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| anonymous posting suggestions
If your new suggestion involves restricting anonymous posting in some way, it's probably going to get locked or deleted.
Years ago people felt they belonged to a community here on the site and they welcomed newcomers. That's what drew me in and probably what drew you in, too --- unfailing friendliness, help, and welcome, offered freely by more people than you could shake a stick at.
But the world around us has changed, not all the changes are good, and the current "let's keep them out" attitude around us has affected the site. Adversely.
Today some people want to build walls around the site and want to keep others out. The easy target is anonymous posters, and we've seen thread after hostile thread suggesting ways to keep them off the site, or restrict their use of the site. This hostility is quite visible to new people, reading or posting here for the first time. It makes the site look exclusionary and mean.
Trying to turn away good information, good opinion, and good people is a terrible idea. That was never what this site is about, and it isn't now. New readers are wanted and welcomed here as always, and if they don't feel like going through the problem of setting up an account at first (or at all) their contributions are just as welcome as if they're longtime members. Anonymous posters have been and are a source of a tremendous amount of contributions to the community. Many members read and posted anonymously for awhile, and finally joined because they felt welcomed and they wanted to pitch in and help.
This is a living, online community that we're inviting people into. It's not a fortress we're trying to protect. We need more welcomes, less barbed wire.
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Sure, that'll work.. |
