Problems with the board

[_Jersey Girl]

You have no idea what I discuss, where I discuss it, with whom I discuss it or what reports I do/do not make on this board. It's not unlike me to openly and publicly condemn violations when I see them made regardless of who makes them. It's a pity you don't pay attention. Anyone here who knows my in real life protects it as I do theirs. You? You get in a tough spot and you cave.

Ah, but your rebuke of someone putting down my wife, who at the time was going through chemotherapy, was, let's just say, minimal at best. And when another poster went off on my wife basically calling her a mail order bride, I don't remember you chiming in until I had retaliated, at which point, I was considered the bad guy again. Because hey, technically it wasn't a rule violation, so let's leave common sense and a sense of decency at the door.

So don't for a ____ second pretend you're even handed in your concerns for the rules. And this "you don't know what I say in private" doesn't mean ____ when you're only saving your most aggressive outrage to publicly defend posters who inexplicably go after my wife.

It's all about you and your life, right? If you don't see me make public comment, it's because I didn't see it, the posts were reported or I've either reported the posts in question or oh I dunno...I have my own in real life to tend to.

There's no need for "retaliation" on a board where we have the ability to object openly or report according to rule violations. There's a system here. The system works.

[_Icarus]

Keene was contacted back in July and if he were to respond I suspect he would have already.

[_subgenius]

So what's your excuse for sucking at remaining anonymous?

Guess im just not insecure-stalker proof.

[_Jersey Girl]

You have no idea what I discuss, where I discuss it, with whom I discuss it or what reports I do/do not make on this board. It's not unlike me to openly and publicly condemn violations when I see them made regardless of who makes them. It's a pity you don't pay attention. Anyone here who knows my in real life protects it as I do theirs. You? You get in a tough spot and you cave.

Ah, but your rebuke of someone putting down my wife, who at the time was going through chemotherapy, was, let's just say, minimal at best. And when another poster went off on my wife basically calling her a mail order bride, I don't remember you chiming in until I had retaliated, at which point, I was considered the bad guy again. Because hey, technically it wasn't a rule violation, so let's leave common sense and a sense of decency at the door.

So don't for a ____ second pretend you're even handed in your concerns for the rules. And this "you don't know what I say in private" doesn't mean ____ when you're only saving your most aggressive outrage to publicly defend posters who inexplicably go after my wife.

And I don't cave, I simply reciprocate.

The insults directed towards or about your wife, are not violations of anyone's privacy. That's what we're talking about here. They are, however, violations of other board rules--in my estimation. Were they reported? Did you report them? If not, why not? That you don't recall seeing me object publicly or later than you think or not as strongly as you think I should have tells me that you either hoped me to act as "Mama Bear" in those cases (you misogynistic doofus) or that you don't recognize that I may have been in a freaking hospital at that time and gave it the best shot I was able to or what I felt compelled to say. Not that you attend to anything on this board that isn't self referential to start with.

Reciprocate? So what you're saying here is that instead of using the built in report feature to report such disclosures, you retaliate, I mean "reciprocate" by trying to one up them by attempting to post their sh-it?

I don't care who a poster is, where they live, what they do or what they have done in their in real life (unless they choose to share it for some reason of their own). I care what people think and why they think it. I care if I can learn something new or supply information that might be useful to someone else. That's reciprocity. I suspect the great majority of us see this community in much the same way.

And I like joking around with folks here. Call me crazy, but what you're doing doesn't seem fun or funny to me.

In any case, on this very thread you claim make a claim about anonymity while once again you have listed details of your in real life by your own hand on the screen, while another poster here has listed a series of screen names. Curiously enough that poster's list remains unreported.

If you didn't want your sh-it posted on this board you wouldn't do it yourself and you'd use the report feature.

Oh and just for general purposes. Your apologetic tactics don't work on me. I'm pretty much impervious to it.

[_Icarus]

It's all about you and your life, right? If you don't see me make public comment, it's because I didn't see it, the posts were reported or I've either reported the posts in question or oh I dunno...I have my own in real life to tend to.

Apparently it is all about my life for those who choose to attack my wife. You were fully aware of what these guys said and you didn't snap at them simply because what they did wasn't against a rule. It was against any sense of human decency, but you're not concerned about that.

