Q. Where did it all begin? A. In the beginning there was Salon Table Talk, and the Buffistas met one another on Salon Table Talk, and it was a free Web-posting board provided by online magazine Salon, and it was good. In August 2001 Table Talk moved from being free to being a for-pay service, which was not so good. And lo, the Buffistas were sent out into the desert, and came unto an oasis, and rested there, and it was called WorldCrossing, which had pictures, and it was good too. But finally the Buffistas caught sight of the promised land, and it was called The Phoenix Board. It was ad-free. It was Buffista-built. In short, it was perfect. So the weary Buffistas laid down their loads and decided they would wander no more.

Should there be something in there about how Table Talk encouraged people to use their real names, and that there’s a tendency to do that here? …. Lo! Salon encourages people to use their real names, and most/many people did, and also use their real names here. In August 2001 ….

Q. How do I register at this here Phoenix Board? A. First, go to the registration page (duh!). Fill out the online form with your user name and a valid email address, and then click the "OK" Button. An email will be sent to you with confirmation of registration and instructions on how to activate your account.

Adding: … Button. Many people here use their real names. An email ….

Q. What is the Phoenix board? And what's with the name? A. After the evacuation of TT, we decided to create our own forums rather than relying on other organizations to sponsor discussion boards. We camped out at WX while the Phoenix board was developed by a truly extraordinary group of Buffistas. And the name? Suggested by another extraordinary Buffista (Betsy Hanes Perry). We're rising from the ashes and all. The Phoenix Board opened on September 17, 2002. We have an annual F2F (face to face) that moves from left coast to right coast to middle America (perhaps Canada one day!), mini F2Fs during the year, and almost all the regular post-ers have met in person; many know each other well & hang out in real life.

OR, maybe

How are you different from any other Internet board?

The ways are too vast to count, but among them: Salon encouraged people to use their real names, and most/many people did, with the result that many of us use real names here. We tend to know each other not just in cyberspace. Many Buffistas have become good friends in real life and hang out regularly in their geographic meatspace. The vast majority of regular posting Buffistas have met each other at least once. We have an annual F2F (face to face) that moves from left coast to right coast to middle America (perhaps Canada one day!), and any good news is an occasion to get together, from celebrating an engagement, commiserating over a contract lost, or getting together for dinner and drinks to meet an out of town Buffistas who’s traveling through for business or pleasure. .

Q. What's with all those cool cartoon versions of the cast? A. Those are StorTroopers. You can build your own Stor at [link] . Several talented people played around with creating Stors to represent the cast, and before we knew it, we had a gallery.

Delete this? Put it in a history section?

Acronyms, saved from my newbie days:

TAR=The Amazing Race.

HoYay=Homoeroticism, Yay! It was originally a MBTV thread started by our own jengod, who subsequently got kicked off TwoP.

Thing is it doesn't feel to me like most people use their real names here, it feels much more like a 50/50 split. Certainly less folks use nicknames here than other places, but I don't think I'd say most.

What about this in the context of a FAQ?

Kat - Mar 15, 2004 7:09:33 pm PST #5758 of 8523 Mark

Random aside:

I just finished this great book called Join Me about an accidental collective that got started and perpetuated by this guy in England (and yes, for the record, I've joined and now am an official joinee).

Anyway, he keeps trying to say "It's not a cult! It's a collective." And I think I have to start using that to explain the Buffistas. We aren't weird internet people with an almost cult-like fannish tendency. We're a collective.

Isn't the Borg a collective?

I wrote this really long post about newbie-acclimation while thinking about this topic, and now the conversation has moved on. Is it worth posting, or do you all feel that you've come to enough of a consensus to move on and finalize the FAQ? I am not fishing for an excuse to Tolstoy-post; it is an honest request for what the b.org preference is. Thanks!

I'd say post it, Kristin.

There's no way to NOT feel ignored at times. Not unless you do nothing but post in every thread. The people you're responding to are away from the computer, or are busy in another thread, or you can't stay on the computer to keep responding to people.

This "am I posting in invisible ink electrons?" question seems to bother pretty much each and every Buffista, on occasion, no matter how long they've been posting, how many Buffistas they've met F2F and with what amounts of hugs and glitter.

