Jen!

Not enough "What Scrappy Said" t-shirts in the world...

I know. What Robin Said is open to misinterpretation.

But then again, there's the whole Scrappy Doo thing that I don't even want to contemplate on a t-shirt for fear of misinterpretation. My numerous frog t-shirts are confusing enough to people who don't know me.

IJS

Hey Jen, I hope things are going well. Sorry we don't get to see you more often; I still have the Galapagos turtle by my computer.

This is awful. I think I know Elena well enough to know that she would be horrified at the thought of anyone speaking for her, and I definitely don't think she'd like being discussed, whether she's here or not.

Trudy, your heart is so big and it seems to me that you want to take care of everyone, but it's not possible and it's not a good idea, for your own sake as well as for theirs. I am hurting for you right now because this has got to be upsetting. I'd feel so frustrated right now if I were you.

You believe the atmosphere of the board has gotten rancourous. That this is a generally less kind and heartwarming place. The only solution is to do what you can to improve things every day. To be welcoming and warm, to give what you can, to call people on unkindnesses, and then to walk away if it ever costs you too much. You can't tell anyone else here how to feel.

I've heard some about the golden days of yore, but, you know, I joined the board in the middle of a kerfuffle, and I think we've had ebbs and swells ever since. It seems like this same kind of general frustration hit the board at this time last year.

I'd like to have been here for those golden days, but I wasn't. Still, I've been touched over and over again by the kindness of many of this boards members. You were one of the first, with the information you provided about albinism when I was in a panic about what it meant to my baby and with the constant cheerfulness and care you gave me. You're not the only one, and it hasn't ended. I don't know what to do to improve the ebb times other than not to add to the general feeling of distress and to do what I can to be kind to others as others have been kind to me.

We can't legislate kindness or sincerity or any of the other positive traits. It wouldn't work any more than legislating morality works. It just drives the ugly underground, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. Those are my feelings on this. We just all have to do the best we can and hope that more of us are up on any given day than are down -- and I think our best includes reaching out even when we're not so up, but I think this group tries to do that and very often succeeds.

If Elena has left, I'm sad that she's found this a place she can't happily stay. But I wasn't privy to the backchannel you evidently were, Trudy, and that's kinda rude in itself, you mentioning it.

Deena -- there were no golden days. Just weren't. There were smaller days, and more intimate days, but ... golden is somehow implying that people aren't having a valuable and enriching time HERE, NOW.

Which isn't a jab at you, but as Allyson pointed out, my god, Nilly's coming to visit. How cool is that? And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Deena -- there were no golden days. Just weren't. There were smaller days, and more intimate days, but ... golden is somehow implying that people aren't having a valuable and enriching time HERE, NOW.

I recall the period immediately following the creation of the Phoenix board as unusually halcyon. I don't think it was structural though, rather event-driven. We got a honeymoon period. And I got COMM'd on virtually the first day, for only about the second or third time ever. So I may be an unreliable witness.

She said I could, ita.

To be honest, I don't want a place where kindness is legislated.

Well, that was kind of my point, though it didn't come across as well as I'd hoped. There are always golden days in the past. Things acquire a glow, and we forget the little irritations, and fewer people means fewer irritations.

Thank you for clarifying that, ita.

I recall the period immediately following the creation of the Phoenix board as unusually halcyon. I don't think it was structural though, rather event-driven.

Yeah. Season 7 hadn't devolved into muck, Firefly was still up and coming, Angel recovered from tripping into the guac the Crapture, and there were only about 400 people registered, making it smaller and more intimate.

For about three months.

But it really was, it felt, a honeymoon period and rather abnormal, push coming to shove.