Which is to say, it's still the same JET.... There are only 5 people with my surname in the UK, so I figured a little discretion was wise.

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I was just prying to find out if you thought there currently was a disturbance in the force. It was a worry the tenses of some posts brought up for me.

Personally, I have no idea how one would codify and quantify a popularity contest without losing core Buffistas anyway, so I don't fear it coming to pass.

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This is an interesting discussion to read. For one thing, I didn't realize that some people don't like the "All Buffistas Are Foamy" phrase.

But the way I think about it is that I think the "All Buffistas Are Foamy" thing is true. I don't mean all the women look like Eliza Dushku and all the men look like Alexis Denisof.

But the thing I've noticed, with people I know, who I care about (not just, like, drinking buddies), is that they ARE all attractive. To me, at least. Once I know them, there's something that draws me to each and every one of them.

And if that isn't foamy, I don't know what is.

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General and random thoughts on the topic at hand:

I am a recent delurker who has become a relatively frequent poster in some threads. I didn't vote - I probably would now - but I didn't before - because I did feel like, for me, participation was necessary for voting. But having been a semi-long time lurker (back on TT for a over a year, then on the Phoenix for six months) I can completely agree that lurkers should feel they can vote if they want to. It is hard for me to imagine them tipping any significant scales on a vote.

Earlier in the discussion somebody stated that it didn't weird them out when lurkers delurked and knew everything about everybody here even though folks here knew nothing about the recent delurker. It may be the minority opinion, but it was good to see. I've never been a part of on online community at all, and that aspect of it is constantly jarring to me. I know you all so well from your posts and always feel I have to restrain myself from showing that because it is bound to be freaky because I am still just a stranger.

Finally, I am a firm believer that, indeed, All Buffistas are Foamy. (And even if - on the slight chance that they aren't - it's a good and powerful principle for the community to adhere to.) I think a lot of dedicated lurkers feel the same way - and it is what makes it hard to jump in, because personally, I felt that I would just be dilluting the Foaminess factor. And not to say that everybody here is a CHAMPION or anything, but the ABaF principle is one of the ways that Buffistas operate as if the world worked like it should (as opposed to how it actually does). It's rare and it's hard - but look how fun you all make it. I think that seeing a group of obviously very diverse people have such joy for a community that operates under these tough principles that almost go directly against RL human nature is pretty damn inspiring and probably plays an important role in the lives of lurkers who will never delurk.

That said and nattering wildly off-topic: for the record this is one of the unFoamiest days of my life. My AC is broken - it is 91 degrees in my apartment. My fridge is broken, too. Landlord out of town. So I am at work on a Saturday. Because it is the best place I could think of. Very UnFoamy.

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Wow... Just caught up with B'cy from whenever it was I found Buffistas... And I just got freaked the hell out.

Seriously.

The last message (Tina's in case I don't post next) made me feel a little better. Cause I didn't start posting until a few weeks ago, knew about Buffistas maybe a week before and, honestly, only picked up the show a couple of seasons ago (yep, reruns and DVDs are a cure-all)...

So do I personally feel less than? Sure. Do I feel unwelcome? I didn't really, but I wonder a little right now... Does it matter? Probably not.

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So do I personally feel less than? Sure. Do I feel unwelcome? I didn't really, but I wonder a little right now... Does it matter? Probably not.

See, I *don't* want lurkers to feel unwelcome. I want them to step out into the glittering light and do that funky de-lurking thang. Because that's how new Buffistas happen.

The thing of it is, yeah, there is an unspoken social hierarchy, but it's not a static thing. People come, people go.

WRT what the article said, and the reactions here: some of the fears are legit, because they've happened to Other Places. I don't know. It's a fine and tricky line between being so open you can get overrun by malicious asshats and being the asshats yourself.

I have occasional Lurker Fear, which I know isn't rational. I also have Friends Who Mostly Lurk. Again, tricky line.

Huh. My two cents make no sense.

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Do I feel unwelcome? I didn't really, but I wonder a little right now...

Y'know, on average, I feel like I've been on the fringe with this crew from the first day I got here, and I've been poking around since the second Buffy thread on Salon. But...

Does it matter? Probably not.

I agree with this as well. Even knowing I'm not one of the town council members, to use an earlier analogy, it's made clear that I'm still part of the community. As are you.

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See, I *don't* want lurkers to feel unwelcome. I want them to step out into the glittering light and do that funky de-lurking thang. Because that's how new Buffistas happen.

See I did that. In Bitches, cause I didn't know there were steps to be taken, and it was amazing. Barely even lurked, just wandered out blinking a little.

Huh. My two cents make no sense.

To me, Plei makes sense.

Even knowing I'm not one of the town council members, to use an earlier analogy, it's made clear that I'm still part of the community.

I don't think I even know where the council meets, though I could guess a few of the members probably...

Honestly, just kind of looking to see if I fit in with this group. Seems like a good match but it isn't the kind of thing that you can say with certainty so soon.

Part of the community? We'll see...

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Honestly, just kind of looking to see if I fit in with this group. Seems like a good match but it isn't the kind of thing that you can say with certainty so soon.

shrugs Seems like a good match to me.

What you did Cass is probably what we would probably prefer folks to do if we had any kind of official protocol on the matter. Lurk for a couple weeks until you get the feel for the community, then jump in.

But I always like it when a longtime lurker decides to join in. I even like seeing folks delurk once a quarter. Seeing the same names come back around. Even as far back as TT I've gotten emails from lurkers who wanted to share something with me.

It's okay. It's a disquieting idea sometimes knowing that there are a lot more people reading than are posting. But my experience at least is that lurkers are a beneficient-to-neutral presence. I sort of presume that (for the most part) they wouldn't keep coming back if they didn't care about the conversation that was happening here.

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shrugs Seems like a good match to me.

Hec-liments -- especially when I don't think you meant it to be one --are good and lovely pretty things.

I just got a little creeped catching up on stuff, and for me, it's all catching up...
t blinks
Um, where am I?
t blinks again
Scurries back to Bitches...

oh and I'll wait on voting till I feel I've earned it...

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