I've been collecting cels for a while now (though 
not nearly as long as most of you), but have only 
recently started reading forums and participating 
in what I guess you could call the "cel 
community."  And by most standards, I don't 
participate all that much -- I usually just lurk. 
I guess you could say I'm a nobody.  ^_^

The recent... er... excitement, for lack of a 
better term, really surprised me. I had the 
impression -- probably naiive -- that everyone 
here was part of a very tight-knit, friendly, 
group. The flames about announcing the Taro sale 
in the forum, the recent fighting about packaging, 
the comments about "social suicide," etc., have 
really spooked me, though, especially that last 
one. 

Is this representative of the community as a whole 
or just the result of a lot of recent stress? 
I really can't tell. It makes me nervous to 
continue participating -- I don't want to 
accidentally ostracize myself!  Now, if I do it 
intentionally, that's another matter, heh heh.  
^_^

I'm not looking to start any new fighting. I'm 
just a newbie looking for a little guidance about 
what to expect.  Thanks in advance for any advice 
or opinions you can give me.

PS. I hope everyone got some good stuff from 
Taro's sale!  ^_^