What does it take to become a HT regular?

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

[trout-smacks scalywag w/ great zeal and abandon]



ed

 

[Quoll]

You either luck out, and find someone who talks to you, or you have to keep posting until people get sick of ignoring you.

It's a difficult place to break into.

If you happen to have a great arse it helps.

 

[Guest]

 

[sassy_girl1963]

manofsteel: i know i've seen you post, but as eilan said, just start talking.

sassygirl: [trout-smack]

one down, one to go...

ed

Oh my - now I feel honored! I got trout-smack! tee hee

Now all I have to do is get rid of the fishy smell....pweeeee

 

[sassy_girl1963]

How come I didn't get the memo on this?

Hmmm maybe because I did not know you then and you were not looking at the right threads?????? And actually I also showed another item of myself - but the pictures were only up for about 2 or 3 weeks last October....

And before anyone asks - no I am not re posting them, or emailing them to anyone except to my guy. All my pictures are for him!

 

[wicked woman]

I think the biggest thing for new posters is to post your thoughts with maturity, be genuine and be coherent. Even if you have what you think is a silly question, even if you are and 18 year old virgin who's asking the most basic and naive question, you can phrase it with maturity.

You mean I should stop referring to 'down there'???

 

[Eilan]

You mean I should stop referring to 'down there'???

Are you talking about your hoo-hoo?

 

[wicked woman]

Are you talking about your hoo-hoo?

Not sure...I usually say 'woo hoo'! Are they the same thing?

 

[Eilan]

Not sure...I usually say 'woo hoo'! Are they the same thing?

Same part, different terminology.

Men, of course, have pee-pees, pee-bugs, etc. Those grown-up words are scary.

 

[midwestyankee]

Today a friend who has been a Literotica regular for much longer than I have been posed a challenging question in a message to me: when did the HT board become so clique-y? I can't answer the question as asked, but it started me on a train of thought that was not very flattering.

The perception exists that we HT regulars are a snobbish bunch. This thread, by its very existence, seems to support this perception. Lit is a public forum. While we pride ourselves on being a supportive community - and I believe that we are just that - it is not up to others to deserve or demonstrate their worthiness to post and be a part of the ongoing discussion that is the HT forum. It is up to us as regulars here to be good citizens and avoid any actions that could be perceived as exclusionary.

To say that we are a welcoming little community here in HT and then post to a thread that gives others rules for becoming accepted into our inner circle is hypocritical. I'm a litle ashamed of myself right now because I should have recognized the inherent contradiction before I even started the thread.

 

[Eilan]

Today a friend who has been a Literotica regular for much longer than I have been posed a challenging question in a message to me: when did the HT board become so clique-y? I can't answer the question as asked, but it started me on a train of thought that was not very flattering.

The perception exists that we HT regulars are a snobbish bunch. This thread, by its very existence, seems to support this perception. Lit is a public forum. While we pride ourselves on being a supportive community - and I believe that we are just that - it is not up to others to deserve or demonstrate their worthiness to post and be a part of the ongoing discussion that is the HT forum. It is up to us as regulars here to be good citizens and avoid any actions that could be perceived as exclusionary.

To say that we are a welcoming little community here in HT and then post to a thread that gives others rules for becoming accepted into our inner circle is hypocritical. I'm a litle ashamed of myself right now because I should have recognized the inherent contradiction before I even started the thread.

I don't see where you have anything to be ashamed of, but then, I'm a snob, so what do I know? So what if it is cliquey? Ever tried posting on the AH or the GB? At least here someone (usually) acknowledges that I exist.

MWY, I got the impression that when you started this thread, you weren't intending for it to be a How-To manual for the How-To Board or as a way for the regulars to feel superior over others, but as a springboard for discussion about the dynamics of the community. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

FWIW, I lurk almost everywhere on Lit, and the other boards have cliques as well--most of them are just bigger (see--now it's a size thread!).

 

[bobsgirl]

I don't see where you have anything to be ashamed of, but then, I'm a snob, so what do I know? So what if it is cliquey? Ever tried posting on the AH or the GB? At least here someone (usually) acknowledges that I exist.

MWY, I got the impression that when you started this thread, you weren't intending for it to be a How-To manual for the How-To Board or as a way for the regulars to feel superior over others, but as a springboard for discussion about the dynamics of the community. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

FWIW, I lurk almost everywhere on Lit, and the other boards have cliques as well--most of them are just bigger (see--now it's a size thread!).

I agree with Eilan. The fact is there are regular posters on the HT and especially on the HT Cafe. I think the HTC is a lot more welcoming than for instance the GB (mentioned only because that is the board where I lurk when I am not here). I don't think any of the regulars feel superior to the newer folks. But I do think it's only natural that Litsters who know each other will be more likely to interact with each other. It's the same thing as when you get a new neighbor in an already established neighborhood.

As far as being perceived as exclusionary, should we then get rid of the Sack Pack or the Sisterhood Cafe?

 

[Eilan]

FWIW, I think that the creation of the HT Cafe has contributed somewhat toward making HT seem more cliquish.

Thoughts?

 

[midwestyankee]

<snip>

MWY, I got the impression that when you started this thread, you weren't intending for it to be a How-To manual for the How-To Board or as a way for the regulars to feel superior over others, but as a springboard for discussion about the dynamics of the community. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

FWIW, I lurk almost everywhere on Lit, and the other boards have cliques as well--most of them are just bigger (see--now it's a size thread!).

