Janice, I think the people who you've named as part of the 'inner circle' are simply the ones who feel relaxed enough to be silly. The blather, which I've been a part of, can go on long enough, and be obtrusive enough to get on even my nerves, though. Getting them/us to stop it is likely not going to happen. Having moderated threads separate from the chat threads might prove useful in the future. (It worked great with the FSGW Getaway thread last year.)

In any case, I don't think there's anyone around here who doesn't at least like Kathy Westra!