Connie, I guess whenever this discussion comes up, it's really weird. How do you take someone's voice into account if they NEVER voice their thoughts either by posting or voting?

This is it. If someone is posting somewhere on here, they aren't a lurker

Okay, but they're not a member of the "core" group, either. And there have been comments explicitly saying that their feelings should not matter as much.

I agree with Cindy regarding the tension-building. I'm not a "core" member here. I'm not a lurker, although there are periods of time when I do just lurk, but that's true of all of my boards, not just this one. I'd like a Network Drama tv thread, but my life's not going to end if there isn't one. At this point, I'm not even sure if there should be one, so I'm not saying this out of feeling like I have some sort of stake in the result of that vote.

I also don't care who thinks my feelings on this or anything else are worthy enough of being considered. I don't mean that as hostily as it sounds, because I have a great amount of respect for the majority of people who post here, but it's just the way I'm built. I feel how I feel, I say what I say - people can take it into consideration or not. I don't need validation of my own opinions. However, were I a different type of person or an exclusive lurker for whatever reason, or a person who maybe tried to post once or twice in Natter and was ignored and now fears rejection or whatnot, I would be highly offended by some of the posts being made. Which may not matter to anyone, but there it is, all the same.

Right now I mostly feel like donating some money to the board and invading Natter with whitefonted tv talk and demand that people respond to me since it seems so all-important for some people to keep it there, even people who admit to never discussing it there.

I don't think having a poll is a bad way of getting information, but I highly doubt its usefulness in resolving anything unless a handful of the right people decide that it means there will no longer be voting for new threads and somehow institute that as policy.

Again, I'm not looking to argue or attack anyone specifically, but this whole convo is sort of leaving me feeling very uneasy. I think I need a break from it, in all honesty.

I just think the people who have taken our member numbers up to nearly 2000 should get more than "Well who the hell cares".

Because they registered? Connie, did you take a look at that Clay Shirky article I posted? I had you in mind in terms of people who protest whenever the suggestion is made that this is not a pure democracy.

Denise, I think the main point being made by me and others is that only people who make their views known (whether through discussion or voting or whatever) deserve to have their views taken into account. We can't guess what the rest of the world thinks. At least, I can't. Hell, I can barely figure out what my friends think.

Denise, I think the main point being made by me and others is that only people who make their views known (whether through discussion or voting or whatever) deserve to have their views taken into account. We can't guess what the rest of the world thinks. At least, I can't. Hell, I can barely figure out what my friends think.

I understand your point of view, Jesse. I'm not disagreeing with that. I'm also not going to go back through the thread and single out specific people for specific comments because I'm not looking to put specific people on the defensive and make things worse. But there are people expressing a view that is different from the view that you're expressing in regards to which opinons matter. Those are the views I'm having difficulty with.

I feel like we are getting very close to a post that I think resulted in at least one person leaving the board and a ton of voting measures going forth, but this time the term being used is "core".

IF you are here and participating then I THINK you can take it for granted you would be considered CORE. The problem is there CAN NEVER be a definition of "CORE" that will please everyone.

I do not fear a great lurker overthrow of how things work here, seriously why would they do that? and how would a great minority viewpoint come into play IF WE ALL VOTE!

It bugs if we all think that what we want is the one true way AND the majority opinion, but that we will be thwarted by some loud minority that keep posting. I include myself in that. It is a pretty crazy stance all told.

If you want to change the (our) world, speak up. Vote. Check B'cacy for new posts. Read Press.

It's a clear process. I am short-tempered about the idea that there's much else the participating people have to do to accommodate however many readers we have.

I could probably tell you how many of the 2000 users ever logged in. I couldn't tell you how often. I couldn't tell you how many people read without logging in.

I think theorising ahead of the evidence is perhaps typical for us, but pointless.

If you care, vote. Talk. Something.

If you care, vote. Talk. Something.

Yes! Exactly!

If you vote, you're not a lurker. If you don't vote, we don't care what you think!

If you don't vote, we don't care what you think!

And that's democracy in action, right there.