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Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"


Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

Your Pet Peeves are your Pet Peeves and you're welcome to express them here. However, that does not mean that you can use this topic to go after your fellow posters; being annoyed by something they say or do is not a Pet Peeve.

If there's something you need clarification on, please remember: it's always best to address a fellow poster directly; don't talk about what they said, talk to them. Politely, of course! Everyone is entitled to their opinion and should be treated with respect. (If need be, check out the how to have healthy debates guidelines for more).

While we're happy to grant the leniency that was requested about allowing discussions to go beyond Pet Peeves, please keep in mind that this is still the Pet Peeves topic. Non-pet peeves discussions should be kept brief, be related to a pet peeve and if a fellow poster suggests the discussion may be taken to Chit Chat or otherwise tries to course-correct the topic, we ask that you don't dismiss them. They may have a point.

Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,
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I rarely see gum chewing anymore.
It used to be fashionable. 
Remember the Doublemint twins?
I can think of a lot of reasons why gum chewing is no longer popular, but I kind of assume that those who still chew gum are either trying to quit smoking or avoid eating a snack that will ruin their diets,
so I try to sympathize,
but, really,
I have to bite my tongue to keep from warning them about how gum chewing causes TMJ (a painful disorder of the the jaw's joint).

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Car commercials:

Brand new cars/trucks ripping across the landscape, trashing the environment. I am not impressed with your disregard for the unpaved wonders that still exist.

Any car/truck commercial filmed with a stunt driver on empty streets with the small print, "Professional driver. Do not attempt." I want to know what it's like sitting in a commute with this hunk of metal.

Edited by IrishPirate
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AT&T's anti-customer service.
Since they clearly don't value my time, I will not debase myself further by listing the insults I put up with from them this past week.
And, anyway, "first world problem"
(even if I'm now on more of a 3rd world budget).

But. Okay. For starters: 
All of the "contact us" links at att.com go back to the page you were just on to get to the "contact us" link.
 

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2 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Someone left me a nasty email yesterday. It was very rude, and they told me that they would not respond to any of my emails again.

Was this person a friend? I’m sorry that you got such a rude letter and awakening. Perhaps she was just in a bad mood and took it out on you. I wish better for you. 

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15 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I rarely see gum chewing anymore.
It used to be fashionable. 
Remember the Doublemint twins?
I can think of a lot of reasons why gum chewing is no longer popular, but I kind of assume that those who still chew gum are either trying to quit smoking or avoid eating a snack that will ruin their diets,
so I try to sympathize,
but, really,
I have to bite my tongue to keep from warning them about how gum chewing causes TMJ (a painful disorder of the the jaw's joint).

Uh-oh...it's a good thing we don't live near each other cause I've taken up chewing gum when I drive.  It keeps me from grinding my teeth.  Traffic is rather dicey around here.  But I don't chew gum any other time.  

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I chew gum when I have a sore throat.  I shouldn't because I did have TMJ issues last year, but actual mentholated throat lozenges make me nauseated.  The gum keeps my mouth moistened and has a cooling effect.

My thermostat is screwy and it's making me crazy.  Why does it keep setting itself to 85 degrees?  I feel like I'm suffocating.

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I don't chew gum partly because I have a fake tooth and most gum sticks to it like crazy, and partly because I have enough cavities/fillings.  (I used to chew gum constantly, and when I stopped, I stopped getting cavities.  Yes, I know, correlation does not equal causation, but it's good enough for me in this case!)

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Does anyone here use ProofHQ? I am having a peeve related to it (tangentially; I am actually peeved at a coworker), but it would take too long to explain and/or be too boring too bother posting! Let's just say I am a'peevin' hard!

Oh, I'll give it a try: one feature of ProofHQ is that you can compare a new version of a document against an old one; it uses color to show you where things have been added, removed, or have shifted (like line breaks--and sometimes in my job, they have to be the same). Anyway, this coworker uploaded the incorrect previous version of a 50-page thing so I cannot use the autocompare function. So, instead of just correcting this, she asks me to slug (go line by line to compare by eye) the material against a PDF. We go back and forth as to whether this will take time (it will) because we're in a rush. How about take 10 minutes and upload the right version so I can compare in 5 minutes instead of two hours?

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1 minute ago, TattleTeeny said:

Does anyone here use ProofHQ? I am having a peeve related to it (tangentially; I am actually peeved at a coworker), but it would take too long to explain and/or be too boring too bother posting! Let's just say I am a'peevin' hard!

