With the passing of David Simmons a thought occurs to me that the SDMB recognize the permanent departure of Dopers with a different member status. It would assist new Dopers that some folks will never again post, while reminding the rest of us of a friend who has taken the last journey.
A simple one might be “Deceased Member,” or just “Deceased.” But the SDMB conveys something special in the minds of many. Perhaps we could share some ideas and convince TPTB this is a member status worthy of consideration.
No disrespect but I’ve come to the conclusion that any user title besides “member” only confuses people and brings endless questioning postings and emails.
I am beyond tired of the plethora of “Why is Poster X titled _______”
Even putting information in the FAQ brings no relief.
A moment’s bit of serendipity on my part has been mostly a thankless annoyance and frankly I don’t think I’ll be so inclined again, even under the most deserving circumstances.
I would really like to see the SDMB do something permanent (as permanent as anything on the net can be) for David. He was, after all, pretty much the ideal Doper: intelligent, sharp witted, and never, ever cruel or disrespectful to other posters. I know it’s probably not something David would have asked for (him being so modest and all), but I think for him, and the handful of other posters this board who are model Dopers and will some day pass from this world, we should have something in place to remember them by. Certainly it would serve as a reminder for those of us who occassionally go off half-cocked to maybe stop and think “What Would David Post?”
Thankless? I think a whole bunch of people thought Boyo Jim’s title was pretty cool and said as much.
You sound pretty burned out, if you don’t mind my saying so. Look, just make a little macro that says “Please refer to FAQ” and then respond to all questioners with your little macro. No need for being more sorry than we can possibly imagine, or whatever.
As for the OP, I think it’s a nice idea, and since these people presumably won’t be posting in active threads anyway, I’m guessing you’ll get far, far fewer questions about the title.
I read this before and I just came back to it. I cannot buy this post without challenging it.
The confusion over titles has more to do with our lack of titles on this board and thus posters being surprised by an unexpected different one.
I have a hard time believing that the Best of the Worst title really caused much heartache. Every time the question was asked, and it was probably a dozen times in the last year, no shortage of regular posters were able to answer it and no pittings or board rancor resulted from it that I could see.
You were thanked for it by posters, maybe not enough, but you were thanked. On that note. Thank you for making the one year title change, it was a great idea and built a stronger sense of community for the SDMB.
I feel if anything the questions did the same.
So why do you feel it was not worth it? Where was the actual bother? You did something nice, please don’t regret it.
This idea of Duckster’s is another simple to implement change. It should cause little work and should help in a small way to build a sense of community. Look at the four threads tied to this passing. Mr. Simmons was respected by a large portion of the SDMB membership.
I hope you reconsider or at least take it up with the rest of the staff.
