So any divide has to have me on both sides.

If it wasn't clear before, I don't think there is an Us vs. Them component here. Just the natural division of every vote: for, against and no pref. And we all have our own reasons for being in each camp.

There are some trends though. Like you point out, ita, pre-Firefly people may see Firefly's inclusion in board culture differently than post-Firefly people. Firefly denizens may have emotional reasons to vote yes or no. The thread liferationists (Pro and Anti) may vote for other reasons.

Possibly offensive but well-intentioned joke - deleted.

are there many people here who were around pre-Firefly who have a difficult time with it? I can't work out how to explain it, partially because I feel it's so true.

Buffy is the reason we exist. Firefly isn't. People come to this board for all kinds of reasons, and Firefly is obviously pretty high on that list, but without Buffy there wouldn't be a community to join in the first place. To me, that makes a difference.

There was a fairly sizable jump in membership when Wonderfalls was on the air. Now the show is gone, and so are its threads. I see Firefly in that category.

[eta: And Wolfram, I know your whitefont is meant as a joke, but can we not go there? Please?]

Um, I'm pretty sure that *is* the proposal. In other words, the proposal is to simply close the thread once it reaches 10000, not create a new thread. As you can see from the discussion generated here, those who want to keep the thread open do not consider that a compromise.

To be fair, the thread is about fifty posts away from that point, so I'm not sure I'd call that much of a compromise myself.

My compromise suggestion is to allow the topic to continue for one more thread, for a limited amount of time/posts.

Or this either.

I'm sure someone will make an argument that the users should have made contingency plans before, and the argument has already been made that there are already places to go on the 'net to discuss FF. Regardless, contigency plans apparently weren't made, and people have discussed their discomfort at other FF sites.

I don't see why. Nobody's being booted out. Offhand, I say there are three potential locations for further discussion - Minearverse, Boxed Set and Natter. Not to mention the Fic thread or Other Media where appropriate.

I love Firefly, and I'm subscribed to the thread and read it. But no, I don't see this as the same as the Buffy/Angel threads or history. And regardless of my take on that, I really, really don't think that comparison is going to get us anywhere, because it's not really something on which people's perceptions are going to change.

Wolfram, I wasn't reacting to you, but to -t's statement:

It feels like, at various points in this discussion, a distinction is being drawn between the Firefly thread denizens and Buffistas.

Jessica - you're right. Deleted.

Yeah, I don't see the distinction between Firefly and Wonderfalls in terms of B.org's history.

I do see a cultural split in that opinion between those of us that came over from TT and those who came to Buffistas during Firefly.

Firefly doesn't seem remotely related to Buffy/Angel in terms of my fandomness or my Buffistaness. It seems as remote as Wonderfalls. I'd be all for remving Firefly from the header as well, and am thinking of proposing it.

If you're starting down that road, the whole line is meaningless -- would anyone say the community is currently dedicated to discussion of any of those shows?

No not at all. I don't think we're dedicated to the discussion of any particular thing. I think the whole thing needs rewording. But that doesn't really belong in this discussion,, and should be saved for one of our semi-annual "who we are, where we're going" navel-gazes.

It seems that at least part of the angst is being caused by the fact that closing the topic/not opening a new thread has been proposed with less than 100 posts to go.

It was suggested yonks ago (possibly as far back as January?) but never brought to a vote because there were always other issues that were more pressing. I just asked the question again when the post number was mentioned.

I do see a cultural split in that opinion between those of us that came over from TT and those who came to Buffistas during Firefly.

Is this where I mention that I found Buffistas because of Firefly?

It's one of my subscriptions, and I read every post within short order of it appearing. So any divide has to have me on both sides.

Me, too. Hence trhe being troubled. I would really love it if someone told me that that perception was wrong.

FWIW, I came in the same time and the same way Wolfram did, goold old TV Guid channel's misinformation. And I don't feel like Firefly has the same special status that Buffy does. So I can't attach much importance to that particular cultural divide.