“So, dear, how do you chat to other people online?”
Big news. Auntie B and Uncle G now have a computer and a broadband connection. He has been creating online photo albums and she has expanded her knitting pattern collection quite considerably. But that certainly doesn’t mean my work as a personal internet guru is all over.
“So, dear, how do you chat to other people?” asked Auntie B as she ran her eye down another pattern search. After a moment I realised this was a specific internet question. At the beginning of our cyberspace adventures, I’d casually mentioned sharing knitting tips with other people online. It had clearly stuck in Auntie B’s mind, and so we entered the world of Ravelry forums.
On Ravelry there seems to be a group for everything, from knitting techniques and fans of a particular yarn to nationality and hair colour. There are even groups where you can discuss your favourite TV and radio shows. You can browse more than 20,000 groups to find ones you like, or you can search by location.
Soon we’d discovered a group for Auntie B’s local yarn shop and a new knitting group in the area. By the end of the first page Auntie B had already joined a sock knitting group because I’m no help with sock patterns – I rarely (never!) knit them.
Once you’ve clicked the ‘Join’ button, participating is very easy. Click on a topic to read the conversation and if you have something to say just click the ‘Reply’ button and type. Before I knew it, Auntie B had launched into a debate on the merits of toe-up socks. I crept away quietly.
all’s sus picious ly qui et on th e au nti e fro nt
It was all a bit quiet after my last visit. Even though Auntie B has been getting on well with her internet adventures, most weeks featured a query about searching or downloading – or a lost email password. Suddenly there were uninterrupted bus journeys and I’ve returned to downloading patterns for a spot of selfish knitting. All very well. Or was it?
I decided to venture a phone call. “No dear, everything’s fine. I was looking for a men’s glove pattern but AllyKnitsInGreen pointed me towards a few that are lovely and then I wanted to get started on the
Downton Abbey knit-a-long – I’m using exactly the same yarn as CountessCoraCables, you know.”
There was silence as I gathered my thoughts. “Ally who?” I asked.
“AllyKnitsinGreen, she’s a teacher in South Dakota,” replied Auntie B, as though it should have been obvious. “It’s like having a pen pal.”
Light dawned. These were all Ravelry user names. As she does with any new group, Auntie B had wholeheartedly thrown herself into these online conversations – she was chatting on the forums she’d joined, making new friends and finding new activities that she could get involved with. It seemed that her “knit pals” had made me redundant as a web guide. Well, perhaps for now… You can find groups on a range of subjects by clicking on the ‘Groups’ button on www.ravelry.com. Once you join a group, it will appear on the ‘Forum’ page.