157 replies to this topic

[AlNipper49]

Membership Primer

Rule number 1: Don’t suck.

How?

It’s all about the quality. You do not become a member because of the number of posts you make. You become a member by making quality posts that are well thought out and well written. And the posts do not have to be just about the Red Sox. Many people have become members based on posts they have made about other teams, baseball in general and even other sports like hockey, hoops and both forms of football. Even from game threads, but that is pretty rare.

Another thing that we’re looking for here is the ability to argue your point without resorting to personal attacks. Attack the post, not the poster. We also look highly upon posters who, once they have been proven wrong, admit it and don’t just keep arguing the point. No one wins the internet here.

Where?

Currently non-members have the ability to post in:

• The Sandbox, a non-member version of our Main Red Sox Forum
• All other sports forums
• Any game thread forum (if you are reading this for the first time this is the place most of our new forum visitors "get their feet wet"

Currently only members have the ability to post in:

• The Main Red Sox Forum
• Numerous off-topic forums

Members nominate folks. If you haven't been noticed and think that you would make a good member or have extenuating circumstances please PM your favorite mod or send an email to membership@sonsofsamhorn.com.

If you are reading a thread on the main board and have something new to add, whether it’s stats related or just some new insight, PM someone who’s been active in the thread with what you’d like posted. I’ve never heard of a member not posting something from a lurker that brought new information to the table. And you will get credit for it. We’ve had quite a few lurkers become members just based on a couple of posts and PM to members.

One other thing that’s very important. This is not a stats only board. Some of our best threads don’t have a single number in them. Just remember to think before you post. Edit yourself. Add to the conversation, don't add noise.

And if you’re more comfortable staying a lurker, that’s fine with us too. Have some fun. Read. Post. Learn. Enjoy.

[The Smart Dope]

Good stuff. I thank you highly for this Al. This is the kind of thing I would likely pay a member for, yet you are letting this be known. Thank you very, very much. I can make sure I follow these guidelines everytime I post. Despite all this praise, I disagree with one part of it:

No one wins the internet here.

Then what happened happened to the users who created the shotgun cat, and Ortiz/Don/Remy staring at Tina's breasts? They "won the internet", according to our wiki here, no?

[ElcaballitoMVP]

Thanks Al. I was never quite sure what the guidelines were and was pretty excited when I saw the thread looking to improve the lurker system hoping that something like this would come of it. Now I just need to make sure my posts don't keep falling under rule #1.

Keep up the good work guys, this is one of my favorite spots on the internet to get my sports info and be able to throw some ideas out there to those with a similar knowledge/desire of sports.

[Ricky Vaughn]

Cool. Thanks for the info.

[Statman]

Thanks for the info.

I hope to be a member someday. I don't follow the Sox nearly as closely as I do the Celtics, but I really do enjoy reading all Sox and non-Sox related threads.

I think this is one of the best sport boards and am glad there is a membership policy in place.

Hope to be on board with you guys one day!

[ArRedbird]

Thanks for the update!

[jpesky6]

Thanks for the info, Nip, but jumping through hoops just to participate on a message board seems a little ridiculous to me. Additionally, you preach quality as a standard, yet have the words "Respects the Canine Penis" attached to every one of your posts. A little hypocritical, don't you think? Don't expcet a high standard from other members if you can't hold it yourself.

I'm not going to bend over backwards to "get noticed" just because I didn't happen to get in on the ground floor.

[absintheofmalaise]

Thanks for the info, Nip, but jumping through hoops just to participate on a message board seems a little ridiculous to me. Additionally, you preach quality as a standard, yet have the words "Respects the Canine Penis" attached to every one of your posts. A little hypocritical, don't you think? Don't expcet a high standard from other members if you can't hold it yourself.

I'm not going to bend over backwards to "get noticed" just because I didn't happen to get in on the ground floor.

What do you think about the sig I have on all my posts?
BTW, I didn't get in on the ground floor either.

[URI]

Thanks for the info, Nip, but jumping through hoops just to participate on a message board seems a little ridiculous to me. Additionally, you preach quality as a standard, yet have the words "Respects the Canine Penis" attached to every one of your posts. A little hypocritical, don't you think? Don't expcet a high standard from other members if you can't hold it yourself.

I'm not going to bend over backwards to "get noticed" just because I didn't happen to get in on the ground floor.

