I guess the big question is, do we really want them here, or not? And if so, do we want them enough to change our long-established policies of xenophobia and general misanthropy? I mean, our rep for being insular and elitist is not baseless.
I mean, thinking back eight years, if another of the Dumbrella boards had said to us, Hey, you can join our already-established group, as long as you do it on our terms, and accept that if we don't like you after a few weeks, we'll haze, ridicule, and possibly ban you, doesn't that sound great? I think I would have turned firmly on my heel and never looked back. But if they'd said, Hey, we're closing your community, but if you want to join these other guys, we'll take steps to make sure you guys can keep your clique intact within this larger group -- well, that's a different story.
How many people are we talking about, anyway? A handful? A dozen? On onslaught? I think that's the key. I'm imagining a group about the size of our regulars, which by my count is about two dozen. That's a lot of new folks to absorb at once for a group like us, and I was just thinking it might be easier starting out if we let them have their own space at first while they re-orient to the new world order. If we're only talking about a half dozen, well, having a separate section would be silly. But if the old guard are going to suddenly find ourselves in the minority, history tells me that's a recipe for either a reign of tyranny or a bloody coup.
Apparently, I'm as misguided as the directors at Inev's internship, here, but I promise you I am only trying to suggest things that would benefit both groups. I would really like to hear from some Assetbarbarians on this, to see whether joining us here is even a serious consideration for most of them.