Regarding the worries of some and the proclivities of others about the future of this site:
As an old timer: This site is a haven from the ill-willed wrangling and vituperativeness of some other boards. We came here because we love language or are curious about language (itself a form of love) and we equate the calm of this board with its original purpose of examining the English language. Certain topics have not been discussed except in passing reference when it is appropriate to the discussion of language. People have not attacked others for their religious beliefs or political persuasions. The fear is that we are losing that focus and, that in losing that focus we will degenerate into just another wrassling board with asbestos suits required for safe passage.
As a newcomer: This board is a community. We have all formed friendships with others on this board and have a lot of respect for other's differing viewpoints. We are all relatively intelligent people who have many things we could talk about; in fact, the wide range of perspectives is one of the strong points of this board. Certainly we are civilized enough that we can discuss other matters than language, but, perhaps there should be areas of the board set aside for non-language oriented discussion. The idea of the Non-Word Stuff #N Post Them Here threads that has been used is probably a good one as far as it goes; it clearly identifies the thread and allows those not interested to stay out. If there is a problem it is that which I alluded to in my post in the Silly Comic Quizz thread that completely independent threads would become intermingled and hard to follow. I think a better solution would be to have completely separate sections for non-linguistic threads, but perhaps even this would not satisfy everyone for various reasons. I don't know if there is a solution, but I certainly think it is something that we have to deal with.
