We do have Admins hanging around
We certainly do.
Whilst you have a perfectly valid point, generally, Lisa and I don't necessarily believe that this kind of concern belongs off of the boards, as Jenn does, I do have to say that reading your post I was surprised by the level of anger that seemed to be in it. Meadowrose, who, as far as I can tell, has done nothing to deserve it, seems to have committed no great crime other than volunteer her spare time to step in and rescue a fun FoLC event when Jax was unable to.
So, whilst, imo, your concerns are valid, Lisa, as is bringing them to the forum, I think the problem lies in the execution of those concerns in this instance and that the tone in which they were delivered was unfortunate. The forum would be better served if such issues were couched in broad, general terms, rather than being addressed to one, particular individual.
I can understand that you have security concerns and issues, and would heartily agree, as both you and Jenn note, that being secure in your online dealings is important and being cautious and hip to the dangers is a part of being out there in the online world. Each of us has to make our own choices as to where the line is drawn and who we trust and don't trust.
Would I pass my personal details to someone I didn't really know? Probably not. But then I'm the UberQueen of Paranoia when it comes to being online, working on a strict need to know basis, so I'm not the best example to work to.
If people are signing up, I would expect to see lots of feedback on this thread. The fact that hasn't happened yet you say there is a good turnout sends nothing but warning bells to me.
This doesn't mean very much to me - there could be any number of reasons why this is a short thread, none of them sinister. I haven't been paying much attention to the rules of this game, but in the interests of smoothing things along, perhaps Meadowrose could consider posting the list of participants? Or does that spoil things? How secret do these Santas have to be?
Either way, I think, personally, that your concerns in this case are probably unfounded, but, again, you have to judge that for yourself, as does everyone else using the forum. Trust or don't trust. Participate or don't participate. We can't tell you which it is or what to do. The important thing is to be secure and comfortable in your own mind when you are dealing with others online. You can't guard entirely against the wolf in sheep's clothing or be 100% safe at all times, but I think you can make informed choices based on the evidence around you and in this case there seems little evidence that I can see that Meadowrose's motives are anything other than her posts suggests.
Certainly, with 70+ posts to her name, Meadowrose is hardly an 'anonymous lurker'.
you are neither a writer nor a vocal commentator/critic/feedback person
Having read some of her posts, she seems to be most of those, actually. Regularly posts story feedback, helps in organising FoLC events such as the IRC episode watch and FoLC Fests, shares her book interests with us, her appreciation of astronomy and particpates in a myriad of ways here on the forum and elsewhere in the fandom. I can't see anything but a genuine FoLC in there.
LabRat
) I'm not about to declare myself or anyone else more trustworthy than member #124 or #1001 just because some of us like to write or hear the sounds of our own voices.