I disagree with a blanket ban. The SDMB has been a ‘community’ for many of us now for many years. Whilst we may not have met each other in the flesh, the dynamics of how we relate are akin to a real-life community, and as such, we help each other out when necessary.
There’s no great difference in giving advice and giving material support as needed. And like any RL community, we decide whether our help is warranted under the circumstances. Donating to a young girl wanting to get to Europe for a holiday? Not going to happen! Donating to a long-term member who’s hit hard times? Maybe.
Leave it to the members to determine whether a cause is worthy.
Actually for me, it was even worse… I thought the comment Fenris made was a joke of some kind, and one I didn’t know the background to. No need to ask, I could live without knowing.
Now, sadly, I know the history of the comment, and Skywatchers role.
I think this is one of those things you just let go… certainly, you don’t remind people about it. I’d bet most people that didn’t know what Fenris was referring to zipped right by that comment. People that did know maybe had a reaction, but like Suburban Plankton, didn’t remember who was involved, and didn’t much care to find out. Until you showed up.
To me, this seems to be an absurd bit of hairsplitting. It’s like those rules that an ad that says everything to try to persuade you to vote for Jack Smith except “Vote for Jack Smith” isn’t an actual campaign ad, but once it says “Vote for Jack Smith,” it’s stepped over the line.
Obviously the only reason to argue, in the thread, against the merits of a particular donation request is to discourage others from donating, because you don’t need to post here to convince your own self. So you can make the argument that other people shouldn’t donate, but you just can’t state the conclusion out loud. That part steps over the line.
Very interesting thread. First the evil jack booted mods who never make a proper judgment about the trivial matters of this board are suddenly consider the sound and sober arbiters of what causes are worthy of asking for donations. Then further on they are applauded for their reason and restraint on this issue. Tomorrow after you get a polite note to keep a thread on track they’ll be fascist monsters again.
Frankly, if in order to atone for my sins I am reincarnated as a mod in my next life I’d vote to allow no donations just to avoid this headache. On second though I’d just pull a Marley and ban everyone to avoid all the headaches.
Not sure which forum this post belongs in, but I think it’s clear that the only reason the mods haven’t shut down that thread (as they did with the “hot bunny” thread) is because the new management’s too embarrassed to admit they made a mistake and were duped.
It’s obvious that the OP misrepresented her request by portraying this overpriced guided tour as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” It’s clearly nothing of the sort. She’s not gonna be performing in the Olympics opening ceremony or singing backup for a Eurovision contestant or witnessing The Changing of the Note. In fact, the only reason this trip exists at all is because the OP wants to head off her daughter’s complaints about how her older brother got to visit Europe at her age, so why can’t she too???
The proper way to visit Europe is with a backpack, a Eurail Pass, and a budget hostel guide. Forget those tour guides who will only point out the popular monuments that anyone can see in a postcard or in the opening credits to a James Bond movie. Get off the beaten path, hitchhike, get to know the locals. Some of the best memories I have of Europe are finding a small British pub well outside the tourist areas, or hiking in the Alps, or spending several hours on an overnight train talking to a Spanish guy who doesn’t speak a lick of English (we had a great conversation!) Naturally, such a vacation isn’t proper for a high school student, but it’s perfect for someone of college age. Make her wait! (And work for it, dammit!)
Unless you don’t agree that threadshitting she be modded at all then there has to be a line. Where to put that line is a judgement call. There can be no bright line rule. The decision has to be made using the context of the thread. You would place the line elsewhere. Duly noted.
It is certainly not obvious and not the only reason. Just from the top of my head from recent threads of this type people have.
[ol]
[li]Offered encouragement.[/li][li]Offered sympathy.[/li][li]Asked clarifying questions.[/li][li]State their opinions about the merits of the cause.[/li][li]Present possible alternatives to giving money.[/li][li]Propose solutions to the problem that the OP may not have thought of.[/li][li]Criticized the need for donations. [/li][li]Explained why they were not going to donate.[/li][/ol]
I’m sure there is more that I am not thinking of. What I consider a threadshit is to go into someone’s thread and wage a counter campaign against them. Start your own Pit thread if you must. In this case there is one available for you already. If you for some reason feel compelled to tell other adults what they should or should not be doing then make your own thread. I have faith that our members are smart enough to reach their own conclusions without someone else directing them.
Or, much more likely, the new management is much more aware of what this forum was and should be for: discussion of the messageboard. It’s not a mausoleum where one should only speak in hushed whispers lest we disturb the dead, as it was treated for far too long.
The old management would close any ATMB thread on the slightest opportunity, while throwing out canards such as “mods are beaten like rented mules” and other twaddle, whining and closing threads that had any more life than a month old corpse.
One of the many, many positive changes the new overlords have made is to allow the same type of discussion in ATMB as can be had in any non-Pit thread. (The new Overlords have also remembered there’s a “move thread” feature and a “talk to poster (or warn poster)” option they can use rather than simply closing any thread with the slightest hint of life.)
These are features not bugs.
And seriously new Overlords: thanks! The Dope’s “tone” has improved so much since the big changeover, it’s amazing. I really appreciate it.
I have to agree with this. Not that there bad mods before, but the new blood has given the board a new balance by burning their wagons instead of always circling them.
Oh, nonsense. As has been said many times over, it’s better for the mods to throw this stuff out there and let the board membership decide how to treat it.
No, I’m talking about the donation request thread. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.
The oft-cited A/C Bunny Thread was shut down after 24 hours with the mod note: “It was a request that probably should have been given more thought before having approval anyway, we freely admit.” There’s been no such admission from the mods regarding the Super-Special Eurotrip thread, which the board consensus seems to regard as far more frivolous than chilly bunnies.
Ah–yeah, I totally misunderstood you. Sorry about that.
That said, I’m still fine with the “Buy My Kid A Luxury Vacation” thread being left open.
It seems like the new mods are aware that there is no required number of pointless thread closings required by the makers of vBulletin software (which is the only reason I can think for the constant stream of bizarre, inexplicable, random thread closings we had before). There’s very little reason to close a thread. If people are posting to it, it means the thread is doing what it’s supposed to: getting people to post. If people aren’t posting, it’ll drop off the page and be forgotten.
The mods are keeping the “Luxury Vacation” thread on track for MPSIMS and they’ve said here (and I think there) that they recognize they can warn posters who threadshit, and they’ve proven they know that the “move thread” button is only one (or two?) clicks more than the “close thread” option.