There's no need for "retaliation" on a board where we have the ability to object openly or report according to rule violations. There's a system here. The system works.

No it doesn't. We're on a forum where disliking a female Japanese band is off limits, but attacking someone's wife is perfectly cool unless she's a poster here. And nothing works on this forum anymore. Admins have no ability to censor anymore. This is completely fubared.

[_Icarus]

The insults directed towards or about your wife, are not violations of anyone's privacy. That's what we're talking about here. They are, however, violations of other board rules--in my estimation.

Your estimation would be wrong. But if you really had a problem with those remarks, you sure as hell didn't say anything at the time. Don't tell me you weren't aware of them. You were the one who told RI that Doc had started the fight with me in a previous thread when he went after my wife.

Were they reported? Did you report them? If not, why not?

Yes, and nothing was done. I was, however, reprimanded by EA for making a suggestion to an annoying poster that he leave a thread of mine because all he does is derail. The rules on this board are imperfect as is the way they're enforced.

That you don't recall seeing me object publicly or later than you think or not as strongly as you think I should have tells me that you either hoped me to act as "Mama Bear" in those cases (you misogynistic doofus) or that you don't recognize that I may have been in a freaking hospital at that time and gave it the best shot I was able to or what I felt compelled to say. Not that you attend to anything on this board that isn't self referential to start with.

I didn't "hope" for you to be anything but I expected you to be consistent. You're not. Even now, you're still making excuses as to why you think it is fine that other people out me.

Reciprocate? So what you're saying here is that instead of using the built in report feature to report such disclosures, you retaliate, I mean "reciprocate" by trying to one up them by attempting to post their sh-it?

If you'd pay the “F” attention, I told you I did report it. I got no response. I wanted their remarks removed immediately, and so I took matters into my own hands to see that done. You're damned damned right I did. If I don't get results in a timely manner, I'll take care of it myself.

I don't care who a poster is, where they live, what they do or what they have done in their in real life (unless they choose to share it for some reason of their own).

Well not everyone is this damned stupid. If you're talking to a convicted felon with a history of violence towards women or children, you should want to know that. But I've never divulged that kind of information about anyone, just hinting to them that I very well could if they don't back the “F” off.

In any case, on this very thread you claim make a claim about anonymity while once again you have listed details of your in real life by your own hand on the screen, while another poster here has listed a series of screen names.

I've already explained that I'm not interested in anonymity with those on this forum, but from others outside the forum. The fact that you don't get it, and give a pass to those who blatantly violate the rules by outing me, proves you're a hypocrite who is using the "sanctity of the rules" as a BS pretext to exercise your selective outrage.

The fact that you're so befuddled into thinking I'm using "apologetic tricks" is pretty damned hilarious. I'm pointing out your hypocrisy, and all you can do is make excuses instead of owning up to the fact.

[_Res Ipsa]

This is always the risk with online forums owned by a single individual.

Aren't most forums owned by someone though? I would think a BOD for a message forum would be out of the ordinary to say the least.

Of course, having things controlled by a board of directors comes with its own problems. I don't know the law on this issue of owning the database. What is the downside of taking the copy of the database and simply setting up with a new site host?

I suggested this several times, but it was decided by others to give Keene the chance to do the right thing.

I don't know anything about Keane, but it doesn't sound like like he's invested in owning the database.

My thoughts exactly. It is just something that sits on his server and gradually takes up space and bandwidth. Frankly I'm surprised he hasn't deleted it.

If he takes some kind of action to object, like sending a cease and desist, we can cut some kind of deal with him at that point. Or simply let go of the old posts. We certainly wouldn't be in any worse position than we are today. The situation here seems pretty tenuous. I think it makes sense to take some action to stabilize the situation, and the plan sounds pretty sensible to me.

Yeah.

Lots of internet forums are provided by limited-liability organizations as opposed to individuals. All such organizations have a BOD or some equivalent, so it's really not unusual for an online discussion forum to be under the control of a BOD. I would guess it is unusual for some kind of non-profit to be formed for the sole purpose of providing an internet forum, but that's just a guess. What I don't know are the niceties of who owns what, who has a license to use whatever is owned, and what is the extent of the license.

