3) Why is it every time we're a little inactive people want to blame the ones in charge.
I guess it's because the veterans are always in power, and the veterans are always the ones to keep things active. Because what bbb said:
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. People come here, introduce themselves, then apparently don't find anything worth sticking around for. How do we get people to stick around? I don't know the answer.
There is relatively no power to be had in taijitu, only positions that are more of a clerical nature or formality than anything.
I wasn't sure what I said matched with the original question either. But I like being quoted so I'm not going to say anything.
More to the point, as a newer person, I deferred to the "fossils" and respectfully - tentatively - approached with new ideas. What I've noticed is a great surge in fossil postings when any idea or movement shows up on the forums, and usually with great interest.
<gets up on soapbox>
If I may be so bold, I think people like Awesomesaucer (and sometimes me) take that as a big red stop sign and can get discouraged, feeling as if the fossils are showing up only to impede progress. But as I look back on the couple instances where we have had "fossil re-engagement," I don't see anyone actually throwing up a stop sign to ideas (though AS got a stop sign once, who of us hasn't thrown the all-stop at AS?!?
).
I think now after a while here and with these recent convos -- that the fossils re-engage because they love this place and want it to remain a place they know and love, and don't want anything bad to happen to it. So when things are suggested, they perk up and dive in, because regardless of who is here, Taijitu is and always will be their home. I would do the same.
And now I have actually grown to like it - knowing that if I come up with an idea, they'll make time to come check it out and give feedback. In that way, we are pretty luck to have a cadre of fossils around, because that sure as hell beats working up an idea and getting absolute CRICKETS.
I think if the newbies - me, AwesomeSaucer, Orristania and others - can understand that, we can move forward with our ideas freely, and probably more importantly encourage newer folks to engage and not "
fear the fossils" who really just have the best interests of Taijitu - a place most of them have put more time into than we have yet - at heart.
<gets down from soapbox>
Please, please correct me if I'm wrong there, because that's the attitude I'm going forward with!