"There's nothing funny about making someone else feel bad."
"If I were Tracy1974, I would never come back."
I'm taking my comment to heart...
My opinion is still the same, but it's not valid (to some) because, "It seems strange that only 2 people found anything offensive about this thread."
"I seriously doubt we LOSE any members over this, cake central is way too well loved."
Just letting you know that I'm taking my "ridiculous," "overly sensative," "hypersensitive, thin-skinned," "holier than thou," "high school girls" bunched up panties so no one has to "let my claws out...now i have to retract...how sad..haha.. because "You too will be just like us."
Words can hurt, and saying that it was all in fun is an excuse, not a justification.
Luckily Tracy said she thought it was funny. But then can you reasonably expect her to say anything else and subject herself to disparaging comments on her character.
I'm not a decorator, I'm a baker who found a pleasant niche at CC answering posts (mostly from newbies) and researching the threads and the net to answer posts (usually which had no responses).
I have been a member for just under a year, and thought I was a good CC'er. I tried to be positive and helpful in my comments, and donated as much as I was able.
In any event, I thought I deserved the basic respect that every human being deserves..
Rude and outlandish behavior is familiar to me, I worked in law enforcement for over 25 years. However, I never expected the "beat-down," I received this week.
JanH is signing off!
Jan.....I am so sorry to see you go=( You have helped sooooo many(including me) learn so much. I do wish you would change your mind, because the newbees like me need people like you who take the time to share your knowledge, and you happily do so. Without you here, to me, it will not be the same on the forums. I am sorry people were so rude to you, but know there are so MANY here that respect you and look up to you and are grateful for all your advice and time! If your decision is final(and I sure hope not) I wish you nothing but the best in life and thank you so much for taking this little newbee and helping her grow into cake decorating. Just know YOU made a difference to many of us here! Take care Jan, you will be missed=( Jen
You are letting those who hurt you win. Tell them how you feel...give it a day or two, then if you feel the same way, leave, but why let those who bothered you control you in such a way. If you like it here, which I know you did or you wouldn't be a super star, then stay.
JanH, if you have made up your mind far be it for me to try to change your mind, but I just want to say that I was in total agreement with you on this situation and I said so! There were a few others as well who didn't join in on the laugh-fest...so definitely more than 2 people thought this was totally not funny!
Unfortunately, it seems more and more that a few CC'rs are running the show with bad manners, bad language, thoughtlessness, and sometimes pure meanness. This group, though relatively small, is managing to cause good members to leave and I hate that.
I know you have helped many people, and it is a shame that you feel you have to go, but you will be missed. Janice
Did I miss something?? *Scratches head and looks confused *
What has happened?? Please don't leave over something that most probably the majority of us here would never condone!
We need all the helpful people that we can get.....me especially!!!
Don't go!!! 
JanH..
Darling...no..please! I hope that ANYTHING I wrote wasn't hurtful to you...especially to you that have been so kind and helpful to EVERYONE!!
You have been one of my few supporters and I would miss you terribly if you were to leave.
Don't give anyone the power over you like that, no one deserves to feel or made feel the way you feel right now.
You are a darling and valuable member here, and a lot of new people would be shortchanged if you left.
You who take the time to research almost each and every one of the questions posted, even by old timers like me.
Please, my sincere apologies...is the only thing I can give you...( aside from my first born...?) to keep you from leaving.
And some Hugs for the hurt.
Please stay.
I sincerely ask you, from the bottom of my heart.
JanH
I hope you will soon see that you have more friends here than you realize! You are a truly helpful and giving person. CC would not be the same without you. Please reconsider! Don't let a few people ruin CC for the majority. You are needed here.
JanH
Add my voice to the group of people who want you to stay. Not sure what happened but I hope that you will reconsider your decision to leave CC. You are truly a wealth of information and would be very missed if you leave. However, if you truly do not want to return, I wish you all the best and hope that in the future you may come back.
Barbara
Oh gosh! JanH, if I had to list the 5 most helpful, considerate posters here on CC you would be at the top of the list! Please, reconsider and stick around (or else at least let us know where you are going!). Internet bulletin boards bring out the beast in some people-I guess it's the anonymity that makes some feel they can say things they would never say face-to-face. Sad, but something that behavior is bound to be displayed anywhere we go on the net at one time or another. Sorry they had to involve you (or anyone else)!
Julie 
I missed something, too. I haven't been on as much as I used to. But JanH, you are the very best of us. Don't let anyone tell you any different. I am not sure what happened. But I am sure that the forums would not be the same without you. Whatever you decide, know that you do have a pack of supporters here for you. Take care and God bless you.
Tanya
Come on now JanH I agree this place would NOT be the same without you. You can find stuff for us quicker than anyone I know and you do it well. I with you am not mean spirited but I honestly thought it was funny, it just seemed like a bunch of tired bakers letting loose some built up anxiety is all. I don't see where anyone was real mean or offensive. I'm sure there are some somewhere on here but honestly I haven't met them yet. And hope I don't. Please don't go do what the one lady suggested step back take a deep breath and stay with us. Do what I do with my family, if they hurt me I don't shun them I love them anyway and that's what I've learned to do with others that hurt me. Sometimes we ladies let our hormones get in the way, I know I have at times. 
I would miss you badly so don't make me feel bad by leaving ok?
I am really confussed at what is happening atm I am rather new to this site and I fell in love ( almost addicted) and I am very very sad to JanH leaving. You have always anwsered any questions I have had. I am sorry to see that you are leaving =(
Monica
JanH,
I rarely post a reply..coz I am a shy person, but had to reply to this..