I'm not following...is his tagline somehow indicitative of the content of his posts? If so, isn't it hypocritical since the words Respects All Penises attached to every one of your posts?

If you don't want to be a member, why are you here? And, though I appreciate the respect you pay penii, advertising it as you do might not be appropriate in a forum dedicated to baseball.

[jpesky6]

I'm not following...is his tagline somehow indicitative of the content of his posts? If so, isn't it hypocritical since the words Respects All Penises attached to every one of your posts?

If you don't want to be a member, why are you here? And, though I appreciate the respect you pay penii, advertising it as you do might not be appropriate in a forum dedicated to baseball.

I didn't put it there, and whoever did has decided to disable the controls so I can't delete it.

Edited by jpesky6, 01 August 2009 - 11:11 AM.

[jpesky6]

What do you think about the sig I have on all my posts?
BTW, I didn't get in on the ground floor either.

But you're not preaching post quality.

[URI]

I didn't put it there, and whoever did has decided to disable the controls so I can't delete it.

Neither did AlNipper49. Members can't set or remove their taglines...they never have been able to.

But you haven't answered all of my questions, specifically how that tagline somehow relates to post quality.

And we all preach post quality. Except Maalox. He preaches Moxie.

[absintheofmalaise]

Well yeah, actually I am. That's what we do here as mods and dopes. And all of us had input into what Nip posted.
If you're offended by the canine penis, then you must be a cat person.

[jpesky6]

Neither did AlNipper49.

But you haven't answered all of my questions, specifically how that tagline somehow relates to post quality.

And we all preach post quality. Except Maalox. He preaches Moxie.

Well, someone did, and then disabled the function for me to remove it.

I just thought it was ironic to set a quality standard and not adhere to it himself. But you're right, it doesn't have to do with the quality of the person's posts, just the quality of the person.

[URI]

Well, someone did, and then disabled the function for me to remove it.

I just thought it was ironic to set a quality standard and not adhere to it himself. But you're right, it doesn't have to do with the quality of the person's posts, just the quality of the person.

I editted my post above to reflect this.

No member is able to set or remove their tagline. And I think you come off as kind of an asshole for saying that somehow someone is a certain kind of person due to a label someone else gave them.

Are you offended by his tagline? How is that tagline indicative of a lack of quality or standard? How does it make Nip's quality as a person poor?

[jpesky6]

I editted my post above to reflect this.

No member is able to set or remove their tagline. And I think you come off as kind of an asshole for saying that somehow someone is a certain kind of person due to a label someone else gave them.

Are you offended by his tagline? How is that tagline indicative of a lack of quality or standard? How does it make Nip's quality as a person poor?

I don't think I'm any more of an asshole than the person who put that in my tagline.

[URI]

I don't think I'm any more of an asshole than the person who put that in my tagline.

It was me. You're wrong, by the way...I don't make personal assessments based on a message board as much as just making fun of those who don't know what they're talking about. You implied someone was a bad person based on their tagline for some reason you refuse to articulate.

But you aren't answering my questions either.

[jpesky6]

It was me.

But you aren't answering my questions either.

As soon as you remove the tagline, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.

[URI]

As soon as you remove the tagline, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.

You aren't going to get the chance, because the tagline isn't going to change.

Last chance, my friend...

[jpesky6]

You aren't going to get the chance, because the tagline isn't going to change.

Last chance, my friend...

Last chance for what?

[URI]

Last chance for what?

For you not to turn this into a nice piece of performance art titled "How Not to Become A Member of SoSH"

The sequel is about to be released...guess what it's going to be called...

[URI]

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the follow up performance of "Easy Ways Lurkers Can Get Banned from SoSH" has been canceled.

At least jpesky6 got noticed...

As a note to the rest of the lurkers, Nip's right. As long as you are funny, interesting, smart, or informative, you have a home here. If you are none of those, it's tough. Also, don't shit where you eat...that pisses people off.

We're promoting a lot of people right now, I've done a lot from the MLB forum, and others are looking in the game threads now that they are together. Post good, and you're in.

[29Plantier]

I appreciate the knowledge. Thanks.

[jeffb33]

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the follow up performance of "Easy Ways Lurkers Can Get Banned from SoSH" has been canceled.

At least jpesky6 got noticed...

As a note to the rest of the lurkers, Nip's right. As long as you are funny, interesting, smart, or informative, you have a home here. If you are none of those, it's tough. Also, don't shit where you eat...that pisses people off.

