but this is an apology. And since I raked David B. over the coals in 2 prior Pit threads, it seems fitting that I should apologize here, too.
I am not absolving David from having made some serious mistakes. But I have made some mistakes here too, and that is what this post is about. I have badly overreacted to multiple issues with David for reasons that made sense to me at the time, but which I have come to see were wrong.
I misinterpreted what a Moderator on a debate board was supposed to do. I mistakenly believed that David was supposed to moderate the individual debates, helping to find common ground, calming emotions, etc. Instead, it seemed to me he deliberately polarized some debates. This really frustrated me in several exchanges with him, and led me to pick fights with him, just as I thought he seemed to be picking fights with me.
Having spent more time on the GD forum recently, however, I have realized a couple of things:
David wasn’t singling me out - that is just his style.
The GD forum is moderated. David keeps out spam, directs non-debate threads to the appropriate place, breaks out new threads when too many issues are being discussed in one thread, and tries to clean up the worst abuses/abusers on the forum. He does this well.
Debates on the GD forum, however, are unmoderated. I confused moderating the forum with moderating debates, and judged David harshly because of this. I was wrong to malign David for not doing something he was never intended to do.
So, to David, I am sending this apology, and my regrets for any hurt my previous posts here may have caused you. I was wrong. I am sorry.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
No it’s not! Fight! Fight! Kill! Kill! Faster pussy cat!
No, really, nice retract… a big heads up on what the moderators do around here…
NOT MUCH!
Oh, please, just kidding! Most of us play nice and get things in the right place… moderators do their best and basically post their opinions (like the rest of us) and try to keep the place free of garbage.
Again, I wouldn’t have their job for love or money.
I don’t have much time to respond right now (visitors from out of town and computer is in the guest room), but I just wanted to say “thank you” to Sue. Other than that, I’m afraid she’s done what so many others wish they could do – she left me speechless (well, almost ).
In all the times I’ve spent on computer bulletin boards of one sort or another, I have always found it much easier for people to attack than to make amends – and I include everybody in that statement (although I am a God, I also make mistakes from time to time – just don’t tell my followers). I can’t count the number of times I have been attacked in all my years of moderating various conferences. I can count the number of apologies on one hand.
A number of things led up to the threads Sue mentions, including mistakes on my part. For those mistakes, I would like to add my apologies here.
Sue if you left David speachless, cant you do it again!?! (kidding)
Just to add that TubaDiva was kind enough to reply to my email regarding some concerns i had. She was not feeling the best, but she managed to reply, and I appreciate that.
Especialy lately, I wouldnt want to try and do their jobs.
Now I feel bad for going after Sue so strongly in the previous thread. I’m impressed (hope that doesn’t sound condescending). It takes huevos to apologize in public.
So now can we go back to somewhat politely beating the crap out of each other about our respective stances on issues, instead of personal insults, and forget about all this?
).
I know this topic isn’t mundane or pointless (and it was a very nice apology) but the Pit??