but this place is noticeably whiter, maler and more American than it was previously...
I don't have any real numbers to back up my statements. Should we do a demographics poll? It might be interesting to see what the actual breakdown is.
I don't know what a self-reporting demographics poll would accomplish. That said, I'm not against it or anything, I'm just not sure it would elucidate. More useful, I would think, to run a script through the membership breakdown by gender and geography (where given) and then sort that by number of posts (excluding, perhaps, moderators) and last post.
From a strictly anecdotal perspective, I have a mental list of people who no longer post, or post so sporadically as to be virtually non-participating whose acumen, insight and perspective I miss.
They are:
hautdesert, palimpsest, CatRambo, J.R. Blackwell (female)
Simon Painter, Roney, sirana (European)
GoodDamon, Thaurismunths, slic, ClintMemo, Tango Alpha Delta (white, male, middle-class and American AFAIK, but I liked what they wrote anyways)
Caveat: It's possible some of these people still participate but are in threads I avoid. I miss them in the story comment threads, which are usually the only ones I still read.
*poof* ...and I shall appear.
I've definitely, consciously, actively, made an effort to post less.
The truth is I've had to keep from joining in on some threads because I know my personality reacts poorly with some of the other members here and I've had to cut way back to avoid conflict with them.
Really it comes down to to things:
A: The mood, for me, has changed
B: I don't want be hypocritical
A: The mood when I joined was very friendly. There seemed to be a lot of ideas and personalities floating around. I loved the episode feedback and the zombie thread (to death), and even the more frictional conversations were enjoyable (if not a little frustrating). But over the year the mood seems to have become more guarded. For my part I'm less likely to express my less main-stream views so as not to start or be subject to an inquisition.
B: I've been pretty outspoken in my views in the past and probably stepped on a few toes. I feel I should apologize to Steve and all the mods for some of the things I've said
here. I've told them how to do their jobs, but not done mine as a guest
here in these forums. Often overbearing, and belligerent the mods have been indulgent of me, so who would I be to say they should be more stringent with others? Rather than joining in on the flogging of a dead horse, I've opted to stay quietly by the sidelines. If someone doesn't want to accept that that the horse is dead, it isn't my place to make them see otherwise.
I like a diverse, opinionated, and open-minded forum. I love hearing other, new, varied, and contrasting opinions. I would like to see more of that cultivated, but I'm not in a position to say what is a weed and when to pull it.