A quick note to the C&H community

As long as the payment system remains voluntary, and frankly, not really needed to keep this place running, then I wholeheartedly agree with Lorien's decision not to shame or pressure those who choose not to make the $75 donation every year.

There are many ways to contribute here. Paying the membership fee benefits one guy. Participating on the forum in a constructive and meaningful way benefits ALL of us (Spark included, as content generates the traffic that brings in the ad revenue). The fact that many good former or prospective participants have been chased off or otherwise discouraged from contributing to the discussions here is an awful shame, in my opinion, and that is a cost we all bear to insure that Spark gets his money.

Again, not saying that I don't value being a part of this community (I do, and have paid Spark hundreds of dollars over the years to show my support), I just think the membership / payment system could benefit from a rethink.

Oh, and what do you know... my membership apparently just lapsed. Hope I'm still welcome here :o
 
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thanks very much, Joe- you too, Bandaidman

it's a slightly awkward balancing act for me, having been such an active participant in this forum over so many years to move into a specific role here. I think the conclusion that I've come to, maybe slightly restated from the op, is that this role will be what I make of it. There ain't no manual! And, I don't spend time in other forums and not a lot in this one. Or on the computer generally. So, I'm winging it.

As a moderator, I can help keep this forum tidy, by moving threads more related to other topics to their rightful place when the time arises. Even then I have the option to do that when I think it's the right time, or not at all. For example, if a new knife maker is looking for technical advice and their thread elicits productive responses, then why move it? If no responses within a reasonable timeframe, then away she goes

I don't see there being a hard and fast, written in stone rule, (well, apart from what you'll find in Spark's stickies) regarding content, so if someone stumbles in here and has good enough vibes that other people respond, then I don't want them to go somewhere else right off the bat, even if their post is tangential to the general range of discussion we have here. I'd rather encourage people to stick around and learn from some of the best minds in the business, then lose them immediately to another subforum

We've already talked about tax collectors, so I think that part is settled. While I've volunteered my time to help out with Bladeforums generally, my focus is to help foster a good vibe in C&H specifically and to help out around here as members see fit. Ultimately, I think that kind of volunteerism will help Bladeforums more than collecting paid members, in the long run

The only other thing a moderator seems to do, generally speaking, is keep things civil. There is no other subforum on this site that's more civil than C&H, so I don't expect there to be much involved in that aspect. With that being said, as per the general rules of the forum, politics, religion, insults and that kind of #@%*ery will be nipped in the bud

I really appreciate all the feedback and ideas you all have added to this thread. There's a lot to learn here, and I'm taking it all in.
 
All the better that you know the intricacys of the forum

You know what is what and who is who

You have a baseline to go off of
 
This thread would not exist if Lorien knew "who was who." IIRC, he made a mistake with a long-time contributor assuming that they were a knifemaker (which they are) but also assuming they are a knifeseller (which they are not.) Their skills are so good, they are better than some who do it for a living.

Possibly an apology is in order for the error rather than closing the original thread followed by an abrogation of your responsibility? My thinking is that if you moderate, you should enforce the rules, that's part of your ethical contract with Spark. Either way, you need to get the full story before assuming someone is in the wrong and taking action.

On that note, doesn't this thread belong in Tech Support?
 
Mr. Brownshoe, (ref. your post #44 above) I nearly always open any post you make and read it. This is mostly out of curiosity to see what kind of support your "mind" is offering at the moment. About half the time I find the posts at least slightly informative and noncontroversial and the other half, well, you know.

This post falls squarely into the latter half. My biggest concern here is what in hell are you talking about??? You mention a situation about a mystery maker and then offer no link or support for your statement. It may be true and useful.....or it may just be BS, who knows.
A bit of clarification by way of a link might make the advice given in your second paragraph seem more reasonable.

Paul
 
brownshoe said:
This thread would not exist if Lorien knew "who was who." IIRC, he made a mistake with a long-time contributor assuming that they were a knifemaker (which they are) but also assuming they are a knifeseller (which they are not.) Their skills are so good, they are better than some who do it for a living.

Possibly an apology is in order for the error rather than closing the original thread followed by an abrogation of your responsibility? My thinking is that if you moderate, you should enforce the rules, that's part of your ethical contract with Spark. Either way, you need to get the full story before assuming someone is in the wrong and taking action.

On that note, doesn't this thread belong in Tech Support?
Click to expand...

you have an incomplete knowledge of that which you're referring to and should perhaps consider getting the full story before assuming someone is in the wrong and making a post about it.
 
sheathmaker said:
Mr. Brownshoe, (ref. your post #44 above) I nearly always open any post you make and read it. This is mostly out of curiosity to see what kind of support your "mind" is offering at the moment. About half the time I find the posts at least slightly informative and noncontroversial and the other half, well, you know.

This post falls squarely into the latter half. My biggest concern here is what in hell are you talking about??? You mention a situation about a mystery maker and then offer no link or support for your statement. It may be true and useful.....or it may just be BS, who knows.
A bit of clarification by way of a link might make the advice given in your second paragraph seem more reasonable.

Paul
Click to expand...

I agree Paul.

Brownshoe, what the hell are you talking about?
 
Ummmm.... Well, I know what he's talking about.

It was clearly a topic down in the Tech support forum. I only know the surface issues which were posted, but BS is not coming up with something out of the blue. It involved makandr. Read it.

And, he's correct, in that this thread IS a response from Lorien in regard to the dilemma. Solved nicely, BTW.

Everyone deserves their opinion. Choose the wording nicely and we go further.

Coop
 
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