Buddies LSB Community emergency contact list?

What do others feel about forming or providing to another local LSB'r their contact details in cases of emergency?

I am thinking of this following Angie's thread, and the fact she hasn't responded (must be a huge hangover....lets hope anyhow[]), and its not the first time that someone has gone through a bad patch and then dropped out of this on line community.

I know there is already a close group who would know the details of some others, but I am thinking of a much larger scale whilst retaining privacy for all, by all.

Sort of like my MIL's church's old prayer chain, you have a name and telephone number and if need be in your area you contact the next person etc until the chain is linked back up again (or the emergency over)... I shall try a poll.

I am keen for the following reasons:
1. I would so love to give back any support I have gained myself through this forum. Sometimes I think it has been my saving grace. Especially recently.
2. I would love to meet the people I consider friends. I tend to work work work kids kids kids horses... etc. Now my kids have "grown up" I still find myself staying at home and reading a book. How sad is that.
3. If anyone needed me, I would gladly come over for the day amnd lend a hand fencing or whatever and hope that it would be recipricated one day!

I am not keen for the following reasons:
1. My details would be made public
2. I would feel obligated in times of my own stress, although are we talking phone calls like AA or what?

Overall, it would be a fantastic lifeline, I mean look at the people on here - vets, media people, cat breeders, fencers, contractors.. etc etc??!!

Now for example, take Sundaysbest.
I would go see her even if she didn't need me. We have horses, and savvies in common. A dangerous combination, but wtf!

Yes the privacy aspect is my concern as well.

I thought if perhaps it could work in a chain with one person having 1 telephone number, and that person having another, and so on and so on, the chain would work yet no-one would know any more than 1 number at any given time (unless people wanted to give more info - up to them).

How does the seed box one work, Kate do you hold all the addresses, or is it a similar thing?

And swags - how could we help you? Much as I embrace the idea of flying over to spend a wine-induced weekend with you, if you needed my help, wine would be on the back burner for sure.
I would gladly ring you though to tell you things are dark before they go totally black!

Just kidding!

I do have concerns, as mentioned here already, but..... as my details are on the net anyway...... what the heck. []
We have already spread our numbers with several LSBers, close and far , so I guess a few more may not matter. We have helped one member with a prolapsed ewe that later on had to have the twins pulled out. Sad event . Since then we have been back to shear and trim feet. The good thing is, we made new friends too
Those that have our contacts know we are willing to help in any way we can........... 'cos we can []

Will have to think how we would " manage" the details before we gather them.
Good idea Swaggie.

"Will have to think how we would " manage" the details before we gather them."
This is the only thing that causes me to hesitate. If the privacy issue can be resolved to everyones satisfaction I would be there with bells on.

Giddyup;171995 wrote: And swags - how could we help you? Much as I embrace the idea of flying over to spend a wine-induced weekend with you, if you needed my help, wine would be on the back burner for sure.
I would gladly ring you though to tell you things are dark before they go totally black!

Just kidding!

Crikey, I have been embraced by this LSB community during recent events like I would not have expected or experienced elsewhere.... and I am sure I will make good long term friends from this site! Absolutely positive!!

I owe a few lunches, I owe a few drinkies on decks.....

Angie's post worried me though, and its similar thoughts to what I had when cuppa500 last posted.... and although I am some KLMs from Cuppa's area, at least I am in the same country and perhaps could have.....

and then we didn't hear again...

When I read Angie's post, and not hearing anything thereafter I thought "we" could do better... I read the herald on line, I read the farm injury losses and I wonder how many LSB'rs have we "lost" that we could have supported or given support to?

You know I sit here and E knows who I am writing to, the SOH knows of you all, and knows personally a handful who are helping us through our current crisis, but at the end of the day, he doesn't know my log in, (although E does) and he wouldn't know who to contact if something did happen to me.... yet most of you know a lot of our history, both current and past.

I dunno, I just "felt" we could go further with this..... the seedbox seemed to have been successful, even with people's addresses, and I would only think this idea to be used in cases of extreme emergency, but at the end of the day, if someone is thinking of us, and we are noted as missing, then isn't it a start? .....

Let's get the ball rolling with ideas!

I like the idea...like a lot of people on here (probably) I worry sometimes what would happen to my stock if something unexpectd happened to us. Thought of putting instructions on my USB drive to log onto here in the event of me becoming incapacitated[]. I think this forum already has the tools required to put a system in place...phone nos can be cell phones and passed on by PM only. Would involve a certain amount of trust but I think thats already here as part of the LSB community

Whilst I support this in principle, be aware that the tighter you all get, the more exclusive this site appears to become and the less apparently open to newcomers. It's already pretty daunting for new people who don't live in the midst of the tightly-populated LSB regions to get into the middle of what can sometimes have all the appearance of a cliquey coffee morning, seemingly backed up by similar events in the real world.

How will you manage those two opposing concepts: that you're all so tight that you notice if someone doesn't post for a couple of days, but you're also open to welcoming all the new people who might potentially wish to join.

