As a long term member myself....heres my 5c worth

Any newbie that makes the decision to come out and join us, and posts badly so to speak, should be taken by the hand and lead in the right direction....not bashed over the head!

Patience is required with any learner...you can still point em in the right direction and state you displeasure...but at least be nice about it...they can then learn from your example of manners.

If they continually post badly and are not learning then a MOD will take there hand and be a bit more forceful in the learning process....if after that they continue their path of destruction then the MODS will take furth action

I know ya want to rally the wagons and defend ya home ground (been there a few times myself) but i've been thinking very hard and long for quite a while...if we want Pixies to survive we NEED new blood

I've noted first hand what some newbies have been through.....we are saying come out and play with us...but DONT FUCK IT UP...cause we'll eat ya for dinner...damn scary i can tell ya

If we want em to post then we gotta give em a chance to learn the ropes

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^^^^ Inflation.. 2 cents has gone up to 5 cents..

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A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.

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Sharni.. ^^^^^ LOL...there ya go! Another example... I have got to get out of my cave more often....

There is also another example of how what is posted could possibly be misread... had I not put the smiles in there and had Sharni been a sensitive person she could have taken what I posted to be sarcasm and a personal affront. But, because I did put the smiles in, and even if I didn't, because Sharni knows I was teasing her, all is well.

I still don't know all the ropes.. those damn knots confuse the hell out of me..

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A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.

I have been chewed up and spit out in the chat room and I still don't know what the fuck i am doing!!

Sharni? When we agree, we agree...but when we disagree I know I'd better duck when I have said my piece! LOL...*hugs*

I am about to duck...but not after I say this...

Mods aren't the know all and end all of this site! We are a community. and might I add, no mod was ever elected...but put into their position by the mods before them. I respect a mods position and appreciate all they do for us. I know it's a hard job...but [we] didn't ask you to take it. You took it for your own personal reasons. If I had my druthers...it'd be more diplomatic. But that's not saying that I wouldn't vote for everyone who is already in office...it's just to say that I don't like to be made to feel lesser the member because I am not a mod! We were ALL members first!

As I feel that most of your words are true and from the heart and I feel your caring...I get a feeling of double standard when it comes to who says what to who in some of these situations that bring up this very topic from time to time! What I mean is...it's ok for mods to say whatever they have to/want to say in a any thread. But mere members are expected to hold their tongue and only voice their disgruntled opinions to mods. This makes me feel like a "tattle tale, trouble maker, bitchy, whiney, OMG...here she comes again" kind of person...instead of the (sometimes) tactful, eloquent, articulate, diplomatic till you push my buttons to bursting kinda person I strive to achieve when I visit the site.

I get the feeling that I am being chastised if I've a notion to say something to a new member that I have no idea will spark an iron fist from a mod. It'd almost be easier to send a sample post in PM to a mod before making a statement in a thread.

I agree...sometimes [we] can get a bit overprotective and harsh. But, we are who we have always been till we feel a threat to the site...and if taking someone down a peg was a crime...you and I would be in "the dungeon" forever!

Final case in point...on behalf of mere members...

We know nice...and we know ignorant (and all that the meaning of the word entails)...and we tolerate one more than the other time after time! We don't purposely chase new members away! I feel backed into a corner here and I've a need to defend the majority.

If you sum up the posts of welcomes and helpfulness...against the posts of harsh reprimand and a "pack" attitude...you've got to admit...we ARE one great bunch of diverse people on any site EVER! So...not everyone loves every newbie to come and visit us! For the most part...the good outweighs the bad and we always open our arms to the good. To be told, time after time, of only our faults...as few as they are...instead of pointing out the all over good with the everyday participation...well...that bites! Plain and simple! That we keep getting told that it's great that we love this place, but don't dare stand up for it in the few times that we feel a need...well that bites too!

*jumps off the soapbox...ducks and runs so fast you can't even see my ass to spank it*

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

I never said the Mods were....

Like it or not this IS a moderated site

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Nope dont agree there.....i get a rap over the knuckles the same as any other member believe me!

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The people who post unacceptable posts will be spoken to...dont care who you are

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Not me making any segregation between members and Mods....i've stated on many occassions i was a member first and alway will be

Again any time i've spoken badly i HAVE been taken to task for it!

