Ok, I was a little hesitant to post this myself, since it's an obvious conflict of interest. At the same time, I'm seeing the frustration of various established users of TPM Cafe.

The scope, and it seems intent, of the TPM Cafe appears to be to generate as many user posts as possible in as simple a method as possible. And that's fine, I certainly understand the appeal to drive-thru clicks and a well branded site.

And please, spare me with the "the old Cafe was too difficult for users to use." If that were the case, no one would have bothered posting. Not the users, not the Book Club folks, not the Table For One Folks, etc. Users could use the site, it just didn't fit with the lowest common denominator blogger that seems to make up the "blogghorea" needed for higher traffic stats.

Like I said, I totally understand all this, and I'm not here to judge. It's a business, and I'm probably the most pro-business user on the site.

The problem for the established users is that we're used to meta-discussions on the topics that are posted. Rarely did one see a drive-by posting found on the main TPM site, or the breaking-at-the-moment postings found at EC and MR. Posts at the Cafe were more nuanced, more discussion-friendly.

Someone did a quick analysis of the posts on here for last week, and it seemed (recalling from memory) that the average comment per blog post is 3. Three comments, with nary a threaded reply. That's not discussion.

This isn't a knock to the new users. Welcome, I say! I've actually enjoyed some of the writing from some of the new members. But, I don't think I'll be participating in conversations (what little there are) for some time. And I'm not talking about the technical problems that have plagued the site since the switch-over. The atmosphere and attitude now seems to fit more with EC and MR... post the most up-to-date blog post, then move on.

So, the established users got riled. Wouldn't you be, if your favorite site to discuss just about any topic - and not just politics or the election - was taken over by the blog zombies? Some have left, some have decided to wait it out, some are still actively posting. It's not that we blame Josh, or the developers, or the new bloggers. We're just mourning the loss of a cherished site and resource.

To that end, I have created a (temporary? permanent? we haven't decided) a refuge for those TPM Cafe'ers who enjoyed the more threaded discussion, the more nuance and meta discussions. This isn't to compete with TPM Cafe, or to take users away. It's to fill a need that was created by the change-over. Nothing more.

If you're interested in re-creating a community based on respect for differing views, emotional maturity in posting / commenting, and nuanced discussions, then please feel free to visit FORUM: Lucidity at http://forum.projectlucidity.com.

Some of your favorite TPM Cafe bloggers are already there.