How do you . . .

I hit articles for me, then images for me

Crap! Sorry I hit the 9 I was aiming for the 10.

Anyway... I go to MY GATHER and view as much content as I can. I also try to view most if not all content in my groups, though that's getting tricky as I just created my 11th group today.

I was just wondering the same thing. What is the best way to Gather?

I hit articles for me (but I have assumed they are the articles from my people), then images for me. If I have more time I'll randomly go through all articles and images. Then if still more time, I'll hit my groups. But I find a lot of duplication there.

I hit my articles and then the people those who gave comments on my articles ,my group and then my choice....

I go to my articles I have posted first and comment back to everybody that has commented to me. Then I'll go to my special friends pages if they hadn't commented on my article to check up on them. Then I'll go to my gather page and see what the newest articles are and if any look interesting. That's how I found this one. :)
I don't have any of my own groups and honestly have never even visited the groups I have on my list. Just not enough time.

I go to the people who have commented on mine first (I get the email notifications), then I go the the first few articles for me, then the articles that are newly posted. Sometimes I get side-tracked and comment on people's articles who have commented on the same articles I have. I hope that makes sense!

I usually go through My Gather and comment on the articles, then look at the comments and comment on things that look interesting.

I look at articles an images for me...but mostly I look at what my contacts are commenting on.

Gather is a big land. I read articles for me then I try to hit on as many articles by my people I can. I read group stuff and sometimes i enter a word and see what it gets me. I discover new connections that way.

Thanks for making me feel so not alone on this, Carol. I do not devote all my days to Gather. I start on the Home Page and look it over. Then I go to my page and click on anything that catches my eye. That's when I usually get led astray and start surfing around.

When I'm on task, I try and click on everyone who gave me a comment and give them one back. But it's just so hard to find something that interests me and then comment on it every time.

I'm noticing people here and there that I could have sworn I connected with at one time that are no longer connected to me. Why? What is the benefit of DISCONNECTNG with someone? Are they a hinder if they aren't in communication with you all the time? I wouldn't disconnect from anyone just because they don't pay enough attention to me.

I just hit articles.
I need to start doing it the way you do.

I view the "by my people" first. Then I try (and I mean, try) to comment on stuff by people who have commented on mine (this step has generate more return comments than anythig else). Then I go to the main article page and randomly read articles based on title and description.

I go by the publishing notifications sent to my E-mail through Gather when one of my connections posts. I never check out any groups, nor do I randomly look through Gather for anything else. I check out the titles of articles/images I'm notified about...and maybe read the 'preview' of the beginning of the posts if the title catches my interest. If I'm still interested by this point, I'll view the entire post and usually make a comment if I get this far. Many posts lately haven't been attracting my attention at all, so I just skip them all by. With images, if there's no caption, I don't even bother looking. I haven't found many pictures I'm interested in looking at lately, either. Since I haven't been posting anything myself lately, I don't return comments because I'm not getting many, though rarely does a day go by where someone hasn't made a comment on one of my past posts. At this point, I'm only commenting on things that capture my interest.

At this point, I don't have a real system. I guess I try to comment on people who have commented on my articles.

I have no system I do what I want to do....

I always go to my gather. But I also like to go to the gather homepage. I've found some interesting things there. Today there was an article about S-CHIP and liberal reactionaries like myself. While I'd appreciate it if everyone I wrote comments to me commented on my stuff--it's not really that important. I do want the feedback, especially on my poetry, but right now it's good to know that someone is reading what I am writing.

I go to my gather and read some and then look at the article titles and if it looks like some I would like to read I do.

Barbie,
I only know of one person who disconnected from me. She told me in an article. She disagreed with me on an issue. I thanked her. : }
Thanks to all, I thought I was a bad gatherer.

I don't have a system. I try to comment on my articles if someone has commented on them. I usually check out my gather, then I get side tracked & end up who knows where. LOL.

I have a number of in-box filters that automatically sort my Gather mail into various categories.

Gather articles
Gather images
Gather Videos
Gather Message

And I have another folder

Gather Watch

Which I ad to manually. If I comment on an article but it's a discussion I want to follow, I put it in my Gather Watch folder.