[_Kishkumen]

Lots of internet forums are provided by limited-liability organizations as opposed to individuals. All such organizations have a BOD or some equivalent, so it's really not unusual for an online discussion forum to be under the control of a BOD. I would guess it is unusual for some kind of non-profit to be formed for the sole purpose of providing an internet forum, but that's just a guess. What I don't know are the niceties of who owns what, who has a license to use whatever is owned, and what is the extent of the license.

An organization could shield any individual from legal liability. A non-profit could make donations for funding the board tax deductible. There is a lot to recommend having some kind of organization involved in supporting the board in some way, whether that is through ownership of the board, or providing some back up or support for the board. I would hate to see us lose access to the board's data, and I would like to see our resources here greatly improved through fixes, upgrades, and add-ons. This really should be working better than it is, and, based on everything that has gone on here, I would say it is almost metaphorically criminal that we are where we are.

I am not trying to horn in on anyone's territory here. I just want things to improve and for there to be some longterm protections and plans for the board.

[_Res Ipsa]

I think the best thing ownership by a nonprofit has to offer is an increased chance of long-term stability. Being the owner of a board like this isn't that risky, unless there is a change of law. And the standard deduction for federal taxes has become so large that I doubt many (or maybe any) of us would benefit from the tax effects.

I've always been happy to think of this as "Shades' Board," with him calling the shots as he sees fit. The problem, as I see it, is that it's not Shades' Board, but some sort of odd Shades-Keane hybrid, with Keane being a really silent partner. Personally, I'd be 100% happy with arranging things so that it is actually Shades' Board, with him having full ownership and control, and would financially pitch in to make that happen. But I also recognize that I'm a relative newcomer here, and don't have the personal investment in the forum that lots of you have. So, as long as Shades is on board with ownership by a non-profit, I'd be 100% happy as well.

I like hanging with you folks, and I'd hate to have the forum just vanish. Been there. Done that. Didn't care for it.

[_Kishkumen]

I think the best thing ownership by a nonprofit has to offer is an increased chance of long-term stability. Being the owner of a board like this isn't that risky, unless there is a change of law. And the standard deduction for federal taxes has become so large that I doubt many (or maybe any) of us would benefit from the tax effects.

I've always been happy to think of this as "Shades' Board," with him calling the shots as he sees fit. The problem, as I see it, is that it's not Shades' Board, but some sort of odd Shades-Keane hybrid, with Keane being a really silent partner. Personally, I'd be 100% happy with arranging things so that it is actually Shades' Board, with him having full ownership and control, and would financially pitch in to make that happen. But I also recognize that I'm a relative newcomer here, and don't have the personal investment in the forum that lots of you have. So, as long as Shades is on board with ownership by a non-profit, I'd be 100% happy as well.

I like hanging with you folks, and I'd hate to have the forum just vanish. Been there. Done that. Didn't care for it.

Yes, it's the long-term stability that I am after. I think Shades has in many ways done an admirable job of providing a relatively lightly moderated discussion forum. What has been lacking here is the technical upkeep of the board. That was a ticking time bomb that was triggered when the board was founded. The beginning was the end, so to speak. Unless someone can prevent it from being the end. If the current offer on the table is accepted and the person who has made the offer becomes the owner of the board, that will certainly be an improvement in many ways.

It would not have been my absolute ideal solution, but I can see the reasoning at the time given the kind of attention the problem was receiving from most of us. As Gadianton has pointed out to me, a company needs officers who are willing to be publicly known as officers of the company. On a board where many people prize their anonymity, that is not, after all, that easy of a need to meet. The person who has made the offer is a long-time participant on the board, a friend of the board community, and both financially able and willing to do it. Excellent solution in many respects.

That said, I just want to make sure that this prospective owner has support. That more than just he has access to the machinery and data behind the board to make sure everything is running smoothly, updates happen in a timely way, troubleshooting can take place easily, and, heaven forbid, if anything should happen to that one owner, others will have the technical and legal ability to step in to make sure all is not lost or hobbled permanently.