> > (and I feel like a newbie, even though I've been irregularly posting/lurking here for three and a half years)
>
> Reading this was actually a shock. Like you say, you've been around here forever in Internet time, and seeing your name next to a post in here is as welcomely familiar as anybody else's.
>
> > ...the tight community of Rinkies who have been here for years, who know each other, who spend a lot of time in chat, who go to RinkUnions, etc. I'm not complaining about the existence of this community, I think it's great, and I only wish I could have gotten in earlier so I could have been a part of it.
>
> This was also something of a shock. Except for the "RinkUnion" part -- seeing people in person as opposed to simply being represented by something as abstract as a printed name -- makes a big difference in how firmly implanted someone is in one's mind. But there are people pretty integral to the community here that have never been to a RinkUnion, and there are others who have done that and more who haven't been here as long as you.
>
> I wouldn't say you have to log a *lot* of time in chat to establish the closer bond with people than the forum tends to allow, but you're probably right that a certain amount of time really helps. I don't know if your schedule or browsing habits allow for it, but you're certainly more than welcome to pop into the chat room and talk. I think a lot of people, including me, would be interested in seeing you there.
>
> Anyway, back to the point, you may see yourself as an outsider, but I don't know anybody else that does. I don't.


Thanks... that was encouraging. I've wanted to spend more time in chat, but the schedule hasn't allowed it for a while. Maybe in a couple of months, after I graduate (being one of those foolish undergrads who persist in the delusion that I will have *more* free time once out of school).

I guess this highlights one of the problems of this format... you don't really have any idea how either you or your posts are perceived, unless there's a lot of feedback. I think, on much larger forums, that that problem is offset by both the greater feeling of anonymity and the likelihood that some bored person will just respond with "nice post" or something like that. I don't think that's necessary here or anything... I like that we all feel compelled to think twice before posting anything, to make sure the posts have substance and aren't talking just to talk.

Anyway. Don't think I have much more to add to the discussion, certainly nothing in the way of a solution. But it is nice to see a big long multi-tiered thread in forum again, even if it is self-referential.