Dear Kat:
I have not seen the postings You are referring to; there is plenty that I miss here due to myriad excuses, but it is not the policy of KA to exclude ANYBODY except hucksters, spammers, and people who cannot maintain the dignity we expect and follow the Golden Rule.
Whoever gave the impression that KA was only about AS and nothing else is mistaken and has no official capacity to make such a policy decision. There are other forums perhaps they would be happier trolling. In fact, we are expanding our reach--into Rheumatoid Arthritis and soon Crohn's Disease and perhaps even others and there is a place for those affected by chronic disease or chronic pain secondarily; our loved ones who suffer because we suffer.
Nobody should be upset at what one member says or does--KA is not one monolith and does not have ONE POLICY MAKER; ALL members make the policies. We, whether we donate or not, are each equal member-owners and when we forget this we can have hurt feelings and some who feel like outsiders can even leave but it is not the intention of KA for anyone to feel like they are not part of the group: And with our growing membership it is easy to find others who agree with just about any idea a person can have, so we can have friendly debates and if I or someone else comes across as having authority, it is not because we actually have any authority at all, but just they way we communicate; emoticons do not even begin to convey the subtitles of speech we really need and if we had round-table discussions in person the nuances would be much different.
So, it bothers me somewhat that we would lose members to their own misunderstandings, but YOU EACH have the authority to tell anyone that You have as much right to be here and express Your opinion as everyone else, and I rely upon each member to take charge and keep each other in line! I can't do it and the administrators and moderators cannot always see things the same way as other members; it is in YOUR hands, mostly, but Thank You for bringing this to our attention and we will do what we can to remedy the situation.
HEALTH,
John