We're promoting a lot of people right now, I've done a lot from the MLB forum, and others are looking in the game threads now that they are together. Post good, and you're in.

My username is jeffb33. In late '06/early '07 I was nominated as a member by a couple of members, but I left my job and did not have the net at home at the time and then fell off the radar. Any suggestions to expedite a full membership? As a lurker back then I messaged members who would post my sentiments quite often.
I am all about quality of discussion/thought regarding the Sox. Personal attacks are reserved for the Yankee fans at the local tavern. I just would like to be able to actively participate in a place where there is an intelligent exchange of ideas, opinions, and passion.
I know membership is hard to come by, but I guarantee I can and would inject thoughtful, hopefully insightful, and definitely intelligent thoughts, questions, and analysis.

[Fox on Sox]

...yet have the words "Respects the Canine Penis" attached to every one of your posts. A little hypocritical, don't you think?

All I can think of is that scene from "Garden State" where the loner is getting humped by a dog whose growing arousal becomes obvious and Natalie Portman's character comments "uh-oh....here come's the lipstick..."

In this case jpesky= loner getting humped.

Edited by Fox on Sox, 01 August 2009 - 06:01 PM.

[Southstander]

Thank you very much. I have been wondering what I needed to do.

[Josh_Beckett_21_Forever]

I just got an e-mail from this site, I dont even remember signing up for it . I will try not to step on anyones toes though.

Edited by Josh_Beckett_21_Forever, 01 August 2009 - 07:19 PM.

[absintheofmalaise]

My username is jeffb33. In late '06/early '07 I was nominated as a member by a couple of members, but I left my job and did not have the net at home at the time and then fell off the radar. Any suggestions to expedite a full membership? As a lurker back then I messaged members who would post my sentiments quite often.
I am all about quality of discussion/thought regarding the Sox. Personal attacks are reserved for the Yankee fans at the local tavern. I just would like to be able to actively participate in a place where there is an intelligent exchange of ideas, opinions, and passion.
I know membership is hard to come by, but I guarantee I can and would inject thoughtful, hopefully insightful, and definitely intelligent thoughts, questions, and analysis.

If you were nominated before, I'd try and get in contact with the members who nominated you. It would be helpful for them to post some of your posts so we can see what you're made of.

[jack0329]

It has been a while since I have spent this much time here on SoSH. Nothing has changed and I am not complaining. URI is the same as I remember him...on his game and funny as hell. Is it safe to say we won't be seeing Pesky or his pole on the boards here again? That guy obviously didn't get it. I was rolling reading the back and forth.

Just as an aside I totally respect my penis. Not sure about anyone or any animals penis though. Does that count?

[tizzle fo shizzle]

As a longtime respecter of jack0329's penis, I have to note that Nipper was wrong and that URI truly just won at the internet.

It's nice to see things a bit more transparently from the mods perspective as I have been a long time lurker and have always wondered how I was going to get into the hallowed Pin Setting & Gutterballs. I was about a week away from paying some hacker to open a backdoor for me, but I guess I'll go back to quality posts and hoping my SOSH Arcade prowess gets me the nod.

[The Yellow Submarine]

Well, someone did, and then disabled the function for me to remove it.

I just thought it was ironic to set a quality standard and not adhere to it himself. But you're right, it doesn't have to do with the quality of the person's posts, just the quality of the person.

I editted my post above to reflect this.

No member is able to set or remove their tagline. And I think you come off as kind of an asshole for saying that somehow someone is a certain kind of person due to a label someone else gave them.

Are you offended by his tagline? How is that tagline indicative of a lack of quality or standard? How does it make Nip's quality as a person poor?

Hahaha. What a great illustration of one person attacking the person while the other attacks the post. Good job guys. Scene!

[Steamah]

Setting aside the silliness, and with all due respect for the canine penis, I happen to agree with the sane part of jpesky6's initial post.

I've been a lurker here for a long time and have several friends and family members who are members, but I don't post much in the sandbox and will almost certainly never 'earn' promotion because I don't like the idea of having to audition. I understand that nobody wants SoSH to become troll-infested or swamped by people who'd post crap, but the whole idea that sandbox posts are like minor-league ABs is kind of demeaning. Also, it means that exchanges here in the sandbox are less interesting than they might otherwise be because they happen under false pretenses: people pretending to discuss with each other while really hoping to earn promotion. Yuk.