Does anybody think that this fact should be put in either the FAQ or any other page? That the threads move really fast, that more likely than not, a post being ignored has nothing to do with anything personal against the poster, just that people have a limited span of attention and it's a shame that on this case this certain person's content is what fell on the wayside? Only, better phrased, of course?

tina, thanks for the FAQ work!

Kristin, I have no idea what b.org's preference is, but I would definitely be interested to read what you think of the subject.

Okey doke – I’m taking Hil and Nilly’s advice (thank you for the feedback). Hope it adds to the conversation and isn’t just redundant. I will post it in two posts since it’s reeeeeally long.

I almost didn't post anything, since I am still so new and don’t want to be seen as the person who needs to have a say in everything (not to mention my desire, albeit Shrift’s excellent advice, to not piss anyone off)…but then I thought that maybe my newness might be an especially important perspective to add to this conversation. So here goes. I apologize for the length, but I figured it was better to say it all at once rather than belabor the point.

I'm choosing to not comment at all on Beej specifically -- I agree with Allyson that I feel weird about commenting on it without her here. These comments are more about newbie-acclimation in general.

I would find (would have found?) extra info in the FAQ useful, especially about the issues mentioned upthread (etiquette and guac-ed models). Saying "lurk first" is great advice, but I think that giving an example of what happened when someone didn't is much more powerful and easier to apply to one's own posting. It’s also a bit of a warm fuzzy to see that it’s not the end of your chance to ever be accepted if you get smacked down for a recent faceplant in the avocado.

Plus, concrete examples are useful for those of us with short attention spans and big mouths. In an ideal world, everyone would observe for an extended period of time...but I'm among those that are far from ideal. If someone is going to jump in before they really should anyway, maybe that would be one more way to make sure the splash is minimal.

I love the suggestions being made right now – especially the info about the real names (50/50 split or not) and the "how are you different from other online communities" possibilities that Java Cat just posted. Thank you for taking the time to discuss and update it. That alone shows a concern and respect for new folks.

In terms of the debate between those who want to be gentle and those who feel the newbie should sink or swim, I agree that there will never be a consensus on the issue. However, FWIW, I think generally that the good cop/bad cop seems to already happen. Even when there is a semi-pile-up, there are people who take the other side (just look at the discussion here). It seems to me that the newbie can learn pretty quickly from watching or from guac-ing that some buffistas are more likely to cut a new poster slack than others, and adjust accordingly. (And by adjusting, I mean making a choice to apologize, or being more careful about people’s buttons, or avoiding confrontation with people whom you’ve pissed off, or shutting up completely – etc.)

It is always difficult to figure out your place in a new group, and I think it’s natural to expect rough patches. I think most newbies tend to be a little deferential and careful because, well, we’re new. I certainly have tried to radiate an aura of inoffensiveness, not because I’m always naturally like that, but because I understand that I haven’t acquired the social capital to snark at will without lasting consequences.

I don’t think it is the board’s job to teach me that rule: it’s a human one.

When a newbie gets overenthusiastic and guacs, however, I think it’s great that there are immediately some people saying, “Here dear, let me give you a napkin to wipe your face” along with the people that are understandably pissed off. Obviously I'm not talking about those who are truly and knowingly offensive and who don't bother to take responsibility for it, but those who make honest (if irritating) mistakes. It is awkward and hard sometimes, and the kindness is appreciated.

Basically I'm saying that I think that that part of the system works already.

The only controversial thing I have to say is a request more than a comment. I know that newbies are new, and that therefore there is a tendency to think of us as overenthusiastic puppies. We reinforce that image when we are overly solicitous or deferential. But please…don’t let the hat with the big floppy ears fool you completely. In other words, I don’t mind at all the fact that I need to earn a place here or that I need to watch my step while doing it. I would mind if I felt that the veteran buffistas were thinking of me like a baby animal that needed training and scolding.

Luckily, my experience has been a very positive one, and I haven’t felt like anyone was going to buy me a wee-wee pad anytime soon…but some of the earlier conversation was starting to drift that way, and I felt the need to at least articulate that it was beginning to make me feel a little uncomfortable.

If someone takes their time to lurk, even for a bit, they will see this is a unique group of people who can have amazing discussions on a wide variety of subjects, tame and controversial. And yet in the end, even the most bitter participants will send each other tiaras.

Yep. That’s all she wrote. I really appreciate you taking the time to hear my perspective and will now be ending this novel of a post.