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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 17 of 17. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 0:40:05
Why does Dr. Bob ignore questions sometimes? How come he can't tell us whether or not he has had a dog, for example?
Maybe people wouldn't have such strong positive and negative transference reactions to him if he revealed himself more.
Why does Dr. Bob want to be a mystery? I wonder if he is this way with his colleagues.
Is he this way to us because he basically just sees us as mental patients and he has to keep up his pdoc persona?
I think I am OK with this for the most part, but I just wonder sometimes.
Posted by muffled on December 19, 2009, at 11:35:56
In reply to Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 0:40:05
I wonder too deneb. Which is why I can't trust him.
Mebbe you can get to know him more over time.
TGC
M
Posted by 2nd xylophone on December 19, 2009, at 13:04:46
In reply to Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 0:40:05
Dr. Bob appears to ignore questions he doesn't want to answer which isn't too surprising a trait. Maybe it's a clue to stop asking them if they are of a personal nature? That's just a guess.
Dr. Bob is probably open with his social circle but I get the feeling he doesn't want that to be posters or at least he wants limited personal contact with posters. Once again, just a guess but it seems clear to me in my opinion.
I don't know Dr. Bob being more of a pal or one of the guys would help Psychobabble be more of a success. It wouldn't for me.
I don't usually defend Dr. Bob but wanting him to disclose more than he's obviously willing could come off as pressuring to me. Maybe posters need to accept it is what it is as far as what he wants to tell in personal details and respect that. No answer/silence can be an answer also.
These are just my opinions. They aren't meant to be a putdown of anyone else's which differ.
Posted by Phillipa on December 19, 2009, at 13:29:50
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by 2nd xylophone on December 19, 2009, at 13:04:46
Maybe he just prefers separate life as a doc or therapist from babblers just speculating. Phillipa
Posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 17:09:53
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by 2nd xylophone on December 19, 2009, at 13:04:46
I am NOT pressuring Dr. Bob!
I really just like him the way he is. I am just WONDERING why he doesn't answer some questions!
It's fine if he ignores my questions sometimes, he does it all the time. It is just hard to tell with him. Sometimes he answers and other times he doesn't so I tend to just go ahead and ask and see if he answers.
I would NOT pressure Dr. Bob in any way.
I just don't understand why some questions are off limits and others are OK. I must be dense.
Posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 17:50:25
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » 2nd xylophone, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 17:09:53
Sorry, I over-reacted with all those exclamation marks.
Posted by 2nd xylophone on December 19, 2009, at 19:56:11
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » 2nd xylophone, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 17:09:53
> I am NOT pressuring Dr. Bob!
>Maybe you're not.
I think personal questions about details of Dr. Bob's life and comments about him and/or his personal real world life appear TO ME to get ignored and not answered and I believe that is purposely done on his part.
Posted by Maxime on December 19, 2009, at 22:18:01
In reply to Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 0:40:05
I don't really care either way. He could be a Christmas Elf and I would be fine with that. Usually the administrator of a board stays in the background the way he is doing. I don't have a problem with it.
Posted by emilyp on December 20, 2009, at 0:27:35
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » 2nd xylophone, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 17:09:53
When you say "I just really like him the way he is.", what does that mean? Do you know him? Have you ever met him? I realize he has replied to some of your posts, but I cannot imagine enough posts to really know him. So, what I don't understand is how you can say one way or another whether you like him if you barely know him. And I know you like him a lot because I have seen other posts of yours.
Posted by 10derHeart on December 20, 2009, at 3:17:02
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » Deneb, posted by emilyp on December 20, 2009, at 0:27:35
I'm sure Deneb will reply herself, but just because I can, I wanted to say....
She has, in fact, met Dr. Bob at least twice. I was there once, and then another time as well at the most recent annual Babble birthday party/get-together in San Francisco in May of 2009. There could have have been another time as well, too, but I can't quite recall.
So while none of us really "know" him, even if we have met him one or more times, Deneb definitely has more than only interactions here to base her feelings on.
Well, that's all. :-)
Posted by SLS on December 20, 2009, at 6:38:56
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » emilyp, posted by 10derHeart on December 20, 2009, at 3:17:02
I don't know about anyone else, but I prefer that Dr. Bob remain behind a wall of approachability. The boundaries that he places between posters and himself may seem sterile or stoic, but it probably serves to help people feel that they are being treated equally and fairly. It is not personal. One would think that doing so would avoid unnecessary drama and hurt feelings, but these things happen here anyway. Is it possible that the wall isn't thick enough? I don't know. For sociopsychological reasons that I am sure are knowable, the dynamics of the relationship between Dr. Bob and a large proportion of the posting community often appears strained. Is Dr. Bob too "hands-on"?
- Scott
Posted by Deneb on December 20, 2009, at 15:45:41
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » Deneb, posted by 2nd xylophone on December 19, 2009, at 19:56:11
I know Dr. Bob ignores a lot of my questions. Most times I don't expect a response. I guess he ignores the questions that don't have to do with the administration of the site. I like to write the questions anyways and have pretend conversations in my mind. It's fun. Sometimes I do it in chat too. I hope Dr. Bob doesn't mind.
So, Dr. Bob doesn't need to answer any personal questions. I am mostly just talking to the Dr. Bob in my mind.
Posted by Deneb on December 20, 2009, at 15:49:31
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » Deneb, posted by emilyp on December 20, 2009, at 0:27:35
Yes actually, I have met Dr. Bob. :-) I met with him on three different occasions. I still don't know about Dr. Bob's personal life though. I'm OK with that. I know how Dr. Bob is like with Babblers and people around him. He's kind and considerate of all people.
Come meet me in chat sometime and I'll tell you how he is with Babblers. He's great, very fun guy.
Posted by Deneb on December 20, 2009, at 15:53:47
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by SLS on December 20, 2009, at 6:38:56
Thanks for your answer Scott. I don't expect Dr. Bob to tell me things he doesn't tell other Babblers. I am just wondering why he doesn't tell Babblers in general more things. There are other administrators on message boards who do tell posters about themselves. They are still able to be fair.
I know the boards aren't about Dr. Bob, but I think it would be great if Dr. Bob could get some support sometimes too. On other boards the administrators sometimes ask for support.
Posted by Deneb on December 21, 2009, at 2:55:18
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery? » SLS, posted by Deneb on December 20, 2009, at 15:53:47
I just had realization. I don't know why I never thought of it before. Some of Dr. Bob's patients might be Babblers and he has to maintain appropriate boundaries with them. Since he cannot tell which Babblers are patients and which are not, he has to treat us all the same way.
Wow, I don't know why I never thought of this before.
Sorry Dr. Bob, I thought all this time you had no good reason to be such a mystery and for maintaining such strict boundaries with Babblers.
Posted by ron1953 on December 21, 2009, at 14:34:46
In reply to Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by Deneb on December 19, 2009, at 0:40:05
I can think of a lot of words to describe him, but "mystery" wouldn't be one of them....
Posted by Angela2 on December 21, 2009, at 15:44:47
In reply to Re: Why is Dr. Bob such a mystery?, posted by Maxime on December 19, 2009, at 22:18:01
Maybe dr. bob just wants to keep some boundaries up because he is a professional. I don't know. I don't pay a lot of attention to "when" he posts and "what the nature is" of the post except when he enforces the civility rules of pb ( aka "please be civil 'enter name here'")
>>>> I don't really care either way. He could be a Christmas Elf and I would be fine with that.ha! I got a kick out of that Maxime.
This is the end of the thread.
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