Really like your way of explaining this Maha, and I was trying to say similar things too, but couldn’t quite express it this week I think. Part of engaging in open communities is taking self-responsibility for your own inclusion. That uncomfortably new feeling is raw and unsettling, but also invigorating, a time of huge learning as you negotiate how you find your own niche, what you will bring, or if you will bring anything, which is equally valid, as a listener. If we are supporting others to engage in open more rhizomatic communities, then how you negotiate your own participation is part of engagement. For some, being able to see a core of pre-existing relationships in a community does feel exclusive, but if you look at this as an example of the endurance of connection (e.g. those of us not involved in rhizo14 are aware that a group in rhizo15 know each other well – you can see the thread of a bond, but might not know who all the individuals are) it should only encourage us to act in a way to include ourselves in it.