I've been at this job, working with all of you on a daily basis, for five months now.  That means that these blogs have existed with a Community Content Coordinator now for the same amount of time that they existed, post-launch, without such a position in place.  While some of you remain wistful for the old days, I am heartened by the occasional comment that grudgingly acknowledges that things are at least a bit nicer around here lately, and that that's not a bad thing.

We come here with different ideas, opinions, experiences, and passions, looking for a chance to talk, to debate, to connect, to express.  Sometimes things can get intense, especially when the subject matter turns to the realms of politics or faith.  But we find points of connection over the little details of life as well, the incomplete home improvement project, the bad day at work, the great meal had at a favorite restaurant, a quiet moment with family.

We build the community we want to be here.  We live the example we want others to follow here.  We don't have to agree with each other, and that's fine.  That's life.  But if we choose to be here, if we choose to participate, then we take responsibility for ourselves and this community.  Just last week, five regular site users, from across the political spectrum, reported the same content as violating our Terms of Use.  They took responsibility for the health of this site, and acted.

Though we have our problematic moments, we're doing pretty good.  I'm writing this at the end of a week that saw the tech-blogosphere up in arms over death threats and sexual threats made against one prominent woman techblogger on a groupblog run by other prominent techbloggers.  In the realm of newspaper.coms, the Orange County Register recently joined the growing list of media sites to struggle with comment boards on news articles taken over by anonymous spewers of profanity and epithets.

Recent events in the blogosphere have prompted some to organize and name tomorrow, Friday, March 30, as Stop CyberBullying Day.  Bloggers from across various segregated niches--the techbloggers, the educationbloggers, the mediabloggers, the mombloggers, the politicalbloggers, etc., etc.--will spend tomorrow talking about how to make their chosen online homes look and behave as they would wish them to, without bullying, without harassment, without fear.

For all our little problems and flare-ups, I know that we're doing pretty well here.  For that, I thank you, and I look forward to continuing the work with you.