- Joined
- Apr 2, 2001
- Messages
- 14,297
- Points
- 48
Helena,
I've known you for a long time, and though we do not speak as often as we once did back in the early part of this decade (In general I don't speak to anyone as much as I did then, something that has been pointed out to me recently) I still count you as one of the people whom I'm always happy to see posting, and interacting with the community here on the forum.
This thread took off in a few directions, and got heated in a number of ways. But I think that the core point of your post was this:
"I'm not feeling at home in a place that I once always did. And it makes me feel sad and frustrated to have this happen. Does anyone else feel like I do? What is happening to my web home?"
I see this feeling around the forum a lot these days, and spoke to it at length in a past a few days back. I see it as a very real issue, and one that is natural in a community of our nature at this point in it's development. I also feel its a VERY important topic and issue.
This thread has show me that everyone in it shares some things in common.
Each and every one of you cares about the TMF.
Each and every one of you feels very strongly about seeing it succeed, and work, and be a place to enjoy and share in.
What you differ in, is how those ends are reached, and that is the root of every single conflict in this thread. You are all defending the forum out of care.
The strength of the TMF that I have always worked to build is that it is inclusive. To me that is the real reason this forum has lasted eight years. That we have consistantly worked to include the widest array of opinions and perhaps more importantly PERSONALITES.
Some folks are disruptive. Others are sarcastic, some seem outright unballanced at times. And I've allowed them to stay. As long as they don't cross a line that I've defined as 'Harming the forum' they get to stay. Why? because they bring life and energy to the place. They expose us to new ideas and outlooks, and overturn the apple cart of what I and others expect.
That's good. It causes growth. It brings energy for change. It makes us more. It's not always comfortable. Change never is, as it's something that is outside our control, and we may loose things in it's wake that we value. Never knowing if we'll get a better thing in replacement.
Strong personalities create divisions by just being. They come to represent groups, and those become factions or cliques. And from there we end up with so many of the things that Helena is feeling in her OP.
But one should always remember that while the strong personalities represent groups, there is a second group, the silent one. The quieter folks who watch, and enjoy things they find here, and represent the center of the community. The solid whole, that the Strong folks orbit about, and try to pull one way or the other.
That center rarely moves. It does, over time, mostly due to demographic change, but it's pretty resistant otherwise.
Helena, the community you loved and cared about is still here. It's just not as outspoken and visible as some of the new groups that I have allowed to root and grow here are. Many members of it have supported you here, and I'm sure many more are silently nodding their heads. To me, you are clearly cared for here.
You are welcome here, and I hope that you feel that. Always feel free to drop me a line to talk if you wish. I'm always happy to see such.
Be well all,
Myriads
I've known you for a long time, and though we do not speak as often as we once did back in the early part of this decade (In general I don't speak to anyone as much as I did then, something that has been pointed out to me recently) I still count you as one of the people whom I'm always happy to see posting, and interacting with the community here on the forum.
This thread took off in a few directions, and got heated in a number of ways. But I think that the core point of your post was this:
"I'm not feeling at home in a place that I once always did. And it makes me feel sad and frustrated to have this happen. Does anyone else feel like I do? What is happening to my web home?"
I see this feeling around the forum a lot these days, and spoke to it at length in a past a few days back. I see it as a very real issue, and one that is natural in a community of our nature at this point in it's development. I also feel its a VERY important topic and issue.
This thread has show me that everyone in it shares some things in common.
Each and every one of you cares about the TMF.
Each and every one of you feels very strongly about seeing it succeed, and work, and be a place to enjoy and share in.
What you differ in, is how those ends are reached, and that is the root of every single conflict in this thread. You are all defending the forum out of care.
The strength of the TMF that I have always worked to build is that it is inclusive. To me that is the real reason this forum has lasted eight years. That we have consistantly worked to include the widest array of opinions and perhaps more importantly PERSONALITES.
Some folks are disruptive. Others are sarcastic, some seem outright unballanced at times. And I've allowed them to stay. As long as they don't cross a line that I've defined as 'Harming the forum' they get to stay. Why? because they bring life and energy to the place. They expose us to new ideas and outlooks, and overturn the apple cart of what I and others expect.
That's good. It causes growth. It brings energy for change. It makes us more. It's not always comfortable. Change never is, as it's something that is outside our control, and we may loose things in it's wake that we value. Never knowing if we'll get a better thing in replacement.
Strong personalities create divisions by just being. They come to represent groups, and those become factions or cliques. And from there we end up with so many of the things that Helena is feeling in her OP.
But one should always remember that while the strong personalities represent groups, there is a second group, the silent one. The quieter folks who watch, and enjoy things they find here, and represent the center of the community. The solid whole, that the Strong folks orbit about, and try to pull one way or the other.
That center rarely moves. It does, over time, mostly due to demographic change, but it's pretty resistant otherwise.
Helena, the community you loved and cared about is still here. It's just not as outspoken and visible as some of the new groups that I have allowed to root and grow here are. Many members of it have supported you here, and I'm sure many more are silently nodding their heads. To me, you are clearly cared for here.
You are welcome here, and I hope that you feel that. Always feel free to drop me a line to talk if you wish. I'm always happy to see such.
Be well all,
Myriads