If people are visiting this board with that sole purpose (“to poke fun and tweak the nose of authority”) then yes, of course it’s destructive. They’re stirring shit because they enjoy the reaction. Do you honestly think such people have the best interests of this board at heart?
You should. I had nearly a decades worth of productive posting ignored. My few posts since March have not been abusive in nature, have merely been reiterating “this is what I found disturbing enough to cease posting here” nature. And for that, I’m now labeled a troublemaker.
Disagreement does not equal destructive.
If that really is their sole purpose and motivation, then of course they aren’t being helpful. Most of us who have been unhappy with certain aspects of the recent rule changes are not in that category. We post elsewhere and get what enjoyment and knowledge that we can out of the place while advocating for change that we believe will make it better.
If you honestly don’t, then all I can think is you didn’t read the above heartfelt posts in this thread.
But then, everyone needs to feel superior to someone, even if it involves ignoring facts…
Not doing that.
Not doing that.
Yup. The people who don’t care about this board just left. They aren’t posting about anything, ever again.
You know, I haven’t given up the SDMB, I still post here from time to time. I haven’t been around nearly as long as wring has, but I think I have also proven myself to be a fair-minded person and not one to start fights or stir up trouble just for snicks, so please try to bear this in mind when I say the following. At times in the past year I have gone from really annoyed/fed up to feeling more indifferent, and back again, depending on what I’ve seen. But this that you wrote here, Tuba, is probably the worst, most unfair thing I’ve seen a mod say to a poster in regards to the issues this board has been having for the past year or so. wring is NOT the problem. Other posters like her are NOT the problem. Having someone try to explain to you what the problems are is NOT the problem. TPTB not being willing to listen to posters who are feeling like they aren’t enjoying this community anymore? I don’t think that’s exactly the problem, but it sure is contributing to it. And to be quite frank, it’s when I read stuff like that that I go from feeling annoyed to feeling indifferent. wring expressing an opinion isn’t destructive, but an administration that doesn’t care about the posters and thereby making the posters not care about the board is about the most destructive thing I can think of for a message board.
Way to completely misread my post, which addressed those like Scissorjack whose confessed sole purpose in visiting was to slam the mods. I have no problem at all with other complainants, God knows I’ve done my share of bitching. But you can’t really defend someone who comes here just for the fun of making waves.
Again: you are the one who is misreading.
If you see that as anything but nostalgia and mourning, then you’re reading into it something that isn’t there. If you’d like to show where in that post he said ‘I’m just here to slam the mods,’ I’d be interested in seeing it.
Then we must agree to differ because that’s exactly how I read his post, ie he comes here to hold the mirror up to our faults.
If you’re insistent on discounting the reasoning why, then I agree, we’ll let it go at that.
You fit in perfectly around here, never change.
Disappointed. Not surprised, but disappointed.
I promise to stay as sweet as I am, just for you.
Oh no, not for me, for the community!
This makes me sad. It would be nice if the administrator would listen to what people are saying instead of making false accusations and seeing malice where there is none.
If you want to see the trouble with the boards, look in the mirror.
(Tuba Diva should be standing behind you when you do)
Why, is it some sort of summoning ritual?
It’s like the guy who joins the monastery and is only allowed to speak once every ten years, and only to the head abbot.
He joins. Ten years go by. He says to the abbot, “The beds are kind of hard here.”
Ten more years. He says, “The coffee is too weak.”
Ten more years. He says to the abbot, “I’m quitting.”
The head abbot says, “I’m not surprised. Every since you got here, it’s been bitch, bitch, bitch.”
Regards.
Shodan
I was going to stay out of this, but I just can’t let that go by.
You cannot paint the mods on this board with a single brush, just as you can’t do so with the posters. I don’t feel that I spend my time on the SDMB cleaning up massive messes, and I don’t feel frustrated or resentful.
That’s because–at least from my point of view–the huge, massive issues that have rent these boards asunder are tempests in a teapot. Of course I don’t agree with every single decision made by Ed and the admins. Have you ever worked a job (volunteer or otherwise) where you were 100% in agreement with your bosses 100% of the time?
But a rule that you can’t call someone a cunt in the Pit? A rule that moderation is to be discussed in ATMB? These have never affected me personally. On those rare occasions when I really feel the need to insult someone, I know enough other words. I’m perfectly happy to discuss moderation whereever Ed wants us to. Generally speaking, I stay out of the Pit anyway–not my turf.
The moderators of this board have quite a breadth of personalities and skills. I’ll never be half as good at spammer-hunting as Marley, and couldn’t possibly hope to work the Pit like GFactor. Speaking only for me, I like the boards, and enjoy working quietly off to the side for the most point. I move some threads, ban some spammers, break some links, fix some thread titles, remind people of the rules now and then, have a few quiet discussions behind the scenes, and hand out a couple of warnings a week. I’m happy doing that, and don’t see why I would even consider “going on strike” over what I perceive to be little things.
Indeed. SmartAleq greatly underestimates some of the mods love of the job. I remember when samclem said that despite being “more liberal than perhaps 80% of this board.” and that “Censorship is NOT [his] bag” he would happily shut down all discussion of homosexuality if the owners even “intimated” that was their wish. Can’t blame the guy - he’s got to put food on the table. Well, actually, given that it’s an unpaid volunteer position, it doesn’t really put food on the table but you know what I mean.