> Um... so how can we be a close-knit community if it's hard for anyone to feel like they belong? It's kind of contradictory.

Some people feel they can't break in to the close-knit community that is already established and therefore don't feel like they belong. (Again, this may be more perception than anything.)

> As for those who feel like newbies but aren't? I guess the state at which you feel completely accepted varies for each person.
>
> I say that once you enter chat and have the occupants greet you with exclamation points and happy welcomes, you've made it.


Wow, this is really interesting. When I first came to chat more than two years ago one of the things that made me come back was the friendly atmosphere I encountered. Specifically, people greeted me with "exclamation points and happy welcomes" my first day in chat. And it was really cool that people stopped what they were talking about for a brief moment in order to say hi to me. It made me feel special. But I wasn't anyone special; not yet, not really. I hadn't "made it" yet - I was still most definitely a newbie for nobody at all knew who I was.

This doesn't occur anymore.


I'm not saying it's inherently bad or wrong that it doesn't. (What *is* bad is that I've personally been criticized on more than one occasion for using a few too many exclamation marks, and I'm not talking about causing a scrollbar. I have no idea what at all is wrong with being excited to see someone.) Yet I do want to know....

What happened?

'halia