to Tuba

About This Message Board
1

closing the thread is fine by me, it was just an announcement. THe reason I posted it to every forum was that there are Forum specific categories, and I know that there are a lot of people who only post to one forum. I guess what you’re saying is that I can only have MPSIMS voting. I might as well just shut down the whole fucking thing. CHrist you people. Yeah, I’m such a big spammer, I’m such a huge problem, this was obviously just the tip of the iceburg and I was about to start spamming the board daily in every fucking forum.

–
Teeming Millions: http://fathom.org/teemingmillions
“Meat flaps, yellow!” - DrainBead, naked co-ed Twister chat
O p a l C a t
www.opalcat.com

2

??

The notice was left visible but closed in most locations, so that people could SEE it, but so that responses/comments would all be in one place, rather than scattered all over the boards.

No one is saying only MPSIMS can vote, but we are suggesting that any responses should be in MPSIMS.

“Far be it from me to stand in the way of someone who wants to have a hissy fit.” – Daniel McGinty

3

Not to pee on your cornflakes or anything, Opal, but if you had bothered to ASK us before you did it that would have made all the difference in the world.

We don’t let people spam this board, that means we don’t crosspost, either. Nothing personal.

We have the ability to make global announcements, one post and it’s all the forums . . . and it’s separate from the rest of the postings so people can see it, are drawn to it, can click on it . . . that would have been a much more effective way of handling this situation.

Just ask us first, that’s not asking a lot. Sometimes, just for the pure hell of it, we even say yes, you never can tell.

your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
The Straight Dope

4

Hey Jenny -

I think Opal’s point about publicizing this in all fora is a good one; there are folks who stick in one place, and especially avoid MPS.

Might it be possible for you to put this up as an announcement in all fora for a few days? That would serve the same purpose, avoid scattered replies to 7 different threads, and make everyone happy…

You could, of course, put in a disclaimer stating that this contest has no official standing with the administration of the SDMB or the Chicago Reader.

Sue from El Paso

Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

5

Sue, I know your intentions are good.

I know Opal is your dear friend.

Just the same, she’s not exempt from either our rules or the simple rules of common courtesy.

That’s the issue here.

your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
The Straight Dope

6

So far, so good.

Really? That’s a surprise to me, and probably to Opal, too. I like Opal & really respect her ability to work with html code & appreciate the work & time she has spent helping to make the SDMB bunch a community. But, since I don’t think I’ve exchanged mosre than 2 e-mails/IMs with her, I really don’t think either of us would classify our relationship as “dear friends”.

I do understand that in most situations, cross posting is off-limits; in fact, I just brought one example of such to the attention of a couple of moderators. But Opal did originally limit her discussion of this contest to MPSIMS. But within that discussion, several posters suggested the addition of forum-specific award categories because there are many posters who post only within one or two fora.

Opal did this, and then decided to post an announcement in each of the fora so everyone could see this. I’m not saying this was a good decision to make unilaterally, but since the intent was to let, as an example, CCC-only posters know that there was a contest, and that it included categories specifically for them, I personally don’t feel that it was out of line. I respect that you might feel differently, especially if setting precedents was a concern.

My previous post was an attempt to suggest a way to get the word out with any risk of multiple replies on multiple threads on multiple fora. I do realize that you also might not want to use an official announcement mechanism for unofficial notices, but with the proper disclaimer, I personally don’t see why this would be a problem.

I do appreciate the work the admins & moderators do in trying to keep SDMB open to all and free from outside solicitations, & the need to have a consistent policy. But Opal has also done a great deal for the SDMB community & has earned a great deal of loyalty from me, and other posters.

I would think that working with Opal on this contest is a win-win propostion for the SDMB administrators. I can’t speak for Opal, but if you think she is acting a little too independently on such matters, it only takes little research into the past to imagine why she might do so. But sometimes the best way to lose an enemy is to make them your friend; putting up an announcement about this contest would certainly be a positive step.

I have not consulted with Opal before posting this. It is possible there are things going on of which I am unaware. What I post here is strictly my opinion, but I think we have all seen too much real hostility on this board in the past month. I truly hope this can be resolved with no hard feelings on anyone’s part.

7

I didn’t have a problem with closing the threads, I thought I made that clear. They were only annoucements and didn’t need discussion. JILL did see fit to totally remove the post from the forum that she moderates, but I guess that is only to be expected, considering the frigid bitch that she is.

Anyway, I had no idea that posting an annoucnement in each forum, as a one time event in over years and years, was in violation of courtesy, common decency, and whatever the fuck else you’re accusing me of breaking. Excuse the fuck out of me, it will never happen again.

In fact, after I get the latest profiles added, the TMHP is going to be a “finished product” and I will no longer be maintaining it in any way. I didn’t start it as a window to allow myself to be abused, which is what it has become. I started it for fun, and it has LONG since ceased to be anything resembling that.

–
Teeming Millions: http://fathom.org/teemingmillions
“Meat flaps, yellow!” - DrainBead, naked co-ed Twister chat
O p a l C a t
www.opalcat.com

8

[[JILL did see fit to totally remove the post from the forum that she moderates, but I guess that is only to be expected, considering the frigid bitch that she is.]] Opal

As I told Opal, I generally move any threads out of the “Comments on Cecil’s Columns” forum if they are not related to discussion about a Straight Dope column. I figured if there are people who visit the CCC forum and never venture into other forums, there’s a reason for that. I didn’t see a popularity contest as being important enough to make such an exception for Opal. My decision had nothing to do with the fact that she reverts to obscene abuse every time someone makes a statement or a decision that she disagrees with. I treat all with even-handed frigid bitchiness.
Jill

9

“And behind that frigid bitch exterior hides the world’s most fucking ignorant twat!”
– Spineless Weasel

10

Not true, Nick, no matter how venerable your source material. Jill herself has posted to me that her twat is not ignorant of fucking (which would, indeed, be a tragedy of human proportions). And if that ain’t straight from the horse’s , er, orrifice, I don’t know what is.

The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*

11

[[ Jill herself has posted to me that her twat is not ignorant of fucking]]
And where, exactly, did you see that, Spiritus? Unless inviting someone to coffee is some kind of euphamism I’m not aware of.

12

How quickly they forget.

From long before the coffee reference.

The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*

13

Tuba, to clarify:

In the case of an official or unofficial event that affects the entire message board, the moderators may see fit to make a global posting in the fashion of the board upgrade or seeking moderators announcements.

Is this basically what you meant by a global announcement? If so, I agree that it would have been the ideal way to publicize our friend Opal’s polling.
I think you did the right thing. Hell, you know you did.

Dojo. Casino. It’s all in the mind.

14

That’s exactly what I was talking about, the global announcement system.

I note that if Opal had not been in the condition that she’s in, this issue would probably never have come up and certainly never would have been the huge issue that it turned into. Opal’s been a part of the Straight Dope society for a long time and while we’re had our difficulties at times, mostly it’s been a cooperative relationship.

This is all born of trouble and irrationality – that’s why I resist any attempt to see this as something that’s our fault, something that “mediation” or “umpiring” will fix. However well intentioned, that’s not what’s going on here and it’s not a solution.

your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
The Straight Dope