I wouldn't go up to the group in any event because people have the right to associate with whoever they please. That's why I said John should just grow up and accept the fact that Mudcat, like many other sites on the Internet, is a place where otherwise socially graceful and emotionally mature adults can act like silly junior high school children. On the other hand, if there are people interested in making the thread more inclusive rather keeping it exclusive, it is their responsibility to take the time to explain what some of the obscure messages mean. But I suspect that's not what most people want to do, especially not the insiders who dominate the conversation. There's a certain amount of emotional satisfaction that comes from speaking (or in this case writing) in secret short hand. Everyone does it at some time in their life, so it's not necessarily a bad thing, nor is it a good thing. It just is.