Being new to cake decorating...I have always looked for help from CC and have always seen you helping others and coming to their rescue. YOU are such a wonderful person and it would be a shame to see you go. Please change your mind and stay with us..we need your support!!! Please...Please...Please..
JanH, I too don't know what happened but in the 6 months I've been here I have noticed that you are probably one of the most helpful people here. Please don't go, you will be missed deeply =(
Janh-I am so sad to hear you are leaving. You are the most helpful person and we won't be the same without you. I hope you will find it in your heart after reading how much you mean to everyone, to stay with us. You are quite an inspiration to a bunch of us. I will truly miss you! 
Faye
I agree, you have been very helpful. Is there any way that threads can be flagged down when they get out of control? I am not sure what one you are referencing but no one likes to get burned when they are trying to encourage or answer a question. I pray that you will hang in there for the many people that you have blessed.
JanH, Just wanted to say like so many others at CC I will miss all the great help you give. I am always amazed at your ability to find answers, and post links so quickly! You will be a great loss to CC just as so many others before you have been. CC is a cake decorating site. A place to learn, share and give encouragement about cake decorating which you have done. I hope the ones who have hurt you are as helpful and giving as you have been. I will even miss seeing your avatar! Good luck, you will be missed!
Okay, Jan, just sent you a PM and then just saw this post. I'm putting my foot down--you get back here now! There are so many people here who appreciate YOU and your help and that would include me! You are one of my CC buddies and I will be here for you! Here comes the selfish part: please don't punish the rest of us because of what a small group of people did. WE know you and we appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness. I'm truly sorry that others were completely dismissive of your feelings. I want you back, and like I told you before, I will keep begging. Just know that there are many of us who want you around.
I have only been part of this community less than a year but have always seen VERY helpful posts by you Jan.
I must also say that recently it seems many CC members have been outright mean, off-subject and rude to others. I used to read and respond to a lot more posts but now I come more for cake inspiration. I enjoy a healthy debate but not when it is not even part of the original post! Come on CC members, remember we all have feelings and opinions, that dosen't mean yours is the only one and you do not need to put others down.
I have told my husband that lately it seems like bickering teenagers (no offense to the teens who come on and are great members!) are running/ruining the threads, not adults.
Jan, you are an asset to those CC members who ask for help and I hope you choose to stay.
Tracy (not the Tracy mentioned in the original post
JanH...please stay!! I'm one also that found the thread offensive but it had already been locked (I'm glad that it was locked) before I could post in it. (I'm sure there are many more members that found the thread offensive) I thought to myself boy if that had happened to me when I first came to cake central ..I would have never came back. So I'm glad Tracey is staying and I hope that you stay JanH!! You are the most helpful member and it will be a sad day on CC if you decide to leave. We have lost so many wonderful members that I miss so dearly....please don't go!!!
Hugs, ~Denise
I'm am fairly new to CC...and I'm not sure what happened..but please don't go! Your posts are always so helpful! I know you need to do what is best for you, but please reconsider staying! You will be missed by many.
JanH,
I agree that you should not go. I was the person you chose to single out even though I had not said or done anything mean to anyone, but I choose to look beyond that and try to see that you were defending your own opinion. I have respect for your opinion, so I want to be a bigger person and say don't go.
In this thread you picked out words that were used by several of us who couldn't understand why the thread was being seen as mean-spirited. But before we move on from this you need to understand how your own response and the way you characterized other actually sounded. I won't go back and pick out your words that came across as less than nice, because that would just continue the negativity. My point is that I am willing to understand your feelings, but I ask that you do the same.
Obviously, about the 'invisible cake' thread, we will have to agree to disagree. I know that for my part in the thread, I thought the direction it was going was light-hearted and to me it felt like a way to keep the thread going for the original author and make her feel like it she didn't need to worry about the fact that her picture didn't show up. We all make mistakes when posting and no one should feel unwelcome just because they make the same mistakes everyone does. We all need to realize that we are here to support each other and not make fun of each other, and that's where I was coming from (and I believe the same for the others).
For some of you who have posted to this thread in support of JanH by ridiculing other members, please know that just as you feel the jokes about the 'invisible cake' were perhaps not acceptable, the same can be said for you when you write derogatory things about the those of us who did join in the joking. I agree that there shouldn't be bickering, name-calling, or 'control' of the board by anyone/group, but that applies to everyone.
**I will certainly not get carried away in my enjoyment of this community any more. It's too easy for others to misinterpret the words of others in an online community. It seems the sad truth is that this board only seems to work when it's kept to clinical questions/answers and the normal flow of conversation is not really encouraged. In real life, conversations do start with one topic and move on to another topic and then another and another. But here it just seems to cause trouble.
Anyway, you are too valuable a member to just leave the board. I hope you stay and I hope we both can understand each other's points of view better. Let's all un-bunch our panties and get back to learning about cake, ok?
Very Sincerely
OMG JanH I just saw this post on the front page and I knew it was you. Please don't go! I know many times I have posted a question and you somehow find the posts that I needed, I don't know how, but you did. I'm so sorry that you feel you need to leave. There are so many people here that really do appreciate your presence here at CC.
I know I did think the thread was funny but I can also see your point I know if I were new I probably wouldn't have come back. I don't feel that calling people names was neccessary but I think we can all agree to disagree sometimes. I respect you and your opinion. I hope you don't let a few people's comments run you away. I am truly sorry, Jan.
Please just take some time and think about it. If you do decide to go just know that you will truly be missed.
Hugs
tina
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