private messaging service

Hi LIz. Private message via this website just means you send a message only to / seen by a specific person, rather than posting to the board that everybody can see. To send a private message, just click on anybody's name; there will be a private message option.

"you send a message only to / seen by a specific person"

The web dept can read private messages so I'm always careful what I say.

Liz: When you are logged in to the forum, look in the upper right corner, where it will say you are "Signed in as Liz." If you have received a message, there will be a notification underneath that line. As someone else said, if you want to send a private message, just click on their "name" and you'll have that option.

If someone on this forum sends you a private message or responds to yours, it will almost always -- read 99.9 percent -- be cordial and informative. A few months ago, however, someone messaged me in response to a forum thread I'd started to insult me in all caps for not sleeping on a plane. Takes all kinds, I guess. I responded by telling them to have a nice night.

Hey James E, I am pretty sure Ilja is a "he" not a "she",

Stoutfella, I got my first nasty pm after 12-13 yrs here which I ignored. For me, a rude pm is not worth my time. It goes in the garbage where it belongs.

But all the other pms I've gotten over the years have been lovely, and I've appreciated them all. Most people on this forum are wonderful.

Sasha; [Ilja being a] he or she, not something that affects my attitude one way or the other. The point stands. :) But thanks.

Sasha is right. Look here. It's a long topic, so scroll down to 6/22/16 06:00 AM:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/please-fill-out-your-profile#top
Sasha is originally Russian male name which is officially Alexander (like here Bill for William, Dick for Richard, Jack for John etc.).
But I know several female Sashas here in America. I became curious and checked Sasha's Profile which did not answer my question. Maybe Sasha from Bainbridge can.

This Sasha is a "she". I was named for a beloved aunt who was actually Alexandra but nicknamed Sasha. My parents skipped the long name and put Sasha on my birth certificate. I am grateful for that every time I buy airline tickets!

I do some business in lands where sometimes I cant tell first from last names, not to mention gender. Generally I try and stay neutral, but on occasions I screw up like today. This time i screwed up double, because I had the impression Sasha was a man. Bottom line though I prefer to stay gender neutral unless its relevant. But like I said, I screwed this one up. Sorry Ilja. Still like your answer though; maybe is should have phrased it as "remarkably efficient". When gender is important I tend to Google the name and see what pictures pop up. With Ilja, though I just discovered that Google isn't definitive. Also, I know one member here who has a typical masculine name for a screen name, but is actually of the opposite gender. So who knows........

Oh yes, James, sometimes is hard to guess. As you said I just wanted to be "remarkably efficient", not to put anybody down. That's why I sent Liz private message and brought it to her attention on this Forum. I did not delete my post, nevertheless it disappeared.

Sometimes the best of intentions aren't seen for what they are.