And maybe a conscious effort to return to the congenieal roots of the board - the openness and tollerance I heard so much about for so long - might not be a bad idea

This is what I just. don't. see. Maybe I'm blind or oblivious or both. How much has the entire board shifted from its "congenial roots"? How many newbies are chased away on a regular basis or how many long time posters leave simply because of what is being posted--NOT because of other reasons? I don't think ANYONE no matter how long they've been at this board could quantify these.

I'm not in denial, I'm just saying that people tend to look at the past through rose colored glasses and when things seem particularly harsh, dream about the "good ole days".

I just lurked at WX and can't even tell you how long I've been an "active" poster at b.org but I can't see the shift from "openness and tollerance [sic]" to unduly harsh and dismissive.

So glad you made the effort, Wolfram! You are such an integral and valued memeber of the community I had almost forgotten the, um, episode.

So glad you made the effort, Wolfram! You are suce an integral and valued memeber of the community I had almost forgotten the, um, episode.

Thanks, that really means a lot to me, Scrappy.

(Actually it was episodeS but who's counting.)

I noticed all the new posts over here and perhaps this explains why natter is so slow today. Too many posts to read and see what is going on, but I declare the issue over and wish all natter posters to return to natter and entertain me since writing tests isn't very interesting. Gudanov has spoken.

I had almost forgotten the, um, episode.

He had a SODE.

One other thing, from Rafmun's original post:

This has not been specifically directed at newbies or at long-termers, but rather it seems indiscriminate - though it does seem like a few long-termers are being specifically singled out by a few of the activists

That doesn't sound like the board becoming less compassionate or more dismissive. That sounds like people not getting along, or people getting cranky because not everyone agrees with them. Which is, for better or worse, a side-effect of social interaction.

Gudanov has spoken.

He's bossy, but I happen to like his imperious tones.

Is it that people honestly feel their opinions are being dismissed and ignored, or is it that people are unwilling to accept that their opinion isn't the one that was chosen to prevail?

I'd be willing to bet hard money it's both.

I think Rafmun had a good point in the post you quoted, Jilli, in that there are some posters who do the "LALALALALAIcan'thearyou!LALALALALAdonotdonotdonotLALALALALA!" Not all or even most posters, but some.

But you know what? I bet if it came down to naming names, very few people would agree on who are the posters doing that.

Hee! No kiddin'. My list might not match your list.

But everybody's got a list.

I personally do not feel that my opinion has been stepped on routinely, but there's a very good reason for that: I don't state my opinion.

So glad you made the effort, Wolfram!

What Scrappy said.

t generalization
One thing I've noticed is that it's very easy for an "academic discussion" to read as cold and snotty. It's not intended to be read that way, but it is. It's nearly anti-monkey-grooming in its tone. Can't be helped. It's the nature of the (monkey) beast.
t /generalization