ExecutiveGirl
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posted on October 9, 2001 02:16:08 PM new
Has anyone wondered what we would all be doing right now if the terrorists attacked the California area instead of NY? Particularly Ebay. What if they attacked CA and it affected ebay to be down indefinitely?
I've wondered that a lot lately. I depend on my ebay sales, so I don't know what I would have done. Would you all have moved to Yahoo, Amazon, etc? Or would you have quit the online selling completely and gotten a "real job"?
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Valleygirl
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posted on October 9, 2001 02:40:47 PM new
Actually, I've thought a lot about this.
First off, I think we (California) were on the hit list, but the FAA acted too quickly by grounding the planes. Secondly, I'm not too sure the rest of the USA would be as shook up as they seem to be since the attack hit NYC. After all, CA is viewed as the land of fruits and nuts. But NYC is viewed as the center of everything financial.
(the following is a joke... no flames if taken seriously)
Why don't we let Florida leave the union. They can't seem to run an election. They have way too many hurricanes, terrorists take flying lessons there, and now they have anthrax. Besides my sister lives there.
Not my name on ebay.
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dman3
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posted on October 9, 2001 02:48:20 PM new
Well if ebay was to be out for an unknow amount of time many many sellers would be shiftting fast to one of the online auction sites in the east like bidville..
There would be a new big site on the block !!!!!
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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spazmodeus
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:26:16 PM new
Has anyone wondered what we would all be doing right now if the terrorists attacked the California area instead of NY? Particularly Ebay. What if they attacked CA and it affected ebay to be down indefinitely?
This scenario -- "What if terrorists knocked out eBay" -- is so trivial compared to what really happened that it borders on insulting.
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deliteful
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:30:18 PM new
To full time ebayers this is only trivial if the government is already paying their food and medical bills.
Jess
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:34:25 PM new
Spaz: I am a New Yorker (with relatives who are working at Ground Zero), and I'm well aware of what "really happened". However, some of us have minds that are capable of expanding and wondering "what could have happened". And I don't think asking what we would all be doing if Ebay was directly affected by this is insulting whatsoever.
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zoomin
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:45:22 PM new
I was more insulted by the Florida comment...
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spazmodeus
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:48:59 PM new
My neighbors who worked at Ground Zero are dead. I still say the hypothetical scenario is trivial and insulting.
In answer to your question, "What if they attacked CA and it affected ebay to be down indefinitely?" -- well, I suppose we'd all have to doff our t-shirts and sweats, put on some clothes and find jobs. Problem solved.
Too bad the circumstances of what really happened can't be remedied so easily.
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spazmodeus
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:52:00 PM new
Your comment, However, some of us have minds that are capable of expanding is also insulting.
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zoomin
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posted on October 9, 2001 03:56:07 PM new
I wish someone could think up something about this fiasco that would make us say
"Yes, that would be so much worse. Aren't we Lucky".
Something that could ease the pain in some way.
I'm surprised others had spent time thinking about the scenario orf the attacks happening in a way that effected eBay.
Personally, playing out other scenarios, my "what if" sessions all revolved around the people I love. The "what will 's" are likewise ~ centered more around people than upon making money.
IMHO, If we are creative enough to make a living on eBay, we are creative enough to find other work as well.
What if they had attacked Florida or California and it fell into the ocean?
What if they had used "smart bombs" instead of airplanes ~ somehow making sure that the people inside suffered horribly for an extended period of time before they died?
What if the flights were longer and the passengers knew what was going to happen yet were totally helpless in there attempts to thwart it?
I find a bit of comfort (not much) knowing that a few were aware of their heroic acts ~ that they knew they didn't die in vain.
Maybe we are each trying to get "out of the box" to try and find a warm comfortable place. If I could find that right now, I'd be there.
(spooning helps)
There are so many "what if's" that could be worse.
It doesn't make the reality of what has transpired any less horrific, nor does it diminish the anxiety caused by the unknown future.
Spaz:
I don't think it was meant to be interpreted as making light of tragedy.
I am so sorry for your loss(es).
