[Walpurgis] I was being a prick - popping your balloon of self-inflation. I got a lot of hot air.
[Hermit] Heh! Left-handed indeed.
[Walpurgis] First - my apologies.
[Hermit] Very gracious. Accepted and forgotten. I like your style, your substance and your writing. You are very welcome.
[Walpurgis] I know a few people who checked out CoV (on my recommendation), but were put off participating because of what they saw ...
[Hermit] Others of us have had that problem too, for a number of reasons, not all having to do with style at all. Remember that we are essentially an informal, feedback driven, "self-tuning" community. So we are always deviating one way or another from the "norm" (but with strong attractors to it, due to a degree of continuity as a result of the community continuously attracting somewhat like-minded members). As we do not limit the membership, or maintain particularly strong control over content, the "old-timers" have discovered that certain kinds of personalities, behaviour and topics tend to have long-term negative impacts unless headed off before they become endemic. Thus such behaviours tend to be swatted as early as possible (and as ruthlessly as necessary). This is not necessarily pretty. Visitors who arrive at the wrong moment, have thin skins or who don't hang around will invariably develop only a partial perspective of what the CoV really is. A distributed learning machine comprised of humans. Benef
icial for itself - and for all of its members.
[Walpurgis] ...a certain arrogance... CoV seems to have a lot to offer. I'm signed to a variety of lists, but no-where else to I find this quality of thinking - its just the tone of dialogue that occasionally bothers me.
[Hermit] On the CoV, pseudo humility is seen as being far worse than arrogance. In any case, unjustified arrogance is usually dealt with fairly swiftly as there are many superb thinkers here prepared to address it. "Justified arrogance" is not perceived as unwelcome - despite its inevitable coupling with swift wits and sharp tongues. The CoV is a de facto kinetocracy and tends to grant competence, rationality and politeness its respect. With few exceptions, those deficient in these attributes will either learn them, or leave.
[Hermit] Hopefully the BBS format will allow those who are unused to the freewheeling, free-flowing atmosphere of an open list to find a niche for themselves on the various forums.
[Walpurgis] I don't consider myself a Virian incidentally
[Hermit] Care to say more about this yet?
Just don't forget to have fun
Hermit
---- This message was posted by Hermit to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25797>
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