Oh, I'll give it a try: one feature of ProofHQ is that you can compare a new version of a document against an old one; it uses color to show you where things have been added, removed, or have shifted (like line breaks--and sometimes in my job, they have to be the same). Anyway, this coworker uploaded the incorrect previous version of a 50-page thing so I cannot use the autocompare function. So, instead of just correcting this, she asks me to slug (go line by line to compare by eye) the material against a PDF. We go back and forth as to whether this will take time (it will) because we're in a rush. How about take 10 minutes and upload the right version so I can compare in 5 minutes instead of two hours?

You must be working with my former boss's clone.
  
  
 

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Uh-oh...it's a good thing we don't live near each other cause I've taken up chewing gum when I drive.  It keeps me from grinding my teeth.  Traffic is rather dicey around here.  But I don't chew gum any other time.  

Hey, if it works, go for it! 
I think the last time I chewed any gum was while driving while exhausted. But then my jaw hurt, so I became skilled at pulling over for 10 minute naps. Now I can't sit that long anyway.
P.S. I think it was a couple of other posters who get heebie jeebies from being around gum chewers; I just worry their jaws will hurt. </mom>
P.P. S. In high school in the 1960s-70s, even though I was a straight-A nerd, I doubt that anybody could crack their bubble gum louder or more times in a row than I could!

  
  

5 hours ago, janestclair said:

My thermostat is screwy and it's making me crazy.  Why does it keep setting itself to 85 degrees?  I feel like I'm suffocating.

I may actually have an answer for this one: Battery?
If the display is too dim to see with the light off at night, for sure the battery!


  

6 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:
7 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

Was this person a friend? I’m sorry that you got such a rude letter and awakening. Perhaps she was just in a bad mood and took it out on you. I wish better for you. 

Thank you. It wasn't from a friend, but it was from technical support.

AT&T?
Sorry; "misery loves company" or we wouldn't be here in this thread, right?

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1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

You must be working with my former boss's clone.
  
  
 

Hey, if it works, go for it! 
I think the last time I chewed any gum was while driving while exhausted. But then my jaw hurt, so I became skilled at pulling over for 10 minute naps. Now I can't sit that long anyway.
P.S. I think it was a couple of other posters who get heebie jeebies from being around gum chewers; I just worry their jaws will hurt. </mom>
P.P. S. In high school in the 1960s-70s, even though I was a straight-A nerd, I doubt that anybody could crack their bubble gum louder or more times in a row than I could!

  
  

I may actually have an answer for this one: Battery?
If the display is too dim to see with the light off at night, for sure the battery!


  

AT&T?
Sorry; "misery loves company" or we wouldn't be here in this thread, right?

No, it wasn't AT&T.

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18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

AT&T's anti-customer service.
Since they clearly don't value my time, I will not debase myself further by listing the insults I put up with from them this past week.
And, anyway, "first world problem"
(even if I'm now on more of a 3rd world budget).

But. Okay. For starters: 
All of the "contact us" links at att.com go back to the page you were just on to get to the "contact us" link.
 

Try using this link to reach Executive Customer Service.

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5 hours ago, Jaded said:

Try using this link to reach Executive Customer Service.

Took about 10 more clicks, but I did finally find https://investors.att.com/resources/contacts#customer-service so, thanks!

ETA:

ARGH!! "access denied." I have a perfectly composed 2,000 word complaint if I can get unblocked by AT&T, to whom I have paid about $30,000 for myself and my kids over 30 years. 

I guess they don't need me anymore.


  
  

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:
5 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

I want to leave some feedback for a company.

I don't want to leave them my name, address, email, and phone number.

So I guess I just won't go there again.

Just leave fake information.

There was an article in the NY Times this week that recommended giving fake phone numbers. 

Edited by shapeshifter
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2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Back in the day, if a boy wanted my phone number and I preferred that he not have it, I’d give him the number for Domino’s.

These days, I keep my landline for things like that. I almost never answer that line.

Thank God for caller ID.  We hardly ever pick up our landline phones since most of the calls are now spam types.   I wish I knew which calls were political surveys because those I would definitely answer.  How do pollsters know they're reaching the right folks for info' on the different candidates?  If they'd just have some type of ID that said "Warren or Biden or Whoever's Survey" I'd pick up.  Years ago we could do that.  Re: landline phones?  I'm never giving up mine. During 9/11, they said cellphones in our area weren't working (I was trying to get back from FL that awful day so I didn't experience that).  Gotta be connected!

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Pet peeve - women who complain that they can't get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, and how come I managed to so quickly.  Well, for starters I gained around the recommended 30 lbs rather than the 50 plus you did.  Also, I breast fed, which you chose not to.  And I went back to eating as I did before I was pregnant, with a few more calories for the breast feeding.  Oh, and "You're eating for two" is a canard that should be burnt at the stake.

