I both see your point and yet find myself in the position to be drawn to both threads. have no issues with anyone, but understand that there was a group of folk who posted and feel a particular connection, like a certain group of friends getting together because they have certain connections.
I joined a thread on which I connected with some of the people but felt with others that they held the initial group as special. I left that thread and am saddened that I now find myself in the same position.
I like a lot of the original members of the Shiney thread, but also like the ones that have remained on this one.
I don't view MN as just a slice of virtual life, but as a reflection of RL and as with some of my friends that have different things going on with different people, wouldn't take issue with them going out and not inviting me.
Even within the original group there is a certain dynamic between a number of them that just keys in, and if they got together I am lucky that I wouldn't feel put out about it.
If for instance Bitter, Saf TC and ID got together, I would love hearing about the event, and if you decided to have a regular thing isn't that OK?
There is a complicated protocol on the net though and I don't have an answer.
I am happy to have a balance of old friends and new ones. It is actually a remarkable position for me to be in. And to a certain extent, whilst handled in a way that has offended, I don't think there was an easy way to have a separate thread for the original group because of the history and that group's dynamic without causing offense, because even to have mentioned it would be 'exclusive' .
I am so sorry.
I am personally am in between a rock and a hard place. But deeply saddened that it will undoubtedly cause bad feelings and nothing could be further from my intentions to be in any way the cause of them.
I am not speaking for anyone else.