= new reply since forum marked as read
I'm the newest part of the team and it is analogous to "baptism by fire" and being hazed by a fraternity (particularly if you lock a thread). It's even rougher if you are one of the few hosts up at this time of the morning since it is tough to get anyone to reply so consensus can be reached. However, I don't think anybody plans to assassinate me quite yet.
I might be a bit heavy-handed, but I'm making an honest effort to be judicious, fair and follow the SOP for each forum.
Please note that you are getting a polite reply instead of having your OP locked for being too meta in nature. 
Waiting for somebody to alert on the thread in 3, 2, 1 ...
I don't believe that anybody has alerted that this thread crosses over into meta or is a complaint about DU. I posted a thread in the Lounge tonight that could be considered as meta if people were not aware of my jovial nature. I'm merely offering suggestions because KMOD and I have exchanged a few comments and emails in the past on the topic of inclusiveness.
I was reluctant to volunteer for any host activities in the past since I mostly interact with people in the Texas group. I believe that by interacting in more of the smaller groups and by taking on the additional responsibilities of being a forum host it is a good way to feel more included in the process, learn how DU works, and make new friends.
People are going to disagree at times and as a host I will admit to making mistakes already. However, as long as everyone recognizes the diversity of the members on DU I've found that an overwhelming majority are able to cooperate and get along.
be more comical but I think I missed my mark. Maybe a smiley thingy would have helped. But I did mean for the part about being a host to be serious.
I'm kind of off kilter lately, had a rough couple weeks. My attempts at being funny haven't been coming out right. Oh well. that's the way it goes sometimes.
I'm well aware of the difficulties in conveying humor on the Internet since I've made some posts in the past that totally flopped or were insensitive because there was another way of looking at things than the way I considered it to mean. 
thank you for being understanding.
And then post them in GD on a dare 
though I may have caused/inspired a few in GD.
sometimes a copycat can be more popular than the original thread. Hope you don't mind
"Oh shit! There goes the planet!"
I would love that dog too 
I had to have my cat Clancy put down a couple of weeks ago; he was almost 17.......pets, they are thieves, they take pieces of our hearts when they leave 
the way we newbies know you really love us after all? I was interpreting it as the sign of acceptance at the very least!
Plus, I'm new also.
And this is a great place to escape the challenges of homelife.
and I'm still gangless and hordeless.
I joined in 2005 but I guess I'm more of a lurker than a poster. Does that mean I belong to a gang of lurkers? Is there a gang of lurkers that I don't know about? Now I'm more confused than ever. 
Don't worry about it. Just keep on posting. And Be YOU.
And you can be in our gang if you want.
High Five!
I'll read there and look at photos too. I sure as shit won't host it because I don't even have a motorcycle or scooter. A dream though is to get one some day (and learn to ride it).
not to belong to a gang or horde (or clique, if we're talking about that sort of thing).
Because any group has rules. Many of them are unspoken, and I'm sure most groups would deny they even have rules, but they are there, as innocuous as they might seem.
I've known for a very long time that I'm more of a loner.
Started lurking from way back, and have been a member since 2007. After all that time, I still have nobody I would call a "friend" here.
Maybe the only group I would put myself in would be the "People with a sick and twisted sense of humor" horde.
anyway, I would say enjoy your gangless status. It means you don't have to follow any rules but your own. Well, and the general rules of DU
Was that you?
Sorry, I didn't know....thank you so much. It really made my day to see it, and I mean that
It is hard to remember everyone and their particular quirks or personalities. I'm not sure why you still feel adrift here, but as others have said, don't be afraid to jump in anywhere and keep on posting. Your posts always seem to be well-received.
When I joined, there were actual "cliques" here that were quite exclusionary, IMO. I never understood their inside jokes and little games. A lot (most, I think) of those people have left and I find DU a much more inclusive place now. I'm glad I hung around (after committing my share of faux pas!)
If you find anything confusing, don't be afraid to ask.... the Lounge is a very welcoming place. (GD, not so much! )
Thank you for the kind words.
But wouldn't that immediately compromise our identities as hordeless and groupless? 
when I would blunder naively into some fraught thread lol - posting whatever nonsense I felt I could contribute - only to find I was in the middle of a hot battle zone!
Frequently, some kind DUer would pm me to fill me in...
I'd slink away, go make popcorn, come back and watch from afar...
sometimes I would come in and the first thing I would do was to scroll through looking for locked threads!
instead he was a bouncer at a bar full of drunken louts
I am not sure why you feel left out because from what I have seen, you have been accepted quicker than most. If you are looking strictly for responses then you may be disappointed over time. (But that does NOT mean that people aren't reading what you write!) However, there is a formula for some GD posts which will get you recs and kicks and pats on the back if you choose.
But I like the advice here to just be yourself. You seem interesting and fun to me.
but I do read quite a bit here and I usually enjoy your posts. You strike me as a very kind person. You can be in my gang if you want.
Needs a new host, the old host left DUville.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1212
I will never get on a motorcycle or a scooter. In my time as a trucker I've seen too many horrific crashes involving two-wheeled motorized vehicles. People think you have to be crazy to be a trucker. I say you have to be way more insane to be a biker. There is virtually no chance I'll get road rash driving my 18 wheeler around. They are the safest vehicles on the road. Truckers usually walk away from roll-overs.
But that's okay. We can start our own gang. We can be the Terrible and Dastardly Nice Folks.
Let's ask Skinner!!!
I know Skinner would at least have a giggle over it.
Now the trick is how to write a SOP that distinguishes if from any other DU group or forum.
Sounds like a lovely idea!
As in honking, not the other "honky"!
chill party is a good way to describe how i try to make my experience here.
i hope you're having a wonderful evening
I hope you're having a wonderful evening too.
i did nothing but take care of myself and i desperately needed that. now i'm on my patio, enjoying the spring smell, local 
and some local . life is good.
the name and the avatar, I always wonder what it would be like to meet you and chat.
And I've always loved your sig-gif. Until re-watching The Dark Crystal some months ago, I had completely forgotten about your namesake
i still every time and i remember you from the long, long ago. it is always good to see you
Nice to see you around here, too, even in the more "serious" parts of DU
husband let me use his good headphones and i may or may not be rocking out to taylor swift and katy perry while watching fraggle rock....
love ya, too
I notice you!
but I'm glad you spoke up. Look how many responses you already received!
I've been a member of DU since 2002, but wasn't involved in the Lounge in the early years, so I've missed a lot of history too. I still feel somewhat out-of-it. But I'm also terribly shy.
Give yourself time, participate, engage in your favorite topics with people, and you will connect with some awesome folks here.
But I can't remember why
But you seem cool.
Because we're all the cool ones who secretly keep the lounge cool. We also moonlight as a traveling acid-jazz/gospel singing group. Though, I thought you already were a member of our gang.
The other groups just have lackeys
you seem to fit right in
in fact I have to confess I sort of wondered who you might have been before 
as others have mentioned, the Lounge is much more mellow and non-cliquey these days. there were some ugly times in the past. true some funny, FUNNY folks have gone but some of them did not get along and kind of ruined it for themselves (and others).
We're "DU Family". Along with the others in that thread.
You seem like a very nice person.
I've always felt like an outsider looking in. I've feel like I'm posting and participating on the edges.
Many people here are inclusive, supportive and try to put themselves in others' shoes. I love that about DU.
Keep posting, KMOD, and your supporters will find you!