... and thankful that the attacks weren't worse.
(edited for clarity)
[ edited by zoomin on Oct 9, 2001 04:08 PM ]
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deliteful
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:02:36 PM new
zoomin,
Maybe we are each trying to get "out of the box" to try and find comfort.
Insightful answer.
Sometimes Pain or fear can cause normally rational people to lash out irrationally.
Jess
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Shadowcat
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:10:12 PM new
So what if terrorists hit CA and ebay was down indefinitely? *gasp* Why, that would be terrible! The nation's economy would plummet in a manner that would make what's happened since 11 Sept. seem like a burp!
After all, whether or not ebay was up and running would be far more important than people dying, families being torn apart people grieving for the rest of their lives. I'm quite sure they wouldn't be worried about whether or not ebay was doing anything.
Talk about narrowing a tragedy into the "if it isn't about me, it should be" school of thinking.
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spazmodeus
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:11:29 PM new
I didn't know them personally, zoomin, although I attended a service for one.
My objection to the premise of this thread is this: eBay is about material goods. Buying and selling material goods. I know many of us depend on it for our livelihoods but even if it vanished forever we would still be alive and physically unharmed. So would our families. It might prove a temporary setback, or a huge inconvenience, but in the end our futures would be intact.
To compare the collapse of eBay to the collapse of the World Trade Center towers or the Pentagon (even hypothetically) just strikes me as ludicrous.
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chococake
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:11:50 PM new
Something I was wondering about today, is the anthrax scare. They're saying it came though the mail. People might be afraid to buy from strangers, and receive a package in the mail.
It's pretty far fetched, but I know there are some really paranoid people out there now.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:18:19 PM new
shadowcat:
Talk about narrowing a tragedy into the "if it isn't about me, it should be" school of thinking.
Perhaps you should re-read the first post again. I was asking what everyone else would do. Particularly those who depend on Ebay as their sole source of income.
I was in NO way minimizing the tragedy that did happen. There is no way anyone could do that. And I was also in NO way comparing ebay being down to the people who died in NYC.
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zoomin
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:19:41 PM new
I think we are coming from the same place, Spaz.
I didn't read it the way you did, though. The initial post had little personal impact for me.
but...
Your last post made me want to woofkie.
I think I now feel exactly how you interpreted it.
Yuck. 
It frightens me that you can put that into words.
I get frightened a lot these days....
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deliteful
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:22:30 PM new
ExecutiveGirl,
The natives are restless.
Jess
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Hepburn
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:22:45 PM new
I depend on ebay too. Still, I didnt take it as some of the others did. I just saw it as you asking a question of "what if". No biggie on this end. I guess it just depends on the mindset of whomever is reading it at the time.
edited to answer the original question by EG. Depending on the circumstances, I would probably do what I could to help wherever the ground zero was, and not worry overmuch about my creditors. Cant bleed blood out of a turnip, dad always said. First things first...helping my fellow americans and finding a job afterwards to catch up on all those late fees with credit cards.
[ edited by Hepburn on Oct 9, 2001 04:25 PM ]
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:26:14 PM new
Well, if there's one thing I have learned about these threads, it's no matter WHAT you say in a thread, there is always going to be SOMEONE who twists it around to make it into something it wasn't meant to be.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:29:57 PM new
Hepburn: I was just saying that I do not know what I would have done, and wondered if anyone else had a back-up plan. I am personally not "prepared" to get a "real job".
These terrorist attacks may not be over. We won't know when or where they will hit next.
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HopelessSinner-07
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:35:12 PM new
E girl...
I learned that lesson a long time ago...
.
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deliteful
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:36:50 PM new
ExecutiveGirl,
I don't know what you sell on ebay. But if you sell items such as collectables, you might want to get started on your own website. Webspace is cheap now and you have a client list already. I have my own site that I am slowly growing with repeat customers so that if and when I quit ebay, I will still have a source of income.
Jess
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Hepburn
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:37:15 PM new
EG, jobs are hard to come by in this neck of the woods, so I would have a helluva time myself. But, with ebay sales being sucky, I might have to beat the pavement soon anyway. My backup plan is non existant right now. I guess I will just have to worry about it if and when it happens.
