When did you get to see CK? During the event organization? Or is my memory really that bad?

I'm still looking for the "ring" that supposedly has to be kissed in order to fit in around here...

So much for sage advice....

I really don't know if I joined post- or pre-clique, since I didn't really notice one forming. There may have been more camaraderie among those who could make the events, but it never seemed unwelcoming. I'm not sure it could with Crystal around.

Anyway, when time got the better of me and I neglected to post for a year or so, it seemed like I came back to a different board. Not only were most of the folks I knew gone or only rarely posting, but the whole atmosphere was unpleasant. When I joined, I was personally welcomed by Crystal (of course) and others. When I came back, noobs were either ignored entirely, belittled, or taken to task for daring to oppose the opinions of "established" members. Really, I could play WoW if I wanted that kind of treatment and I didn't like watching others get subjected to it. I was actually ashamed to be associated with it. I even remember somebody (I don't remember who) saying that they had thought about telling me off, but then they saw that I had joined years before, like it should have mattered. It wasn't really that this person thought I was full of it or not, but that they based their opinion and their behavior on my perceived status on the board that annoyed me. Truthfully, that kind of attitude at least makes sense in a game where one player is looking down on another for having less experience playing that game, but it's impossible to know how much experience is being brought with a new member to a freakin' internet bulletin board.

I suppose CI decided the money was with FB and Twitter, but for a subject this informational, I prefer a bulletin board. I want something with an index so I can see that link to the pan-seasoning site someone posted a year and a half ago, y'know?

The stories of old are interesting to me. I didn't know how much CI had been involved initially in the meet-ups. It seems pretty dumb of them to spurn a devoted group who helps to bring in money by chatting about their recipes and offering ideas given a competitive magazine market. (Of course I am not a big business person, but it seems to make no sense from a business perspective).

Speaking as a contractor with about a hundred business clients: most things which businesses do are either irrelevant or counterproductive to their business model. They survive, or even thrive, because these bad habits are not fatal. Kind of like people.

Also, like some people, some businesses become crochety old coots as they age.