I really didn't see anything that said to me that "cultural center" equals "social threads." I thought by cultural center we meant the ineffable something that make this board different than other boards.

Well, I think there have been statements that Natter/Bitches are the heart of the board, and one of the reasons I was interested in seeing the poll results was to see to what extent that was true.

I don't think I'm really a core Buffista

@@ You traveled halfway across the country and survived a random cat attack and a chipped tooth to hug Nilly in person. That's hard-core core!

I think I am vaguely reactionary, because I sort of think Buffy is the heart of this board-- the one thing we all have in common.

Surely anyone would do anything they could to hug Nilly.

because I sort of think Buffy is the heart of this board-- the one thing we all have in common.

"But that was in another country, and besides, the wench is dead."

I wonder how many people have joined this board since Buffy/Angel went off the air.

edit: I have to confess, I posted this mostly so I could put in that quote.

I wonder how many people have joined this board since Buffy/Angel went off the air.

I'm not sure that's a totally relevant number, since we were/are also supporting all things Joss and Tim.

One thing I will say -- if a board isn't a little dynamic, you end up managing it into decline.

Which is one of the reasons I think the poll results are (fairly) unsurprising. People fear change, but at the same time interests do (change). The heart of this website -- from my perspective -- is television and entertainment, with a community based around it.

I think I am vaguely reactionary, because I sort of think Buffy is the heart of this board--

I think that's a good point. Buffy at the very least gives the board a shared language. "Monkey pants," "a ritual sacrifice with pie," "insane troll logic," and "linoleum" conjure the same images.

What happens when I go on vacation and take a few days to catch up on the board?

Briefly, thanks all to the shout-outs: DavidS and JZ in particular. And, (though it probably need not be said), I wasn't one of the snarkers about buffista core groups. I was enjoying looking at the ocean, no bitter "I'm leaving this thread and never coming back" intent here.

That said, I have nothing useful to say about the poll. But I will say this (if you can't say something useful, say something less useful): The only thing that the poll gave me was a sense of peace. We are talking and talking and being angsty and maybe we needn't be angsty about this. There's a lot of people unsure if changes needed to be made and many who don't think it necessary.

Maybe we can tread carefully and say from now until December, we will create no more than 5 (or whatever number) additional tv threads for active tv shows/topics. If they do not reach the level of x number of posts per week by 30 days, the thread retires and cannot be resurrected again for x months.

We can revisit the 5+ thread rule in 2008.

I have to say, it's very hard to see "not interested in participating in the social threads" and not read "not interested in talking to you people." So I have to wonder...which threads would such a person be interested in? COMM? Press? Which are the non-social threads? Why talk about TV here if not because of the people you're discussing it with?