Press is a manditory subscription, then?

No, but I think it's reasonable to assume that if it's posted there, people know it and proceed on that assumption. It would be unfair to expect everyone to know about this based on the current discussion. If a new rule or policy or something been in Press for a couple of days, though, and I violate it, "I didn't know" wouldn't be an acceptable answer. Sort of like the public notices section in the newspaper - things like legal settlements or actions often are required to be announced there for a certain length of time. No one is required to get the paper or read that section, but it still counts. The difference being that most people actually read Press.

but lately I feel like some posts, not just Jesse and JessP's, as "Don't be stupid, that's not what we said"

To be honest, I'm feeling the same way, from the opposite direction. And all I can say is...I'm truly not on a mission to kill the Buffista culture.

Every resource-conserving suggestion I've posted is just that -- a suggestion. They're not even my suggestions -- I'm just the person who wrote them all down in one place. But none of them are laws, or orders, or anything like that.

Perkins, I must have skimmed your post more than I realized, because I noticed your support for end of thread stuff but not beginning. Speaking just for me, the end of thread stuff is sometimes actually pretty fun and creative - I'm thinking of some of the haiku exchanges in particular. And I'm pretty sure the first ten or so posts in any thread will always be slutting, and I'm ok with that. But sometimes it really goes on way too long, and (IME) without much of the interesting stuff. I think Jess's suggested wording will help on both ends, but we should make sure that it's clear that nobody's being stomped - add a little content to your slut post, and you're golden.

I'd like to be able to express my view, and hear others, but lately I feel like some posts, not just Jesse and JessP's, as "Don't be stupid, that's not what we said", and I'd like to steer away from that if we can.

I've seen a few exchanges like this, though I didn't notice it in the current discussion, and I agree that sometimes we need to be more careful when we respond.

To be honest, I'm feeling the same way, from the opposite direction. And all I can say is...I'm truly not on a mission to kill the Buffista culture.

Fair enough, and I'm sorry to have added to that feeling. I wasn't responding as much to the suggestions themselves, as to the tone I felt the following posts took. Perhaps I was reading too much into them, because of some other exchanges that have occurred along the same lines.

I got delayed in posting, so edited for clarity.

Every resource-conserving suggestion I've posted is just that -- a suggestion.... none of them are laws, or orders, or anything like that.

We should make that really clear, that we're not coming down with the Ten Commandments and outlawing the glitter culture forever -- just cooperating to help keep the board alive. At the end of the Press post, it should say, "If we get enough room for everyone to relax again, we'll let you know."

Oh god, Perkins, I'm really sorry. I totally didn't want to be jumping on you, and actually, I figured you weren't that serious. I just wanted to make my own little position clear, which is that yes, there are things we can all do to conserve, but no, we don't need to freak out over it, and honestly, I haven't seen anyone proposing rules for how to post, just suggestions which people can follow or not.

I think this is a recurring problem in the conversation about What Should We Do To Save The Buffistas -- we're all having trouble "hearing" people's tones of voice to tell if they're kidding, or exaggerating for effect, or are dead serious. Just something for everyone to keep in mind. It's hard to joke on the internet.

Thanks Jesse. Again, I'm sorry if I was "reading" your post wrong. I know that we are all trying to save the board, as best we can, based on our own visions of the board. I think the fact that we need to probably has us all a little on edge, myself definitely included, and we should all take that into account.

3 - Got your Message Center on auto-refresh even when you're away from your computer? Tsk tsk -- every one of those refreshes is a hit to the database. Set your auto-refresh to "0" (no refresh) when you're not actively reading or posting.

If we think this is a good idea, we should code it in. It's a simple change to make.

Perhaps a compromise of "post one liners and have the glitter fights when the board is quiet" or something of the like?

As others have noted, the items Jess has posted are guidelines rather than rules, and Daniel's point about "when the board is quiet" is dead on. Our biggest problem is the number of simultaneous connections to the database. This is going to be much more of a problem when there are more people posting and reading than it is when there are only a few people around. Glitter fights in the middle of the night shouldn't be a problem. Twenty "Happy birthdays" in a row at 1 pm EDT on a Wednesday probably would be.

Still have my own issues with #1, Jess. Sometimes Happy Birthdays by others are the only way people know birthdays are happening.

I'm just going to put my Happy Birthdays in posts that contain other stuff as well, and cut out the one liners.

If we think this is a good idea, we should code it in. It's a simple change to make.

I'd like to see us do it after we get our next bit of feedback from Kristen and Monique to see how we're doing since the RQG was shut off (assuming it's still necessary). I think we should do it at least until after the Angel premiere (which is the date that Kristen's got her eye on for our danger point).