Of course, I don't actually say anything.

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25 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Oh, and "You're eating for two" is a canard that should be burnt at the stake.

Or at least clarified on big posters in the OB's office.
Like:
"You're eating for two" means you need protein, water, vitamins, and minerals for two, NOT sugar, calories, and donuts.

When my second kid was born in 1983, nurses and people who hadn't known me before my 5th month of pregnancy tried to convince me that I must have AIDS because I was thin. Now she's a thin adult who hears the same thing.

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11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

... ARGH!! "access denied." I have a perfectly composed 2,000 word complaint if I can get unblocked by AT&T, to whom I have paid about $30,000 for myself and my kids over 30 years. ...  
 

Mail your letter with the PO -- you can probably find that address by googling.  That kind of letter might get more attention than just another e-mail. 

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3 hours ago, Brookside said:

Pet peeve - women who complain that they can't get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, and how come I managed to so quickly.  Well, for starters I gained around the recommended 30 lbs rather than the 50 plus you did.  Also, I breast fed, which you chose not to.  And I went back to eating as I did before I was pregnant, with a few more calories for the breast feeding.  Oh, and "You're eating for two" is a canard that should be burnt at the stake.

Of course, I don't actually say anything.

My first full-term pregnancy occurred during the brief period when the OB doctors in the US decided that women should gain only 18 pounds during pregnancy. This included weighing the woman during each checkup and giving lectures if the weight gain over the preceding month exceeded 2 pounds. Not surprisingly, after a few years the medical recommendation changed to a more reasonable amount, given various problems that occurred with the 18-pound limit. My peeve is members of the healthcare community who jump on the latest bandwagon without asking themselves if a particular practice, etc. is really the best idea for a given patient. 

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9 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Back in the day, if a boy wanted my phone number and I preferred that he not have it, I’d give him the number for Domino’s.

These days, I keep my landline for things like that. I almost never answer that line.

I would just make one up. Of course if he asked me later what my number was, I could never remember what I told him. The alcohol didn't help (I may have spent an evening or two in bars in my youth 😀) We still have a landline too, that's the number I give out, we mostly just monitor it. 

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Thank God for caller ID.  We hardly ever pick up our landline phones since most of the calls are now spam types.  

We get tons of calls supposedly from our town, I guess we're supposed to say "gosh, somebody from the town I live in is calling me, I should answer the phone" We also get a lot of calls from"Anonymous", or, as my phone pronounces it, "an-ah-nim-ous"

Edited by GaT
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5 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Thank God for caller ID.  We hardly ever pick up our landline phones since most of the calls are now spam types.

I don't answer if I don't recognize the number.  I reckon that if it's important, they'll leave a message.  Apart from not wanting to be bothered by a call from someone blathering on about a service/item that I don't want, my understanding is that if I answer, my number will be put on a list specifying "live bodies" and the calls will never end.

Then again, I am a grumpy, anti-social old fart.

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16 minutes ago, Brookside said:

I don't answer if I don't recognize the number.  I reckon that if it's important, they'll leave a message.  Apart from not wanting to be bothered by a call from someone blathering on about a service/item that I don't want, my understanding is that if I answer, my number will be put on a list specifying "live bodies" and the calls will never end.

Then again, I am a grumpy, anti-social old fart.

I’m worse than you. I have no landline. Will only answer calls from people I know and have absolutely no message mechanism. 

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8 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I’m worse than you. I have no landline. Will only answer calls from people I know and have absolutely no message mechanism. 

Oh, I have no landline either!  I do have a messaging function, but mainly so my family can leave a message.  They would only call because of an emergency (we keep in touch - infrequently - via email), and due to the time difference I could well be asleep when they call, and I keep my phone on silent.

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1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

I’m that person who gets very worried if I get a call in the middle of the night. If I know who it is I will answer it. 

In the days before caller ID, my phone rang at 4 in the morning. I jumped out of bed and ran in the other room to answer it expecting the worst.  It was a wrong number.   Ugh.

Another time, my phone rang at about 5 in the morning and it was the police telling me my car had been [I don't remember exactly what was said, but I was picturing a little dent].  I grabbed my glasses, boots, and jacket and walked outside and all the cars parked in front of the house were in different positions than when I had come in for the night smashed up against each other and mine was smashed against the house. I am still in awe that everyone managed to sleep through that. I would think it would have made a loud noise.  I mean smashing into a truck with enough force to knock that truck and my car 90 degrees sideways and then have the truck  continue on to hit the next car, which dominoed into the next car could not have been a silent action.

