Whoops. Really screwed up the code that time. Oh well, you know what I mean. BTW, if anyone considers reposting the “minorities” thread, I would think reposting the whole thing rather than selections of it would be the way to go. I don’t feel one way or the other about it.
Wow. I can’t believe it. There were 5 important posts between when I started writing my response to JillGat and what I finished. I would prolly have written it differently, had I see Melin’s response, Ed’s response, and others before I posted.
Anyway, my point remains.
A) Put the thread up, with a disclaimer. We’re your customers, Ed. We’re all calling for this. Humor us.
B) Tell your moderators to get in arguments, if they must, under a different name that doesn’t represent the Straight Dope.
Your Quadell
First off, Ed, thank you for the explanation.
But I still think you made a bad decision.
As has been pointed out in one of the other threads, neither Jill nor Melin was acting as a moderator in that thread. They were not stating that their own opinions were those of the Straight Dope as an entity; they were not throwing their weight around as holders of the Magic Password. They were simply posting their own opinions, as any participant may do.
Maybe it was a mild disagreement, or maybe it degenerated into a screaming hair-puller. Either way, who cares? It’s the Internet, for crying out loud! We’ve all seen worse! Go check out some of the religion threads, or any number of topics in Great Debates-- hell, even some of the replies to loverock. People get emotional. That’s part of being human.
Saying that moderators aren’t allowed to argue is just plain silly.
Falcon: I’m with you, let’s see for ourselves!
Having been a moderator many years ago, on a local BBS, I have some experience with this sort of thing.
First of all, the whole idea of a “moderator”, the way it is apparantly being used here, is ridiculous to me. It is abundantly obvious that virtually all the posters who participates on these boards are (mostly) intelligent, mature adults. We don’t need a “keeper” of any kind. If we want to fling shit at each other, we are perfectly capable of either ducking, or flinging it back. And anyone who doesn’t like it is perfectly free to step out of the way.
Secondly, who CARES if the moderators get into it? I certainly don’t. Is it necessary that they be “respected”? No… it has no effect on the performance of their “job” (whatever the hell that is). Are they suppposed to appear as though they have no opinions in a place that is all about opinions? Why? And Ed seems very concerned about moderators going at it with * each other*, although, as has been pointed out, there is nothing wrong with them going at it with a *user[/]. Why the distinction? Especially if they are going at it on a board that neither of them is responsible for? What do any of us care what moderators say or do, so long as it does not mean that they are ABUSING their powers by censoring or otherwise mistreating a user? Hmmm?
Since moderating is a volunteer job, it seems as though the reward for doing it is to be denied the opportunity to fully participate in these forums. How nice.
Whole thing stinks.
Are YOU ready for Y2K? Take my advice: Panic early and avoid the rush.
Damn, that’s the last time I walk away from my PC in the middle of a post… too many other people got to my point first. =B^)
I say repost the whole “minorities thread”, please.
“Eppur, si muove!” - Galileo Galilei
Uh, My Quadell, we’re users, not customers.
You know what a user is don’t you.
Wow, I had the same experience! A whole buncha posts popping up between the time I started mine and finished it!
Apparantly this is a matter of some great interest and concern to your users, Ed. It also appears that 9 out 10 think you made a bad move, even after hearing the facts of the matter from all sides. Is it possible we’re right?
Just a thought.
Are YOU ready for Y2K? Take my advice: Panic early and avoid the rush.
We’re customers in a way. Our clicking on those ad banners pays for this. I don’t think the SD set up this message board purely out of the goodness of their hearts.
“Eppur, si muove!” - Galileo Galilei
Sweety, there’s no need to be condescending.
I buy the books. I look at the “Chicago Reader” banner ads, and I even click on them sometimes. We make The Straight Dope money, which is why they try to honor our wishes. And we obviously wish to know the truth. That is, after all, why we’re on this message board in the first place.
Now let’s not get sidetracked by unrelated semantic arguments.
Ed has the right to fire whoever he wants. The fact that almost all of us disapprove, though, is a bad sign.
Doesn’t anybody have the old thread in their cashe somewhere?
Your Quadell
There’a petition in MPSIMS for the reinstatement of Melin as a moderator. I put my name on it, and I recommend that everyone else who’s disgusted, stunned, or otherwise displeased with the situation should, too.
And as I stated over there… the other moderaters might consider cleaning up their now sullied reputations by putting their names on it, too, if they even care what we, the general public, thinks about them.
Guys, you know what? We’re not taking a vote on this. It’s an internal matter.
As for reposting the original thread, I don’t have a copy. If somebody else has a copy, feel free to repost it in this forum. I reserve the right to edit out the parts where everybody goes ballistic; that’s why I pulled the thing in the first place.
Then how will we understand why you pulled it?
“Eppur, si muove!” - Galileo Galilei
:chanting:Me-lin,Me-lin,Me-lin
As long as the moderators aren’t getting into it with someone on their own board, what difference does it make? I believe firing was uncalled for. Close the thread if it’s continued beyond all hope but don’t punish someone for having a strongly based conviction.
And can it be that in a world so full and busy, the loss
of one weak creature makes a void in any heart, so
wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth
of vast eternity can fill it up!
-Charles Dickens “Dombey and Son”
Sheesh. Even Cecil admits it when he’s wrong.
I’m going to make a couple of points:
-
Once we delete a post/thread, it’s gone from the system. We can’t hide stuff and later unhide it.
-
If it weren’t for the moderators, this MB would have been taken over by the spammers long ago. I should know, I’ve pulled my share of purely commercial posts.
-
Is OpalCat still reading this site?
-
I’m sad that this whole thing happened.
Lynn/SDStaff Lynn
For the Straight Dope
Mike,
“user” was Ed’s word, not mine.
Here’s my vote: Goodbye
Well. I’m glad Ed took the trouble to let us hear his side of the story. Now that I see the rationale behind Melin being fired and Jill being retained, I’m willing to let it drop. I still think it was poorly handled, but this is Ed’s site and he has the right to make management decisions as he chooses. As far as I’m concerned it’s over.
Jess
Full of 'satiable curtiosity
Ed:
What is the point of saying the original can be re-posted if the parts we are interested in seeing for ourselves are deleted??
Oy vay.
And while you may not be taking a vote, that doesn’t mean we aren’t still right, only that you have the power to ignore us. Bully for you.
Are YOU ready for Y2K? Take my advice: Panic early and avoid the rush.
I’m going to stick my neck out and more or less side with Ed here–not that I think either Melin or Jill did anything unforgivable or even wrong (I’ve always emjoyed both of their postings). But what needs to be done from now on is to firmly establish rules and outlines for a Moderator’s duties. Maybe they should be even stricter, and Moderators should not post their opinions. In that case, people should re-think whether they’d rather BE Moderators, or just posters (me, I’m happy to stay a simple, shy little poster). The trouble arose because Ed, Melin and Jill all had different thoughts and opinions as to what a Moderator can and can’t do. If that were laid out in black and white, it would not happen again. I also get the feeling there are some Personal Things going on here, and people get fired because of those every day (right or wrong).