I feel the need to respond & reply to all the other posters. You may get more posters in the long run with this format, Neighborhood Link; but it's not a format that many of us came to this site for.
Many of the posters grew up in a "real neighborhood". A safe place where neighbors were friends & accepted all of our "little quirks" & shared the same concerns we all had in our own little neck of the woods. We felt safe letting our children go to the neighbors homes; we waved & talked to the neighbors when we got home from work. We worked together to help each other. The world & neighborhoods have changed & I for one was looking for that very thing I felt missing in my life when I found this site, "Neighborhood Link".
I'm NOT opposed to meeting others outside my own little world; I could learn so much. But, many of us can do that with internet access. We CHOSE to be a part of this site. I won't speak for others. My hope was that I could find that connection once again with my own neighbors in my own little town & If I didn't find what I need, it would be nice to talk to others from another region. I would want to know upfront that information.
HERE IS THE PROBLEM, NEIGHBORHOOD LINK! You forced this format on all of us with no warning or explanation. You made this decision w/ no input from the adults that frequent these sites. Had you done so, you would have gotten the same arguments. We would have felt a part of the process. You may have made the same decisions, but we would have had a warning. Maybe we all would have decided that your format could work & voted for it...or at least voted to try it? We were not given that option.
I want to hear what neighbors think around the world, sometimes. But when I sign in, I want to know that I am talking to the neighbors in my area; my very own neighborhood link. If one of us posts about how Josh Miller is doing; does someone in Arizona care? WE DO!
I want to sign in, wave @ my neighbors, ask how they are doing & what can I do to support & make your day better? I want to sign in, wave @ my neighbors & say, I had a crappy day, can I share? I need my neighbors & I think that is what you have heard in many of the posts.