Blame Blotanical–it’s not my fault!

And so, I have just wasted used employed whiled away another whole delightful morning (and then some) on Blotanical, the only gardening forum I’ve joined so far where I actually spend any time. Way too much time, at that–so much I may find myself without a job, a husband, or even a garden, as I’m spending time online I should probably spend digging and planting.

Stuart, who runs the site, recently asked for patience as he struggled to fix a malfunctioning page; he pointed out that he was managing the site on top of a full-time job and a family that needs him. My family needs me too! (Of course, it’s a bunch of guys who’d rather slit their throats than admit it, but Stuart doesn’t know that.)

You’d think, then, that he’d have more sympathy for the rest of us, but no, he just goes merrily along adding new members  whose sites one must check out and interesting features and so on. I thought I’d at least get a breather while the Picks page was down, but that was only a day or so ago, and it’s already up again! Is there no mercy?

I swear, every day when I log on, I promise myself I’ll be off again in an hour at most. But first I check my own "plot" to see if I have any new messages (one of the neat features at Blotanical is that you can message other members directly and EASILY), and of course I have to respond to anything new, and check out the plots and blogs of all the folks I’ve heard from or gotten to know, and then there’s the infamous Picks site, (the one that went blitzo the other day), where one can view a list of the 200 most recent posts by members (on their own, independent blogs) and "pick" ones you like. Of course, it’s absolutely necessary to check the standing of one’s own most recent posts and e-mail thanks to anyone fool kind enough to pick them–one of the best ways to waste time get to meet other bloggers.

Today the site has a new, format–each post-title is followed by a line or two of text–which is neat in itself, but which makes getting through them all very time-consuming and searching for a particular post downright maddening. So really, it’s Stuart’s fault, entirely, that I’ve gotten no "real" work done yet today. (We will, please, ignore the many other mornings when I spent as long on the site, even when the Picks page was, indeed, a single page.)

So what with picking a few posts and commenting on a few others, and finding a hilarious post on The Garden Monkey and searching for it through all those pages of new picks so as to give it my personal thumbs up, and discovering two new forums and registering with them and writing a comment to Stuart about not liking the new Picks page, and so on (not to mention doing THIS), I haven’t gotten a whole lot done today.

If I do lose my job (I work at home, so no one’s watching over my shoulder) do you think I could sue Stuart for lost wages? (Don’t worry, Stuart, you wouldn’t be out much.)

10 Responses to Blame Blotanical–it’s not my fault!

  1. The scary part is how much time I’ve wasted seeing whether the picks were working again or not. Truly an addictive site…
    Downright dangerous.
    –kate

  2. Couldn’t agree more! It’s only been a few weeks since I discovered blotanical and I am engrossed. It’s like a video game, but with great blogs! It’s how I found this one… and many more.

  3. I am in the same boat as you! I can’t believe how fast time flies when you are just trying to have a little bit of fun…and the laundry piles up, and the furniture is dusty, and the weeds are growing in the garden, LOL
    It’s amazing. I never thought I had an addictive personality, but–do you know of any 12 step groups for garden forum addicts?
    Good to hear from you, Lisa.

  4. Hey – thanks for the fave over in Blotanical :)
    It’s the same here! I’m sure you enter a different time dimension whilst you’re in there. 1 minute of Blotanical time = at least 2 hours of ‘normal time’.
    I don’t like the new Picks either. I suspect it depends whether you’re a quick scanner (like me), or like to try before you buy…

  5. Great post Kate. Good little chuckle I’m having down here.
    Re: the picks format – stay tuned. It’s not finished yet….but I’m glad you’re having fun anyway.
    Thanks for stopping by, Stuart. I’ll keep plowing through the picks pages, whatever their format. It’s too good a way to see what other people are doing to give it up.
    –kate

  6. My thoughts exactly – I have many cups of tea go cold, as I thought I was just checking blotanical for a few moments – yet 3/4 hour later …
    Great post
    Karen
    I read your comment and thought, “Tea–tea? Oh hell, it’s still steeping.” They getcha coming and going.
    –kate

  7. I agree Blotanical is addictive.
    And I, too, am wasting a lot of time seeing if it’s working again.
    But, now I’m jealous.
    You are managing – but it takes ages to get to ‘My Blog’ on my ‘Plot’. Then, if anyone gets that far, they are offered the post for May 18th!
    There are definitely problems. Half the time I click “My Blog” on someone else’s plot, get re-routed back to MY plot. Also, your posts plus some others aren’t showing up on the list of “My Favorites recent posts,” and you post every day! I should write Stuart about this–
    Esther Montgomery
    ESTHER IN THE GARDEN

  8. Reading your post was a warning to me – as I discovered Blotanical’s picks this very morning…and of course got obsessed with checking everything out.
    ~plantgirl of
    http://squarefootgardenblog.com
    p.s. thanks for visiting my blog:)

  9. I love the blotanical site. I’ve also found lots of other blog readers who came to my blog from there!

  10. So have I–you being one. I enjoyed looking around your blog!
    –kate

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