8 hours ago, Brookside said:

Pet peeve - women who complain that they can't get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, and how come I managed to so quickly.  Well, for starters I gained around the recommended 30 lbs rather than the 50 plus you did.  Also, I breast fed, which you chose not to.  And I went back to eating as I did before I was pregnant, with a few more calories for the breast feeding.  Oh, and "You're eating for two" is a canard that should be burnt at the stake.

Of course, I don't actually say anything.

I am facing the fact that I will probably never get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and it's not because of those things, except maybe the breastfeeding. I gained about 30 pounds during pregnancy. I did not keep eating tons more after pregnancy. I was 43 when I gave birth, however, and being older does not help with weight gain.

I did not breastfeed, but I did not choose not to breastfeed. I would have liked to do so, but my body and my son would not cooperate. I did not make enough milk. My mother did not breastfeed for the same reason. Her mother did not breastfeed for the same reason.

This leads me to my pregnancy and birth related pet peeve (not aimed at you, but at the world in general): How I fed my baby is my business. It's great to encourage women to breastfeed, but I would appreciate it if the world would stop acting as though women are bad mothers if they do not.

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4 minutes ago, auntlada said:

I am facing the fact that I will probably never get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and it's not because of those things, except maybe the breastfeeding. I gained about 30 pounds during pregnancy. I did not keep eating tons more after pregnancy. I was 43 when I gave birth, however, and being older does not help with weight gain.

I did not breastfeed, but I did not choose not to breastfeed. I would have liked to do so, but my body and my son would not cooperate. I did not make enough milk. My mother did not breastfeed for the same reason. Her mother did not breastfeed for the same reason.

This leads me to my pregnancy and birth related pet peeve (not aimed at you, but at the world in general): How I fed my baby is my business. It's great to encourage women to breastfeed, but I would appreciate it if the world would stop acting as though women are bad mothers if they do not.

Thank you for replying so gently.

And yeah, aging and weight maintenance are like oil and water.

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6 minutes ago, auntlada said:

This leads me to my pregnancy and birth related pet peeve (not aimed at you, but at the world in general): How I fed my baby is my business. It's great to encourage women to breastfeed, but I would appreciate it if the world would stop acting as though women are bad mothers if they do not.

I am quite happily not a mother, but I truly doesn't understand the lactation police.  Breast feeding is great and we need to support it (time and access, not freaking the hell out over exposure to a boob or judging at what age a baby is weaned, etc.).  But formula also provides balanced nutrition.  So for whatever reason a woman is using it instead of breastfeeding - whether she can't or doesn't want to do the latter - she's providing her baby with a healthy alternative.  We need to support that choice, too.  There's not some wide gulf in nutritional quality, so I don't understand behaving as if giving a baby formula instead of breast milk is akin to feeding a child french fries and cake for every meal. 

If a mother fills her infant's bottle with juice, or soda, or coffee, or beer, go right ahead and judge.  But formula?  Come on!

12 minutes ago, auntlada said:

I have a new peeve. I wish people would stop giving my son balloons. He loves them. I'm afraid the cats will also love them. And then try to eat them.

My peeve is mylar balloons.  Too many people are careless about hanging onto them (or just deliberately release them!), and, in addition to the potential danger - especially to animals - posed by wayward regular balloons when they come back down, they can - and do, with disturbing frequency - cause power outages.  They are just not worth it.

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47 minutes ago, auntlada said:

I have a new peeve. I wish people would stop giving my son balloons. He loves them. I'm afraid the cats will also love them. And then try to eat them.

One time when I left a job, they gave me a bunch of balloons.  So, I took them home and my cat was terrified of them.  He ran away the second I walked in the house and gave them a wide berth all weekend until I popped them and threw them out.  So, you may not have to worry about the cats, or mine may have just been quirky.  I do know I miss that cat, though. He was the sweetest most loveable cat I ever had, or most likely ever will have.

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1 hour ago, Bastet said:

My peeve is mylar balloons.  Too many people are careless about hanging onto them (or just deliberately release them!), and, in addition to the potential danger - especially to animals - posed by wayward regular balloons when they come back down, they can - and do, with disturbing frequency - cause power outages.  They are just not worth it.

My local florist will not use, deliver or offer Mylar balloons anymore due to “a shortage of helium”. I sincerely had no idea about that, but am happy to send plants (succulents are pretty easy to keep and not kill) instead. 

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1 hour ago, Katy M said:

One time when I left a job, they gave me a bunch of balloons.  So, I took them home and my cat was terrified of them.  He ran away the second I walked in the house and gave them a wide berth all weekend until I popped them and threw them out. 

