At the risk of uttering a discouraging word....
Don't rest on your laurels just yet. This site is still young and still developing. I first started lurking (and occasionally posting) on rtl (remember that?!!?) and made the switch to Lugnet when Todd started that site.
It too was a great, very friendly, place to post and talk about Lego. At first. Over time, as the site became better known and more popular, more people joined in. This included many younger fans, a small segment of whom lacked... um... er... social skills. Flames came easily. Also, among some of the older, original Lugneters were a few who had strongly held views on a number of issues (political, economic, religious, social, etc) who tended to clash with each other. These clashes could easily spill into other discussions.
Part of this was structural. Lugnet was designed to be self regulating, with minimal oversight from admin types. Also, the inclusion of an off-topic.debate category allowed for spirited discussion, which could sometimes affect regular postings. So, the impression of friendliness went through a period of decline.
Generally I think things have improved, in terms of tone, on Lugnet, though I'm sure there are times when things turn sour. I've learned to restrict myself to some safe Lugnet forums (bst, castle).
Here on CC, the admins take a more active role (and there's no off-topic spot), so potential flash-points (and there have been a few) are locked down. This will work as long as the admins remain interested and active (hey, this is their baby -- long may they be active!) and the people using this site are amenable to a more active oversight than Lugnet.
Both sites, Lugnet and C-C, operate under different environments and each fills a need/market -- so don't think I'm trying to praise one and dis another. I browse both (posting here is easier) to find what interests me. I don't fret about areas outside my own interests.
Anyway, I guess this is a long-winded way of saying: don't take the friendliness for granted. It takes a lot of work. If we don't remember that, it wouldn't take much for sourness to creep in.
Okay, I've blethered on ad nauseum. Some of you may want to throw me in the dungeon, or maybe bust me all the way back to Gong Farmer. Ah, well. Thanks for reading this far. I hope I haven't offended anyone (too much) -- just trying to make some observations.
This is a fun place to post (even when I've strayed off-topic
), and to browse, read, and... um... steal ideas. No wait, let's try "adopt" ideas. Ya, I like that better.Alan
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