but there is a secret handshake and you will be tested.

t /big fat liar

t /lost on the spirit baby thing; are we procreating now?

Cindy in Firefly:

You know how the Mormon church encourages its members to have lots of children, because they believe the souls (or spirit babies or something, okay - I'm not a Mormon or a Mormon scholar - I'll out myself on that, here) are out there waiting to be born into a body? Well that's what I figure about Buffistas of the potential kind. There's a gaggle of Buffista spirit babies out there, they just haven't been born here yet. Still, it'd be nice to know the stork is double checking the URL upon delivery. And now, having botched some point of Mormon theology and then combined it with the old stork's tale and somehow tried to use it all as a metaphor for spirit-baby Buffistas, I'd say my work here is done.

Y'all get freaky when I don't read every post...

Whew. Just caught up.

I have so many opinions and thoughts, but I'm just too tired to post any of it. I love the combination of thoughtful discussion and quick (though some might disagree) action that was taken.

'Suela, I mentioned that the venting in Natter upset me not as a slap on the wrist to you, but because it just seems, well... uncomfortable. If someone has issues with me and they post it in something I don't read, then it's like talking about me behind my back and yet not. Frankly backchannel doesn't bother me because I'll never know. But if someone says something about me publicly in a place where they think I won't read it..it just feels wrong and extra spiteful, which I don't think you were being. Or it feels like something my middle school counterparts did to me or something we did to the class pariah (Megan M, please forgive us!) to feel excluded.

Other Buffistas have said, "But people always do that in Natter!" and I bow to their experience, but I haven't noticed it happening in the time I've been here and at WX. It just seems not a model of communication I'd advocate for.

On being a buffista... Well, if you're a lurker and you don't feel like you are "one of us" it's probably because you become part of us by participating. If you want us to know you, then tell us about you.

For posters who don't feel like you are "one of us," it might take some time. The injokes, the nicknames, the references all come with time. If you don't get a backthumping response to your post, keep at it.

We talk a lot and often people aren't intentionally ignoring. It can be hard to get word in textwise, and it might take time to respond, but people will if you keep at it.

Someone with the username "/mieskie" (with the slash), just registered. Should we do something?

I started typing this before Kat's post, but got interrupted, so it's a little repetitive, but from the flip side.

Glitter! We get Glitter? Shiny.

Once more speaking up as a relative newbie, even though I feel like I could be a Buffista, I don't feel like I am one yet.

And it's my own gorram issue. One of the reasons I like being here is that this feels like an established community. You all obviously care about each other a lot because you have spent time getting to know each other. Sooner or later maybe that will be true with me as well. In the mean time, you are all funny smart people I like "watching" (hoping that's not too stalker like), even if it is somewhat from the outside for now.

secret message to perkins:

Lori and I are so sorry we didn't make it to the FF party! Next time we have an LAista gathering, you'll have to come so we can meet you.

Jon, I dunno. Do you wanna wait and see if he posts?

I'm an -ista in only the loosest sense... that is, I post sometimes. But it seems to me that in a community where policies are clearly laid out, if someone violates that policy, they aren't justified in suggesting some sort of "Big Brother" creature keeping the little people down.

At base, this board is a private entity, and the people established as its administrators are right in doing what they will, including calling people names. Buffistas are above that, but this is the sandbox of the people who code it and run it, and when people have problems with that, Bureaucracy is clearly the place to discuss them.

Community standards are important; but there has to be someone at the topmost level who decides where expectations, standards, and policies are distinct from one another.

I guess basically what I'm saying is, I trust the admins here to do what needs to be done. If this someday leads to banning me, I won't be happy about it but will try to accept it with grace and without putting forth a conspiracy theory.

"/mieskie" (with the slash), just registered. Should we do something?

No, I say delete him right away.