You're right, Eilan, I started the thread because I was curious about the community dynamic. Over the course of the thread, I think we've demonstrated that dynamic rather accurately. Maybe this is a good point to return to the beginning. Let's return to the two original questions:

First, what is it about HT that attracts a certain kind of person. Second, what do you think is common in the people who are regulars here that helps bind them into a community?

From the posts in this thread, it's clear that we like to consider ourselves helpful and that we differentiate ourselves from the GB by our general civility. However, it's also clear that we all recognize that there is an atmosphere that could just as easily be characterized as collegiality or cliqueishness depending on where you sit within or without the inner circle of regulars.

More than one person has made the point that a common characteristic among the regulars here is a sort of snobbishness, particularly with respect to control of the written language. I'm as guilty of that as anyone here. Hell, I once vowed never to post in a thread that had a misspelling in its title. To my knowledge, I've only broken that rule once - and that was in one of the very first threads I knew here in Lit.

My point in these last posts, more than anything else, has been to highlight the fact that no matter how much we talk about being open to all and to being fair to all who post here, we do things that create a perception of exclusiveness. I'm just not sure that I like that when I see it from the outside.

 

[bobsgirl]

That's a troubling thought, Eilan because I can see what you're pointing out.

Maybe I reject the notion that we are clique-ish because it has such a snobbish connotation. And I don't like the idea that I might be considered a snob.

Maybe I'm being presumptuous considering myself part of the clique. Boy, I really don't like that word. Now I'm confused...

 

[wicked woman]

FWIW, I think that the creation of the HT Cafe has contributed somewhat toward making HT seem more cliquish.

Thoughts?

I disagree. I don't think anything happens with the HT/HTC forums divided than it did before. The only thing different is that the 'true' how-to questions are separated from the more chit chat one. We used to chit chat before...on similar threads to what are in the HTC and within the how to threads they were just all on the HT forum.

Only thing I see that's different frankly, is that some of the player have changed. Some older regulars left or post less frequently and were replaced with a newer bunch of regulars. Same content...different players.

 

[midwestyankee]

FWIW, I think that the creation of the HT Cafe has contributed somewhat toward making HT seem more cliquish.

Thoughts?

I think that this is a distinct possibility, though the old, Cafe-less HT also prided itself on being a community with many of the same values. The balance in favor of conversational threads in the Cafe provides ample opportunity for the regulars to dominate the conversation.

 

[bobsgirl]

I think that this is a distinct possibility, though the old, Cafe-less HT also prided itself on being a community with many of the same values. The balance in favor of conversational threads in the Cafe provides ample opportunity for the regulars to dominate the conversation.

But, Yank, isn't that the way in any kind of social interaction?

 

[midwestyankee]

But, Yank, isn't that the way in any kind of social interaction?

It is. The difference here is that this is a public forum and yet with threads like the one I started, we regulars act as if this forum is our turf that others must earn the right to visit.

 

[Eilan]

I disagree. I don't think anything happens with the HT/HTC forums divided than it did before. The only thing different is that the 'true' how-to questions are separated from the more chit chat one. We used to chit chat before...on similar threads to what are in the HTC and within the how to threads they were just all on the HT forum.

Only thing I see that's different frankly, is that some of the player have changed. Some older regulars left or post less frequently and were replaced with a newer bunch of regulars. Same content...different players.

Good point. I guess I see the Cafe as more cliquish (for lack of a better word) because it seems that fewer people post here. And now we (mostly) don't have to hijack How-To threads with chit-chat.

Before I started my "disinterested partners" thread, though, I thought about whether or not I should post it on HT proper or the Cafe. I even asked another Litster. My thought was that it would probably get more views on HT proper, but it the discussion would be better on the Cafe. And since, technically, the Cafe is supposed to address relationship issues, as opposed to how to do something, it's probably a better fit.

But, wicked woman, you're right. The players have definitely changed over time. Same old shit, different day?

 

[Eilan]

It is. The difference here is that this is a public forum and yet with threads like the one I started, we regulars act as if this forum is our turf that others must earn the right to visit.

So how do we, as a group, not do that?

 

[midwestyankee]

So how do we, as a group, not do that?

I don't know.

 

[wicked woman]

I think that this is a distinct possibility, though the old, Cafe-less HT also prided itself on being a community with many of the same values. The balance in favor of conversational threads in the Cafe provides ample opportunity for the regulars to dominate the conversation.

Perhaps trying to play the devil's advocate but did you ever think that perhaps the community and friendliness between the 'regular's' is part of what makes in welcoming and less scary to newbies? Instead of intimidating them or thinking they need to be accepted by the regulars perhaps it draws them.

People bring their own perceptions and personalities to the forums...I don't think it's 'just' the regulars that 'control' things here. Personally, I've been around Lit for a while...started on the HT and consider it my 'home'. Made a number of friends on Lit and regularly post off of them. Personally I think of myself as a regular because I think the HT forum is my home on Lit, but don't post enough that most people (other than those I know) would consider me a regular. Got nothing to do with how others post off of each other.

 

[midwestyankee]

Perhaps trying to play the devil's advocate but did you ever think that perhaps the community and friendliness between the 'regular's' is part of what makes in welcoming and less scary to newbies? Instead of intimidating them or thinking they need to be accepted by the regulars perhaps it draws them.

<snip>

This could be true. I don't remember the extent to which the friendliness drew me to the HT, but I'm sure it played a part. The thing is, and this takes me to the second question in my opening post: what is it about the regulars in HT that bring about the unique nature of this community?