Shana loooovvvveeedddd a balloon.  She would hold the ribbon/string in her mouth and just run back and forth through the apartment with the balloon "chasing" her.  

Soap bubbles on the other hand terrified her to the point of hiding under the bed.

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18 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

When people unfollow/unfriend me on sites.

I've only ever unfollowed on person on FB.  When I saw him in person I told him I did it because he was posting a lot of political stuff.  I guess he took it personally as he then unfollowed me, even though I hardly ever post anything. When the election was over, I followed him again.  But, he's far left and my BIL is far right and between the two of them posting all the time I was going nuts.  But, my BIL actually stopped posting political stuff a couple of days before I unfollowed the other guy, so I didn't bother unfollowing him.

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19 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

When people unfollow/unfriend me on sites.

I guess I'm glad that I have no clue about whether or not people follow me (my ego is a bit fragile) —although when I'm writing I imagine there's an audience. Once an academic (who used his real name) praised a comment I posted on the NY Times site, which was a little cool, but also creepy because it had flirtatious overtones.

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On 8/22/2019 at 9:00 AM, Brookside said:

Pet peeve - women who complain that they can't get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, and how come I managed to so quickly. 

15 hours ago, auntlada said:

I am facing the fact that I will probably never get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and it's not because of those things

@Brookside, this is not aimed at you, it's just my peeve because I see it with famous people so much these days and I don't want my daughters to feel less womanly if this happens.  My pet peeve is the belief that you HAVE TO get back to your pre-pregnancy weight in a certain time frame, or at all. I had my first child at 22, I weighed 120 before, I gained 30lbs and I breastfed. Guess what? It took me 3 years to get back to that weight, and then I got pregnant again a year after that, gained 25lbs, and breast fed again, lost some weight over time but never got down to my pre-pregnancy weight again.  Who cares? I'm 51 now, I run every day, eat healthy and feel sexier than ever at 145lbs, stop making it about weight ladies!

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I've only ever unfollowed on person on FB. 

I've unfollowed numerous people for reasons such as over posting about monotonous life happenings, to overtly misogynistic posts to constant sympathy/attention seeking posts. It doesn't mean I don't like those people, I just don't find their posts relevant to my life. So @MikaelaArsenault don't take it personally, maybe your interests aren't their interests, doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. 💜

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1 hour ago, GoodieGirl said:

I've unfollowed numerous people for reasons such as over posting about monotonous life happenings, to overtly misogynistic posts to constant sympathy/attention seeking posts. It doesn't mean I don't like those people, I just don't find their posts relevant to my life. So @MikaelaArsenault don't take it personally, maybe your interests aren't their interests, doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. 💜

I actually had someone unfriend me.  I didn't notice at first, but then I realized that there was sooo much less drama showing up on my feed. LOL.

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Same here @Katy M!  One was high school classmate (30+ years since I graduated) who would constantly comment on other people's posts about their health (colds, allergies, migraines, etc.) with her natural "healing" advice. She is not a certified homeopathic doctor/advisor and had no schooling in the field whatsoever, yet would 'prescribe' herbs and supplements.  One of the supplements she 'prescribed' to a poster concerned about their cholesterol levels was Niacin. I commented that I'd had a very bad reaction to this supplement that included hives and uncomfortable flushing so I advised the poster to discuss all the side effects with her doctor first. It was a while before I realized that my classmate had unfriended me but I'm pretty sure that was the reason. Don't miss her at all.

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Something I do with Facebook Friends I like but can't stand most of their posts (re: religion or politics, etc.,) is to click on "hide Suzy's posts" or "hide forever Suzy's posts', something like that.  This way I can keep my "friends" but don't have to wade through their annoying posts on my page. Every few days I go to their page and if I like a post (photo of grandchild, puppy or kitty, or funny joke ,etc) I click "like" on it.  They have no idea I'm ignoring 99.9% of their posts.  

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Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

Your Pet Peeves are your Pet Peeves and you're welcome to express them here. However, that does not mean that you can use this topic to go after your fellow posters; being annoyed by something they say or do is not a Pet Peeve.

If there's something you need clarification on, please remember: it's always best to address a fellow poster directly; don't talk about what they said, talk to them. Politely, of course! Everyone is entitled to their opinion and should be treated with respect. (If need be, check out the how to have healthy debates guidelines for more).

While we're happy to grant the leniency that was requested about allowing discussions to go beyond Pet Peeves, please keep in mind that this is still the Pet Peeves topic. Non-pet peeves discussions should be kept brief, be related to a pet peeve and if a fellow poster suggests the discussion may be taken to Chit Chat or otherwise tries to course-correct the topic, we ask that you don't dismiss them. They may have a point.

Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

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