Dont let it get to you, EG. Differing opinions make for interesting warnings from the mods
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nanandme
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:37:35 PM new
I'm with Hepburn, and also would like to add...
We all experience pain differently. We feel it differently. We handle it differently. And this difference does not make us more or less of a person, it is what makes each of us unique.
Along the way, I have learned that not everyone will respond to something in the same manner I do or as I would like them to do. And I am sure that I don't respond to suit everyone either...
In an abstract sort of way, Rod McKuen sums it up perfectly...
"It doesn't matter who you love, or how you love, but that you love."
EG, I understand where you were coming from...
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bunnicula
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posted on October 9, 2001 04:59:54 PM new
It seems to me that if one's livelihood, be it eBay or some other business, were destroyed, then it would be a disaster for that person. There *are* different levels of disaster. Would it be on the magnitude of what happened in New York? Of course not. But to say that only disasters of that magnitude should be thought or wondered about is insulting, as well, as if to say that *that* person's concerns were of no account. The original poster in no way tried to compare the two--just wondered about something that would have had an impact on his/her life.
edited to remove an extraneous "w"
[ edited by bunnicula on Oct 9, 2001 05:01 PM ]
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gravid
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posted on October 9, 2001 05:49:22 PM new
Probably as many JOBS would be as directly effected by taking out eBay as the WTC but the real damage to jobs was the ripple effect on the airlines and associated businesses like hotels and rent-a-cars.
This is actually a pretty good arguement for telecommuting because the eBayers's would lose their work but not be killed like those thousands in the towers. Decentralize - it is safer!
"People might be afraid to buy from strangers, and receive a package in the mail. "
Well there is another arguement for people to cool their jets when they see an auction that is TOO GOOD to be true! If someone is offering a new computer system for $200
and writes English strangely beware - it could be more than fraud. Especially if it is called Akkabar Vector Electronics.
[ edited by gravid on Oct 9, 2001 05:50 PM ]
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spazmodeus
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posted on October 9, 2001 05:50:02 PM new
The original poster sought to liken her hypothetical scenario to the real tragedy via substitution:
Has anyone wondered what we would all be doing right now if the terrorists attacked the California area instead of NY? Particularly Ebay.
There is an implied equality in that question.
Dont let it get to you, EG. Differing opinions make for interesting warnings from the mods
Interesting, hepburn. She flings an insult -- However, some of us have minds that are capable of expanding -- yet you try to mollify her with the prospect of other people getting warned.
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bunnicula
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posted on October 9, 2001 06:34:46 PM new
Hers wasn't the first flung, now was it?
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Hepburn
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posted on October 9, 2001 06:45:06 PM new
I didnt take it as an insult, spaz. EG has never to my knowledge went out of her way to insult anyone. I take that into consideration when I read posts. She has always been a strong personality, but never in a mean way, so I just flat didnt see that aimed at anyone in particular and only now see that you may have, but I still dont see why.
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dman3
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posted on October 9, 2001 06:48:28 PM new
Actually If you really want to face reality if there is one or two more big terrorist hits here in this company many people with as you call them real Job as well will be out of work or unable to get to them.
And these people too will not only be spending time close to and at home but will be needing to find ways to become more self dependent for there money.
My guess is that as long as Phone lines keep working Home and the computer is where many more people would be working and doing business.
Remember not every job people go to the office to do could just as easily be done right at home and uploaded to any computer in the country that needs the information includeing the office..
More people would be buying selling and tradeing at home on there computer Just note the Stock market Phone conpanies long distant companies Internet providers and tech stock are all holding there own or on the rise at this time ...
When people arent traveling they are staying homeand we all know when people are home most spend a good deal of time on the internet..
if there is biological war fare in the USA with Viruses that can spread person to person that gets started the states could start quarantineing whole twons and cities to help to slow or stop the spread.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
[ edited by dman3 on Oct 9, 2001 06:55 PM ]
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