[Only86Years]

Setting aside the silliness, and with all due respect for the canine penis, I happen to agree with the sane part of jpesky6's initial post.

I've been a lurker here for a long time and have several friends and family members who are members, but I don't post much in the sandbox and will almost certainly never 'earn' promotion because I don't like the idea of having to audition. I understand that nobody wants SoSH to become troll-infested or swamped by people who'd post crap, but the whole idea that sandbox posts are like minor-league ABs is kind of demeaning. Also, it means that exchanges here in the sandbox are less interesting than they might otherwise be because they happen under false pretenses: people pretending to discuss with each other while really hoping to earn promotion. Yuk.

Eh....the people at the big table are on PEDs....only way to account for their performance.

[Steamah]

Eh....the people at the big table are on PEDs....only way to account for their performance.

penis-enlarging drugs?

[Steamah]

I do appreciate the merged game-thread idea, though. I often read the mainboard gamethread while watching on MLB.TV because, well, misery loves company. Nice to be able to participate.

[absintheofmalaise]

Setting aside the silliness, and with all due respect for the canine penis, I happen to agree with the sane part of jpesky6's initial post.

I've been a lurker here for a long time and have several friends and family members who are members, but I don't post much in the sandbox and will almost certainly never 'earn' promotion because I don't like the idea of having to audition. I understand that nobody wants SoSH to become troll-infested or swamped by people who'd post crap, but the whole idea that sandbox posts are like minor-league ABs is kind of demeaning. Also, it means that exchanges here in the sandbox are less interesting than they might otherwise be because they happen under false pretenses: people pretending to discuss with each other while really hoping to earn promotion. Yuk.

We all had to audition. Before we had to get members to post things for us to get noticed. Not an easy task. We feel that the system we have in place now, while certainly not perfect, makes it much easier to be noticed, either through the Sandbox or through the other boards you're able to post and carry conversations on.
It's up to people in the Sandbox to make the exchanges more interesting than you feel that they are. And a lot of the people in the Sandbox are discussing the Sox just to be discussing the Sox. Not everyone in here wants to get promoted. Like we've said before. If people are happy posting in the forums that are available to them, but don't want to post on the main board, that is perfectly fine with us. And Sandbox threads are only "like minor league ABs" if people treat the SB that way.

[Steamah]

We all had to audition. Before we had to get members to post things for us to get noticed. Not an easy task. We feel that the system we have in place now, while certainly not perfect, makes it much easier to be noticed, either through the Sandbox or through the other boards you're able to post and carry conversations on.
It's up to people in the Sandbox to make the exchanges more interesting than you feel that they are. And a lot of the people in the Sandbox are discussing the Sox just to be discussing the Sox. Not everyone in here wants to get promoted. Like we've said before. If people are happy posting in the forums that are available to them, but don't want to post on the main board, that is perfectly fine with us. And Sandbox threads are only "like minor league ABs" if people treat the SB that way.

You can of course do whatever you wish, and I understand why you do it. I just don't like it and, well, this is a forum that had that as a topic. The rejoinders from above not to suck and to show off do seem demeaning to me. It is not your responsibility of course to make the sandbox hum with great discussion, but I think the way it is being used right now kind of ruins it. Whatever.

Edited by Steamah, 02 August 2009 - 09:31 AM.

[Steamah]

...and, reading through the "how to improve the lurker system" thread, I can see that I'm not alone in feeling this way.

[CR67dream]

The rejoinders from above not to suck and to show off do seem demeaning to me. It is not your responsibility of course to make the sandbox hum with great discussion, but I think the way it is being used right now kind of ruins it. Whatever.

We remind members not to suck all the time, too. Take a look at the standards and guidelines in the MLB forum, and you'll see that member/lurker status is not as important as you think.

As far as the sandbox goes, we have seriously considered blowing it up altogether, and going back to the days of PMing members to post thoughts on the Sox. And we're not telling anyone to show off, we're telling everyone to put their best foot forward, and contribute some time and effort. I understand your frustration, but I think you're misunderstanding our intent. We are not saying that we think Lurkers suck, or trying to demean anyone. I just don't see any more direct way to explain our first and most important requirement, which is lack of suckitude.

[roraazu]

Keep up the good work guys. Thanks...

[Steamah]

We remind members not to suck all the time, too. Take a look at the standards and guidelines in the MLB forum, and you'll see that member/lurker status is not as important as you think.

