Adios Folks

[Res Ipsa]

This is a great loss to the board.

The signal to noise ratio in KG's posts was always high. Without posts from people like him on a regular basis, it becomes less attractive for others to invest time here. No doubt the mods have carefully considered this and related matters.

We don't have separate sets of rules for high quality posters and low quality posters. Kevin is a grown, fully functional adult who is capable of making his own decisions. I wish he had made a different decision, but it was his to make. And one that he can unmake at any time.

[Res Ipsa]

This is a great loss to the board.

The signal to noise ratio in KG's posts was always high. Without posts from people like him on a regular basis, it becomes less attractive for others to invest time here. No doubt the mods have carefully considered this and related matters.

I agree. Even when i disagree with KG, it is still in response to a post that is real, and legitimate.

The nonsense posted by Binger/Cultellus and Atlanticmike/multiple socks is worthless. Their stated intent is to destroy this forum. The mods bend over backwards, on a post by post basis, to give them this opportunity. The bigger picture here requires more from the mods than they are able to give, apparently. I understand they are following rules, but in my opinion they are following insufficient rules.

Speaking only for myself, I think you and I have different opinions on what the "bigger picture" is. I've volunteered my time here only because I support the bigger picture as I understand Shades sees it. I like his general approach, which I understand as "you can say [almost] anything here, as long as you say it in the right place." He gave people who wanted to discuss, argue, rant, defend, or whatever, Mormonism in one place with minimal limits on the content of speech. In terms of rules and moderation policies, I'm not sure there's a more wide open forum in existence. And it's combination of providing subforms with wide open speech combined with more protected subforms is pretty genius, in my opinion.

That's not to say I think it's the one and only bestest forum ever. I also spent a fair amount of time moderating a support forum for questioning or transitioning Mormons, which had very tight rules. And I thought the bigger picture there was great as well. Different forums for different pictures.

I get the feeling that there is a desire among some here to prioritize protection of the existing community over the openness and freedom of Shades big picture. I understand the attractions of that. To me, that would be a fundamental shift in the bigger picture -- the principles on which Shades started this place. And that's okay too. As I said to Kevin. People come. People go. People change. The same with discussion boards.

But that's not what I signed up for and it's not what I agreed to do when I took this position. I agreed to to enforce conduct based rules. Not rules based on who someone is or, more importantly, who self-selected folks here decide about who someone is. Right now, I think the mod team has addressed what was described as the problem: disruptive trolling. Right now there are four different sub-forums in which topics can be discussed without being disrupted by trolling. The queue is being used as designed -- only posts that comply with the letter and the spirit of the rules for the specific forum are approved for posting. If posting in compliance with the rules is destroying the forum, then we might as well shut the whole thing down.

If you can persuade the decider to change the big picture, that's cool. I won't moderate, but I won't stomp off and burn bridges either.

[Jersey Girl]

And of course, the animals in spirit prison quoted my post from here, titling it "The Bitch being a Bitch".

Thanks, mods, for protecting free speech. Your dedication to the letter of the law is erodibg our forum, but still, thank you.

I saw that earlier. So the community is cool with female slurs now?

[Res Ipsa]

The nonsense posted by Binger/Cultellus and Atlanticmike/multiple socks is worthless. Their stated intent is to destroy this forum.

Certainly. The departure of somebody like KG is a step in the direction of their ultimate success.

The mods bend over backwards, on a post by post basis, to give them this opportunity.

I am very reluctant to criticise the mods, who do, I know operate within difficult constraints set by Dr Shades. But it does seem to me sometimes that he would not be too unhappy to see parts of this board become a kind of private zoo populated by trolls in comfortable but secure enclosures, where there is the minimum of interference with their sacred rights of self-expression, even if it is a zoo that nobody wants to visit because of the noise and smells. Oh, and apart from the zoo, maybe a few threads about word games and a book club.

Thank goodness we don't also have the virtual equivalent on this board of a Second Amendment as well as the First.

I appreciate your reluctance Chap, but criticizing mods on discussion boards is an intentional sport.

What is it that you want to discuss that is not being discussed?

[Res Ipsa]

I am sorry to see Kevin go. It bothers me. He has been a part of the MDB community for many years, and I value his participation here. I regret that we could not work this out.

I do too.

[Res Ipsa]

Thanks for explaining all of that Res Ipsa. I appreciate you holding the line on the rules. They apply to all of us, even people we like.

Thanks, Reverend. It is very easy to apply the rules to people we don't like. Too easy. And it is very difficult to apply the rules to people we like. Too difficult.

[Jersey Girl]

Uh...reading the thread. We're also cool with posting behind the scenes material? Reports?

Don't get me wrong, I see the utility of doing so in this case but I'm at least a little concerned about setting precedence. Along those same lines, can we have Mod Forum Mondays where you guys open the MF and we all get to read it? I mean, if we're going to be privy to behind the scenes stuff now, I want to see it all.

Asking for a crap ton of friends...

[Res Ipsa]

And of course, the animals in spirit prison quoted my post from here, titling it "The Bitch being a Bitch".

Thanks, mods, for protecting free speech. Your dedication to the letter of the law is erodibg our forum, but still, thank you.

I saw that earlier. So the community is cool with female slurs now?

No more than the the community is cool with racist posts.

[Jersey Girl]

I saw that earlier. So the community is cool with female slurs now?

No more than the the community is cool with racist posts.

What if a bitch is being a bitch? Is it cool to post that?

[Res Ipsa]

Uh...reading the thread. We're also cool with posting behind the scenes material? Reports?

Don't get me wrong, I see the utility of doing so in this case but I'm at least a little concerned about setting precedence. Along those same lines, can we have Mod Forum Mondays where you guys open the MF and we all get to read it? I mean, if we're going to be privy to behind the scenes stuff now, I want to see it all.

Asking for a crap ton of friends...

Nope, not even I am "cool" with it. However, I am cooler with it than letting someone misrepresent the content of private conversations with moderators in a way that attacks our credibility and damages the community.

And, no. Answering for myself.