The Day after Christmas, and we're wrapping up one year and beginning another, I thought this a good time to air a few things out with you kind people. Naturally, the phrase 'kind people' is not meant to exclude any number of Saints or Rats we may also have in attendance in HI Forum.
I think the biggest issue facing us as a forum are behavior controls; whether to censure or ban posts or people.
The second biggest issue is Moderator participation in controversial subjects; the three that come to mind are politics, religion, and martial arts. Surprisingly, invitations to violence most often occur during these Martial Arts threads, and are about technique and which guru can break more boards while maintaining the correct physical and mental posture accurately as initially discovered in year 127 BC.
Any thread in which a moderator is posting, has the potential to be 'unfair' to some one or some position, because a moderator's opinion can become intwined in some forumite's minds with authority. We aired this out not too long ago and the concensus then was to keep the forum as is, as Uncle Bill set it up. Mod behavior then becomes a judgment call, and it is the responsibility of the Mod to be careful, and more importantly, for Cantinistas to continue to critique themselves And the moderators.
If there are problems, isn't part of the solution to communicate this to the Mod, either privately or publically? People who take shots, but are not addressing the problem with their fellow Forumite, are not fufilling their responsibility as forum members. If they can't do this they don't belong here. They belong on the general net, where anything goes and no one is responsible for their actions. Fortunately, we don't have much of this behavior, because the human beings in the Cantina talk to one another.
When I first got here there was a poster named 'Rust' who was a pacifist. (near as I can tell) Bill's philosophy was to let Rust's behavior be judge and jury. People didn't like Rust's posts and told him so. Some of the reactions to his posts, to his behavior, were negative. That was his Karma. Bill Martino did not have to ban Rust. This is how healthy places succeed. Rust removed himself finally, unwilling to continue.
A moderator should be the first place to go with a problem AFTER it wasn't resolved by talking to each other. Howard, Yvsa and Yangdu each have their own philosophies about moderating, but I think we agree upon this.
This is not a democracy. The mods have authority to act, as they should, otherwise it would be chaos. But this is our forum, a community is not controlled or owned or ran by anyone, not Yvsa, myself, Howard, Yangdu or even Spark.
If there are any objections to my writing short stories please so say. I would like to begin this new year with a clear plan. Besides smoothing fights out, or trying to be as funny as Bruise, the stories are what I have to offer. (No talk of publication, please, I almost believed it myself) The stories came from this place- people wanted to hear them. There is no ivory tower or even "Modship". Rusty liked them because they were like Charlie Brown, he said, for everyone. If my friends like the stories and are happy; I'm happy. It's very simple, like Graver Tom engraving, and if it ever happens the stories are not wanted, then I will know it is time for me to move on.
Write dumb stories, moderate the forum, and be happy. Let me know if I do something wrong, or forever hold thy Peace.
munk
I think the biggest issue facing us as a forum are behavior controls; whether to censure or ban posts or people.
The second biggest issue is Moderator participation in controversial subjects; the three that come to mind are politics, religion, and martial arts. Surprisingly, invitations to violence most often occur during these Martial Arts threads, and are about technique and which guru can break more boards while maintaining the correct physical and mental posture accurately as initially discovered in year 127 BC.
Any thread in which a moderator is posting, has the potential to be 'unfair' to some one or some position, because a moderator's opinion can become intwined in some forumite's minds with authority. We aired this out not too long ago and the concensus then was to keep the forum as is, as Uncle Bill set it up. Mod behavior then becomes a judgment call, and it is the responsibility of the Mod to be careful, and more importantly, for Cantinistas to continue to critique themselves And the moderators.
If there are problems, isn't part of the solution to communicate this to the Mod, either privately or publically? People who take shots, but are not addressing the problem with their fellow Forumite, are not fufilling their responsibility as forum members. If they can't do this they don't belong here. They belong on the general net, where anything goes and no one is responsible for their actions. Fortunately, we don't have much of this behavior, because the human beings in the Cantina talk to one another.
When I first got here there was a poster named 'Rust' who was a pacifist. (near as I can tell) Bill's philosophy was to let Rust's behavior be judge and jury. People didn't like Rust's posts and told him so. Some of the reactions to his posts, to his behavior, were negative. That was his Karma. Bill Martino did not have to ban Rust. This is how healthy places succeed. Rust removed himself finally, unwilling to continue.
A moderator should be the first place to go with a problem AFTER it wasn't resolved by talking to each other. Howard, Yvsa and Yangdu each have their own philosophies about moderating, but I think we agree upon this.
This is not a democracy. The mods have authority to act, as they should, otherwise it would be chaos. But this is our forum, a community is not controlled or owned or ran by anyone, not Yvsa, myself, Howard, Yangdu or even Spark.
If there are any objections to my writing short stories please so say. I would like to begin this new year with a clear plan. Besides smoothing fights out, or trying to be as funny as Bruise, the stories are what I have to offer. (No talk of publication, please, I almost believed it myself) The stories came from this place- people wanted to hear them. There is no ivory tower or even "Modship". Rusty liked them because they were like Charlie Brown, he said, for everyone. If my friends like the stories and are happy; I'm happy. It's very simple, like Graver Tom engraving, and if it ever happens the stories are not wanted, then I will know it is time for me to move on.
Write dumb stories, moderate the forum, and be happy. Let me know if I do something wrong, or forever hold thy Peace.
munk