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Sorry you feel this way...that was not my intention

Again it goes back to the fact that all else can have there say and its all good....Sharni has hers and it gets taken personally by someone...

My post above was NOT pointed at you as far as i know

My opinion should be just like any one elses

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There are no "mere members", we are a community, and such as that, we all answer to someone when the need arrises. It's those same people we turn to for advice and counsel when we are unsure of the path we should take. Sometimes advice is solicited and sometimes it comes along even when we don't think we need it and certainly don't want it. I get feedback and answer to the owners but I also get feedback and answer to everyone else in the community. That's why I occasionally ask you about areas that I want to improve upon or to help me find a solution to something I see as a problem. I can do nothing alone.

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The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable

If I wanted your opinion, I'd remove the duct tape and ask you for it.~ Me
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
One man's dream is another man's nightmare~~~~> §¤ Lilith ¤§
~>My Scribbles<~
==>Gone Shopping<== ~Just a Quickie~ *~A Celebration Vacation~* ~Surprises~ Sleeping With the Window Open
What Did You Do Today? Self Defense Class ~Short Sweet Snippets~ § Summer Spin § Story Challenge Submission Pajamas

I feel a bit PF'ish as I post this, and he should be proud of what I'm about to say...

Both the mods in this post mentioned the need for new blood to keep the site alive and thriving (in so many words) ... seeing it said once just made me note and move along, seeing it said twice made me raise an eyebrow. On to the PF'ish comment...

Are there some sort of statistics kept somewhere that I don't know about (or don't have access to) that are showing a decline in new members or something of the sort? Or are the comments made merely as comments but not as scientific findings?

I'm just curious really and somewhat intrigued (its the geek in me) to know if there is something that the mod team is really concerned about numbers-wise.

That's the essence of what I meant by my statement. Always knew it was a moderated site. Never disputed it, even. Mods are members, first and foremost, and then they have all those special buttons to push! Does it make a mod wiser or better than [us]? It does if the mod[s] thinks it does! I happen to believe that we are equal...yet separated by a few extra buttons.

I'm not trying to push your buttons Sharni! I'm trying to make a point! That is...with all the members who choose to post, be it a newbie or a regular, the very few who get trampled just might deserve it! Weigh the sides. I think you'll have to admit...the good outweighs the bad! [We] don't flame or bash every newbie, everyday. So happens some stand out more than others...and this is the kind of thread that ensues!

I've finally gotten tired of being told how to conduct myself/ourselves when the conduct of another is so questionable I can't understand the concern for them above [us]! It's not as if everyone who comes through the door is trashed. Those who take the time to peruse the site will understand/absorb that, and we have to trust that we aren't the intelligence squad of everyone who opens our door!

I cannot imagine that everyone here would take this "be kind to everyone, no matter how big an asshole they might come off as time after time" attitude in your real life! If you were honest...you'd either flip them off, shout your first thoughts, or turn on a heel and not give them a second chance to make a good first impression! Because we know how to conduct ourselves in a cordial manner...we give first, second, and sometimes third chances (especially at the request of a mod) before we throw our hands in the air and let our freak flags fly.

I dunno! I just know...my initial feeling upon entering this site was awe and peace. I had found a group of really great people and I wanted to spend time with them. I posted with enthusium...and when I felt I might be getting out of hand (posting madly...with no direction), I asked for guidance...and heeded that help with reverance and appreciation. I'm an advocate of feeling that most peeps think on my wavelength...and then there are the others...lol! From one extreme to the other...I can open my mind to nearly anything except perpetual assholiness (word?...is now)! Then I have to stand up for [our] cause...no matter the consequence!

I'd better get to the dungeon. I know I am expected!

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

assholiness is indeed a word...coming from the rootword assholio which means someone who is such an asshole that they are not even worth the aggravation or at least that is what Summer assured me one time when I was upset

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The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable

If I wanted your opinion, I'd remove the duct tape and ask you for it.~ Me
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
One man's dream is another man's nightmare~~~~> §¤ Lilith ¤§
~>My Scribbles<~
==>Gone Shopping<== ~Just a Quickie~ *~A Celebration Vacation~* ~Surprises~ Sleeping With the Window Open
What Did You Do Today? Self Defense Class ~Short Sweet Snippets~ § Summer Spin § Story Challenge Submission Pajamas