Is Chinesepod addictive?

Chinesepod ADDICTIVE you say?

Let me put it this way, there is a great worldwide need to start running Chinesepod PSA's.

The more you know...

casie is a addicted to a website to learn her own language... that is amazing. Of course this site isn't just about language learning (even though most of the threads casie started have great learning content) but all our little bits and piece about China, etc. Very cool.

On the Forum, you will also find the following topic :

You Know You Are Addicted to Learning Chinese When....

http://forum.chinesepod.com/viewtopic.php?t=29

Dogeatsrat, I just have rubbish friends. Ha. I'm sure there will be far more interesting people in China!

SiYao, nice to see you on the boards again.

Here are 2 threads that you'll find relevant and fun to read:

http://chinesepod.com/connections/viewpost/bazza/connect/You+know+you%27re+addicted+to+learning+Chinese+when...

http://chinesepod.com/connections/viewpost/kencarroll/connect/What+is+unique+about+CPod%3F

Discovering CPod was a life changing event. It's one of the best uses of the Internet I can think of, in terms of learning language. The daily "fix" has become routine, adding to my list of lessons. Aside from Cpod, I've grown my world of Chinese friends and study partners. Even my teacher and tutor have been impressed with Cpod. Many traditional teachers of Chinese have not realized how the field has changed since Cpod revolutionized the process of learning spoken language.

We need a Top Ten List of "You Know You're Addicted to Chinesepod when ................."

Here's one : .....when you completely ignore listening to your favorite Ipod playlist and instead are tuning in to Jenny Zhu's latest chat with John, Connie or Ken.

absolutely yes, even though i am a chinese!

oh man, i can not believe that i keep hitting C-pod for many hours everyday.

真是难以置信！

o(∩_∩)o.

user3881, welcome to our illustrious club, we can help you!

But first some background questions to help us with out inquiry

- When did you first encounter Cpod

- was peer pressure a factor, did you feel you had to take to Cpod to fit in?

- How frequently do you visit the site?

- How long can you go between fixes?

And most importantly, did you have a romantic evening yesterday or were you sitting with laptop set to Cpod and a cup of hot chocolate to keep you warm?

dogeatsrat - answer: YES. :)

Oh you couldn't be deserted Sebire, they must have had to leave despite their best efforts!

you can confess here - was it you Cpod addiction that sent the away? Come clean now- you are among fellow addicts!

dogeatsrat, I thought we'd ascertained that I have been deserted by everyone, hence me turning to Cpod?

well maybe it's best you are not out either - you could end up drinking too much and ending up with a horse's head on your pillow the next morning and might not remember her name!:-)

me not out either. 11pm here now. Just saw a bunch of girls watching Godfather for Valentine's day on the commonroom's big screen TV... what does that mean?

Sebire are you not out and about celebrating Valentine's Day? Oops I guess that begs the question - what am I doing here. I'm an addict, get me out of here!

Um. Of course. I've never sat in the filing room reading Chinesepod mobile. Ever.

wow sebire you know how to get your point across! But yeah in a structured environment where everyone is being watched by everyone else it is easy. But even if you weren't on view you would be ethics bound to keep away from the East-side, right Sebire?!

Good god, that emphasis was unexpected.

Dogeatsrat, the best tip for controlling indulgent diversions is to get a job where you sit at your computer with your back to the main walkway, i.e. everyone can see your screen! Then you can only post at lunchtime - that'll keep you off the wall of shame.

Haha, you noticed I have popped up into the chronic users hall of shame! I am feeling it hard to resist coming back to check for any activity - this is getting to be a problem.

Have you got any tips on controling these indulgent diversions?

Welcome in the MAU-List, dogseatrat.

Need some therapy, now?

I have just discovered ChinesePod for the first time today. So how do I actually get to hear the way the Chinese goods should be spoken. Please advise.

Perhaps i also should have made a post on the "you know when you are addicted" post, but i got a good'un.

....when you quite your job, sell everything you own, and then buy a one way ticket from chicago to shanghai after you saw a job opening at chinesepod.