As far as the sandbox goes, we have seriously considered blowing it up altogether, and going back to the days of PMing members to post thoughts on the Sox. And we're not telling anyone to show off, we're telling everyone to put their best foot forward, and contribute some time and effort. I understand your frustration, but I think you're misunderstanding our intent. We are not saying that we think Lurkers suck, or trying to demean anyone. I just don't see any more direct way to explain our first and most important requirement, which is lack of suckitude.

I'm not trying to interpret your intent, though I see how it reads that way. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that all moderators and members of SoSH are perfect human beings. I'm trying to describe--in personal terms--how the policy feels to me (and, I think, to some subset of lurkers) on this end. This is not all that important, I suppose, since SoSH is a great, active, much-read site without changing anything. But I think there may be a significant number of people (for the sake of argument, I'll put myself in this class too) who would like to be members, who are articulate and thoughtful, who might add to and will not detract from the tenor of discussion on the main board, and who back off from participating in the sandbox because it seems distasteful. Again, not that big of a deal. But it does mean that there are good members who are likely dissuaded by the process rather than encouraged.

Yes, no sucking is a stated policy. And I don't dwell on any of this all that much. But just now there are email messages in my inbox and pinned new threads about membership when I log in. These suggest that main board mods are thinking about protocols and maybe unsatisfied with the way things work. In other words, I'm trying here to participate in a conversation that I thought you guys were initiating. I'll stop.

I bet there are other membership protocols that could work as well without this downside. I am not privy to the logisitcal concerns from your end, though.

I frankly would not object to seeing the sandbox go away.

Edited by Steamah, 02 August 2009 - 11:04 AM.

[Cyberlibrarian]

Thanks for the info, Nip, but jumping through hoops just to participate on a message board seems a little ridiculous to me. Additionally, you preach quality as a standard, yet have the words "Respects the Canine Penis" attached to every one of your posts. A little hypocritical, don't you think? Don't expcet a high standard from other members if you can't hold it yourself.

I'm not going to bend over backwards to "get noticed" just because I didn't happen to get in on the ground floor.

I got my wrist slapped a while ago by Nip because I posted something he (or someone else) found offensive and I mentioned it was rather hypocritical for someone with that tagline to get pissy with me. I never got a satisfactory response.

I've also been told via PM that I hate the Yankees too much and/or am too vocal about it. I'm not sure how that's possible at a Red Sox board, but whatever...

[CR67dream]

Steamah, pleae don't feel you have to stop, I'm only trying to explain to you as best as I can our thought process here. This new policy of sending emails and such is because we want new members, and we realize it's been unclear on just how to become one. Feedback on how all this is being received is welcome. All I can really tell you is that we're doing our best to open up the doors to new members, and improve the overall quality of the board. It's really that simple. Honestly, if you have ideas that may help us do that that are different than what we're doing, please feel free to share them.

[Steamah]

Steamah, pleae don't feel you have to stop, I'm only trying to explain to you as best as I can our thought process here. This new policy of sending emails and such is because we want new members, and we realize it's been unclear on just how to become one. Feedback on how all this is being received is welcome. All I can really tell you is that we're doing our best to open up the doors to new members, and improve the overall quality of the board. It's really that simple. Honestly, if you have ideas that may help us do that that are different than what we're doing, please feel free to share them.

Well, I know you need some kind of membership threshold, both to keep numbers manageable and to encourage people to respect the privilege. But what if the threshold was automatic? Be a lurker for some amount of time and post a certain number of things without proving yourself to be illiterate, or a jack*ss, or a troll, say? Something a person could meet without feeling like they had to suck-up. That would weed out impulse shoppers and hijackers at least. Maybe there would be too many people still? you could set the automatic bar high (one year + 30 posts allows a person to request membership with some expectation of approval?) and use that to supplement the nomination process currently in place. That wouldn't necessarily allow only Eric Van types, but you can tell from that if somebody is a relatively thoughtful adult, and nobody who made it that way would be a huge detriment.

[Fox on Sox]

But I think there may be a significant number of people ..... who back off from participating in the sandbox because it seems distasteful.

I think this is absolutely true.

I bet there are other membership protocols that could work as well without this downside.

Have you ever joined a country club? Any group that filters prospective members seeking compatibility or a specific acumen will have some measure of "auditioning".

I frankly would not object to seeing the sandbox go away.

I agree that the sandbox isn't necessarily a comfortable process which is why after several years I have only a handful of posts. But I also don't think it is rife with phony, insincere message board climbers. If nothing else the main board has consistently shown a nose for quickly sniffing out the bullshitters.

