species! The suggestion of a separate board for over-70s is equally reprehensible to me.

It is very much a personal matter, assuming that you have no disease which causes the brain to gradually 'shut down' (there are some). But even these diseases do not automatically start on one's 70th birthday.

MSE_Martin

Hi

A thread is simply a discussion topic within a board. I note your first post says you're not quite sure of the terms and so hope this helps.

I suspect you mean lets start an over 70s board as anyone can start a thread.

I'm afraid I'm not going to follow your request though - we have a 'silver savers' board already for the over 50s. To start age categorising even further would spread what is already quite a small board a little too thin.

Also the aim is that board is about issues specifically pertraining to the over 50s - while I think you may be suggesting a place where over 70s can talk about MoneySaving in general. That goes against the forum philosophy - ie if its about credit cards (even if you're over 50) then the best place is the credit card board.

However I welcome your thoughts on how to make the forum an easier place and more accessible.

Maybe a cheeky

"I'm 71 so please don't use techie terms with me " signature would help (forgive me if that seems abhorrent)

kermitfrog

MSE_Martin wrote: »

Maybe a cheeky

"I'm 71 so please don't use techie terms with me " signature would help (forgive me if that seems abhorrent)

Martin, that IS abhorrent! It's precisely the idea that because one is older it must be assumed that one is less knowledgeable, that absolutely infuriates me.

We start as babies knowing nothing, and as we grow older, our knowledge (and hopefully our wisdom) grows. To suggest that we then start reverting to babies again as we age, exasperates me.

Anyone who claims that they don't know something because they've aged is merely seeking excuses for their failures. If you lack knowledge it's because you haven't properly attempted to acquire it, not that you can't do it because you're old.

kermitfrog

margaretclare wrote: »

Well, I'm going to be 75 in a few weeks time

Thank you, margaretclare, you are precisely the person I would want to be in the years ahead. As I said in another reply, to use one's age as an excuse for a lack of knowledge is a cop-out.

Keep setting the example!!

MSE_Martin

Kermitfrog - pleader read the first post - the OP is saying exactly that.

Of late, I have noticed that I am unable to communicate easily with some of the posters on MSE as they are knowledgeable about things technical, especially the internet and I am not. Frequently when asking questions of them, I am thrown questions that, being a late in life person, I find I'm unable to answer. As such, it makes you want to remove yourself from MSE.

One would have thought that in this day and age, people would be more tolerant of others that clearly had a lack of technical knowledge and instead of making them feel uncomfortable, would try to explain or simply not answer, instead of smart-a*** replies, written from the safety of an unmoderated site.

Perhaps my mistake was to put age in there maybe just saying

"Im not a very techie person so please go easy on that in replying" in a signature does the job

The point is i DONT want to make the assumoption that all older people aren't techie - and we dont do that here, but by using signatures to say you're not is a good way. My reason for adding age, is people do respect it, but on reflection i agree with you.

kermitfrog

MSE_Martin wrote: »

Perhaps my mistake was to put age in there maybe just saying

"Im not a very techie person so please go easy on that in replying" in a signature does the job

Thanks Martin, that's precisely my point. Just take out the reference to age. Anyone of any age can lack knowledge (AND ACQUIRE IT!)

margaretclare

I agree with kermitfrog. This was the problem with the OP's first post in this thread:

Frequently when asking questions of them, I am thrown questions that, being a late in life person, I find I'm unable to answer.

This type of information/knowledge/skill is out there, not just in primary schools, and there have been several initiatives aimed at opening up the whole IT world to older people. Our local authority, a small unitary authority, runs a monthly computer club for 'silver surfers'. My DH attends as a volunteer. He didn't touch a computer until after his 60th birthday but used to attend courses at the People's College, Nottingham, and in his words 'took to it like a duck to water'. I myself have attended various courses over the years. Nowadays so many more avenues are opened up. You don't have to struggle out to the shops in bad weather or if you don't feel well - there's online shopping, banking, all those things add another dimension to life. I've signed online petitions and emailed my MP. Things move quickly now and it's important to stay in touch.

DH has helped people in their 90s get IT-friendly and they're now able to talk to their grandchildren across the world using a digicam and skype. Why ever not? Why cut it all off just because you're a 'late in life person'?

lilac_lady

I have friends from all age groups and age certainly isn't a barrier to knowledge. I understand the OP's point about rudeness when asking for help on some subject that other posters are familiar with already. It's not necessary to put someone down for asking something.

Ignore the rude ones and converse with the majority of nice MSE-ers, OP.

System

Oh dear, me and my mouth, I now wish I had done what some people said, and simply walked away and ignored comments if I didn't understand, or asked again.

custardy

islandman wrote: »

Oh dear, me and my mouth, I now wish I had done what some people said, and simply walked away and ignored comments if I didn't understand, or asked again.

what sections did you feel posters weren't being helpful?
for example in the tech board we often get folks on with very limited tech knowledge and are often 'hand held' through the problems/procedures as required

you may find this site handy

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

for terms you dont understand in slang,i have to look sometimes

this may help too

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Internet_forum_terminology