I often think that if I was reading less of the conversation board and was actually studying Chinese more I would be improving faster. That is why I like it when people post in character. Less guilt involved because I'm actually studying while posting. Now if I can only get to where I can post in hanzi without it taking forever to write one freakin' sentence, that would be the optimal use of my time. So I guess I must be addicted because I'm feeling guilty but doing it anyway just for pleasure.

Jenny, there is and it is. ;)

Yeah, we're sorry about the downtime yesterday. Not much we could do since it was a problem with the main hosting facility. We were checking pretty religiously too.

If there were such a thing as a healthy addiction, it would be Chinesepod.

Sure (that wonderful English word that can mean almost anything)

So you are off on a big adventure - best of luck. Don't lose touch with Cpod entirely - it would be less addictive without you!

Hahaha, this is what happens when you graduate and end up living with your parents in a soulless new town - most of my friends that graduated the year before have managed to escape to better places (e.g. Central London/Australia/Cologne). Anyway, this is only a temporary measure, as I will be escaping as of next week, so I shall have no choice except to wean myself of CPod, unless I find reliable internet cafés!

Sebire your post has made me feel a little sorry for your predicament - but using Cpod as a crutch only compounds the problem. You still need to get out there and make social interactions with real people and not fall back on the easier virtual replacement that web 2.0 enables.

I can only imagine you are as great a personality in the real world as you come across in this medium. ;-)

It is actually addictive. Particularly when most of your friends have moved away, and you have no social life. Chinesepod is an ideal replacement (and cheaper than the pub!) Listening to a podcast in the morning is the only good thing about going to work. The only problem is that I have to substitute 10 mins of much needed sleep on the train in order to concentrate...

wow calkins you got it bad - we need to get you on a 12 step program brother. As in, think of 12 other things you ought to be doing instead. Take a cold shower perhaps and don't write any characters on the tiles like some of the crazies here do!

Alychic stay on the west side, don't let the plug-ins mess with your browser - there is still hope for you! You have been warned. Good luck! :-)

calkins,

found the same sight last night as well...although not as the greatest substitute :( I found my self checking every 8 minutes or so when cpod would come back up..I just started this about a week ago and I'm totally in the "suck zone" y'all sucked me in! (my attempt at a southern accent)

When the website was down last night for 216 minutes and 37 seconds, I started having withdrawal symptoms...started having seizures, dementia, saw numerous unknown hanzi floating over me....

I had to score a fix bad, and fast...so I searched the back alleys of the internet for the cheapest substitute for ChinesePod I could find....chineselearnonline.com. It was a water-downed generic brand. So after much exhaustion, I fell asleep...zzzzzzzz....woke up to find my prescription, "the fix" was once again available over the counter. Happy day!

It is too easy to tab over to Chinesepod and get a quick fix and it is a cerebral massage that fools you into thinking that you have spent your time wisely and sometimes you have.

All things in moderation and law of diminishing returns I guess - otherwise it becomes just a productive waste of time!

...when you struggle to come up with good ideas for the relevancy of learning chinese over learning Clingon but still can't get enough of it.

i feel like this is leading to another round of..."YOU KNOW YOU'RE ADDICTED TO CHINESE WHEN"

Henning, I believe one of Frank's assignments while in Shanghai is to photograph the MAU-points code - but that's one he won't be putting up on Flickr - the crafty devil!

Henning, that's not to say that your comments are pointless! ;-)

come on, dogeatsrat,

admit that you opened this discussion only to collect some valuable MAU-points.

Good stuff Henning - I was thinking the label "Most Active Users" should be replaced with "Chronic Users".

Is is funny how this title has been cherished and then the gradual realisation that it has with it a negative connotation.

Funny how Bazza was trying to get off the list while others rushed in to save him! One of the tribe leaders cannot be allowed to take a low-profile.

Don't worry. We have everything under control.

I just managed to get through almost 2 hours without CPod. Not even looking for an excuse to get out of that meeting to check for new content & comments.

Although, already, there is a new MM that I missed....and I got a slight headache.