Laura, I feel much the same way. I'd lurked for some time at Salon, and finally started posting regularly on 9/11. This board has helped keep me sane during a very difficult time (and I hope I've been able to return the favor to others). A safe word will help keep Natter both free-form and polite.

And now I'm confused on where Cindy stands, so I'm not sure if we agree or not.

We don't, but that's okay. I would have liked to have the thread. I disagree with not allowing it because we're afraid of trolls. That seems a bit of "the terrorists have won" to me. t sarcasm level="playful" Maybe we shouldn't have a message board, because there's no bigger draw to internet trolls than a message board. t /sarcasm

I just can't add a list to my life. I also find it frustrating when people who say they don't want to post in it anyhow, seem to be able to kill the idea of a thread. I don't post in more threads than I do. I'm not trying to close down all the threads that are not a good fit for me.

I don't think of this so much as not allowing the topic in Natter. I feel like when we start talking that way, we're chasing a smelly old red herring and missing the meat of this discussion. The issue is that Natter isn't suited to an in-depth discussion of the topic - not that we need to ban the subject in Natter. Sometimes Natter isn't well-suited because it's too busy. Sometimes it isn't well-suited because a sizable number of Natterers don't want to talk about the subject. It seems to me that people (most commonly) use natter to vent and escape.

An alternate proposal has been floated (the list). I seem to be one of the few that that won't work for - so really, I'm shutting up now.

eta... I am the companion of all companions. Bow down before me, lower beings.

I would too, but it seems headed in the other direction - especially when I see people try to introduce more sensitive topics.

Well everytime we create a new thread, I think we are doing just that. The discussion of music & literature has all but disappeared from Natter, literature in particular. With the new Movies thread, the same will happen there. It's one of the main reasons I'm so against thread proliferation.

Plus I dislike the idea that war talk is verbotten in Natter. Why can't the war-sensitive skip it the same way I'm forced to skip 50 posts all saying "Timelies!" when I first check in?

You know, it seems to me that perhaps this discussion should just be tabled until some time passes. A war has not even begun yet. While one seems highly likely, what type of war it will be seems very up in the air. I still think a variety of events could lead to it being anything from very short to many years in duration.

I don't hang in Natter, so I'm not sure if it's a problem for people in there right now. But perhaps until a war does break out and discussion about it monopolizes natter, or makes it an uncombfortable place to be for some people, maybe you don't need to make a decision for a while. Maybe for quite a while. And maybe, if we are really lucky, never.

Just a well intended suggestion (and, thus, helping to pave the road to Hell) from a disinterested observer.

I also find it frustrating when people who say they don't want to post in it anyhow, seem to be able to kill the idea of a thread.

I don't think that is what folks are saying. That's not what I am saying at any rate. I am saying that I want the discussion to take place Natter, whereas you would rather not see it there. In other words, the disagreement is on where the discussion should take place rather than on who gets to create a new thread and who doesn't.

I also find it frustrating when people who say they don't want to post in it anyhow, seem to be able to kill the idea of a thread.

It's frustrating if you want a thread, I agree. But not posting in a thread does not mean there's no vested interest in opposing a thread. Thread proliferation, as Burrell just noted, 1. eliminates the discussion from natter and AFAIC 2. dilutes existing threads and 3. increases poster capacity, which is a problem for someone who doesn't want exponential expansion.

Well, as a new poster, I suppose I shouldn't have anything to say. But I do, which should surprise no one, particularly not those who knew me on TT or the Rant.

I can subscribe to a list anytime I feel like, and I'm sure that, if I wanted a list, I could find one that would fit my proclivities. Bust lists lack a certain something, to me. That's why I keep coming back to boards time and again, and I'm pleased to find one like this, where the bullshit takes a backseat to what's really important, that is, Buffy. Still, if there is no thread, either people are going to talk about it incessantly in Natter, or feel hurt that they are not allowed to express their opinions.

I guess I don't understand the arguments Shawn posted above. I don't see how it increases poster capacity, or how it does that AT THE SAME TIME that it dilutes existing threads.

Oh, and as far as the question of IF there is a war? Too late.

But not posting in a thread does not mean there's no vested interest in opposing a thread.

I am one of the people who opposes a war thread even though I don't think I would visit it if we end up with one, but there is no cause and effect there. I don't read the Due South, Smallville, or spoilers threads, but I am not opposed to them the way I am to a war thread, which I just think is a bad idea. While I think if any group could have such a thread and remain civil, we could, I'm not sure I think any group could. (Did that make sense?)

Also, as a lot of people have pointed out, there is still the Natter threads. It's true that right now the conversations aren't always that in depth, but when there is something major going on, it gets more in depth, as it did with the Australian fires, or the Challenger. Right now people don't know what is going on, and I think a lot of us are whistling in the dark, hoping that somehow we can avoid a war. If it turns out we can't, I think our natter will reflect that. When and if the natter gets too intense, hopefully someone can jump in with a picture of something on Ebay or a story about one of their co-workers to diffuse the situation, which wouldn't happen on a war specific thread. Just my opinion, of course.