ANST - Re: ansteorra V1 #950

[Elyh at aol.com]

<< I personally think
of it as a familier term, MORE friendly than 'newcommer', or 'entry level
gentle' or whatever...>>

BINGO!!!!
Well since everyone seems to want to discuss it....

Newbie does seem a friendly term to me.  After all, when my mother uses my
formal name, I know I'm in trouble. When she calls me "sugar", I know
everything's okay.  Someone mentioned the term "girl" as being offensive for
women.  Well, I am an adult, legaly speaking, and I *adore* it when my
friends call me "girly-girl."  In fact, I seem to remember recently being
called a "college KID" instead of STUDENT and was not offended at all.  

How can it be un-chivalrous to refer to someone by a fond nickname?  

By the same token, I feel that saying, "We have a newperson in our shire" is
about as personal and welcoming as saying, "there's a colon in Exam.3."  Yes,
I'm exaggerating.  But we thrive on our openness, our welcoming attitude, and
our warmness to newcomers.  When we try to walk the politically correct line,
we run the risk of becoming impersonal and clinically cold.  Ever read P.C.
Bedtime stories?  Yeah, they were hillarious, but they made a point.  

>>And as with any other word, when used innnaccuratly, THAT should be the
issue, not the word...<<

Vivat.

In all seriousness, we've hashed this out before, over and over.  In fact, as
I have a tendency to save old files forever, I have proof of a time when the
newbie conversation was the only thing happening on this list for longer than
a few days.  Now, maybe my 'puter burped and left out the other posts, but I
remember how bored I got reading 100posts about the same thing, when another
kingdom was discussing really cool stuff like shieldwalls, ermine fur, and
websites for calligraphy.  Why not go off into a chat room with some kingdom
VIPs and decide the issue.  Make an official declaration that henceforth all
new persons shall be called.....  Then let us know, and let it lie.

Ghia
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