[Steamah]

Have you ever joined a country club? Any group that filters prospective members seeking compatibility or a specific acumen will have some measure of "auditioning".

To paraphrase Groucho Marx, I would never belong to a club that would have me as a member. Seriously, I've never joined a country club (even though I live across the street from one) because I find the exclusivity off-putting. It is up to the moderators to decide if this is the model they wish to follow; there are other kinds of institutions as well that could be thought of as analogies here. SoSH is a lot bigger and more inclusive than a country club, and its members can benefit from inclusivity, up to a point (they are looking for new members).

[absintheofmalaise]

Well, I know you need some kind of membership threshold, both to keep numbers manageable and to encourage people to respect the privilege. But what if the threshold was automatic? Be a lurker for some amount of time and post a certain number of things without proving yourself to be illiterate, or a jack*ss, or a troll, say? Something a person could meet without feeling like they had to suck-up. That would weed out impulse shoppers and hijackers at least. Maybe there would be too many people still? you could set the automatic bar high (one year + 30 posts allows a person to request membership with some expectation of approval?) and use that to supplement the nomination process currently in place. That wouldn't necessarily allow only Eric Van types, but you can tell from that if somebody is a relatively thoughtful adult, and nobody who made it that way would be a huge detriment.

We don't want you or anyone else to suck up to anyone here. All we are asking is that people post intelligently. Whether that's in the SB or on MLB or even in other sports threads, it's all good. We don't care if people want to become a member or not. But, if people do, we would like to have some evidence that they can carry on conversations about the Sox, or just baseball in general. Or other sports even. We recently made quite a few people members that mainly posted in the basketball and hockey forums.

We have members here who are Yankee fans and fans of other teams. One of the mods of the Yankee forum is a Yankee fan. How many other boards would do that?

Be a lurker for some amount of time and post a certain number of things without proving yourself to be illiterate, or a jack*ss, or a troll, say?

This is really all we ask for. The only difference is that we have not set a minimum time for people to lurk and we aren't going to set a minimum number of posts. We have made people members based on one or two posts. We will continue to do that.

[URI]

I got my wrist slapped a while ago by Nip because I posted something he (or someone else) found offensive and I mentioned it was rather hypocritical for someone with that tagline to get pissy with me. I never got a satisfactory response.

I've also been told via PM that I hate the Yankees too much and/or am too vocal about it. I'm not sure how that's possible at a Red Sox board, but whatever...

Now, I'll ask you what I asked him.

What does it matter what someone's tagline is vis a vis their posting? If you post something crappy enough to get your "wrist slapped," how is his tagline showing hypocracy?

He probably didn't give you a "satisfactory response" because he makes this site run, and didn't want to get bogged down in the knuckleheaded stuff like people picking fights because of a tagline.

As for you hating the Yankees so much, I don't recall much of that, but we are a Red Sox board who likes to talk baseball, not be obsessed with the Yankees. That's the only answer I can give you on that.

[Genco Olive Oil]

I am a passionate and intelligent baseball observer. I belong to SABR and have won multiple research awards there. I am a B.P. subscriber and check that site, along with countless others, at least five times a week. I don't need to prove myself to anyone, especially when the environment in question is a message board.

On the lurker system thread, Nipper spoke to his desire that only the "brightest, best, most eager of us" be admitted into the ranks. Talk about the best example of insufferable self-importance. This site is designed to promote discussion and analysis for baseball fans and we should leave terms like the "best and the brightest" to books about presidential cabinets written by Pulitzer Prize winners.

I joined SOSH because I wanted to be able to utilize the search function to follow the posts of certain members---that's all. Some members sound like the popular kids sitting at the back table in the junior high lunch room. I didn't care about proving myself to them and I don't care about passing some test to achieve SOSH membership.

This thread---and discussion topics like it---are created so that certain people can feel good about themselves by exhibiting their "power" and reminding us of their superiority.

And now the chorus will join together to attack this message and reassure themselves that they are as truly important as they tell us they are (and, if you don't do that, then they won't grant you membership!).

Edited by Genco Olive Oil, 02 August 2009 - 08:28 PM.

[CR67dream]

The only thing I'll say is that it's pretty damn strange that an effort to be more open and inclusive can be met with this kind of response. But hey, we're definitely not for everyone, so that's fine.