Having disappeared from this forum on a few occasions, once for as long as six weeks at a stretch, I could find no reference on my returns to anyone having noticed I'd been gone. If safety depends upon popularity, I could have been dying in a gully under a decomposing cow.

Isla;172137 wrote: Whilst I support this in principle, be aware that the tighter you all get, the more exclusive this site appears to become and the less apparently open to newcomers. It's already pretty daunting for new people who don't live in the midst of the tightly-populated LSB regions to get into the middle of what can sometimes have all the appearance of a cliquey coffee morning, seemingly backed up by similar events in the real world.

How will you manage those two opposing concepts: that you're all so tight that you notice if someone doesn't post for a couple of days, but you're also open to welcoming all the new people who might potentially wish to join.

Having disappeared from this forum on a few occasions, once for as long as six weeks at a stretch, I could find no reference on my returns to anyone having noticed I'd been gone. If safety depends upon popularity, I could have been dying in a gully under a decomposing cow.

Good point Isla. We don't often agree with each other, but you make a good point here. I wonder the way around this.

Isla I missed you!!!!!!!!!.
BUt you have a good point, the other thing as we are a family, we more or less have to chose our friends and seek them personally for a check if missing.. heck I can be gone off here for weeks also and its the computer usually that is ruling my world.. so Id be miffed to have an emergency call up every few days..
I do find it good to have a few "friends"now that I could trigger off a txt [well maybe not to Bev] but to go get a donkey or whatever that I know they'd just love to look after, that my real family cant do... not a good example, she looks after herself very well... but maybe newly hatched bunnies etc. Same as those needing goats milked etc for that emergency trip to hosp..
I dont know the percentage of solo farmers, that is those with no family backup within 30 mins.. and of course if they/we advertise the fact that also isnt good yadda yadda.
AND every now and then as some of us know there are funny folk who join up all in the name of lifestyle and what it means to them.;((

I think it sounds good in theory, but not really in practice. Like Isla says, people DO disappear for a few days or weeks for lots of reasons, 99% of which are completely harmless. Holidays, visitors, too much work, too much play...

I'm sure the Staff would notice if Isla was lying under a decomposing cow for any more than an afternoon. [xx(] I live alone, but have friends, family, neighbours and co-workers in the 'real' world who would notice if I was missing a lot quicker than anyone here, as I don't post regularly enough to develop any sort of a pattern. Those people also live close in a lot of cases, and are able to pop round to check on things. Some also have keys, and know enough about my animals to know what needs feeding, etc.

This is an amazing on-line community, and many here have developed actual real friendships from it, but I think there are some limitations to what can be achieved here.

I think its a good idea, as for numbers being public, heck, im in the phone book, trade-me, just about everything i do online, has some way of getting hold of me.
Im probably not the only one that thinks this, but im going to say it ... However, there are some people that i would not waste my time helping, apart from that 99.7% i would help if im able.
I often think, what ever happened too ... but after awhile they post and you know all is well, a good example is Suzanne from Morrinsville, she hasnt posted for awhile, but heck, she must have a real life and living it.
I dissapeared for awhile too when things went stupid on here, but the friends i have made, and have a close friendship with, seem to send dirty jokes (Smilie!!!) just to make sure im still around.
So i know if something happened, i could txt Smilie who then would txt/ring another person, and get in contact with whomever i needed.
While my parents are cruising the islands i cant get them to do it, my sisters are really like tits on a bull, so no good, but i have 2 people in my phone that are fully capable to do the animals, and they are very easy to find in my cellphone.
I C E ( In Case of Emergency)

I think most of us do have some connection with others here, and I agree with what Isla says about being careful in forming such a "tight" group that others feel excluded, that isn't a good idea and not in the gist of what I would have liked to achieve by establishing a more formal emergency contact system... but I cannot think of how to safe guard from the newbies who come to trash or even the lurkers we never see.

All valid points.... I guess every now and then, someone is going to slip through our conversations and move on or just disappear.

Let's hope that all is well for those who no longer participate....

bev;172152 wrote: I think its a good idea, as for numbers being public, heck, im in the phone book, trade-me, just about everything i do online, has some way of getting hold of me.
Im probably not the only one that thinks this, but im going to say it ... However, there are some people that i would not waste my time helping, apart from that 99.7% i would help if im able.
I often think, what ever happened too ... but after awhile they post and you know all is well, a good example is Suzanne from Morrinsville, she hasnt posted for awhile, but heck, she must have a real life and living it.
I dissapeared for awhile too when things went stupid on here, but the friends i have made, and have a close friendship with, seem to send dirty jokes (Smilie!!!) just to make sure im still around.
So i know if something happened, i could txt Smilie who then would txt/ring another person, and get in contact with whomever i needed.
While my parents are cruising the islands i cant get them to do it, my sisters are really like tits on a bull, so no good, but i have 2 people in my phone that are fully capable to do the animals, and they are very easy to find in my cellphone.
I C E ( In Case of Emergency)

Interesting Bev, I would like to think that even if someone I didn't like was in trouble I would still be able to help with stock or whatever.