As do I.

And Nutty...where were you all day!

Dude. A girl goes and runs some errands, and accidentally spends 3 hours in the library, and even gets to cross a couple of things off her to-do list in a single day, and you jump all over her!

On the up side, coming in after a lot of the puffing and blowing's done, and summarizing everything, and getting to claim coinage of a group dynamics law (and corollary) -- can't beat that with a stick.

an unnamed cabal of loudmouths is ruining the board experience of an unnamed group of marginalized quieter folks

Perhaps this is true. But the unnamed cabal is already a strong element of the posting table beyond bureau. How could I like posting here in any form if I really hated David, Plei and ita, to give examples. People in a minority will feel marginalized-- it's almost tautological.

No slam on your argument, 'suela, and I also think the only thing to do is for people to be nicer and then we won't have so many offended people. Great. For myself, not gonna.

ETA: because we already have an enforcement mechanism for that-- social capital. The goal is to become a valued participant, and I do what I need to do to be the best buffista I can be.

The goal is to become a valued participant, and I do what I need to do to be the best buffista I can be.

What happens when that isn't enough? And, perhaps more to the point, how can you become a valued participant if you feel unwelcomed?

What happens when that isn't enough?

If I felt like an unvalued participant, I'd probably leave (PLEASE NOTE: not a passive aggressive suggestion -- only talking about me, here).

Being unvalued, I'd not be missed, and after I licked a couple wounds, I'd hope to find somewhere else where I actually enjoyed being.

We don't have an obligation to treat people equally here. If there's nothing you can do to become a buffista, this isn't the place for you.

What happens when it's a long-time poster who feels like this? Isn't the fact that they feel this way something that may need to be addressed in terms of board dynamics?

But the unnamed cabal is already a strong element of the posting table beyond bureau. How could I like posting here in any form if I really hated David, Plei and ita,

What part of unnamed cabal was unclear to you, Counselor?

What happens when that isn't enough? And, perhaps more to the point, how can you become a valued participant if you feel unwelcomed?

I thought Matt's history lesson was germane. We can insist on civility and courtesy, but we can't make the place inoffensive. Nor would we want to.

And, perhaps more to the point, how can you become a valued participant if you feel unwelcomed?

I think there's a difference here between "feel unwelcomed" and "is unwelcomed." If someone feels unwelcomed, but actually isn't, I don't know what anyone can do. If someone actually is unwelcomed, then they can either figure out why and work on changing that, or decide that maybe this isn't the right board for them and leave. We've had plenty of examples of both. Some people just aren't going to fit in here. Others need an adjustment period. (And no, I have no idea how someone can tell the difference between "I feel unwelcomed" and "I am unwelcomed," other than sticking around for awhile and seeing if they still feel that way, and even that won't neccesarily resolve it.)

Huh.

That was definitely 500 or so posts.

(Is it wrong that I'm slightly happy to express no opinion on any of this whatsoever?)