My final folder is

Gather Comments

If someone comments on my content the notification gets sent there, so I can reply to my comments in order.,

I go to my comments and comment back. Then on to my articles, then to images, and then I go to my groups, and then to whatever grabs my attention.

I don't deal with groups. I just go through my people. Articles and images.

I am still kind of new here so I am trying to build my connection core. I set up my email notification to let me know when someone joins so that I can connect. I have some favorite groups that I get notification on when something is posted.

I also am subsribed to some people that are very active so I can learn from them.

Leah - I really like your idea of setting up boxes to hold things. This was making me kind of crazy that I couldn't easily get back to things of interest. Thanks

I do articles first, then if I have time I do images. And then my own group and then other groups if I have time.

It depends on how much time I have available to spend on Gather.

If I have 2 hours or more, I usually start by checking my email to see if someone has commented on one of my articles or images. If so, I would set a priority to visit their profiles to see if they have published anything of interest to me.

When I actually access the site, I tend to browse through the articles that appear at the "splash page" to see if anything looks interesting enough to check out. Sometimes I take the quick poll on the right-hand side of the screen.

From there, it's on to "My Gather".

If I'm not seeking to make return comments, I tend to head toward the "Images For Me" section and right-click on the "view all »" link to open in a new browser tab.

After that, I might check my groups for recent activity, or just the active one (Candid Club) if I'm short on time.

If I still have plenty of time, I typically right-click "Articles For Me view all »" and then peruse the titles for something to delve into. If there's some "games" I want to play, I make comments to them, and then leave the tab active to check back on later on.

Of course, this is no steadfast ritual for me, but I do tend to follow this or a similar approach.

I receive notifications from all my connections and my own group. I make it so they list alphabetically by subject and view all of them. I go to my page and see if there is anything listed that I missed and then I go to the front page and seek out the articles, photos and videos I think I'll be interested in if there is time.

It is so hard to keep one system. I feel like I am missing out on something by doing it one way or another so based on time and my mood is how I do it. Sometimes I check my articles first to see who has commented and go and check out their stuff. Sometimes I go thru articles for me first, sometimes I go thru my e-mail first. It all depends on how much time I have and what my mood is. And since I only have about 10 minutes til I have to pick my little one up from school, I am just being random this morning. Good luck finding a system!

I am with Ron Appell. I read my email notifications from my Gather connections. I comment on them if they catch my eye and/or depending on how much time I have. Occasionally I can check out members I am not connected to and make some new friends and read new material.

I try to comment on all, not every day but on different days. So I don't always comment on all articles or images by one person.

I start with the articles for me, then go to images, from there, if I have more time, I go to my groups.

I get emails from all my connections when they post something new. So I try and click through them and get as far as I can before deciding I want to stop for the day.

I go through my emails first. Because those aarticles are poste dby people on my friends list. Than if I get through all of them. I will either select a group or go down the list on my gather page.

I think you're right, there is only so much time to comment. But honest comments are important to people. So I try to go through "My People," who are kind enough to comment on my articles, and reciprocate. If their topic isn't one I have a reasonable interest in or knowledge about, I go the next. That only seems right.

On occasion I also check out the "current" articles page, to see if there's an interesting new topic. I enjoy that change of pace and it brings new Gather friends into my world : ).

For starters, I browse through the "Articles For Me" section and see if any topics/headings grab me and or I have input to add to the discussion. I do occasionally check out articles of groups I belong to, but get so overwhelmed that I lose track of where I've been.

I do try to comment back to people who take the time to comment on my (lame) articles as well as some my most of my connections.

I check my comments & try to comment on at least one thing from everyone who left me one then if I am still able to move my fingers I will check out my groups.

I go to my groups and comment there since my friends send their articles there also if someone comments by me I try top stop by bye them and if I see something I like I comment anway

I have the articles that are posted from the groups I am a member of sent to me. I go through those and comment on the ones I find interesting and feel that I want to comment on. I also do a comment for everyone who has commented on something I've posted on.

I was totally gonna post a thing like this, but yours has the answers right here! I usually check my gather & then the articles on that & then I randomly hit pics...then I will go through my stuff & if someone has commented that I haven't commented on recently I will go to their profile & then read their stuff & then if I see a comment that I like from someone then I go to their stuff & so on LOL

Lately I have been thinking about going to my groups & people cause I should really show all the love!