Welcome to Gaia! ::

crying heart How I miss that daunting task...

Too early to try to be very coherent...but... My opinion on the joiny-uppy thing...

From the start, back in the ol' days, the Anti-Sticky was just a thread -- an open thread in the A/M/C that anyone could come into and post in. It's always been an open thing that anyone can join if they have an interest. Very few of the current members were around from the very beginning of things. Most of us just trickled in later on, the same way as members are joining now.

I remember times in the old Anti-Sticky when people would express the same sentiment -- being a bit disoriented by all the new members, the growth of the group... It's not really a new thing, or an issue that's just cropped up as I see it. But then, the people who represented the sudden arrivals back then are now the "oldbies" of the group.

I admit, some nasty little part of me that hates change wishes it could just stay the old group forever, and we'd be just like we were in the good ol' days (back when I had to walk through six miles of snow to get to school with nothing but a baked potato in my pocket to keep my fingers from falling off. scream And don't you forget it, whippersnappers!) ...but then the scary new people of one day become the comfortable old-gang the next, so that I wouldn't even think twice about it. Growth keeps us alive and going.

...And new blood keeps us from inbreeding. ninja Too much.

Yeah, a part of me wants the old days back...with a handful of us "regular oldbies" spamming it up, making jokes at one another...hmm, kinda like we all do now (just it was a smaller group). The thing is, all the new people who do come in have the ability to communicate in ways that don't make my eyes bleed. They all seem to have some sort of intelligence...thus the whole "fountain of intelligence" thing as the banner. I think all the people we've brought in are friends of people in here anyway...and I don't think our judgement calls are too bad. I think I've personally brought in two people (technically four, but two don't post in here or go on Gaia much anyway)...and all of them I know personally. I think a lot of the newbies in here are nice to talk to. I haven't had many issues with anyone, or have thought someone shouldn't be in the guild.

We just can't have random people joining our forces. And I don't think any of the joins have been "random".

Same. sweatdrop

SP- Word. Everyone is valuable in here.

CB- Brow-mon's still around, if you can find her. And the anniversary is either the end of this month, or the end of the next.


sweatdrop Don't mind me and my rambling spamminings.

Adding to what I said earlier, I think the group is growing at a steady and healthy pace. Some of you may remember some of the drama that reared it's ugly head around the end of the Anti-Sticky when there was a sudden mass influx of new people posting. There were fights and arguements spanning a whole night, and the AS literally went almost comatose for a couple of days, brought only to the front page by bumps and the occasional chatter from people who weren't there for, or chose to remain silent durning, the fighting. We lost several of the new posters, and a few old ones as well... but that hasn't happened yet. Sure there have been disagreements, but we're doing something right if we're managing to stay together like we have.

I really don't know what I'm getting at, maybe just a hope that things will roll out differently this time. I'm sure that many of the oldbies (myself included) wish that things could remain the same as they were, but, looking at the list I made of the people who joined in the first 1000 pages, it makes me wonder how much might we have missed if we simply cut it off there? There were people like Zelyhon, Mellikor, Kai, Amber, and more than a dozen others who brought so much to the table when they came. And even if some of them don't post as much anymore, or at all, they still left a mark.

What started off as a mission has evolved into a community. In order to prosper, we need to be willing to take in new members, and learn to treat them the same as those who were here since the beginning. That is the basis for any small grouping. So, I guess there's a lot of learning for both sides.

Indeed. Maybe I have a bit of a different perspective from the rest of you, but I think that getting new people in is a good thing. Back when we were in AMC Main, we had people wandering in all the time and either posting about how harshwe were or commenting that we were right. A few stuck around and it was open to all. Hell, I myself only joined because I was bored and knew spart people hung out in there. I joined at around page 1500 and felt like a newbie in there for quite a while. But eventually, like Mala said, those new members got integrated and became the "oldbies" now.

Yes, I too miss the small area in the AMC main. I miss being right there. But I feel that this current situation is good too, just in a different way. While we're no longer "in the thick of things" in the AMC where people would read and learn from the Anti-Sticky, now we have a little place to retreat to when either Gaia or the world in general pisses us off. I miss all the old people that either left Gaia or split from the group. However, I think that the influx of new people isn't a bad thing. If we were still a normal thread, then it wouldn't be much different. Actually, we might have more people since there are a lot of smart/semi smart people in the AMC who aren't a part of us.

So, yeah. Thought I'd say my piece since everyone else is.

Neverending Story! xd heart

Please let them give out a gonk one!