I thought much the same when I was reading the little blurbs on what Virgoes are "supposed to be" like. I've long styled myself as personally conservative but politically liberal, so perhaps it's something similar; "conservative" in the sense of old fashioned is something I understand and respect, it's "conservative" in the sense of wanting to legislate against everything to which one doesn't subscribe that sets off alarms.

FWIW, for good or ill, I don't think the leaner meaner take on wotmania that's become RAFOs hallmark is going anywhere soon unless the site does. wotmaniacs, even when that site was flourishing, are odd ducks; part of the apocalyptic feel of wotmanias closing was the realization by many that they couldn't just pick up and move to one of their other online homes because they didn't really have any: They may have come to wotmania at random, but they STAYED because they found something that resonated deep within them, and absent from all the other sites. It might be a bit much to say RAFO is "thriving" but it does seem to be surviving with some core community intact, most of which stayed at wotmania and here because they LIKE the unique qualities of the site. As someone who's frequently been critical of various aspects of that over the years, I have to say there's some merit to the view that people who want a more aesthetic or convenient site have lots of other outlets, but the people who want RAFO have only it. Minor changes that make things easier are understandable, but anything that promises to fundamentally alter the feel of the site should be approached with gravity and deliberation.

I disagree with Cannoli: I think the popular analogy of websites to sovereign states is good in this case, because it illustrates how websites, just as nations, must accept morbid as well as merry statistics. Over time there will be membership attrition as surely as nations must acknowledge their citizens mortality rates. If site or nation does nothing to ensure they gain more people than they lose, it will slowly wither away until there's no one left who cares what happens to it. Like it or not, wotmania was headed there, precisely because, IMHO, so little was done to draw or hold new members. I've not had time for quite a while to check whether RAFO is doing as much or more, but the equation hasn't changed: People move on periodically, either because they lose interest or because RL throws them enough curves they don't have to go looking for more. No one is more surprised than I that I've become one of the worst offenders there, but even before I couldn't fault people for prioritizing their kids food and housing above debating the latest political gaffe or science news. It'll be a few years before I have kids old enough to online, and if there's still going to be a RAFO for them when they reach that age, new regular visitors and members must be found now. Although if we set our internet so it blocks sites that aren't "family friendly" they won't see RAFO till they're 18 regardless.

BTW, do you get email notification when you have a NB? 'Cos I don't, and I believe it was one of the first modifications approved and accepted. It may seem minor, and for people who stop in at least once every day or two, it is, but for people who may be gone weeks or even months between visits and/or have multiple SNs it would be darned handy.